2021 Buick Encore GX: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 50 complaints about the 2021 Buick Encore GX and NHTSA has issued 2 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is engine, named in 15 of them.

50
Complaints
2
Recalls
2
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
4
Injuries
80.0
Severity index

Severity index 80.0 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 80.0p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2021 Buick Encore GX sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 90 2021 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2021 Buick Encore GX ranks 24 of 90 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 73% of its model-year peers. See the full 2021 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 15 complaints (30.0%)15 30%Power TrainPower Train: 10 complaints (20.0%)10 20%Service BrakesService Brakes: 8 complaints (16.0%)8 16%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 7 complaints (14.0%)7 14%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 6 complaints (12.0%)6 12%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 4 complaints (8.0%)4 8%Engine And Engine Cooli…Engine And Engine Cooling: 4 complaints (8.0%)4 8%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 2 complaints (4.0%)2 4%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE1530.0%
POWER TRAIN1020.0%
SERVICE BRAKES816.0%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM714.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER612.0%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM48.0%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING48.0%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL24.0%

Complaints filed per year

07142021: 62022: 42023: 22024: 112025: 142026: 13 (partial year)21222324251426
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20216
20224
20232
202411
202514
2026 (year to date)13
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 2.7x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
20V58800024/09/2020SERVICE BRAKESGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac CT4, CT5 and XT4, 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and 2020-2021 Buick Encore GX vehicles. Sensor connection contamination in the electronic brake boost system may cause an interruption of communication
21V44000010/06/2021EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT:STANDGeneral Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Buick Encore GX and 2021-2022 Chevrolet Trailblazer vehicles. The emergency jack, if not positioned as directed in the vehicle owner's manual, can fracture while in use.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.