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Buick · NHTSA safety record

2019 Buick Encore

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

84

Complaints

9

Crashes

1

Fires

9

Injuries

1

Deaths

Owners of the 2019 Buick Encore have filed 84 safety complaints with NHTSA between March 2019 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 32 of them (38%). The typical failure was reported at 32,000 miles, the median across the 30 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose by half year on year: 20 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 13 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

20V668000 · October 29, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
The risk
Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

General Motors LLC · up to 194,105 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS

18V774000 · November 1, 2018

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019 Buick Encore, Chevrolet Spark, Traverse, and Trax vehicles. The Sensing Diagnostic Module (SDM) on these vehicle may not have been turned off of "manufacturing mode," preventing the air bags from deploying in the event of a crash.
The risk
If the air bags do not deploy in the event of a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the SDM module to the correct mode, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18365.

General Motors LLC · up to 12 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 84.

ENGINE 32 38%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 12 14%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12 14%
AIR BAGS 11 13%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 12%
POWER TRAIN 9 11%
SERVICE BRAKES 7 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 8%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 5 6%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 6%
SUSPENSION 4 5%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 4%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 17.

2019 2025 2026
2019 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 death · 1 injured

I got my car from Buick of Long Island City I was giving the wrong key mess up battery the car will not start and I crashed

NHTSA complaint 11504755. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

3 injured · crash · towed · 135,000 miles

The contact owned a 2019 Buick Encore. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at 35 MPH, another vehicle failed to yield at a left turn, driving northbound, and crashed into the contact's vehicle on the front driver's side. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact's daughter and granddaughter were both injured and were later treated at the local hospital for soreness in various parts of their body. Both occupants sustained emotional trauma as a result of the accident. The other driver was also injured as a result of the accident and was transported to the hospital by ambulance; their injuries are unknown. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the

NHTSA complaint 11706615, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed · 110,000 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Buick Encore. The contact stated that while driving at 20-25 MPH, the vehicle was suddenly rear-ended when the other vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign. As a result, the vehicle spun around and hit the curb, and a stop sign where it came to a stop. The driver-side and passenger-side air bags did not deploy. After the impact, the contact received a notice on her phone that there was a problem with the air bag. The vehicle failed to restart after the crash. The contact went to the Urgent care clinic and was transported to the Hospital via ambulance. The contact suffered injuries to her neck. The contact's passenger was injured and waiting for a medical diagnosis. A

NHTSA complaint 11633125, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 12,700 miles

OCT 9TH - I WAS COMING HOME FROM WORK ON OCTOBER 9TH AFTER WORKING A 12-HOUR SHIFT. IT WAS DARK. I WAS GOING SOUTH ON HAPPY VALLEY. I PULLED UP TO A FOUR-WAY STOP ON HAPPY VALLEY AND VICTORY ROAD. I STARTED TO PULL INTO THE INTERSECTION. A GIRL TRAVELING EAST TO WEST DIDN'T STOP AT HER STOP SIGN. WHEN I GOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION, SHE HIT ME. THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 45 MPH COMING FROM HER DIRECTION, BUT I DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST SHE WAS TRAVELING. SHE HIT MY CAR AND IT SPUN MY CAR. I REMEMBER HITTING MY HEAD 2 TIMES ON THE SIDE WINDOW AND MY BODY TWICE AGAINST THE DOOR. MY AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. MY CAR FACED THE AIRPORT WHEN IT CAME TO A STOP AND WAS FACING WEST.

NHTSA complaint 11376707. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Loss of acceleration due to cracked turbo boost. I guess you need a special 2019 vin # to be included in a recall. Recall for 2017 2018 and a select few 2019 very disappointed with this big repair job that is a known problem. I'm done with Buick.

NHTSA complaint 11755596. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Turbo boost failed. shows recalls for this issue on 2018 and 2019 Buick Encores, but GMC states mine is not covered.

NHTSA complaint 11753564. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
92,000 miles my catalytic convertor went bad, had for 5 years. This resulted in lag when trying to accelerate and pull out in traffic. It cost $3,000 to fix as well as the turbocharger being broke. The blind spot detection to passenger side mirror stays on at all times and should only come on when there is an object detected in the right side blind area. I'm [XXX] old and have never ever has a catalytic convertor go bad. Buick should be responsible for these repairs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11751732. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

fire

On XXX, at approximately 1:00 p.m., my 2019 Buick Encore unexpectedly caught fire while I was operating it in [XXX]. Prior to the fire, I experienced abnormal symptoms, including the vehicle failing to restart, a hissing sound, smoke coming from the engine compartment, and then visible flames. The smoke changed from black to white and then green before the fire intensified. I safely exited the vehicle before the fire spread. The exact component that failed is unknown. Based on my observations, the fire appeared to originate from the engine compartment or underneath the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was declared a total loss. This incident placed my safety at serious risk because the

NHTSA complaint 11750846, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
FRONT RADIATOR COLLANT OVERFLOW EXPANION TANK W/CAP & SENSOR FLUID LEVEL GETS EXTREMELY LOW AND SETS OFF A DASHBOARD MESSAGE STATING ENGINE OVERHEATING - ONCE I FILL UP THE COLLANT THE LIGHT GOES OFF THIS CONTINUALLY OCCURS EVERY FEW WEEKS/MONTHS WHAT IS CAUSING THIS TO OCCURED? I HAD IT SERVICED AND A LEAK HAS NOT BEEN DETECTED 2019 BUICK ENCORE AWD

NHTSA complaint 11749910. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Car purchased new in Nov 2018. Within 3 years needed a turbocharger replacement. At this time this was covered under warranty. Recently had to undergo replacement for the turbocharger again. This time it was not covered under the warranty. In researching this problem I saw that in Feb of 2024, Buick extended the warranty on the Buick 2017-2018 Encores, due to a manufacturer defect in the turbocharger. This add'lwarranty covered the cost of the repair & was good for up to 120,000 miles. Since we purchased the car in 2018, the parts used to build it had to be the same as those used on 2018 Encores. Asking to see what we can do to see if this car, under these circumstances qualifies for the

NHTSA complaint 11748662, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Buick Encore

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2020 19 2 —
2018 74 0 —
2017 89 2 —
2016 79 2 —
2015 124 4 —
2014 60 4 —
2013 52 6 —

Other 2019 Buick models

Enclave 42 Regal 18

Every Buick on this site — 60 vehicles, 172 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst