Model year 2015 · Small Sport Utility Vehicle 2WD, Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
2015 Buick Encore: recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings
EPA rates the 2015 Buick Encore at 26–28 mpg combined across 2 versions. NHTSA lists 4 safety recalls and 124 owner complaints for this model year. Its best NHTSA overall crash-test rating is 5 out of 5 stars.
Safety recalls
4
EPA combined mpg
26–28
NHTSA overall rating
5/5
Recall file dated Oct 28, 2026 · EPA file dated Sep 29, 2026 · updated Oct 28, 2026, 7:36 AM EDT
Check your own car: enter your 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see open recalls for that exact vehicle, and contact a Buick dealer to schedule the repair — safety recall repairs are free. The list below covers the whole model year, so not every recall applies to every car.
2015 Buick Encore recalls
NHTSA's recall file lists 4 safety recalls for the 2015 Buick Encore, newest first.
Air bags: Frontal and 2 more components
NHTSA 17V437000Reported Jul 10, 2017
Filed by
General Motors, LLC (manufacturer recall no. 17287)
Components
Air bags: Frontal; Seat belts: Pretensioner; Air bags: Frontal: Sensor/control module-inactive
Units affected
40,683 (estimate)
Problem
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.
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.
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.
General Motors, LLC (manufacturer recall no. 16007)
Components
Seat belts: Pretensioner; Air bags: Frontal: Sensor/control module-inactive; Air bags: Frontal
Units affected
3,640,162 (estimate)
Problem
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.
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.
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.
General Motors, LLC (manufacturer recall no. 15166)
Units affected
19,831 (estimate)
Problem
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."
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.
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.
General Motors, LLC (manufacturer recall no. 15168)
Units affected
2,295 (estimate)
Problem
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.
Risk
The circuit board wear may cause a sudden loss of electric power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Recall summaries are written by NHTSA from manufacturers' defect reports. Dates are when NHTSA received the report.
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2015 Buick Encore fuel economy by version
EPA city/highway/combined estimates for each engine, transmission and drive combination. Annual fuel cost is EPA's estimate for 15,000 miles a year (55% city, 45% highway) at EPA's current fuel-price assumptions; your cost will vary.
Source: FuelEconomy.gov (U.S. DOE and EPA), file dated Sep 29, 2026. Each version links to its FuelEconomy.gov record.
EPA estimates come from standardized lab tests so cars can be compared fairly; real-world mileage depends on speed, weather, load, tires and driving style.
2015 Buick Encore crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the tested versions. More stars mean a lower chance of serious injury in that type of crash. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimated chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
2015 Buick Encore NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings
Tested vehicle
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
Rollover risk
Forward collision warning
2015 Buick Encore SUV AWD
5 stars
5 stars
5 stars
4 stars
17.9%
Optional
2015 Buick Encore SUV FWD
5 stars
5 stars
5 stars
4 stars
19.8%
Optional
Source: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (New Car Assessment Program), checked Oct 26, 2026.
Star ratings compare vehicles of similar size and weight; a frontal rating for a large pickup is not directly comparable with one for a small car.
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2015 Buick Encore owner complaints
Owners have filed 124 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Buick Encore, most recently on Jul 29, 2026. 6 mention a crash, 2 a fire, 7 injured people and 0 deaths. These are unverified reports; a complaint is not proof of a defect.
Most-cited components in 2015 Buick Encore complaints
Component named in complaints
Mentions
Electrical system
30
Engine
29
Steering
27
Service brakes
20
Air bags
16
Unknown or other
15
Power train
11
Fuel/propulsion system
7
Exterior lighting
5
Structure: Body
5
Source: NHTSA consumer complaint files (complaints received since January 1, 2015). One complaint can name several components.
