MODELYEARINDEX

Which Buick Encore years to avoid

Across 8 scored model years, the 2015 model year carries the highest severity-weighted complaint rates.

Ownership label · Buick Encore Full report
D
Grade 2013–2020
2015 vs model median 1.5×
Model median3× median
Electrical 14
Brakes 13
Engine 12
Avoid

2015

Best

2014 · 2020

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2013
0.87× 48 C
2014
0.35× 25 B
2015
1.47× 87 D
2016
0.96× 47 B
2017
1.41× 57 C
2018
1.04× 50 B
2019
1.30× 55 C
2020
0.33× 20 A
2022 P
0.16× 11 A

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2015 D 87 reports · median 24,400 mi

  1. Electrical 14

    While braking to stop for a traffic light on a busy 45 MPH speed limit road, the engine stopped running. I shifted into park to restart it. Entire electrical system was dead except power seats and door locks. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Brakes 13

    New buick 2015 encore 1. Appying brakes when backing out of garage creates a shrill squeal. 2. When slowing for the stop sign at the end of the street, applying brakes makes a moaning sound and slight vibration. 3. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Engine 12

    Driving along at approx. 55 MPH on a main hiway slowed to approx. 40 MPH to make a turn, when suddenly the engine stopped operating. Everything shut down, no steering, no brakes. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

7 crash · 1 fire · 6 injuries

2017 C 57 reports · median 18,000 mi

  1. Airbags & Restraints 13

    I had just leased this car, drove less than 2 miles from home when my brakes failed. I applied brakes to stop, but the car would not stop, it slowed to 14 MPH - kept moving until I slammed into truck approx 3-400' ahead… owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Engine 8

    Aprx 6am tuesday july 18, 2017, aprx 5:45 AM, with no key fob in my wife's or my possession and no one within 30 feet of the care parked in the garage, the 2017 buick encore started on its own. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Brakes 7

    The contact owns a 2017 buick encore. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle braked on its own and the stability track warning indicator illuminated. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

19 crash · 4 fire · 13 injuries

The best year for the Encore

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2020 is the best-scoring Encore model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 86.8 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

Yearvs medianReportsGrade
2020 0.33× 20 A
2014 0.35× 25 B
2018 1.04× 50 B

Recalls

13 campaigns on record.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
16V651000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2014–2017 3,640,162
20V668000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 2019, 2020 194,105
14V446000 SEATS 2013, 2014 124,007
14V488000 SEAT BELTS:FRONT 2013 48,114
17V437000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2014–2017 40,683
15V162000 EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS 2015 19,831
16V502000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION 2013 8,367
14V417000 EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL 2013, 2014 2,990
15V146000 STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM 2015 2,295
13V105000 STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR 2013 144
20V537000 SEATS:CRITICAL FASTENERS 2020 105
14V298000 AIR BAGS 2013 61

+ 1 further campaigns

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2015 were reported at a median of 24,400 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Buick Encore years should you avoid?
2015 carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates of any Buick Encore model year measured over an identical 60-month window.
What is the best year for the Buick Encore?
2020 is the best-scoring Buick Encore model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 86.8 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Buick Encore have?
13 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Buick Encore model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2015 Encore
Complaints in window
87
Severity-weighted
130
Model median (weighted)
88
vs model median
1.47×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
4
Open investigations
0
Score 53.2 D