Buick Envision Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data
Comparing used Buick Envision options? We analyzed 10 model years (2017–2026) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
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Model-year trends show patterns — they can't tell you whether this car was crashed, flooded, or rolled back. A VIN check can.
- Accident & damage history
- Odometer rollback records
- Open recalls & title brands
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the Buick Envision has 212 owner complaints and 10 safety recalls across model years 2017–2026. The most reported issue area is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. 2017 drew the most complaints; 2025 drew the fewest.
- Make
- Buick
- Model
- Envision
- Model years analyzed
- 2017–2026 (10 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 212
- Safety recall campaigns
- 10
- Crash-related complaints
- 8
- Fire-related complaints
- 2
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2017 (81 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2025 (7 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- Reliability signal
- Poor
By model year
Buick Envision: which years to avoid & which to buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used — lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record — lower risk starting points.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA NCAP crash test ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
Source: nhtsa.gov/ratings
What the complaint data suggests
PoorThe BUICK ENVISION has 212 NHTSA complaints and 10 recalls on record. 8 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 212 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 10 federal recall campaigns
- 8 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
Problems by model year (best vs. worst)
Source: NHTSA public complaints database. Updated: Jul 2026
Safety recalls
NHTSA safety recalls
10 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE
AIR BAGS:SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING LAMP/LIGHT
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL
EQUIPMENT
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
STRUCTURE
Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2017–2026. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
Common problems
What goes wrong most often
The vehicle systems owners complain about most, ranked from all 212 NHTSA complaints — these are the areas to inspect first on a used car.
Owner complaints
NHTSA complaint reports
212 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Read 14 more owner reports
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.
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.
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.
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
UNKNOWN- when driving onto a rough road my front end will shake violently, even the steering wheel shakes. Sometimes it will go on for about 1 minute + or -
My vehicle only has 81824 miles on it and I am having head gasket issues. I have a coolant leak into my engine. It is barely 7 years old. This should NOT be an issue in a vehicle this age with this many miles. I have seen that this has become a known issue with the 2018 Buick Envision and it should be a recall. I have had to refill my coolant reservoir 3 times since my oil change. A compression test has been run on my coolant system and there are no other leaks. Thus it is the head gasket.
Multiple Electrical parts became faulty starting with 3 tire sensors, then the front passenger airbag sensor, immediately followed by both rear sensor control modules. Milage at onset was approx 85000. Brought to dealer for dx due to my vehicle applying breaks when it shouldn’t, when auto start/stop was still on, the vehicle powersteering would stop working intermittently when going from a stopped position in drive to accelerating. Dealership ran diagnostics and determined the air bag control module is faulty and requires replacement of the entire seat to replace the sensor, as well as both rear sensors need to be replaced . This vehicle has been in no accidents. I had a second opinion completed with the same diagnosis. Now today- my OnStar system began blinking red and forcefully called OnStar twice. I spent over a half hour on the phone while they tried to reset the system and the car wasn’t responding as they would expect it to. There is something VERY wrong with the electronics of this vehicle, I dont feel safe in it . Please advise
The Instrument Panel Cluster failed and is completely gone black. Due to the failure, there is no speedometer, or other safety notifications being delivered to the driver. The lack of knowing your current speed, the speed cruise control is set at, along with zero safety notifications is a huge safety issue for the driver and passengers, other vehicles on the road and pedestrians, etc. All of the alert features failed, including the forward collision warning, parking collision warning, lane keeping assistance, etc. The component was inspected by the GMC dealer's shop the vehicle was purchased through, along with another GMC certified shop. There were zero warning lamps, message or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. After reading numerous on-line Buick/GMC forums, it appears this same issue has been prolonged and on-going across multiple Buick years, makes and models.
Every time the car auto stops and turns back on the steering locks. So when the car starts you can’t turn the wheel. Also, while driving the car will lock and radio will shut off/ turn on. This happens like 1 to 2x a week. It is available for inspection. It could be very dangerous for me and others for needing to turning into places or even turning down the road. It hasn’t been confirmed or inspected, yet. There is only one warning lamp that flashes on for a split second, it’s no t/c. It just started flashing 3/26/23 not prior to incidents.
While driving my vehicle at 55mph on a country road, I went to brake, and then realized that I had no brakes. I had to coast to a near stop and put everything I had into pushing the little bit of brake pedal clearance left to the floor to come to a complete stop. I had NO warning signs or dash lights before this happened. Once I turned my car off and then back on, the service brake assist light came on, followed by the engine light. Had any cars been in front of me to stop, I surely would not have been able to stop with what little brakes I had left. My brake assist vacuum pump was removed, and inside there were many pieces of the part in there. This part is available for inspection. Again, had this happened in traffic or with anybody stopped in front of me, this would have had a completely different outcome. I had to have my vehicle towed 70 miles for repair. When the part was removed, there were no visible signs of any of the seals leaking.
On June 4, 2022 the radio bar showed a line in the middle of it and the volume of it would not increase. I could not hear anything. I tried everything even going into systems on the radio. Later that day it corrected itself and went back to normal. On June 18, 2022 the front passenger side window I put down approximately 1-1 1/4” and drove for maybe a half mile then decided to put it back up, it won’t move. I tried from both the drivers door control and passenger door, nothing. I looked in the manual and did what it stated to do, nothing, I got home turned off the car waited, turned the car back on and tried again, nothing. I called the dealership where I purchased the car and to my disappointment no service on Saturday. I have less than 35000 miles on this car no reason why I should be having issues.
My Buick Envision started to occasionally create notable vibration in the front and traveling into the steering column. I brought the car to a GMC Buick dealership in Amite, LA(4/13/21) it was there for 3 days. The problem couldn't be duplicated. Next the car was brought to Royal Buick, Baton Rouge, LA(10/26-11/6/21.Having trouble controlling the car on each occurs.
While we were merging onto the highway, the steering wheel locked! I was going 50 MPH and I couldn't move the steering wheel left or right. We almost got into an accident, but I pulled my hardest on the wheel and was able to pull over. I shut off the car and turned it back on and it was OK, but under the wrong circumstances, this could've ended up real bad. Are there similar complaints on this vehicle?
We bought our used buick envision essence in Feb 2021 from Scott Robinson Honda, Torrance, CA with 6,489 miles and 3 month warranty. The night we drove it off the lot the floor behind the driver's seat was wet and we thought it was from the prep (including shampooing the carpet) they said they had to do before we drove it off the lot at 9:00 p.m. The next day found that the matts in front were saturated in gasoline so threw them away. Since then whenever it rains floor becomes soaked each time. This causes windows to always be fogged up because of constant moisture in vehicle creating dangerous very poor visibilty and mildew we have to breath in causing breathing problems. We took the vehicle to our regular auto repair, Encinitas Foreign Auto who checked the moon roof, door windows, windshild and AC system and after hundreds of dollars still don't know where wet floors are coming from. Should not be happening with less than 7,000 miles on it. Buick is now feeling and smelling damp all the time and fogging up windows making it difficult to see. We feel the manufacturer needs to correct this defect on our vehicle as soon as possible. Thank you.
Showing 20 of 212 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Check the exact car
Before you buy, check the exact Buick Envision
These pages show model-year patterns across 10 years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
The basics
How to read this data
Complaints, recalls, investigations — here’s what each number actually tells you about a used Buick Envision, in plain English.
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Buick Envision has 212 complaints on record across 10 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Buick Envision has 10 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 8 of the Buick Envision's 212 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Buick Envision vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Buick Envision vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Buick Envision has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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By state
Check a Buick Envision by state
Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used Buick Envision.
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Keep researching before you buy
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Buick Envision reliability — frequently asked questions
Is the Buick Envision reliable?
Poor. The Buick Envision has 212 NHTSA owner complaints and 10 recall campaigns across model years. A commonly reported issue area is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Use year-level data as a pattern guide, then verify the exact car with a VIN check before purchase.
Which Buick Envision years to avoid?
Years with the most NHTSA complaints: 2017 (81 complaints), 2019 (23 complaints), 2021 (23 complaints). Use these years as a shortlist for deeper inspection, and always run a VIN check on the exact vehicle before purchase.
What are the most common Buick Envision problems?
Top reported issues: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (60 complaints); SERVICE BRAKES (46 complaints); ENGINE (33 complaints).
Does the Buick Envision have recalls?
Yes — 10 NHTSA recall campaigns have been issued for the Buick Envision. Check nhtsa.gov/recalls or run a VIN check to see if your specific vehicle has open recalls.