2017 Buick ENCORE - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2017 Buick Encore SUV FWD has an impressive overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. It received the highest ratings in various crash tests including front crash, side crash, and side pole crash. Additionally, it comes equipped with electronic stability control as a standard feature, which can help prevent accidents by automatically applying brakes to individual wheels when needed to help the driver maintain control.

In terms of advanced safety features, the Buick Encore offers forward collision warning and lane departure warning as optional features. These technologies provide additional layers of protection by alerting the driver to potential collisions and unintentional lane departures.

Despite its high safety ratings and advanced safety features, it's worth noting that the 2017 Buick Encore has received 50 complaints and has been subject to 2 recalls. While these numbers may raise some concerns, it's essential for Buick to address these issues promptly to ensure the continued safety of the vehicle and its occupants.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

50

Recall Count

2

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

5/5

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Safety Features

2017 Buick Encore SUV FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2017 Buick Encore SUV FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

Optional
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

Optional

2017 Buick Encore SUV FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2017 Buick Encore SUV FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2013 Score 2017 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2013 Score 2017 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear 5 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating 5 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2013 Score 2017 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating 5 5 5

Complaints for the 2017 Buick ENCORE

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"there is a known defect with the gm ecotec engines, specifically the lack of retaining clip for the internal pcv valve, allowing it to become dislodged and drawn into the engine. without the pcv valve, tremendous engine pressure is produced, leading to broken gaskets causing vacuum leaks, misfiring, severe vibration, and loss of power when accelerating (which can be a safety issue). dorman produced a video outlining the issue and has re-engineered the part to prevent the issue from occurring: "why gm 1.4l ecotec engine intake manifold and valve covers repairs are often related" [xxx] this appears to be a fairly wide-spread issue with the gm ecotec engines, and gm should perform a recall to replace these parts, and reimburse those who had to replace themselves. this also causes error codes requiring spark plugs to be replaced (they get fouled by oil) and the maf sensor. in troubleshooting, i also had to replace the distributor power bar and air intake hose. i have recipts for all parts, but file upload is not working on this site. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-04-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2017 buick encore. the contact stated while driving 45-50 mph, the vehicle started overheating and the high engine temperature warning light illuminated. the contact was able to pull over and waited for the vehicle to cool down. once the vehicle cooled down, the contact was able to operate the vehicle normally. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced again. the vehicle was not repaired because the warranty had expired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 80,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-08-06
Complaint:
"the contact owned a 2017 buick encore. the contact stated that the vehicle was at a standstill in a traffic light, she saw smoke exiting from the hood of the vehicle. the contact stated no warning light was illuminated. the contact stated a bystander informed the vehicle was on fire. the contact was able to exit the vehicle safely before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. the contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. the fire department was able to extinguish the fire. a police report was filed. the insurance company deemed the vehicle was a total loss. the vehicle was towed to a towing lot. the vehicle was not diagnosed. a dealer was not contacted. the manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 47,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-11-06
Complaint:
"bought a 2017 buick encore november 2020 less than 6 months into owning the car check engine light came on. purge solenoid as well as the camshaft and 1 other component had a leak brought it to dealership and it was covered under warranty for repairs. fast forward about a year and a half there is another leak will be bringing back to dealership and paying out of pocket for leaks because of a rough idle, poor fuel economy, and another check engine light problem. have also read articles about this particular cars not fairing well in the temperatures changes during the seasonal changes. yet there is no recalls and no mention of buick or gmc being held responsible for this recurring problem."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-04-11
Complaint:
"vehicle check engine light (illuminated amber picture of an engine) came on. vehicle started running rough. difficulty keeping the vehicle running at idle. engine running rough/poor acceleration. drove vehicle to local service center and left for diagnosis and repair. service center scanned computer for codes. found the p.c.v. vacuum control in the valve cover had torn its diaphragm and the engine was running with 19" of vacuum in it, where it is normally at 2"- 3" of vacuum. service center obtained and installed new dealer valve cover assembly with p.c.v. control valve and gasket. service center said they have repaired three-four of these in past few weeks. service center said recall may be forthcoming. have documentation."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2022-09-10
Complaint:
"started stalling at idle, then just shuttered and stalled while moving, 28882.moles. had crank, air would run but would not restart. dealer had it for a week and told me was battery. weird because it had crank but wouldnt start. had it back and immediately notice did not accelerate right, very hesitant and at idle nearly stalled, felt like was "missing". a few days later it stalled twice while at a stop light on busy street right in front of dealership! it stalled again 2 days later so back to dealership. no codes of course. they said drove it for miles and couldn't duplicate. they actually drove it for 9 miles! gave me loaner and will keep it over weekend. afraid someone is gonna run into back at a light when it stalls. something is wrong and noone can figure it out."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2019-02-08
Complaint:
"my 2017 encore burst into flames. i arrived to work after lunch, i parked and turned off the ignition and i see smoke coming from under the hood of my car. i paused just a moment to see if it was going to stop but it got worse very fast. i grabbed my purse and jumped out of the car as the front end closest to the windshield was becoming engulfed in flames. i immediately called 911 but by the time the fire department arrived, it was too late to save the car."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2020-03-04
Complaint:
"this vehicle had less than 8,000 miles on it and had only been serviced one time by the dealer (oil change in may 2018) the engine caught on fire and consumed the entire front end of the vehicle. the driver was in the drive through lane of a kfc restaurant when the car caught on fire. 03 my 89 year old mother-in-law was dragged from the car to safety by 2 bystanders but could have very easily been killed. have there been engine fire issues with this vehicle? a car with low miles that was serviced by the dealer should not spontaneously erupt into a fireball."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2021-06-03

Recalls for the 2017 Buick ENCORE

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd, 3500 hd, tahoe, suburban, gmc sierra 2500 hd and 3500 hd, gmc yukon, gmc yukon xl, cadillac escalade and cadillac escalade esv vehicles and 2014-2017 chevrolet corvette, silverado 1500, trax, caprice police pursuit vehicle, gmc sierra 1500, buick encore, and 2014-2016 buick lacrosse, chevrolet spark ev and ss vehicles. in the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (sdm) software to activate a diagnostic test. during this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash."
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.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL
Date of incident: 2016-09-08
Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 buick lacrosse and chevrolet spark ev, caprice ppv and ss vehicles, 2014-2017 buick encore and chevrolet corvette, silverado 1500 and gmc sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 cadillac escalade and escalade esv, chevrolet tahoe, trax, suburban and silverado 2500 and 3500 and gmc yukon and yukon xl vehicles, and 2015-2017 gmc sierra hd 2500 and 3500 vehicles. while being previously remedied for recall 16v-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (sdm) software to activate a diagnostic test. during this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash."
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.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL
Date of incident: 2017-07-10

BUICK Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

BUICK ranks 20 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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