There are 6 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2006 Buick Rendezvousin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
CAR KEPT RUNNING HOT AND NO REMEDY WAS FOUND FOR IT. BATTERIES AND OTHER REPAIRS WERE DONE CONCERNING THE ELECTRICAL THINGS; BUT THE CAR RUNNING HOT WAS NEVER RESOLVED EVEN WITH REPLACING THE THERMOSTAT ETC. I COULD ONLY DRIVE ABOUT A BLOCK AND THE CHECK COOLING SYSTEM ERROR CAME ON AND THE CAR SPEED WOULD AUTOMATICALLY SLOW DOWN AND THE ENGINE WOULD AUTOMATICALLY CUT OFF IF YOU CONTINUED TO DRIVE IT WHILE HOT....SMOKE FROM THE HOOD ETC. WOULD HAPPEN. COULD FEEL INTENSE HEAT WHEN RAISED THE HOOD. IF THE CAR WAS STATIONARY....AFTER RUNNING FOR A WHILE IT WOULD STILL RUN HOT AND EVENTUALLY THE HOT LIGHT WOULD COME ON IN THE INSIDE WARNING PANEL. THE LAST MECHANIC TOOK IT APART AND NEVER PUT IT BACK TOGETHER, NEITHER FIXED THE CAR RUNNING HOT PROBLEM. THE UPLOADED FILES AND PICTURES WILL SHOW THE CONDITION MY CAR WAS LEFT IN AND THE AUTO PARTS TAKEN ALOOSE/APART AND NOT RECONNECTED.
I HAVE A 2006 BUICK RENDEZVOUS THAT I PAID $11,000. FOR HAVING IT FOR 2 YEARS NOW I HAVE TRANS PROBLEMS AT 93,000 MILES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. STARTED NOT SHIFTING INTO 4TH GEAR, HAD THE 3/4 SHIFT SENSOR REPLACED SAME THING, THEN HAD THE PRESSURE CONTROL SENSOR REPLACED SAME THING. LOOKED UP CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND SEE PAGE AFTER PAGE OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES RIGHT AT 92,000. APPARENTLY THIS IS AN ISSUE. NOW THE DEALER WANTS ANOTHER $5000. TO REPLACE IT. I HAVE A LEMON AND I WANT IT FIXED OR REPLACED. THAT'S $16,000 FOR A $9,000 CAR. REALLY COME ON GM STEP UP YOUR GAME. MY FAMILY DEPENDS ON THIS CAR AND WITHOUT IT WE COULD LOSE EVERYTHING. I AM DISABLED AND A VET OF THE US MARINE CORPS.
I PLUGGED MY CELL PHONE INTO THE CAR CHARGER IN THE FRONT CONSOLE. WHEN I RETURNED TO THE CAR AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES, IT WAS FILLED WITH SMOKE THAT WAS COMING OUT OF THE CAR CHARGER. I IMMEDIATELY UNPLUGGED THE CHARGER. I TRIED TO START THE CAR AND IT WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. AFTER EXAMINING THE FUSES, I NOTICED THAT THE ONE FOR THE CHARGER AS WELL AS THE ONE FOR THE INTERIOR LIGHTS WAS COMPLETELY MELTED. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS UNDER THE DASH WAS COMPLETELY MELTED - HAD I NOT GONE OUT WHEN I DID, THE CAR PROBABLY WOULD HAVE CAUGHT FIRE. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED - THERE SHOULD BE SAFETY FEATURES INT HE VEHICLE TO CUT THE POWER TO THE CHARGER IMMEDIATELY IF THERE IS A SHORT. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER LAST NIGHT. THEY ARE CLAIMING THIS IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY THOUGH THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM WITH THE RENDEZVOUS. BESIDES THIS - THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON TWICE, THE TRANSMISSION IS ABOUT TO GO, THE ALARM SYSTEM NEVER WORKED AS WELL AS THE REMOTE START. THEY SOLD ME A VEHICLE WITH KNOWN ISSUES AND DON'T WANT TO STAND BEHIND IT. I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER BUY A BUICK AGAIN. *TR
40,000 MILES TRANS WENT OUT. STARTING GRINDING INCIDENT @SAME TIME. *TR
THERE IS A NOISE FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WHEN THE TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTED FROM FORWARD TO REVERSE AND BACK. THERE IS A GROWL COMING FROM THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL WHEN THE DIFFERENTIAL IS WARMED UP AND A TURN IS MADE AT ANY SPEED. ACCORDING TO A MECHANIC, ALL THESE PROBLEMS ARE DUE TO DRIVE/POWER TRAIN LOOSENESS. WHILE THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN ACCIDENT YET, IT APPEARS THAT ONE IS LIKELY.
ON JUNE 12, 2006 I WAS LEAVING MY WORK PLACE WITH BOTH OF MY CHILDREN. I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF STRAPPING MY DAUGHTER'S SEAT BELT ON HER (AGE 5) WHEN MY 2 YEAR OLD SON JUMPED UP INTO THE DRIVER SEAT AND PULLED THE VEHICLE OUT OF PARK. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARDS, AS IT WAS PARKED ON A GRADUAL SLOPE. I WAS TRAPPED BEHIND THE LEFT SIDE PASSENGER DOOR UNTIL THE CAR MADE A SLIGHT TURN AND I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT FROM BEHIND THE DOOR. WITH THE DOOR STILL OPEN THE CAR THEN MADE A HARD RIGHT TURN AND THE PASSENGER DOOR OPENED WHERE MY DAUGHTER WAS SITTING CAUGHT THE TREE AND BOUNCED BACK FORWARD APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET WHERE IT CAME TO REST. I RAN DOWN TO THE CAR GOT MY SON OUT OF THE DRIVER SEAT AND PULLED THE KEYS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE IGNITION. THE MOTOR OF THE CAR WAS NOT RUNNING AT THE TIME EITHER. I PHONED THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT MORNING AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE SHIFT LEVER CAN BE PULLED OUT OF THE PARKED POSITION WITHOUT THE BRAKE BEING DEPRESSED, WHICH IT WAS NOT AS MY SON WAS STANDING IN THE FRONT SEAT THE ENTIRE TIME. THEY THEN CALLED GM AND I WAS TOLD TO CALL THE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER. I CALLED AND AFTER 2.5 WEEKS OF WAITING GM IS CLAIMING THAT THIS PARTICULAR CAR, 2006 BUICK RENDEZVOUS CAN BE PULLED OUT OF PARK IF THE KEY WAS IN THE ACCESSORY POSITION, WHICH I DO NOT BELIEVE IT WAS BECAUSE THE RADIO WOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYING WHICH IT WAS NOT. THEREFORE GM IS TAKING NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DAMAGES TO MY VEHICLE. *JB
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026