Buick Encore GX by Model Year: Problems, Recalls and MPG
Every Buick Encore GX model year since 2020: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash tests.
Every model year since 2020 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 31 mpg combined, arrived in 2020. Excludes the Encore, which has its own pages.
Complaints in each year's first three years
Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | First 3 years | All complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
Most described: shifter errors or getting stuck in gear |
26 | 69 | 2 |
Most reported: engine |
16 | 27 | 0 |
Most described: shifter errors or getting stuck in gear |
15 | 32 | 1 |
Most described: loss of power or limp mode and the check engine light coming on |
12 | 53 | 2 |
Year by year
| Model year | Best rating | Recalls | Complaints | Crash test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2026 |
30 mpg Gas |
1 | 4 | |
2025 |
30 mpg Gas |
1 | 15 | |
2024 |
30 mpg Gas |
2 | 31 | |
2023 |
30 mpg Gas |
0 | 27 | |
2022 |
30 mpg Gas |
1 | 32 | |
2021 |
31 mpg Gas |
2 | 53 | |
2020 |
31 mpg Gas |
2 | 69 |
Owner complaints by model year
All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.
2020: 69 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
| Model year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 69 |
| 2021 | 53 |
| 2022 | 32 |
| 2023 | 27 |
| 2024 | 31 |
| 2025 | 15 |
| 2026 | 4 |
Best combined rating by model year
The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 30 to 31 mpg (every year from 2020 to 2026); highest in 2020.
2026: gas 30 mpgTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
| Model year | Best gas version |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 31 |
| 2021 | 31 |
| 2022 | 30 |
| 2023 | 30 |
| 2024 | 30 |
| 2025 | 30 |
| 2026 | 30 |
Questions
Which Buick Encore GX years have the most problems?
A typical Buick Encore GX year drew only 16 owner complaints in its first three years (the range is 12 to 26), too few to rank the years fairly. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.
Which Buick Encore GX years have the most recalls?
The 2020, 2021, and 2024 have the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (2 each). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. No recall for 2020 to 2026 models tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside.
What are the most common Buick Encore GX problems?
In the 231 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2020 to 2026 models, owners most often describe shifter errors or getting stuck in gear (44 complaints, most of them for the 2020 and 2022); loss of power or limp mode (22 complaints, most of them for the 2020 and 2021); and infotainment or touchscreen failures (14 complaints, most of them for the 2020, 2024, and 2025). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.
Which Buick Encore GX year has the best MPG?
The best EPA fuel economy is 31 mpg combined, first reached by the 2020 gas version.
Sources and method
- US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Sep 18, 2026.
- NHTSA recall file dated Sep 29, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Sep 28, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.