2019 Buick Encore

Typical pattern

5.5% of complaints about the 2019 Buick Encore came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2019 vehicle — around the middle of the 191 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 5.4 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine (32 complaints), typically at 6.6 yr or about 14,300 miles.

Complaints: 128
Median age at failure: 5.4 yr
Median mileage: 30,000 n=39
Crash / fire / tow: 18% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

20V668000 2020-10-29

Power train:automatic transmission

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.

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.

18V774000 2018-11-01

Air bags

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.

If the air bags do not deploy in the event of a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.

In owners’ own words

Engine 1,090 mi 6 mo in service crash / fire / tow

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 BUICK ENCORE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND STALLED TWICE WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE ENGINE START BUTTON MALFUNCTIONED AND THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TWICE TO PHILLIPS BUICK AND GMC (2160 US HIGHWAY 441, 27, FRUITLAND PARK, FL 34731, (352) 728-1212). THE DEALER WAS CURRENTLY DIAGNOSING THE VEHICLE AND STATED THAT THEY WOULD CALL THE CONTACT WITH THE RESULTS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,090.

Engine 14,300 mi 1.7 yr in service

TURBOCHARGER FAILURE AT 14300 MILES, CODE P0299. ENTERING INTERSTATE, ATTEMPTING TO REACH SPEEDS OF 60MPH, POWER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE POSTED INTERSTATE SPEED WHILE MERGING WITH FASTER TRAFFIC. *TR

Engine 34,000 mi 2.6 yr in service

MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE BEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVING ROUGHER. IT JOLTS FORWARD WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE FROM A FULL STOP, MORE THAN NORMAL.

Other Encore model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2019 Buick Encore

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Encore model years

How to read this