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What 10 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Buick Envision

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 (10)Crash / fire / injury (3)Airbags (3)Transmission & drivetrain (3)Brakes (2)Driver assistance (2)Electrical system (2)Equipment (1)Lane Departure (1)Seat belts (1)Speed control (1)Wheels (1)

Newest first · 10 complaints

Dec 11, 2024Transmission & drivetrain

I was driving and came to a stop at a light and all the sudden in my car just shut off. It took me a minute to try to turn it back on while cars behind me honking their horn. I’m assuming it has something to do with the electric due to the start stop button. I don’t have official incident report because I was able to get my car turned back on. I looked it up on the Internet and several people are having this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11630026

Aug 14, 2024Electrical systemLane DepartureDriver assistance

We have two problems what we would call safety issues. First, all the sound in the vehicle was lost which included safety belt warning alarm, turn signal bells, door open alarms, etc. We were told by the dealership that it was a faulty amplifier. Secondly, the sunroof opened by itself, and is locked in the open position which makes the vehicle undrivable due to weather conditions and makes it an easy target for theft. The vehicle was locked and parked in our driveway when we noticed the sunroof was open. We know this occurred on it's own as we had just washed the vehicle and locked the doors. The next day we found the sunroof open and the doors still locked. This is a computer software issue within the vehicle as these issues occurred within a matter of days of each other. The sunroof opening on its own is a safety issue as a unsecure car is a problem, opening during traveling in a storm is a real threat to driving conditions. During our investigations we have found other cases the same as ours.We have reached out to GMC and we were told no recalls have been issued and to file a complaint with NHTSA and our state Attorney General. Our vehicle has been sitting at the dealership since August 5th, waiting on back ordered parts with no anticipated delivery date for those parts. This is not a dealership issue but rather a manufacturer design defect. Buick has not taken any interest or responsibility for this issue as the vehicle was out of warranty recently. This 2020 vehicle only has 55,000 miles. I have a 60-mile roundtrip commute to my job at a local hospital and have been without a vehicle since July 28th. This issue is not due to any neglect on our part and the cost so far is over $3,000. Buick should be responsible for their design and poor engineering as this has the potential to cause an issue if this happens while the vehicle is moving. The safety bells are an added reminder to buckle up and if they are not working it is a safety issue for those in the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11608542

May 16, 2024AirbagsSeat belts

The contact owns a 2020 Buick Envision. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt failed to extend and was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed. The dealer informed the contact that the front driver's side seat belt ratchet was abnormally opened, causing the air bag module to fail. The dealer determined that the front driver's side seat belt assembly and the front driver's side air bag module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,910. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11589109

Feb 6, 2024Electrical system

Got in the vehicle to start the engine and the instrument cluster stop showing all readings of the gauges would not display the screen blacked out and none of the gauges were working. There were no warnings lamps or nothing out the ordinary the instrument cluster just went out. This is the first time it has ever done this.

NHTSA ODI 11570412

Oct 26, 2023AirbagsWheelsBrakes

The Air Bag, Parking Brake, Traction Control/StabiliTrak/Electonic Stability Control lights all came on while operating my vehicle. The lights did not go off, so I reported to the dealership. They determined it was an internal defect in the Inflatable Restraint Sensing and Diagnostic Module. This was not covered under warranty and appears to be a defect in the module. I believe this to be a serious safety concern and recommend a recall of this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11552084

Sep 7, 2023BrakesDriver assistanceTransmission & drivetrain1 injury

I put the car into park and I exited the vehicle because I forgot to push the stop button. So I reached accross the driver's seat and push the stop button. When I did this the car began to roll back as if it was in neutral. I did not touch the shift knob. It shifted into neutral on its on. The front down was open at the time. The car should not have moved if the front door was open. The car ended up rolling down a small hill and ran over me.

NHTSA ODI 11543086

Apr 13, 2022Speed controlCrash1 injury

The contact owns a 2020 Buick Envision. The contact stated when pulled into a recycling center, the vehicle unattended accelerated, and crashed into a cement wall. The failure occurred within seconds. The contact did not recall any warning lights on the instrument panel. The air bags did not deploy. There were minor injuries to the left-hand upper thumb. The contact also stated his head hit the steering wheel and the right side of the face was swollen, and below the right knee was bruised. There was a medical report from the Orthopedics clinic. There was no police report. The vehicle had damage to the front driver side quarter panel, the entire hood was lifted; however, the left front of the hood was higher up. The other damages were the bumper, lighting system, the front windshield cracked and shattered, and the rear windshield wiper was damaged due to the impact of the crash. The vehicle was drivable. The vehicle has not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,300.

NHTSA ODI 11460695

Nov 4, 2021AirbagsCrash1 injury

The contact owns a 2020 Buick Envision. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph when the contact was struck by a semi-trailer which resulted in the side air bag not deploying. A police report was taken the contact sustained broken ribs on the left side and sought medical treatment. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and then towed to an insurance lot. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. Consumer contacted the manufacturer and was told no evidence of the airbags not deploying properly.

NHTSA ODI 11439414

Sep 9, 2021Transmission & drivetrain

2020 BUICK ENVISION. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ISSUE WITH TRANSMISSION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE CAN BE POWERED OFF AND KEY REMOVED WITHOUT BEING SHIFTED INTO PARK. THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL INDEPENDENTLY, ALLOWING THE VEHICLE TO ROLL AWAY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED.

NHTSA ODI 11432311

Aug 29, 2020Equipment

THE SAFERCAR APP DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE VIN [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI 11351953

Working with the data? Download all 10 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 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 2020 Buick Envision verdict →