Buick
Buick Encore years to avoid
No year to avoid stands out. Best years: 2020.
No Buick Encore model year stands out. None from 2014 to 2020 draws 1.5 times the median of 8 complaints for each year on the road, and the highest is not clearly ahead of the next, so the individual car and its history matter more than the year.
- 124complaints
- 4recall campaigns
- 1model years with a page
Newest report Jul 29, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
Pick your model year
Owner complaints on file for each year.
Years to avoid
- No year stands out.
Best years
2020
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
Complaints for each year on the road
Each model year's NHTSA complaints divided by the calendar years it has been on sale, counting this one (a 2018 model has had 9). Older cars have had longer to collect complaints, so raw totals flatter the new ones. Blue bars are the years to avoid.
Within one model, sales change less from year to year than they do between models, so a jump here is mostly a jump in problems. The call: the years to avoid are the (up to three) highest at 1.5 times the model's median rate or more, and the best are the (up to three) lowest at two thirds of it or less, from 2016 on.
Guide How much should a years-to-avoid list decide? What these lists get wrong
At a glance
- Where the complaints sit
- The 2015 has the most complaints of any Buick Encore year here: 124 of 124 (100%).
- Problem across the years
- Power steering loss is the top problem in every model year with a page, 23 reports in all. Pooled across the years, half of the 15 owners who gave a mileage for power steering loss were under about 51,000 miles.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 8% of Buick Encore complaints report a crash, a fire or an injury, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
- Recalls on the top problem
- Every model year where owners report power steering loss also has a recall on the same system. A recall on the same system doesn't always cover the failure owners describe, so compare its summary with the complaints.
- When owners filed
- Filings peaked in 2019 at 17 (full calendar years only). In 2025 there were 4. So far in 2026, 4 more have come in. Filings on record start in 2015.
Photo: Mr.choppers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Model years with too few complaints for a page of their own: 2014 (56), 2016 (79), 2017 (89), 2018 (74), 2019 (86), 2020 (19).
Year by year
2015 Buick Encore
124 owner complaints, 10 for each year on the road (1.3 times the model median). Most reported: power steering loss (23 reports, median 51,000 miles), brake wear (21 reports, median 38,000 miles) and misfire (18 reports, median 43,000 miles). 6 reports involved a crash and 7 people were hurt. 4 recalls, including 15V-146 on the steering system and 17V-437 on the airbags.
Questions
What Buick Encore years should you avoid?
No Buick Encore model year stands out. None from 2014 to 2020 draws 1.5 times the median of 8 complaints for each year on the road, and the highest is not clearly ahead of the next, so the individual car and its history matter more than the year.
What are the best years for the Buick Encore?
The 2020 draws the fewest complaints for its age: 19, or 3 for each year on the road. Model years before 2016 aren't called best, because complaints filed before 2015 aren't in the files this site reads and their counts run short.
What is the most common problem on the Buick Encore?
Power steering loss, with 23 reports across the 1 model years that have a page here. It's the single most reported problem on the 2015.
How many recalls does the Buick Encore have?
4 recall campaigns cover the Buick Encore model years 2015 on this site.
How many Buick Encore complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
8% of them, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
Is there a recall for power steering loss on the Buick Encore?
Yes, on every model year where owners report it.