2017 Buick Encore
This year drew an ordinary 89 complaints for a Buick Encore — the model's median is 60. What they were about is the unusual part: 10.1% of them mention belt, against 3.3% across the model's other years.
Generation 1 of the Buick Encore, which began in 2013 and ran to 2019. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 89 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 60 |
| Involving a crash | 12 |
| Involving a fire | 4 |
| Recalls | 2 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 28 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- belt — 10.1% of this year's complaints, against 3.3% across the model's other years (3.1×). Owners wrote it as: belt, seat belt, seat belts, engage.
- worked — 7.9% of this year's complaints, against 2.5% across the model's other years (3.1×). Owners wrote it as: worked, locked.
- department — 6.7% of this year's complaints, against 1.6% across the model's other years (4.1×). Owners wrote it as: department, arrived.
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
THE CONTACT OWNS 2017 BUICK ENCORE. THE CONTACT STATED THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SEAT BELT AND REAR PASSENGER'S SIDE SEAT BELTS FAILED TO LOCK SECURELY INTO THE BUCKLE. THE SEAT BELT WAS CLEANED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNO…
WE HIT 2 DEERS AT 70 MPH IT DAMAGED THE WHOLE FRONT PART OF OUR CAR . NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE 4 WAY FLASHERS CAME ON THE SEATBELTS LOCKED UP YET NO AIRBAGS. ALSO THIS IS THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME THE 4 WAY FLASHERS WORKED. THE CAR HAS BEEN FIXED AND N…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 16V651000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V437000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
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 2017 Buick Encore? What happened to yours?
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