Buyer Research

2017 Buick LaCrosse — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $11,000–$17,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 10 Buick LaCrosse years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

First year of the last LaCrosse — new platform, 3.6L V6, eight-speed automatic, stop/start — and the public record is thin: 34 complaints, none with a crash or fire. That is too few filings to call the car reliable; it is enough to see the shape. Two first-year safety recalls (power-steering connectors that let water in, rear toe-links that can loosen) are the first thing to check on the VIN, and the eight-speed's harsh low-speed shifts and the stop/start system that sometimes will not restart are what owners actually wrote about. Confirm both recalls closed, drive it cold through town, and this is a quiet, comfortable sedan at a Buick discount.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 34 owner complaints for the 2017 Buick LaCrosse, and 2 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 32% of them are about one thing — electrics and electronics. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

2 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2017 Buick LaCrosse

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Power-steering connectors may not be sealed — water gets in and assist can drop out (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 17V116 covers 2017 LaCrosses whose electric power steering connectors may not have been seated properly. Water reaches the pins, they corrode, and the assist can cut out without warning — the wheel suddenly gets very heavy at speed. Dealers reseat and secure the connector seals for free. Run the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup before you drive it; a car that has sat outside for nine years with an open recall here is a real risk, not a paperwork one.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (1); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Rear toe-links may have been installed wrong and can disconnect (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 17V267: the rear suspension toe-links on some 2017 LaCrosses were not installed correctly and can loosen and separate, which lets the rear wheel steer itself — loss of control at speed. The remedy is a free inspection and reinstallation. Ask for the closed-recall printout, and on the test drive listen for a clunk from the rear over bumps and feel for the tail wandering on the highway; four of the 34 complaints are suspension noise or looseness.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the suspension (4); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Eight-speed automatic clunks, shifts hard at low speed, or hangs in a gearMedium

Eight of 34 complaints are the transmission: a loud clunk on any gear change, harsh 1–2 and 2–3 shifts around town while highway shifting stays fine, a service-transmission warning followed by a lurch when coming to a stop, and a shifter that would not find Park or Reverse cleanly. This is the GM eight-speed that drew a shudder complaint across several models; GM's usual first step is a fluid exchange to a newer synthetic spec and a reflash, and some owners report the fix holds while others come back. Drive it cold, stop-and-go, and feel every shift below 30 mph. A car that has already had the fluid swap with a dealer invoice is the one to buy.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$600 for the fluid exchange and reflash; $3,500–$6,000 for a rebuilt or replacement transmission — about 43% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (8).

Stop/start stumbles, intermittent no-starts and momentary loss of powerMedium

The largest cluster (11 of 34) is electrical, and read together it is mostly the stop/start system: the engine shuts off at a light and does not restart when the brake is released, a total electrical shutdown at a stop that revived on the tow truck, and a couple of reports of the car dropping into reduced-power mode on the interstate. A weak AGM battery is the cheapest cause and the first thing to test; a throttle-pedal position sensor or a corroded ground is next. One owner lost the Bose amplifier, which on this car carries every chime and warning tone as well as the radio. Five engine-cluster reports overlap this — the same power-loss and stop/start stories, plus one catalyst code.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$450 for an AGM battery; $600–$1,500 for an amplifier or pedal sensor

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (11), the engine (5).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Either 2017 recall (17V116 steering connectors, 17V267 toe-links) still open on the VIN lookup
✗A clunk on the shift from Park to Drive or Reverse with the car standing still
✗Stop/start shuts the engine off at a light and the restart hesitates or fails
✗Steering effort that changes suddenly on the test drive
✗Rear-end clunk over bumps or a tail that wanders at highway speed

Good Signs

✓Both 2017 recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Dealer invoice for a transmission fluid exchange and reflash, with smooth low-speed shifts on a cold drive
✓AGM battery replaced in the last two years with a receipt
✓Steady steering assist through slow parking-lot turns and at highway speed
✓Eight clean upshifts through stop-and-go traffic with the transmission cold