2013 Buick Verano Transmission and drivetrain Problems

“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.”

“The shift lever is on a console between the two front seats. Pushing the lever toward the driver changes the transmission mode from automatic to manual. There is nothing to prevent accidental pushes switching the transmission to manual mode at highway speed. My passenger, while adjusting her coat, has switched the car to manual mode while the car was at highway speed and I have seen her purse sometimes very close to the lever while she is doing things with the purse (the car is a compact--the shift lever is in close proximity to both front seats). …”

“The 2013 Buick Verano in question has 52k miles. At a stop light, when the gas was pushed to accelerate, the car check engine light lit and then suddenly shifted into reverse and would not come out. After trying to change the transmission setting several times, the driver turned the vehicle off, and restarted, the transmission worked at that point. The dealership indicated they have never seen this issue before. They recommended clearing codes for intake and exhaust cam solenoids by replacing them and updating software. These were done and we hope that takes care of the problem. …”

“The key has gotten stuck in the ignition several times. This prevents the car from moving and turning off completely. At one point the car began to roll as I was attempting to get out to get assistance. I was eventually able to go onto youtube and discovered the issue was consistent with the chevy malibu, so I used the same technique described in the youtube video to remove the key. The same issue occurred on the evening on february 21, 2019. The valet supervisor went to retrieve my car and was unable to remove the key out of the ignition and the car would not move into the park gear. …”

“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. …”