AutoUtility currently tracks 48 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Buick LaCrosse. Steering System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 12 complaints (25% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 5 filings cite a crash, 2 cite a fire, 3 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 48 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Steering System (12 reports • 25% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (9), Powertrain & Transmission (7)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 5 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 2 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 3 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Buick LaCrosse
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Steering System
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Powertrain & Transmission
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #17V437000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
- Campaign #16V651000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Engine & Cooling
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Buick LaCrosse
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Buick LaCrosse
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"I was in a front end collision where the damages were over $20,000.00 and the air bags did not deploy."
"The volt meter on the dashboard keeps dropping below 14 volts and 13.5 volts. The car has been checked by Buick and my mechanic no issues found. Buick has no idea why it keeps doing it neither does my mechanic. The problem is if there is a voltage drop, the computer will shut down the engine..."
"On June 22,2026, I was involved in a frontal impact collision while traveling at approximately 35 mph. The vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure of the entire occupant restraint system. Despite a severe, high-speed frontal impact, the frontal airbags failed to physically deploy, and the seatbelt..."
"While driving down the road goin around 45 mph all of a sudden my steering wheel got so stiff I could hardly steer the car off the road and out of traffic. I didn't hit anything, my power steering just stopped. I put the car into park and turned off the ignition after a few minutes I started it..."
"The contact owns a 2016 Buick Lacrosse. The contact stated that the fuel pump was previously replaced due to the vehicle stalling while driving. The contact stated that the tailgate unintendedly opened while the vehicle was parked and turned off. Additionally, the vehicle jerked while driving from..."
Complaint History for Buick LaCrosse
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2019)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Buick LaCrosse | 44 | 5 | 3 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Buick LaCrosse Current Page | 48 | 5 | 2 | Current |
| 2017 Buick LaCrosse | 34 | 0 | 2 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Buick LaCrosse | 12 | 0 | 3 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Buick LaCrosse | 6 | 0 | 2 | View 2019 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Buick LaCrosse
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 28 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.