Problems · by component
2009 Buick Lucerne fuel/propulsion system problems
36 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2009 Buick Lucerne cite fuel/propulsion system, 28% of all 128 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
36
28% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
5
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the fuel/propulsion system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The car died suddenly and would not start, with no warnings or codes. Towed it to a Midas repair shop and it was diagnosed as a corroded Low Profile Fuel Pump relay. This was replaced, and the car ran fine for 3 days before going dead in the middle of driving and left me stranded in an intersection. Had to get it towed back to Midas where it was more accurately diagnosed that the issue with the relay was being caused by a faulty Rear Electrical Center. Both of these parts have been recalled, and I have only owned this car for a little over a year. It has only around 40,000 miles on it. Despite this recall, upon taking the car to the local Buick dealership, they stated they could not cover the recall due to it being expired before I even owned the car. I do not understand how it is right or fair for this to have to be paid out of pocket, for $183.53 and $818.81 respectively, when it is not my fault, it is a faulty GM parts issue, and GM stated they will not stand behind their product and cover the recall despite the evident risk to my safety if I was to continue driving the car without repair. I understand it is expired, but I fail to see how this is ethical…”
“Fuel Pump relay fuse is getting burnt up and not allowing car to start. This is a known problem and Nhtsa has already made a recall but mine isn’t recalled. You would think since mine is a 2008-2011 Buick Lucerne it would be able to get fixed. [XXX]”
“The fuse box or fuse holder under the back seat had the fuel pump relay fail due to pressure on the fuse box lid from the seat above it. This is a known issue by Buick as they keep the fuse box in stock (for about $300) I have owned two similar Lucernes with this issue. The fuel pump relay caused enough heat to melt into the fuse box, causing a disconnection. This caused the fuel pump to stop pumping, causing the car to stop running. The problem can be confirmed by calling any Buick dealer. I'm sure they have had several examples of this issue besides my pair. There are many examples mentioned on the internet, as well as videos as to how to fix it. There are no warning lamps prior to the failure. The engine dies and refuses to restart.”
“Fuel pump relay under vehicles back seat fried out due to the back seat hitting the fuse box cover and grounding out the fuel pump relay. My child was in the back seat and said there was smoke coming from the back seat and the fuse box nearly caught on fire. After reading online I am appalled that this has not been recalled yet. There was 0 warning, no lights on dash, I did not file a police report or do anything with my insurance as there was no accident. Just a car bomb manufactured by GM”
“AFTER BEING DRIVEN NORMALLY ALL DAY, THE CAR ALL OF A SUDDEN WOULDN'T CRANK PROPERLY AFTER BEING PARKED FOR A FEW HOURS. THE CAR NEEDED TO BE TOWED TO A CAR SHOP. ACCORDING TO A LOCAL MECHANIC, THE BACK SEAT PRESSED ON THE WIRING THAT, IN TURN, BURNED UP THE ELECTRIC PANEL AND THE FUEL PUMP. DUE TO THIS, THE ELECTRIC PANEL AND THE FUEL PUMP NEED TO BE REPLACED.”
“GOING DOWN HIGHWAY 70 MPH STRAIGHTAWAY CAR STALLED ABLE TO GET TO SIDE OF HIGHWAY PULLED OFF SEAT FOUND FUSE BOX TEMP HOT WHEN COOLED DOWN NOTICED FUEL RELAY SWITCH BURNT OUT. COMMON PROBLEM WITH CAR DUE TO ENGINEERING OF SEAT BRACKETS HITTING FUSE BOX AND DAMAGING IT. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN 5 YEARS FUSE BOX HAS BEEN REPLACED BY CERTIFIED DEALERSHIP. OBVIOUSLY PROBLEM IS WITH THE ENGINEERING OF SEAT BRACKET BUT APPARENTLY DEALER DOES NOT TAKE ME SERIOUSLY AND DID NOT TRIM SEAT CLIPS PER MY SPECIFIC REQUEST BC THERE IS ONLY A BULLETIN FROM GM 15-NA-051 NOT A RECALL. SEVERAL COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN MADE AND MUST BE COMMON ENOUGH FOR A BULLETIN LUCKILY NO ONE WAS TAILGATING OR THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY SERIOUS ACCIDENT.”
Showing 6 of 36 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.