The 2022 Buick Envision is an SUV built by GM for family travel. The automaker claims that the model is “designed to inspire every drive.” However, customers are sounding the alarm that their Envisions have a defective electrical system, malfunctioning engine, and acceleration-brake problems.
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Contents
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| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Engine | |
| Electrical System | |
| Power Train | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Seats | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Air Bags | |
| Equipment:electrical:infotainment | |
| Electrical System:adas:driver Monitoring:software |
There aren’t a lot of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) about the 2022 Buick Envision, but there are some owners who are frustrated. Engine, electrical systems, and airbags present the most common problems in complaints, but there are also some other issues.
Of course, it isn’t only the NHTSA that gets to hear about problems. A fair number of vehicle owners voice their frustrations on forums and platforms like Edmunds. Let’s take a look.
The electrical system is supposed to provide support for starting the vehicle, running the high-tech in-cabin equipment, and for keeping the lights running, but this system is clearly defective in some vehicles.
One NHTSA complaint from an Illinois owner describes how the 2022 Buick Envision started running on its own. It was parked in the garage while he was working in the yard with the vehicle fob in his pocket. He noticed that the SUV was running when he walked into the garage.
So, he “sat in the driver’s seat, put his seatbelt on, depressed the brake pedal, pushed the turn off button and the vehicle turned off.” He then tried unsuccessfully to start the vehicle with the fob alone. The idea was to determine whether the fob alone could start the vehicle, but it didn’t work.
He states, “the fob alone could not start the vehicle as the vehicle was designed to only start when he got in the driver seat, locked the driver’s door, put his seatbelt on, and pushed the start button while in possession of the fob.” He also attempted to start the vehicle with the fob several more times to determine whether the fob could start the vehicle, but he was not successful.
Buick also knows how bad this system is. Service Bulletin #21NA279 states that the starter might need to be replaced because of a serious rattling noise. This is a situation that should never occur, yet GM is okay with shipping out vehicles that don’t operate as they should. Without the ability to start the car, owners are dead in the water. It’s impossible to have any sort of “inspiring drive” if it won’t start in the first place.
The motor is having just as many issues, if not more, underneath the hood of the 2022 Buick Envision.
Another NHTSA complaint from an owner in Georgia states, “The issue is the AutoStop feature and the transmission. When driving, it appears that the gears are not shifting correctly; also, while driving, the RPM has reached a high level of 5 multiple times, which is now a cause for concern. My minor son and I were driving today, and an 18-wheeler started veering into our lane. When I sped up to move over to the next lane, the vehicle hesitated, the engine revved up, and the vehicle started moving slowly.”
Three months later, the same Georgia owner complained to the NHTSA again. The 6-month-old vehicle still had a delay when shifting the gears, resulting in a loss of power, and the infotainment screen had frozen after a software update. “Additionally, when the vehicle is turned off, there is a loud noise (knocking) coming from the front of the vehicle. Also, while driving there has been a burning smell.”
According to the complaint, General Motors couldn’t duplicate the issues, but eventually offered a settlement of repair costs. The owner was planning to submit a lemon law warranty claim.
Again, Buick isn’t naïve about what’s happening with the Envision. Service Bulletin #19NA104 talks about vapor and steam coming out of the front grille because of problems. There’s no way to spin this problem to look good. No one is going to believe that the Envision is the hot SUV to drive, so hot it is steaming. Instead, customers are wise enough to know that there’s a major problem occurring with the engine.
Some of the issues owners are complaining about include the airbags, brakes, no-hands liftgate, and very small air vents in the rear of the SUV.
An airbag-related complaint to the NHTSA from an owner in Kentucky states that the Service Safety Restraint System and airbag light come on and off multiple times every day. But neither Onstar nor the dealer can recreate the issue or find a code to stop it from happening. “It is very distracting when driving and warning bells are sounding” because “messages are popping up that take my eyes off the road.”
There are several complaints on the Edmunds website. A user talks about an acceleration-braking problem. “I’ve had (my) Buick Envision Essence (for) 8 days. I went on a 7.5-hour trip (and) when passing, the gas stuck. RPM was at 5 while pushing (the) brake. It still wouldn’t slow down. I needed to push neutral and again while coming back from my trip, it is winter. Thank God there wasn’t ice cause I’m sure I’d be in a huge accident.”
Other Edmunds comments have relatively minor complaints. For instance, one user states that the Envision no longer has air con controls for passengers traveling in the rear seat. Also, “the air vents back there are small and the output is not very strong.”
Another critical comment brings up several issues:
All these issues add to the general frustration of 2022 Buick Envision owners.
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| Category | Engine |
| Date | Mar 19, 2023 |
| State | NY |
| Description | On 10/12/22 I was stopped at a red light. I was the first person in line at the red light, right at the entrance to the nys thruway. When the light turned green, my car locked up and I was unable to proceed. People were honking at me but the car would not go out of park. Some road construction workers ran over to the car to see if they could push it out of traffic. I kept trying to turn it off and restart it. Finally, after many attempts it finally went into drive. The light was now red again, but the construction workers, held up oncoming traffic and told me to just go. I was on the same road as the the dealership where I leased it, so I called them, told them what happened and that I was on my way there. I had also received a message from buick at the same time, saying it detected an engine/transmission problem with my car. The dealership told me not to bring it in, but I took it there anyway. I had lost my husband a month earlier, so I had no one to call at home to come get me. They kept it for a week, and said they couldn't find anything wrong, so had me pick the car up. They also said that someone had been driving it everyday, checking it, but you can see from the incident report, that they drove it a total of 3 miles. Also, on the report that they put that I had said the check engine light was on. That is not true. I never told them that. |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Mar 19, 2023 |
| State | NY |
| Description | This is my 2nd complaint regarding this car. On, 11/5/22, I was making a left hand turn on a highway, and heard a humming sound, that was elevating like the sound of an airplane. At first I thought it was coming from the music that was playing. I turned it down and the noise was still there. The screen then went black and had red writing on it. I have to have one set of gasses to drive and another pair to see up close. My gps talks thru the screen and started talking, because I was turning, and I was unable to change glasses quickly enough to see what it said. I did report it to one of the owners of the dealership at the time, but received no answer back. When I went to have the oil changed recently and have the heated seat modules installed, I asked them to pull up the codes, to see if it would show what happened. The service guy told me that when that happened it was because the car had lost communication with the computer. He gave me a copy of the codes list, but I'm not sure if it is a complete list or not |
| Category | Engine, Power Train |
| Date | Feb 06, 2023 |
| State | GA |
| Description | New buick envision 2022 has ongoing engine and powertrain issues. Vehicle has been returned to the dealer service department for squeaking sounds coming from the engine when manually turning car off, coolant smell coming from engine and loud whistling sound when accelerating in speed. Symptoms occur when engine is warmed up and driven for a period of time. Since purchasing the vehicle on october 15, 2022, it has been in service for approximately 72 days - with stated repairs, per the dealer - turbo hose replacement followed by the replacement of the turbo. Picked car up on february 1, 2023 after being in service for 54 days - took the vehicle 90 miles out of town and the engine squeaking/squealing sounds are just as prevalent and consistent, and can still smell coolant. The vehicle engine issues are a safety issue. No consumer should have to endure the immeasureable stress and inconvenience of buying a brand new vehicle with these maintenance issues, let alone any issues at all. The car now has approximately 2700 milles on it. |
| Category | Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Seats |
| Date | Dec 15, 2022 |
| State | OH |
| Description | Purchase the vehicle new with fifteen miles in june 2022, 11/3/2022 service instrument cluster failure happened during a vehicle software update in november 2022. 11/7/2022 took the vehicle to a gm dealer they performed a software update that was to correct the problem. However, a day later the service instrument cluster light came on. Parts for this are on back order. 8/04/2022 when driving, the gears are not shifting correctly; also, while driving, the rpm jump up, when I speed up to move over to the next lane or pass, the vehicle hesitated, the engine would accelerate, up, and the vehicle started moving slowly. I also notice in this new vehicle that when I turn off the car, there is a loud noise like knocking coming from the front of the vehicle that lasts for a few minutes after the car is off. When program the memory seat seems to mix up drivers 1 and 2 must reprogram several times and it still doing the same thing. When I pruchased the car I was told the chip would be in between september and october and would be considered a recall having them put in. Now it indefinite with no time frame of when the chip will be available. The purchased price and paid for this car included heated seats front and back. Paid for items not equipped on the car. |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Dec 09, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | Purchased 2022 buick envision on october 15, 2022, currently has estimated 2400 miles. One month after purchase at 2200 miles, november 16th, a squeaking noise started coming from engine when you turn the vehicle off. Additionally, engine makes a whistling sound when accelerating/ changing gears. Took vehicle into service station, showed service tech the recorded incidents on video, it was indicated it was the turbo hose causing the engine noise. Buick morrow, ga service station kept vehicle for two weeks - indicating time needed to order hose/replace the turbo hose. Picked vehicle back up on monday, december 5, 2022, the squeaking sound returned - recorded incidents. Vehicle engine continue to whistle when accelerating. I am scheduled to return my vehicle back to the buick morrow, ga service station today, december 9th to have the same reported issue looked at again.. Note: filed a complaint with corporate and have requested the issue be escalated due to my concerns with the vehicle safety. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Oct 25, 2022 |
| State | MA |
| Description | Car applied emergency braking when it should not have (and could have caused an accident)! Details: driving approx 20 mph in traffic on highway in houston. Approx 3-4 car lengths behind vehicle in front of me. There were cars to the left and right of us, .. They were staying within their lanes. For no apparent reason, the automatic braking system applied the brakes. The four of us in the car were jerked forward. Luckily the driver behind us was not tail-gating, or we would have been rear-ended. Note: this was a national rental car I had in houston this past weekend. Nonetheless, I want to report this as this apparent software and/or sensor bug seems like a major safety risk to me. I tried to find a way to report this to buick too, but they don't make it easy to find a way to report a safety complaint : ( |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Aug 23, 2022 |
| State | KY |
| Description | Service safety restraint system warning and airbag light comes on and off multiple times a day. Onstar and dealer state they cannot recreate issue or find a code. I have pictures of the warning. It is very distracting when driving and warning bells are sounding and messages are popping up that take my eyes off the road. This vehicle has ~2500 miles and began at ~2400 miles. |
| Category | Engine, Equipment:electrical:infotainment |
| Date | Jun 30, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | My vehicle still has a delay or hesitation with the shifting of gears while driving, causing a loss of power. At random times the vehicle has lost power while driving. Additionally, when the vehicle is turned off, there is a loud noise (knocking) coming from the front of the vehicle. Also, while driving there has been a burning smell. The vehicle is again scheduled for repair of the persistent issues that gm-certified specialists say the issues could not be duplicated. Recently the infotainment center blacked out after being the software updated. The screen produced issues with a variation of colors which disabled the use of the infotainment for several hours with the screen frozen. This is my second report of the same concerns with the same vehicle reported on 2/22/2022 as this vehicle is only six months young. The vehicle was inspected by gm's branding inspector in april of 2022. Gm informed me that they did not find any issues at that time, but offered a settlement of repairs of 50,000 rewards points unbeknownst to me. As of june, gm offered another settlement offer of repairs only. However, gm has stated there are no issues. A lemon law warranty claim will be submitted. |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Feb 22, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | What component or system failure or malfunction, and is it available for inspection upon request? Auto stop/start-possible transmission how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk?- the issue is the autostop feature and the transmission. When driving, it appears that the gears are not shifting correctly; also, while driving, the rpm has reached a high level of 5 multiple times, which is now a cause for concern. My minor son and I were driving today, and an 18 wheeler started veering into our lane. When I sped up to move over to the next lane, the vehicle hesitated, the engine revved up, and the vehicle started moving slowly. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The vehicle is en route to the dealership. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Not yet were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No  the issue is the autostop feature and the transmission. When driving, it appears that the gears are not shifting correctly; also, while driving, the rpm has reached a high level of 5 multiple times, which is now a cause for concern. My minor son and I were driving today, and an 18 wheeler started veering into our lane. When I sped up to move over to the next lane, the vehicle hesitated, the engine revved up, and the vehicle started moving slowly. |
| Category | Electrical System, Electrical System:adas:driver Monitoring:software |
| Date | Nov 05, 2021 |
| State | IL |
| Description | The contact owns a 2022 buick envision. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the garage while he was working in the yard with the vehicle fob in his pocket. The contact stated as he walked into the garage, he noticed that the vehicle was running on its own. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact sat in the driver's seat, put his seatbelt on, depressed the brake pedal, pushed the turn off button and the vehicle turned off. The contact stated that the fob alone could not start the vehicle as the vehicle was designed to only start when he got in the driver seat, locked the driver's door, put his seatbelt on, and pushed the start button while in possession of the fob. The contact also attempted to start the vehicle with the fob alone several times to determine whether the fob alone could start the vehicle, but he was not successful. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 1,415. |
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Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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Numerous times my driver and passenger windows rolled down on its own. One time that it happened, someone stole belongings out of my vehicle. I have a 2022 Buick Envision Avenir.
I had just finished washing and drying my 2022 Buick Envision, when I returned to the vehicle after cleaning up the front driver and passenger windows were down. I did have the fob in my hand, but my car is not equipped for this function.
I have a 2022 Buick envision preferred. So far the only issue is that the audio component keeps bliping out occasionally. It does not have navigation and I have to rely on Bluetooth with my phone. When I try to use navigation on my phone that is mirrored to the car, it keeps going off and I have to pull over and reprogram it. Dealer tells me it can’t be fixed. When I got the car, the salesman at the dealership told me navigation chip could be added after purchase for around $500.00. After purchase I was told by the maintenance depth that adding navigation is not possible. I contacted the CEO of General MOTORS VIA CERTIFIED LETTER who declined to respond in any way. All I can say is Goodbye GM.
I was vacuuming in my house with the key fob in my pocket. Wen I went to empty the dust bin into trash in garage, my car was running!. I went inside the car and shut it off and then called my dealer. He told me 1. I should not have the fob in my pocket and, 2. I somehow did a remote start. He said the car would shut itself off at about 10 minutes. This is a 2021 Buick Envision with 8,000 miles on it. Dealer indicated it was MY mistake having the key on my person.