2016 Buick Encore Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2016 Buick Encore has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 3,680,845 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 118 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

SEAT BELTS 17V437000 2017-07-10 40,683 affected
Defect

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…

Consequence

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…

AIR BAGS 16V651000 2016-09-08 3,640,162 affected
Defect

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…

Consequence

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…

Complaints by component

ENGINE
40
1fires
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
13
POWER TRAIN
11
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
8
AIR BAGS
7
5crashes14injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
7
STEERING
5
SEAT BELTS
4
2crashes4injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
3
STRUCTURE:BODY
3
Total complaints118

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“Turbo exhibits exact same symptoms of 17-18 encore recall for the turbo. I frequently get the p0299 code the car becomes sluggish and hesitates to take off from a stop when this code comes on making this car dangerous to drive. This issue has almost caused multiple accidents because the car is so…”

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM · reported 2026-01-31

“I was stopped at a traffic light and began moving forward to make a turn into traffic. As I activated my turn signal and started to proceed through the intersection, the vehicle suddenly stalled and shut off without warning, causing an immediate loss of power while the vehicle was in motion.…”

ENGINE · reported 2026-01-04

“I was stopped at a traffic light and began moving forward to make a turn into traffic. As I activated my turn signal and started to proceed through the intersection, the vehicle suddenly stalled and shut off without warning, causing an immediate loss of power while the vehicle was in motion.…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2026-01-04

“I was stopped at a traffic light and began moving forward to make a turn into traffic. As I activated my turn signal and started to proceed through the intersection, the vehicle suddenly stalled and shut off without warning, causing an immediate loss of power while the vehicle was in motion.…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2026-01-04

“On my way home in december 2025, my car started to sputter and make noises. All of a sudden the car started going about 10-15 miles. I almost go hit by several vehicles, because they had to put on brakes, I was trying to go up then down a hilly road. I finally was able to get to an auto advance…”

ENGINE · reported 2025-12-15

“On my way home in december 2025, my car started to sputter and make noises. All of a sudden the car started going about 10-15 miles. I almost go hit by several vehicles, because they had to put on brakes, I was trying to go up then down a hilly road. I finally was able to get to an auto advance…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2025-12-15

“On my way home in december 2025, my car started to sputter and make noises. All of a sudden the car started going about 10-15 miles. I almost go hit by several vehicles, because they had to put on brakes, I was trying to go up then down a hilly road. I finally was able to get to an auto advance…”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2025-12-15

“The contact owns a 2016 buick encore. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the message "steering fault" was displayed, the steering icon was illuminated, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. The following day, the contact discovered that the vehicle…”

STEERING · reported 2025-10-26
Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 Buick Encore as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.