NHTSA lists 4 safety recalls and 124 owner complaints for the 2015 Buick Encore.
Recalled components: air bags, equipment, and steering. Most-described problem: power steering problems or locked steering (23 complaints, 19%). Most-reported area: electrical system (30 complaints, 24%; median mileage when it happened: 38,000).
4Safety recalls
124Owner complaints
6Complaints citing a crash
2Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026
Excludes the Encore GX, which EPA lists alongside the Encore from 2020 to 2022.
4 safety recalls for the 2015 Buick Encore
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
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.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
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.
NHTSA listing: ENCORE. Components: Air bags: frontal; Air bags: frontal, sensor/control module-inactive; Seat belts: pretensioner. Buick campaign 17287.
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.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
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.
NHTSA listing: ENCORE. Components: Air bags: frontal; Air bags: frontal, sensor/control module-inactive; Seat belts: pretensioner. Buick campaign 16007.
Equipment
Mar 20, 2015
labels
Fails federal standard 110 (tire and rim labeling)
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."
Risk: If the label is missing front and rear rim size information, the owner may replace the rims with ones that are an incorrect size, increasing the risk of crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
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 steering column assembly housing may contact the power steering printed circuit board causing the circuit board to wear.
Risk: The circuit board wear may cause a sudden loss of electric power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
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.
NHTSA listing: ENCORE. Buick campaign 15168.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA investigations
NHTSA's investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2015 Buick Encore.
What owners report
Owners have filed 124 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Encore. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Problems owners describe
Power steering problems or locked steering23 · 19%
Median 38,000 miles at failure, from 17 reports with mileage
Median 38,000 miles at failure, from 21 reports with mileage
Engine29 · 23%
Median 50,000 miles at failure, from 15 reports with mileage
Steering27 · 22%
Median 54,500 miles at failure, from 18 reports with mileage
Brakes21 · 17%
Median 18,000 miles at failure, from 15 reports with mileage
Air bags16 · 13%
Powertrain11 · 9%
Fuel and propulsion system7 · 6%
Unknown or other15 · 12%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.
Buick Encore recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2015 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2015 Encore drew the most (33).
Owner complaints
2015: 124 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Buick Encore
Model year
Complaints
2013
52
2014
60
2015
124
2016
79
2017
89
2018
74
2019
86
2020
19
2021
9
2022
8
Safety recalls
2015: 4 recallsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Buick Encore
Model year
Recalls
2013
6
2014
4
2015
4
2016
2
2017
2
2018
0
2019
2
2020
2
2021
0
2022
0
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
In the 124 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2015 Buick Encore, the problems described most are power steering problems or locked steering (23), the check engine light coming on (22), and loss of power or limp mode (7). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
Is the 2015 Buick Encore safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2015 Buick Encore earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
Is NHTSA investigating the 2015 Buick Encore?
No. NHTSA's investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2015 Buick Encore.
How do I check if my Encore has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Buick dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Oct 2, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Defect petitions, which ask NHTSA to open an investigation, are listed apart and only while open. Audit queries, which check whether a company met its recall and reporting duties rather than whether a vehicle has a problem, are not listed.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: ENCORE.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.