2016 Buick Encore problems
Owners have filed 122 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Buick Encore. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 36% of complaints. Next are fuel system (11%) and drivetrain & axles (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 122 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 36% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 35,000 miles 61 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 18 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 14 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 61 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 35,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 56,000 miles (21 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 18 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Buick Encore with enough data (71 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was sitting at a red light on a city street when a car going over 60 MPH hit the car behind me that was waiting for the same light, with such force it took out my drivers side rear end and was then pushed onto the medium and into oncoming traffic. The 2nd impact to my vehicle was the speeding car who then hit me and embedded itself into my rear end. At this time was the 3rd impact when I was pushed into the car in front of me waiting for the same light.
The vehicle was driving down a city street at approximately 35 - 40 MPH. There was a glancing side impact to the drivers door, and all airbag curtains deployed. Causing bruising, burns, sprain, and a concussion. The impact to the vehicle was minimal. The airbag module had been flashed already. The new modules are on back-order and may be several months/indefinite before it can be repaired.
Tamara recall: the frontal airbags and seatbelt pretensioners failed to deploy during a crash to both the front and rear of my vehicle. All side airbags deployed during the crash. I was stopped behind a vehicle at a red light when a drunken driver slammed into my 2016 buick encore. My vehicle was propelled forward into the car in front of me. The shoulder harness of my seatbelt did not lock to restrain me and my frontal airbags did not deploy. My car had no open recalls on it.
I had my backseats laid down to have more room when moving. After two weeks, I tried pulling the seats back into seated position. The double seat will not lift. The middle seatbelt has locked, not allowing it to lift more than about ten inches. No matter how much I try pulling the belt tight to disengage the lock, it will not give.
Multiple lights came on at once and needed an intake manifold, pvc tube, valve cover, all which were repaired and the car continues to jerk forward intermittently on acceleration and deceleration.