Reliable Auto DB

2015 Buick Encore reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2015 Buick Encore holds 124 complaints after 12 years, a rate of 11 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 10 Encore years on this site. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Frontal, Labels, and Electric power steering.

2013 Buick Encore
Photo by Mr.choppers, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
Complaints

124

Per year

11

Recalls

4

Years on the road

12

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (30 of 124), then Engine (29) and Steering (27). Those filings include 6 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 6 that report an injury.

Next to 2014 and 2016

The 2014 Encore has 60 complaints, 5 per year, and the 2016 has 79 complaints, 5 per year. The 2015 has more complaints per year than the 2014. The 2015 has more complaints per year than the 2016.

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 2015 Buick Encore. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (4)

Recall air bags, frontal 2017-07-10 · NHTSA campaign 17V437000
Summary 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.
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.
Recall air bags, frontal 2016-09-08 · NHTSA campaign 16V651000
Summary 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.
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.
Recall Labels 2015-03-20 · NHTSA campaign 15V162000
Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Buick Encore vehicles manufactured August 26, 2014, to February 9, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Trax vehicles manufactured October 13, 2014, to February 3, 2015. The affected vehicles have tire placards that do not provide the rim size information for the front or rear wheels. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less."
Remedy GM will notify owners, and will send owners a corrected label, free of charge. The recall April 29, 2015. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15166.
Recall Electric power steering 2015-03-13 · NHTSA campaign 15V146000
Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Buick Encore vehicles manufactured November 27, 2014, to February 24, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Trax vehicles manufactured November 18, 2014, to February 17, 2015. The steering column assembly housing may contact the power steering printed circuit board causing the circuit board to wear.
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the steering column assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 24, 2015. 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 15168.

Complaints by component (124 total)

Electrical system
30
Engine
29
Steering
27
Service brakes
20
Air bags
16
Powertrain
11
Fuel and propulsion system
7
Exterior lighting
5
Speed control
5
Structure
5
Suspension
5
Electronic stability control (ESC)
4
Seat belts
4
Engine and engine cooling
3
Visibility and wipers
3
Hydraulic brakes
1
Seats
1
Traction control
1
Visibility
1
Show 11 more Show less
Crash-flagged

6

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

6

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

920159201615201712201817201914202012202172022920231220244202542026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Weber road auto service replaced the engine using county PRC and out-of-pocket funds, and the newly installed used engine has an active engine oil cooler leak, creating an immediate vehicle fire and sudden engine…"
    Engine · filed 2026-07-29
  • "The turbo in my vehicle has a check engine light come on and than the engine does no act right. The repair shop that looked at car stated that the manufacture knows this is a known issue and they have not made a recall…"
    Powertrain, Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-06-26
  • "Transmission wouldn't shift out of 2nd gear and wouldnt shift into reverse. Has no power steering or power brakes"
    Steering, Powertrain, Service brakes · filed 2026-06-09
  • "The seatbelt systems light has come on in my 2015 Buick Encore."
    Air bags · filed 2026-05-11
  • "The contact owns a 2015 Buick Encore. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating. The contact became aware of oil underneath the vehicle on the driveway,…"
    Engine and engine cooling · filed 2025-09-15

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2015 Buick Encore SUV AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2015 Buick Encore SUV FWD 5 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 30 26 MPG $2500

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

Previous year 2014 Buick Encore Next year 2016 Buick Encore See every Buick Encore model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2015 Buick Encore reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2015 Buick Encore holds 124 complaints after 12 years, a rate of 11 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 10 Encore years on this site. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Frontal, Labels, and Electric power steering.

What are common problems with a 2015 Buick Encore?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (30 of 124), then Engine (29) and Steering (27). Those filings include 6 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 6 that report an injury.

Is the 2015 Buick Encore more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2014 Encore has 60 complaints, 5 per year, and the 2016 has 79 complaints, 5 per year. The 2015 has more complaints per year than the 2014. The 2015 has more complaints per year than the 2016.

Has the 2015 Buick Encore been recalled?

The 2015 Buick Encore has 4 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 2015 Buick Encore?

Owners have filed 124 complaints about the 2015 Buick Encore with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2015 Buick Encore get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2015 Buick Encore is 27 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.