Last updated: 2026-10-10
Buick Enclave vs Hyundai Palisade: Reliability Compared

Buick Enclave

Hyundai Palisade
Reliability favors the Buick Enclave over the Hyundai Palisade by a wide margin. Owners filed far fewer complaints per vehicle sold. The Palisade also carries many more recalls, plus widespread brake, seat belt, windshield, and rear shock reports.
How Do the Buick Enclave and Hyundai Palisade Generations Compare?
Verdict
The Buick Enclave is more reliable than the Hyundai Palisade, scoring 76/100 vs 65/100.
Reliability favors the Buick Enclave by a large margin. The Palisade still holds a good standing, but owners filed 31.7 complaints per 10,000 sold, against 2.6 for the Enclave. Federal recall records also show 33 Palisade recalls across seven model years, versus 10 for the Enclave across nine. The Palisade's trouble is broad: brakes, seat belts, windshields, rear shocks, and the instrument cluster all draw many reports. The Enclave's complaints are fewer and more scattered, so it is the safer bet for most used buyers.
Key Differences
- 1Buick Enclave has 29.1 fewer complaints per 10k sold
- 2Buick Enclave has 23 fewer total recalls
- 3Buick Enclave scores 11 points higher in reliability
Category Scoreboard
Buick Enclave vs Hyundai Palisade: Which Is More Reliable?
| Metric | Buick Enclave | Hyundai Palisade |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability Score | 76/100 | 65/100 |
| Years Tracked | 9 | 7 |
| Total Recalls | 10 | 33 |
| Complaints per 10k Sold | 2.6 | 31.7 |
| Year Wins | 7 | 0 |
What Are the Common Problems With the Buick Enclave and Hyundai Palisade?
Brakes are the biggest Palisade complaint, with 317 reports of ABS pulsing over bumps and the car rolling on at low speed, 15 of them crash-linked. Seat belt buckles that unlatch while driving, windshields that crack within the first few thousand miles, and rear self-leveling shocks that fail again and again follow. Seat belts and suspension carry crash-linked Palisade reports, and the Enclave's main areas show none there. Enclave owners mostly report a power liftgate that opens by itself, hard shifts and transmissions that lock up, early brake grinding, and a broken exhaust pipe bracket. Its transmission complaints include three crash-linked reports.
| Component | Buick Enclave | Hyundai Palisade |
|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | 0.4Very Low | 5.3Average |
| SEAT BELTS | 0.1Very Low | 3.9Average |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | —None | 3.7Average |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 0.4Very Low | 2.1Low |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 0.3Very Low | 2.2Low |
| SUSPENSION | —None | 2.3Low |
| POWER TRAIN | 0.4Very Low | 1.6Low |
| ENGINE | 0.3Very Low | 1.4Low |
| STEERING | 0.1Very Low | 0.9Very Low |
| STRUCTURE | —None | 1Very Low |
| VISIBILITY | —None | 0.7Very Low |
| TRAILER HITCHES | —None | 0.4Very Low |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | —None | 0.2Very Low |
| AIR BAGS | —None | 0.2Very Low |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | —None | —None |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | —None | —None |
| FUEL SYSTEM | —None | —None |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | —None | —None |
| SEATS | —None | —None |
| LANE DEPARTURE | —None | —None |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION | —None | —None |
Complaints per 10,000 units sold, aggregated across all tracked model years from NHTSA owner reports.
How Does Buick Enclave vs Hyundai Palisade Reliability Compare by Year?
| Year | Buick Enclave | Hyundai Palisade | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 81/1000R / 0C | 72/1002R / 23C | Buick Enclave |
| 2025 | 77/1000R / 31C | 70/1003R / 139C | Buick Enclave |
| 2024 | 77/1000R / 7C | 63/1005R / 304C | Buick Enclave |
| 2023 | 79/1000R / 17C | 62/1005R / 326C | Buick Enclave |
| 2022 | 76/1001R / 12C | 65/1005R / 241C | Buick Enclave |
| 2021 | 75/1002R / 21C | 61/1006R / 354C | Buick Enclave |
| 2020 | 68/1006R / 48C | 59/1007R / 521C | Buick Enclave |
Best years to cross-shop: The 2023 Buick Enclave scored 79/100 and the 2022 Hyundai Palisade scored 65/100 — the strongest shared model years that have been on the road for at least two years, where available.
Who Should Buy the Buick Enclave vs the Hyundai Palisade?
Buick Enclave vs Hyundai Palisade: Common Questions
- Is the Hyundai Palisade more reliable than the Buick Enclave?
- No. The Enclave leads by a large gap. Both hold a good standing, but Palisade owners filed 31.7 complaints per 10,000 sold, compared with 2.6 for the Enclave. The Palisade also has more recalls and a wider spread of problems, including brakes, seat belts, and windshields.
- Which has more recalls, the Palisade or the Enclave?
- The Palisade has more. Federal recall records show 33 recalls across its seven model years, while the Enclave has 10 across nine model years. That is more than three times as many for the Hyundai, even with fewer model years on the road.
- What are the most common Palisade problems?
- Brakes lead, with 317 complaints about the ABS pulsing over bumps and the car rolling on at low speed. Next come seat belt buckles that come unlatched while driving, windshields that crack within the first few thousand miles, and rear shocks that fail around 20,000 to 37,000 miles.
- What goes wrong most often on the Buick Enclave?
- Electrical complaints lead, mainly a power liftgate that opens on its own while parked or driving. Power train follows, with hard shifts, jerking at low speed, and transmissions locking in park or drive. Brake grinding early in the car's life and a cracked front exhaust pipe bracket also appear.
- Which model years should I avoid?
- Avoid the 2020 and 2021 Palisade and the 2019 and 2020 Enclave, which are the weakest years for each. The 2026 Enclave and 2025 and 2026 Palisade look strong, but they are recent and have had little time to collect complaints.
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Decided between Buick Enclave and Hyundai Palisade? Run a VIN check before you buy — uncover hidden accidents, title issues, and open recalls.
How we score the Buick Enclave and Hyundai Palisade
Scores weight complaint severity at 35%, repair costs at 30%, recall impact at 20%, and the spread of complaints across systems at 15%, with complaint counts adjusted for US sales. Read the full methodology.
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