Buyer Research

2019 Buick LaCrosse — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $15,000–$23,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

The last LaCrosse sold in the US, and a car so few people bought that NHTSA holds six complaints for it. Six is not a clean bill of health; it is a record too small to read. What we can say: the 2019 shares two recalls with the 2018 — the stop/start transmission accumulator that can lose its bolts and dump fluid, and the rear brake caliper bleed — and it does not carry the 2018's fuel-pump recall. The few owners who did write in describe a thermostat that keeps the 3.6L cold and an accelerator that occasionally does nothing when pressed. Run the VIN for both recalls, check the temperature gauge settles at the midpoint, and treat the rest of the inspection as you would any 3.6L GM sedan with an eight-speed: cold shifts, fluid condition, service history.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 6 owner complaints for the 2019 Buick LaCrosse, and 2 recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under the engine (3), the fuel system (1), electrics and electronics (1). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

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 2019 Buick LaCrosse

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

Stop/start transmission accumulator may be missing its endcap bolts — fluid leak, then loss of drive (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 20V668 covers the 2019 LaCrosse's eight-speed: the bolts that hold the start-stop accumulator endcap may be absent, the cap lifts under pressure, transmission fluid escapes, and the car can lose propulsion in traffic. GM inspects the accumulator and replaces it if bolts are missing, free. This recall was issued in late 2020, so a car sold on early may have missed the notice. Check the NHTSA VIN lookup, and look at the front of the transmission case and the ground beneath it for fresh fluid before the test drive.

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

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Thermostat keeps the engine cold, fans run flat out, water sloshes behind the dashMedium

Three of the six complaints are the engine, and two are the cooling system: a car that idled in a drive-thru with the gauge on cold and the fans running after shutdown, and a loud slosh of water behind the dashboard that came and went for weeks. The first is the electronic thermostat on the 3.6L, a fault that appears on the 2018 too, and it sets P0128. The second is usually air trapped in the heater core, which points to a low coolant level or a cooling system that was opened and not bled properly — worth finding the reason. Watch the gauge climb to the midpoint within a few miles and listen for sloshing on a cold start.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$700 for the thermostat; $100–$250 for a coolant bleed and top-up

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (3), electrics and electronics (1).

Accelerator pressed and nothing happens for a beat — merging onto a highwayMedium

One owner filed the same event under fuel system and engine: pressing the pedal to merge and getting no response until pumping it, four times, with the dealer saying there is no fix. On the 2018 LaCrosse this pattern traces to a poor connection at the accelerator pedal that GM wrote owners about, and the 2019 uses the same pedal and throttle body. One complaint is one complaint, so we are not calling it a pattern — but it is the kind of fault that shows up on a test drive if you ask for it. Pull away hard from a dozen stops and do one full-throttle merge; any dead pedal, however short, is a walk-away.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$600 for the pedal connector or assembly

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (1).

Rear brake caliper pistons may have a coating flaw — brake system needs bleeding (recall)Medium

Recall 18V576 reaches into the 2019 LaCrosse: the rear caliper pistons may carry a coating that lets gas form in the brake fluid, so the pedal goes long and stopping power drops. The dealer bleeds the system free. Ask for the printout, and at a stop press the pedal firmly and hold it for ten seconds — it should not creep toward the floor.

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

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Recall 20V668 or 18V576 still open on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✗Temperature gauge that never reaches the midpoint, or fans still roaring after shutdown
✗Water sloshing behind the dashboard on a cold start or the first turn
✗A pause between pressing the pedal and the car responding, even once
✗Fresh fluid on the transmission case or a spot on the ground under the front

Good Signs

✓Both recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Thermostat replaced with a dealer or independent invoice
✓Temperature gauge at the midpoint within a few miles and steady from then on
✓Brake pedal that stays firm through a ten-second hold at a stop
✓Immediate throttle response on every pull-away and one full-throttle merge