NHTSA Complaint #10618867 — 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE

AFTER 66,000 MILES OF EASY DRIVING, OUR 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE HAS A BROKEN WAVE PLATE AND NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION! THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE CAUSED TWO SEPARATE DANGEROUS DRIVING SITUATIONS, ONE OF WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL. THE FIRST EVENT OCCURRED WHEN STOPPED AT AN INTERSECTION TO MAKE A LEFT TURN. I HAD TWO CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT. WHEN THE INTERSECTION CLEARED, I BEGAN TO MAKE THE LEFT TURN, BUT THE ENGINE FAILED TO ACCELERATE AND MERELY COASTED INTO THE LANE OF ON-COMING TRAFFIC. THE LEFT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE AND THE 7-YEAR-OLD CHILD SITTING THERE WERE LEFT EXPOSED TO THE THREAT OF IMPACT BY FAST-APPROACHING TRAFFIC. AFTER ABOUT 2 SECONDS, THE ENGINE ACCELERATED AND WE WERE ABLE TO LEAVE THE INTERSECTION MOMENTS BEFORE ON-COMING TRAFFIC ARRIVED. THE SECOND EVENT OCCURRED TWO DAYS LATER. TRAVELING 45-50 MPH ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY, THE ENGINE SLIPPED GEARS AND WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF FIRST GEAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WE RETURNED HOME AT SLOW SPEED. IN THE DRIVEWAY, WE PUT THE CAR IN PARK, THEN IN DRIVE AND REVERSE. IT BARELY MOVED IN EITHER DIRECTION. THE NEXT DAY, WE WERE ABLE TO DRIVE IT TO THE NEARBY DEALERSHIP. IT SHIFTED GEARS ON THE WAY, BUT THE WARNING LIGHT STAYED ON. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED US THAT THE WAVE PLATE IS BROKEN AND THAT THE TRANSMISSION MUST BE REPLACED. WE TRIED CONTACTING GM CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT RECEIVED NOTHING MORE THAN A RECORDED MESSAGE ASKING US TO HOLD ON THE LINE. WE HELD FOR OVER ONE HOUR AND RECEIVED NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. A REVIEW OF MANY WEBSITE POSTINGS REVEALS A WIDESPREAD FAILURE OF THE ENCLAVE WAVE PLATE AND TRANSMISSION, THAT GM IS FULLY AWARE OF IT AND HAS TAKEN NO STEPS TO ADDRESS IT OR TO ENSURE OF THE SAFETY OF THE THOUSANDS OF ENCLAVE OWNERS AND OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD. FAILING ANY ACCOUNTABILITY BY GM, WE INSIST THAT NHTSA TAKE ACTION ON THIS WIDESPREAD SAFETY HAZARD AND ISSUE A RECALL. *TR