2016 Buick LaCrosse
Hybrid Gas Midsize car
The 2016 Buick LaCrosse is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas midsize car with 4 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the LaCrosse eAssist, is EPA-rated at 28 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 48 complaints, most often about steering. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaCrosse eAssist | Hybrid | FWD | 2.4L 4-cyl + 115V Li-Ion | 24 | 35 | 28 | $2,250 |
| LaCrosse | Gas | FWD | 3.6L 6-cyl | 18 | 28 | 21 | $2,950 |
| LaCrosse | Gas | FWD | 3.6L 6-cyl | 18 | 28 | 21 | $2,950 |
| LaCrosse AWD | Gas | AWD | 3.6L 6-cyl | 17 | 26 | 20 | $3,100 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (2)
Air Bags
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) softw
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
Air Bags
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
Owner complaints
48 complaints filed
5 involved a crash, 2 a fire, 3 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2016: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2024: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2026: 5
Most-cited components
- Steering — 12
- Power Train — 7
- Air Bags — 6
- Vehicle Speed Control — 6
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 5
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 DR AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 12% |
| 4 DR AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 12% |
| 4 DR FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 12% |
| 4 DR FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 12% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Other LaCrosse model years
2019 LaCrosse
2 recalls · 6 complaints
D2018 LaCrosse
3 recalls · 12 complaints
B2017 LaCrosse
2 recalls · 34 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 36460, 36457, 36458, 36453). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.