NHTSA Complaint #10556710 — 2012 BUICK VERANO

THE VEHICLE IS UNRELIABLE, UNPREDICTABLE AND DANGEROUS TO DRIVE, SINCE YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY WARNING OR KNOW WHEN AND WHERE THE ENGINE WILL DIE. THE ENGINE DIED WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH ON A TWO LANE HIGHWAY, LEAVING ONLY A FEW SECONDS TO STEER ONTO THE SHOULDER. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART. THIS WAS FOLLOWING AN EARLIER ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PROBLEM FOUR WEEKS BEFORE IN WHICH MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS STAYED ON AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE AND THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR (WE WERE TOLD THIS WAS CAUSED BY THE BATTERY BEING INSTALLED OVER A PORTION OF THE WIRING HARNESS AND EVENTUALLY CUTTING THE WIRES). THIS WAS REPAIRED BY REPLACING SEVERAL COMPUTER MODULES AND PORTIONS OF THE WRING HARNESS. THE EARLIER REPAIR, WAS DOUBLE CHECKED BY ANOTHER BUICK DEALERSHIP AND WE WERE ASSURED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS FULLY REPAIRED AND SAFE TO DRIVE. THE 60 MPH FAILURE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO A CHAFED WIRE SHORTING OUT AND BLOWING A FUSE. THE DAY FOLLOWING THE LATEST REPAIR THE ENGINE DIED AGAIN, WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART. BEFORE BEGINNING THE NEXT REPAIR, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DRAINED THE BATTERY OVERNIGHT. WE WERE TOLD TWO DAYS AGO, THAT A NEW MAIN COMPUTER AND FOUR COILS WERE REPLACED. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD SINCE THEN, THAT THE CAR WAS READY TO BE PICKED UP IN THE MORNING AND THEN CALLED THE NEXT DAY AND WAS TOLD MORE TEST WERE REQUIRED. IT IS NOW 7 DAYS LATER, AND GM ENGINEERS AND THE DEALER ARE STILL TRYING TO DIAGNOSE THE ROOT CAUSE AND FIND A SOLUTION. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD REPEATEDLY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST AUTO OF ITS KIND, WITH THIS PROBLEM FOR A BUICK VERANO. DAY 28/18, DEALER CALLED THIS MORNING AND TOLD US THEY HAVE NOW FOUND A GROUND FAULT IN THE WIRING HARNESS. THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD US HE WOULD WANT HIS WIFE TO DRIVE THIS CAR. WE DON'T DRIVE IT EITHER. *JB ..UPDATED 12/17/13 *BF