2014 Buick Encore problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid

Is 2014 a good year for the Buick Encore?

Complaint volume is fairly even across this nameplate, so the model year is a weaker signal here than it is on many cars. Read the components below rather than the totals.

Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.

This retrieval holds 4 of the nameplate’s model years. 2017 is absent, which means no records came back for it — not that it was clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.

The 2014 accounts for 18% of every complaint filed against the Buick Encore in this retrieval, which works out to 5.0 complaints per year on the road across the 12 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.

Which recalls cover the 2014?

Take the campaign number to any franchised Buick dealer. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, and they follow the car rather than the owner, so a used 2014 with an unrepaired campaign is a free repair you can claim. How recalls work.

Recall text is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice and affected VIN ranges.

What do owners report on the Buick Encore?

Across every Buick Encore year, not the 2014 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.

• Engine — 69 reports
• Electrical System — 42 reports
• Steering — 40 reports
• Power Train — 38 reports

If your 2014 is doing something now, these are the guides for that system — each opens with whether it is safe to keep driving:

• Engine knocking
• Engine overheating
• Check engine light steady
• Rough idle or stalling

Which other Buick Encore years should you compare?

2015 Buick Encore → · All Buick Encore years

If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Buick Encore page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.