2014 BUICK ENCORE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 59 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (14 complaints · 23.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2013 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 14 of 59 owner complaints (23.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 14 complaints, 23.7% of reports ENGINE 14 · 23.7% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 13.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 · 13.6% FUEL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 8.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 5 · 8.5% AIR BAGS: 4 complaints, 6.8% of reports AIR BAGS 4 · 6.8% · 2 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 4 complaints, 6.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 4 · 6.8% SERVICE BRAKES: 4 complaints, 6.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 6.8% LANE DEPARTURE: 3 complaints, 5.1% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 3 · 5.1% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 3.4% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 3.4% SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 3.4% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 3.4% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 13 complaints, 22.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 · 22.0% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 14 23.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 13.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 5 8.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 4 6.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 4 6.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 4 6.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 3 5.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 3.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 3.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 22.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 2014; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 2014. 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 2014 Oct 2025 Recall campaign 14V417000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V417000 Recall campaign 14V446000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V446000 Recall campaign 16V651000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V651000 Recall campaign 17V437000 ◆ Recall campaign 17V437000
  • Campaign 14V417000 was reported 48 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 17V437000 was reported 70 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 3
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 2
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 6
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 3
2023-Q1 Owner reports 3
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 3
2023-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 3
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 14V417000
Recall campaign 1 14V446000
Recall campaign 1 16V651000
Recall campaign 1 17V437000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V417000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    Exposed wires increase the risk of electrical shock and personal injury if the cord is handled while it is plugged in.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the engine oil pan/block heater cord with a new cord that is rated for temperatures of minus 40 degree Celsius. The recall began in August 2014. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14257.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V446000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A seat that does not stay secured increases the risk of occupant injury in a vehicle crash.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat hook bracket assembly weld and replace the lower seat track, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 15, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14340.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V651000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 17V437000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 59 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources