52 of the
670 complaints filed about the Buick Verano
are about the transmission —
8% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2014.
52
Complaints
8%
Share of all complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
Transmission & Drivetrain complaints by model year
While driving on the highway there was a random harsh jerk on my car, and I was immediately unable to maintain safe speeds driving nearly causing a serious crash. All of the service lights (Service Parking Assist, Service Power Steering, Service StabiliTrak, and Check Engine Light) should up on the dashboard. Trying to engage the vehicle into drive after parked had a harsh jerk shifting into gear and the accelerator was not working properly (going extremely slower than applied pressure). Mobile mechanic reader coded my vehicle with U0101 “Lost Communication with TCM”. After touching that TCM connection all of the service lights randomly turned back off, and the vehicle drove (temporarily) normal. No repairs were performed due to possible recall concerns.
NHTSA complaint #11727752 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
After consulting with a certified technician, I’ve learned this model uses the same 6-speed transmission (6T40) found in several GM vehicles, and that it’s widely known to fail prematurely—many as early as 100K–117K miles. There are dozens of similar consumer complaints filed with NHTSA and discussed online. These are not isolated incidents but part of a consistent pattern of early, costly failures.
NHTSA complaint #11677381 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle hesitating when attempting to accelerate. No power or minimal momentum when pressing on gas pedal. Transmission control module would randomly drop out and loose communication at the same time the body control module thought the vehicle was in park. It would lock and unlock the doors multiple times and the car would jerk uncontrollably. Extremely unsafe while mobile. Issue first occurred randomly summer of 2023 and has progressively gotten worse. Now it occurs at least once every 2 weeks.
NHTSA complaint #11660232 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Verano. The contact stated that after his daughter started the vehicle and attempted to shift into drive, the gear selector briefly failed to move into drive. Upon shifting into drive, the contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, she became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring an increased effort to maneuver the vehicle, prompting her to discontinue driving the vehicle. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the gear selector lever. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
NHTSA complaint #11655285 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have included here copies of correspondence between myself and General Motors relating to an issue with my 2014 Buick Verano. As stated in the emails, after some online research, I found that there was actually a class action lawsuit pending in the court with regard to the issue I was having. I did reach out to the attorneys office handling the class action suit and received an auto-reply that they received my message, but nothing further. What I find very disturbing is that in one google search, I found multiple articles and forums as well as two class action lawsuits that address the very issue of excessive oil consumption and General Motors has not done anything to address this issue with vehicle owners. At the very least, a TSB should have been issued to make owners aware of this issue so they could address it properly. There continues to be many posts by people still experiencing this problem which is unacceptable. The issue has caused unnecessary wear and tear on my car and many costly repairs. My car continues to have issues that may have been caused by the initial PVC problem.
NHTSA complaint #11647954 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
The contact owns a 2013 Buick Verano. The contact stated that while the vehicle was off on an inclined driveway, the vehicle rolled away. The contact had accidentally not shifted out of the drive gear position. The contact was able to jump back in the vehicle where he pressed the brake pedal and shifted into the park position. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was examined, but not diagnosed. The contact was advised that all Buick vehicles perform the same action while in drive on an incline. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
NHTSA complaint #11620121 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving 40 mph all dash electronics went off as going to turn into parking lot medium traffic steering very very hard to turn, made into lot pulled immediately into first open space engine stalled. Put into park attempted to restart, click-click-click like dead battery opened hood alternator belt ok. Walked into nearby restaurant for lunch ( could not close windows) came out (45minutes) car started rite up everything worked - decided to shoot for home (9 miles) steering still very hard to steer made wide turns to get onto road volt gauge read 12.4 & climbing- windows & all electrical began working as volt gauge hit over 12,8 steering came back to normal. Steering happened 1 other time we were during and within a 1/2 mile it came back.
NHTSA complaint #11575844 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Drove car into driveway to park. Shift remained in drive. Car would only go into neutral. I had to hold brake. Applied emergency brakes and put brakes behind wheels to keep it from rolling backwards. Another problem dealing with removing key from ignition.vehicle taken to dealer for repair. Diagnose as broken chain in brake line. However, brakes never failed. I purchased vehicle in 2018.
NHTSA complaint #11514697 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Car has had excessive oil consumption since start. Easily consuming 1-2 quarts of oil on monthly basis. Had timing chains replaced at 75000 miles. Car suddenly stopped without warning 1/16/23 and completely shut off while driving. Now, at 170000 miles the engine is blown, due to chains loosening, and valves getting bent and scattered.
NHTSA complaint #11504036 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Power steering an steering wheel locks, Once this happens the car becomes a safety hazard, first time it happened two children were in the car and seconds from an accident on the freeway. Exited the freeway and car steering wheel failed again this time stopped working completely putting my children’s life in danger.
NHTSA complaint #11491979 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car power steering locked and stopped working while driving on the freeway, this incident put at risk myself and my children safety. After exiting the freeway the steering wheel stopped working again. this is a known issue as the car steering power was not recalled but the issue was acknowledged but GM. The car is a safety hazard for the person who drive it and the public.
NHTSA complaint #11491982 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Verano. The stated that while he was pressing the shift knob to select drive, the vehicle failed to shift into the desired gear. The contact stated he pressed the shift knob several times and the vehicle shifted into drive(D). The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the shift knob needed to be replaced. On another occasion, the contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the steering wheel lock released and would not lock into place. The vehicle was also taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired; however, the dealer added a screw for the steering wheel to remain in place. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
NHTSA complaint #11485631 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2013 Buick Verano. The contact stated while driving at 25-30 MPH, the shift lock release button mounted on the gear shifter fractured and she was unable to shift into park (P). The contact drove to the nearest independent mechanic and maintained the brake pedal depressed in order to keep the vehicle idle. The contact stated that she was also able to shift into neutral. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the gear shifter needed to be replaced. The contact provided the contact with a tool to depress the remaining part of the shift lock release button in order to park the vehicle. Upon arriving to her residence, the contact utilized the tool to park the vehicle. The contact contacted a tow company to tow the vehicle to the dealer. The tow agent was able to pull the remaining part of the shift lock release button out. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
NHTSA complaint #11481816 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Verano. The contact stated when she attempted to shift the gear into reverse however the lever would not shift. Once the contact was able to shift the lever, it felt lose. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 101,820.
NHTSA complaint #11479748 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
All occurrences happened on city streets and all during the daytime. First time this occurred was on 6/15/2022 with 148,467 miles. It went to the dealer. Lots of low voltage and lots of comm codes stored in a lot of modules. All were cleared out. They could not replicate the problem. Then it occurred again on 7/23, 7/24 and 7/25. Then on 7/26/2022 (twice) with 151,261 miles and again at 151,264 miles. Then 08/01/2022 at 151,475 miles four to five times. And so it goes. The car suddenly lurches like it’s downshifting. If you were to keep driving the car, the transmission does not shift. The faster you go the higher the tachometer goes. When I took it to the dealer, I had to use the highway. Could not go above 60mph. The tach reading was too high. All four door locks start unlocking and locking and they keep doing this till you shut the car off. Vehicle chimes start going off. A “Service Power Steering” message appears on the center message board. A “Service Stabili Trak” message appears on the center message board. A “Service Parking Assist” message appears on the center message board. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp icon is on. The Brake System Warning light is on. After pulling to the side of the road and you put the car in reverse, there is no backup camera picture. After shutting the car off and then restarting it, all is well until it happens again. Since the first occurrence, I’ve also noticed when using the remote control FOB, the car starts then shuts off within three seconds. But it does not do this every time.
NHTSA complaint #11476893 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving home from work, my car, lost power a few times. Though, the maintenance malfunction light did come on, it was while the issue was occurring. I mention this because, in the car’s manual, it states that the light will come on BEFORE the malfunction takes place. I finally made it home, however, the car did continue to lose power while driving. The next morning I took the car to my mechanic, who experienced the same issues, then did a diagnostic test and found these results: P0011; CAM Position; RCTISATOR BNK 1; TIMING OVER ADVANCE. Today while reading over all of the complaints, it is evident that this is a SERIOUS ISSUE! This malfunction is extremely dangerous and can prove to be fatal, due to losing driving power/car cutting off while driving. I am surprised that this potentially fatal malfunction is not considered to be a recall. PLEASE DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND SET A RECALL 🙏🏽 I also saw someone’s post that stated, there was a Recall and Free replacement on cars with the letters PP within the VIN#, we’re NOT BE SOLD or Leased in the US due to a Federation Violation and Restricted code. Somehow, I was sold one of these UNSAFE and BANNED vehicles. How do those who fall into that same category rectify this problem? Thank You for your help.
NHTSA complaint #11435225 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Verano. The contact stated while shifting the gear shifter into park, the gear shifter button fractured and detached in her hand. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
NHTSA complaint #11418463 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ALMOST ALL MAKES AND MODELS OF MY VEHICLE YEAR ARE PART OF A RECALL FOR THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, BUT NOT MINES. TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WENT OUT IN MY VEHICLE AND ALL THOUGH ALLDATA SHOWS THAT ALL MAKES AND MODELS OF MY VEHICLE YEAR SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER RECALL, GMC BUICK IS TELLING ME MINES DOESNT QUALIFY! TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULES NEVER GO OUT!! NO MACHANIC I CAN FIND HAS SEEN ANY GO OUT OUTSIDE RECALL, ONLY MINES! I DO BELIEVE MY CAR SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. I WILL PAY GMC 2700 TO REPAIR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED AND THATS SO UNFAIR. I WILL CONTINUE TO REPORT AND COMPLAIN UNTIL JUSTICE IS DONE AND MY MONEY IS RETURNED TO ME. THERES NO GOOD REASON OR EXPLANATION GIVEN BY GMC AS TO WHY MY CAR SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE RECAL ALONG WITH ALL CARS OF ITS MAKE, MODEL, AND YEAR. PLEASE INVESTIGATE WHY IT ISNT!!
NHTSA complaint #11398935 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ON 10/6/2020, I WAS RIDING AS THE FRONT PASSENGER IN OUR 2013 BUICK VERANO. WE WERE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY (70 MPH) AND HIT A BUMP AT THE START OF A BRIDGE. A WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED, THE ENGINE RPM SUDDENLY INCREASED AS IF THE TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTED, THE CAR DECELERATED AND MY WIFE PULLED TO THE SHOULDER. WE STOPPED, CHECKED THE GEAR SHIFT AND IT WAS STILL IN DRIVE, THE WARNING LIGHT DISAPPEARED, AND EVERYTHING SEEMED NORMAL.
NHTSA complaint #11363526 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.