Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Buick Lucerne owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I have a 2006 buick lucerne that loses power randomly as I'm driving whether its pulling outbjnto traffic, which could cause injuries possibly even death, or maintain a certain speed for any amount of time , it just randomly loses power and wont go for however long until it starts to accelerate again . Also if I'm at a red light or stopped waiting to pull out somewhere , although I have my foot on the break, my car begins to accelerate and almost pulling me out into traffic. I have a service engine light and the code reads h02s heating control circuit sensor but I've yet to have it inspected because there isn't a recall for my car on that problem even though I've heard and read many complaints with the same or similar issues
Periodically at cruising speed of 50 to 60 miles an hour, speedometer will fluctuate wildly between 25 and 40 MPH. When it does this transmission does not know what gear to be in, and in the event that the speedometer needle goes all the way to zero, it will not engage when you press the gas pedal even if you're in gear, only thing you can do is pull off and shut it down and wait several seconds to a few minutes for it to engage once again when you start it back up. This is an 06 Buick Lucerne with automatic transmission and 3.8 v6
While passing a vehicle, accelerator immediately accelerated the vehicle to over 115 MPH quickly, and the speed continued to climb. Could not deaccelerate. Both feet on the brake, no luck, shifted to 1st gear, no luck, pushed many buttons on steering wheel, no luck, accepted the fact that this was going to be a high speed deliberate rollover. Finally at the last possible moment, throttle disengaged.
2006 Buick Lucerne. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle acceleration issues. The consumer stated the vehicle accelerated at 90 MPH, as she was pulling out of a drive-thru. In order to avoid going into traffic, she turned into a vacant lot, went down an embankment and totaled the vehicle. The consumer was in the hospital for five days.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Buick Lucerne. While the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000. The VIN was not available.
When driving and accelerating, vehicle looses power. This is dangerous. This is an intermittent problem and no check engine light comes on. The speed does not play a part in this problem nor does the amount of gas in the fuel tank. The vehicle will loss power and have a big jerk and bang when accelerating out of a parked position. I have had the vehicle stall when turning onto a street and start back up. This morning in pulling out onto a busy street in my neighborhood,the car lost power, but regained power before I got hit. This is dangerous. I went to the dealership where I purchased and was told if there is no check engine light then no codes will be set to find the problem. So what do I do with this car? I know I have passed the lemon law. I have no warranty left. But my main concern is safety, not only myself but for others. …
Tl*- the contact stated that the 2006 Buick Lucerne would not accelerate after coming to a stop and trying to go forward. The vehicle didn't stall, but when putting the foot on the accelerator the vehicle would not move. This happened intermittently. The contact took the vehicle to the dealership, and they found nothing wrong with the vehicle. They informed the contact that the check engine light didn't come on ,and they could not duplicate the problem. The contact stated that his vehicle only had a current odometer reading of 9,500 miles, and felt that this was a safety issue. During his second trip to the dealership they installed a vehicle event data recorder, and he has brought the vehicle to dealer on four other occasions, and has caught four snap shots with the data recording system. …
Tl* - the contact called regardingthe 2006 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that the vehicle shifted to the right. Before he purchased the vehicle, he took the vehicle for a test drive and noticed the vehicle pulled to the right. The dealer advised him that they would align the vehicle before he took delivery. When he picked up the vehicle he noticed the vehicle still pulling to the right. The failure mileage was 30 MPH. When the cruise control was on the vehicle it pulled to the right. There were no warning indicators. When the vehicle was driven around a curve the steering wheel came back to the center, but it still drifted 3 degrees to the right. The contact stated that he must keep pressure on the steering wheel in order to keep the vehicle straight. The contact stated the dealer has done 3 front wheel alignments and balanced the tires. This has not corrected the steering problem. …
On 4 separate occasions my '06 Buick Lucerne (3.8 l)went into uncontrolable excelleration. On long road trips, with the cruise control engaged and doing approximately 70 MPH, when I excelleratedhard, instead of returning to the cruise speed it seemed to lock into a passing gear. Braking didn't stop it, putting it into did not slow the engine revs., however turning off the key and restarting after coasting a little while worked once or twice to stop the revs.. The other times I hit the brakes really hard and it disengaged the cruise and excelleration problem. Fortunately there was no accident or damage, since I had room on the highway to do this. The Buick dealer where I bought the car said they never heard of this before and could not duplicate when they tried. There was approximately 60,000 miles on the car when the last incident ocurred. …
Tl*- the contact stated that the 2006 Buick Lucerne would not move forward after the vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact waited approximately 25 seconds before he was able to proceed. He had to push the accelerator a couple of times before the vehicle accelerated. Also, the vehicle would accelerate by itself without warning. The contact stated there was no particular time of the day, and the road conditions have been clear during every occurrence. The contact spoke with dealership, and they installed a data processor, the contact was advised to push data processor button when problems occurred. The vehicle has now started to give false warnings. The vehicle traction control indicator illuminated when the vehicle was not moving. Also, received a service brake assistance warning when the vehicle was not moving. The vehicle currently had 12000 miles. The failure mileage was 7500.
Acceleration complaints in other Lucerne years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2006 Buick Lucerne?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2006 Buick Lucerne, 6% of the model year's 330 complaints. The component named most often is cruise control (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Buick Lucerne acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2006 Buick Lucerne, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Buick Lucerne acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 23,000 miles, and 53% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.