2013 Buick Encore
This year drew an ordinary 52 complaints for a Buick Encore — the model's median is 74. What they were about is the unusual part: 17.3% of them mention two, against 5.9% across the model's other years.
First year of a new generation. The Buick Encore was redesigned for 2013. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 52 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 74 |
| Involving a crash | 4 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 4/5 |
| EPA combined | 26.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- two — 17.3% of this year's complaints, against 5.9% across the model's other years (2.9×).
- driving down — 7.7% of this year's complaints, against 2% across the model's other years (3.9×). Owners wrote it as: driving down, occasions.
- continental — 7.7% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the model's other years (3.3×). Owners wrote it as: continental, pro, size, pro contact.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG SENSOR DETECTS PASSENGER ABOUT 60% OF TIME, AT RANDOM OCCASIONS SETTING IN DRIVEWAY OR DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. THE 40% AIRBAG IS OFF AND OUT OF SERVICE. WE HAVE DEALT WITH GMC BUICK AND THEY HAVE RUN TEST AT DEALERSHIP COULD NOT COME UP A…
TURBO WENT OUT TWICE WITHIN 3 MONTHS. ALSO I WAITED FOR 6 WEEKS ON A BACK ORDERED PART. SO MUCH SERVICE WORK... PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM THIS CAR IS A LEMON. THE PAINT LITERALLY FELL OFF THE MIRRORS WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 16V502000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 14V298000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V417000 EQUIPMENT
- 14V446000 SEATS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V488000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 13V105000 STEERING
How this was worked out
Every year of the Buick Encore was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2013 Buick Encore? What happened to yours?
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