diff --git a/visionipc/visionbuf_ion.cc b/visionipc/visionbuf_ion.cc
index ef3baaa6b3661a..92b72b04dce96e 100644
--- a/visionipc/visionbuf_ion.cc
+++ b/visionipc/visionbuf_ion.cc
@@ -138,6 +138,5 @@ void VisionBuf::free() {
   close(this->fd);
 
   struct ion_handle_data handle_data = {.handle = this->handle};
-  int ret = ioctl(ion_fd, ION_IOC_FREE, &handle_data);
-  assert(ret == 0);
+  ioctl(ion_fd, ION_IOC_FREE, &handle_data);
 }