2013 Buick Encore reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2013 Buick Encore has 52 complaints with NHTSA after 14 years, or 8 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Encore years here — over the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Ignition, Front, and Seats.

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (21 of 52), then Electrical system (8) and Powertrain (7). Those filings include 4 that report a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2014

The 2014 Encore has 60 complaints, 5 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Buick Encore. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (6)

Recall electrical system, ignition 2016-07-05 · NHTSA campaign 16V502000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.

Recall seat belts, front 2014-08-08 · NHTSA campaign 14V488000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Buick Encore vehicles manufactured August 23, 2012, to March 1, 2013, and model year 2013 Cadillac ATS vehicles manufactured April 23, 2012, to May 1, 2013. In the affected vehicles, the driver and passenger lap belt pretensioner cables may not lock in a retracted position, allowing the seat belts to extend when pulled upon.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front the driver's and the passenger's lap belt pretensioners, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. GM sent interim notifications on October 7, 2014 and will send a second notification when remedy parts are available. The recall began on November 20, 2014. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14171.

Recall Seats 2014-07-23 · NHTSA campaign 14V446000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Buick Encore and Cadillac ATS; 2014 Cadillac CTS, ELR, Chevrolet Caprice and SS vehicles; and 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Trucks. Due to an incomplete weld on the seat hook bracket assembly, the front seats in the affected vehicles may not stay secured in place during a high load condition such as a crash.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat hook bracket assembly weld and replace the lower seat track, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 15, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14340.

Recall equipment, electrical 2014-07-02 · NHTSA campaign 14V417000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Buick Encore all-wheel-drive vehicles manufactured August 23, 2012, to September 9, 2013; Verano vehicles manufactured August 8, 2012, to June 20, 2013; Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured August 7, 2012, to August 16, 2013, and 2012-2014 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles manufactured May 10, 2011, to August 16, 2012 equipped with a Calix oil pan/block heater. In cold temperatures, the insulation on the engine block heater cord can become damaged, allowing the wires to be exposed.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the engine oil pan/block heater cord with a new cord that is rated for temperatures of minus 40 degree Celsius. The recall began in August 2014. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14257.

Recall Air bags 2014-06-06 · NHTSA campaign 14V298000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Buick Encore vehicles manufactured April 10, 2013, to May 8, 2013, and Chevrolet Spark vehicles manufactured December 30, 2012, to March 1, 2013. In the affected vehicles, an improper weld on the passenger side front air bag inflator may result in the air bag not deploying.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger side front air bag, free of charge. The recall began on July 30, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick) or 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14211.

Recall steering, steering wheel 2013-03-28 · NHTSA campaign 13V105000

Summary General Motors is recalling certain model year 2013 Buick Encore vehicles manufactured between December 9, 2012 and December 28, 2012, and equipped with a heated steering wheel. The steering wheel fastener may not have been properly installed. This could cause the steering wheel to come loose or separate from the steering column.

Remedy General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and make any necessary repairs on the steering wheel. These services will be provided at no charge to the customer. The safety recall began on May 21, 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300. This is General Motors campaign number 13098.

Complaints by component (52 total)

Engine

Electrical system

Powertrain

Speed control

Air bags

Fuel and propulsion system

Seat belts

Tires

Engine and engine cooling

Seats

Service brakes

Equipment

Hydraulic brakes

Steering

Structure

Wheels

Show 8 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"My car had problems with overheating. I check my oil and coolant levels. My car show check engine light so I took it to mechanics to get check. The invoice states possible blown head gaskets. I research online similar…"
Engine · filed 2023-12-21
"The check engine light came and took the car to O'Reillys and was informed it had low turbo boost code took car to the dealership and they indeed confirmed that was the issue and that it would be over $3000.00 to fix!!!…"
Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2023-07-17
"The turbo charger is underboost and can explode the engine with oil flying everywhere"
Powertrain · filed 2021-08-26
"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."
Engine · filed 2019-09-26
"CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WAS DETERMINED CADILLAC CONVERTER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED ONLY HAS 89105 MILES ON IT"
Engine · filed 2019-07-16

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2013 Buick Encore SUV AWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars
2013 Buick Encore SUV FWD	4 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Encore	1.4L, 4-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	25	33	28 MPG	$2300
Encore all-wheel drive	1.4L, 4-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	23	29	25 MPG	$2600

Specs and fitment

First generation, 2013–2022

Body styles Crossover

Oil 5W-30 full synthetic (1.4L turbo and 1.4L NA) , 5 qt capacity

Tire size 215/55R18

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA campaign 15V-146 covers certain 2015 Buick Encore vehicles: the steering column housing may wear the power-steering circuit board and cause a sudden loss of electric power steering assist; dealers inspect and replace the column as needed. Campaign 16V-651 covers certain 2014-2017 Encore vehicles among a large multi-model GM population where SDM software may prevent frontal air bags or pretensioners from deploying; dealers reflash or replace the SDM. Campaign 18V-774 covers certain 2019 Encore vehicles left in SDM manufacturing mode so air bags may not deploy; dealers reprogram the SDM. Campaign 20V-668 covers certain 2019-2020 Encore vehicles (with many other GM models) for missing bolts on a start/stop transmission accumulator endcap that can leak fluid and progress to loss of propulsion or fire risk; dealers inspect and replace the accumulator if bolts are missing. Shared campaign unit counts cover multiple nameplates.

Compare

Next year 2014 Buick Encore See every Buick Encore model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Buick Encore reliable?

What are common problems with a 2013 Buick Encore?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (21 of 52), then Electrical system (8) and Powertrain (7). Those filings include 4 that report a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Is the 2013 Buick Encore more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2014 Encore has 60 complaints, 5 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Buick Encore been recalled?

The 2013 Buick Encore has 6 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Buick Encore?

Owners have filed 52 complaints about the 2013 Buick Encore with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Buick Encore get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Buick Encore is 26.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Buick Encore take?

5W-30 full synthetic for the 1.4L turbo and 1.4L naturally aspirated engines on the GK generation (2013-2022).

What tire size does the Buick Encore use?

215/55R18 is the common GK-generation size listed on this site.

What does NHTSA campaign 15V-146 cover on the Encore?

Certain 2015 Encore vehicles: the steering column housing may wear the power-steering circuit board and cause a sudden loss of electric power steering assist; dealers inspect and replace the column as needed.