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What 59 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Buick Verano

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (59)Crash / fire / injury (2)Airbags (23)Electrical system (15)Engine (7)Transmission & drivetrain (7)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (4)Fuel system (4)Lights (4)Seats (4)Steering (4)Lane Departure (3)

4 of 59 complaints match · Seats · clear filters

Oct 15, 2022AirbagsSeats

Buick issued a Special Coverage Adjustment notice for the passenger prescence sensor Reference Number: N15202352 Letter was sent to all customers, I did not ever receive it. I recently started experiencing error messages with my airbags. Upon taking it to the dealer, the airbag sensor issue is related to the notice listed above. Because I never received the notice, I wasn't on alert for issues. I had to pay the full amount for the fix. My bigger concern is that with the airbag service error going off - if I had been in an accident, the airbag might not have deployed. This known issue should have been a recall and fixed in this car.

NHTSA ODI 11489395

May 18, 2022SeatsEngine

The contact owns a 2016 Buick Verano. The contact stated that the front driver’s side seat was no longer adjustable. The contact was unable to adjust the height in order to see over the steering wheel. Additionally, while operating the vehicle the check engine warning light remained illuminated; the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer was not contacted and notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,000.

NHTSA ODI 11465118

Mar 18, 2021AirbagsSeats

SERVICE AIR BAGS IN THE SEATS COME ON EVERY YEAR.

NHTSA ODI 11403685

Jan 23, 2018Electrical systemSeatsFire

WHILE CAR WAS UNATTENDED AT NIGHT AND PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY, A FIRE STARTED, APPARENTLY UNDER THE DRIVERS SEAT. THE FIRE BURNED THROUGH THE SEAT AND INTO THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR, STARTING AT THE BOTTOM AND CONTINUING UP TO THE WINDOW OPENING. THE DRIVERS DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN THE NEXT DAY AND ALL THE WINDOWS WERE COMPLETELY SMOKED OVER SO THE INTERIOR WAS NOT VISIBLE. WE ENTERED THE VEHICLE THROUGH THE PASSENGER DOOR AND DISCOVERED THE DAMAGE. THIS EVENT OCCURRED DURING THE NIGHT OF 12/6/17. AS OF 1/23/18 BUICK HAS NOT DETERMINED THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS NOT OFFERED A SETTLEMENT BUT HAS DETERMINED THE VEHICLE IS A COMPLETE LOSS. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS APPROXIMATELY 5,500 MILES.

NHTSA ODI 11064377

Working with the data? Download all 59 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 25, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Buick Verano verdict →