Reliable Auto DB

2021 Buick Enclave reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 25 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Buick Enclave over 6 years — 4 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Enclave years here — under the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 2 recalls on file, including Curtain and Frontal impact.

2012 Buick Enclave
Photo by MercurySable99, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

25

Per year

4

Recalls

2

Years on the road

6

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (6 of 25), then Service brakes (6) and Seat belts (3).

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 Enclave has 59 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2022 has 13 complaints, 3 per year. The 2021 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2020. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2022.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2021 Buick Enclave. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (2)

Recall air bags, side and window, curtain 2022-03-31 · NHTSA campaign 22V210000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Traverse and 2021-2022 Buick Enclave vehicles. The harness connector to the left or right side roof rail air bag may have incompatible electrical terminals, which could prevent the air bags from deploying in a crash.
Remedy Dealers will replace the harness connector to the roof rail air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 29, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212352140.
Recall air bags, sensor, frontal impact 2021-06-24 · NHTSA campaign 21V472000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave vehicles. During service by dealers, certain vehicles may have received incorrect air bag calibration software that may affect frontal airbag deployment.
Remedy Dealers will update the air bag calibration software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 29, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N212340220.

Complaints by component (25 total)

Electrical system
6
Service brakes
6
Seat belts
3
Structure
3
Engine
2
Latches, locks, and linkages
2
Powertrain
2
Fuel and propulsion system
1
Lane departure
1
Steering
1
Show 2 more Show less
Crash-flagged

0

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

0

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

9202122022320245202562026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2021 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with the contact and her daughter inside the vehicle, her daughter's seat belt became extremely tight. The seat belt…"
    Seat belts · filed 2026-07-28
  • "The muffler and tail pipe has fallen off 6 times and ive had to get repaired. I believe it is due to the bad torque converter that others have complained about and goggle says that is a likely failure on the buick."
    Powertrain · filed 2026-06-17
  • "The liftgate of my vehicle began opening on it's own at no apparent interval, but now occurs frequently while waiting for a repair part to come in. This has happened while parked - including in public parking lots…"
    Structure · filed 2026-06-15
  • "Passenger side seatbelt latch gets stuck so when trying to buckle it doesn’t go in, you have to try multiple times. Get a notification on dashboard every once in a while saying seatbelt or airbag issue contact dealer.…"
    Seat belts · filed 2026-06-10
  • "About six months ago the tailgate foot sensor failed and has not worked. Since then, the tailgate began randomly opening on its own, mostly when the car is parked and shut off, but as of today(4-28-2026) it started…"
    Electrical system · filed 2026-04-28

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2021 Buick Enclave SUV AWD 5 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2021 Buick Enclave SUV FWD 5 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Enclave all-wheel drive 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic 9-speed All-wheel drive 17 25 20 MPG $3250
Enclave front-wheel drive 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic 9-speed Front-wheel drive 18 26 21 MPG $3100

Specs and fitment

Second generation, 2018–present
Body styles SUV
Oil 5W-30 (~6 qt with filter, 3.6L V6) , 6 qt capacity
Tire size 255/65R18 or 255/55R20 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 20V668000 covers certain 2019-2020 Buick Enclave vehicles (with Equinox, Traverse, Terrain, Acadia, Blazer, XT4, and other GM models; 194,105 units across the campaign) where start-stop transmission accumulator bolts may be missing. Dealers inspect the accumulator and replace it if bolts are missing.

Compare

Previous year 2020 Buick Enclave Next year 2022 Buick Enclave See every Buick Enclave model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Buick Enclave reliable?

Owners have filed 25 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Buick Enclave over 6 years — 4 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Enclave years here — under the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 2 recalls on file, including Curtain and Frontal impact.

What are common problems with a 2021 Buick Enclave?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (6 of 25), then Service brakes (6) and Seat belts (3).

Is the 2021 Buick Enclave more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2020 Enclave has 59 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2022 has 13 complaints, 3 per year. The 2021 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2020. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2022.

Has the 2021 Buick Enclave been recalled?

The 2021 Buick Enclave has 2 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2021 Buick Enclave?

Owners have filed 25 complaints about the 2021 Buick Enclave with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Buick Enclave get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 Buick Enclave is 20.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2019 Buick Enclave?

Second generation (2018-on).

What oil does a Buick Enclave take?

US generation notes list 5W-30 full synthetic for the 3.6L V6 across both generations here.

What tire sizes does a Buick Enclave use?

First-gen pages list 255/65R18; second-gen trims also use 255/55R20 on upper levels.