2019 BUICK ENCORE Complaints

1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The windshield wipers stop and or turn on intermittently. They have stopped in the middle of a rainstorm on more than one occasion and they have turned on while just driving normally without any of the controls being touched. 2. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My safety is put at risk anytime I am driving my vehicle in the rain (it rains heavily and a lot where I live). My visibility has been suddenly reduced to zero during highway travel requiring me to put on my hazard lights and attempt to pull off to the side of the road if I dare to try crossing lanes without being able to see. 3. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? On Friday 24 Sep 2021 the car will be inspected by a certified Buick mechanic. 4. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There are no warning lights or any other symptoms present, however, the audio on the right side of the car has stopped working but I am not sure if they issues are related.

The contact owns a 2019 Buick Encore. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle loss motive power and stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle failed to start-up after several attempts with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle driven and towed to several different dealers however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The engine was replaced however, the failure persisted. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V668000 (Power Train) which he linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60. Consumer stated vehicle was in an accident and could not engage the brakes at the time.

This car has the engine shutoff feature when stopped. My wife was waiting in the left turn lane of a major street with three lanes on her side plus two left turning lanes. Due to the busy intersection the wait for a green light is long, perhaps three minutes. The engine shut off and would not restart when she released the brake pedal. Also, almost everything electrical was inoperable, including the interior door release. My wife and granddaughter were temporarily trapped inside the vehicle. She tried the door handle, tried to put down the windows, tried to unlock the car with the keyless remote but nothing would work, she was trapped. After several attempts of trying to restart the car and hitting the unlock button on the keyless entry the doors finally unlocked. The mechanical issue turned out to be a bad car battery; it had shorted out. The safety issue is when the battery dies most components are inoperable, including the interior door release. The dealer said this is the way the car works. If an Encore were to catch fire and the electrical system gets disabled, occupants would be trapped in the car. I think it is a design flaw for the doors to not open when the battery is dead. This should be easy to replicate. Unhook the car battery. Place someone in the car and have them lock the doors. Have the person try to exit the vehicle. In hindsight, the problem was going on for some time. My wife noticed the car taking longer times to restart after shutoff. The day before this incident she was at another long traffic light where the vehicle did not start on its own but the first manual try to restart started the vehicle. I believe this was due to the car battery slowing dying. The car has not been inspected for this as the dealer said the car is working as designed. The Buick dealer replaced the car battery under warranty. One thing I wish I brought to their attention but did not is the fact that no warning light came on indicating a weak car battery.

MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE BEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVING ROUGHER. IT JOLTS FORWARD WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE FROM A FULL STOP, MORE THAN NORMAL.

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE VEHICLE TURNS ITSELF OFF. HEADLIGHTS GO OFF AND THERE IS NO CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. SOMETIMES THE VEHICLE WILL CRANK ITSELF WITHOUT TOUCHING THE START BUTTON. SOMETIMES SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT WILL REMAIN ON LONG ENOUGH TO START DRIVING AGAIN. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME OF ENGINE SHUTDOWN. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT IS HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR IN TOWN. TONIGHT IT TOOK OVER 2 HOURS TO TRAVEL A NORMAL 20 MINUTE DRIVE. IT ALL STARTED 27 FEB 21 AND TODAY (28 FEB 21) IT IS PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE. MOST OF THE TIMES THAT IT HAPPENS A BELL WILL DING 4 TIMES AND RIGHT AFTER THE BELL CHIMES THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY SHUTS OFF. ALL LIGHTS EXTINGUISH, IT LOSES STEERING CONTROL AND BRAKES ARE MINIMIZED.

I AM GETTING CONTINUOUS EMAILS SAYING THAT THERE HAS BEEN AN ISSUE DETECTED WITH MY AIRBAGS. THE AIRBAG LIGHT WILL SPORADICALLY COME ON, AND WHEN SOMEONE IS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT THE AIRBAGS DO NOT ALWAYS TURN ON.

OCT 9TH - I WAS COMING HOME FROM WORK ON OCTOBER 9TH AFTER WORKING A 12-HOUR SHIFT. IT WAS DARK. I WAS GOING SOUTH ON HAPPY VALLEY. I PULLED UP TO A FOUR-WAY STOP ON HAPPY VALLEY AND VICTORY ROAD. I STARTED TO PULL INTO THE INTERSECTION. A GIRL TRAVELING EAST TO WEST DIDN'T STOP AT HER STOP SIGN. WHEN I GOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION, SHE HIT ME. THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 45 MPH COMING FROM HER DIRECTION, BUT I DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST SHE WAS TRAVELING. SHE HIT MY CAR AND IT SPUN MY CAR. I REMEMBER HITTING MY HEAD 2 TIMES ON THE SIDE WINDOW AND MY BODY TWICE AGAINST THE DOOR. MY AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. MY CAR FACED THE AIRPORT WHEN IT CAME TO A STOP AND WAS FACING WEST.

HACKER ITS BEING ABLE TO CHANGE STEREO AND PENETRATE INTO THE UNIT AND MANIPULATE CAR SETTINGS AS HE'S PLEASE. DANGEROUS WHILE I AM DRIVING.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 BUICK ENCORE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONTAL PASSENGER'S SEAT AIR BAG SENSOR WAS INOPERABLE. THE AIR BAG SENSOR FAILED TO RECOGNIZE AN OCCUPANT SEATED IN THE PASSENGER'S SEAT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO RICK MATTHEWS BUICK GMC (15164 CORTEZ BLVD, BROOKSVILLE, FL 34613) ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALER THAT THE FAILURE WAS IRREPARABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE VIA THE MAIL HOWEVER, THE CONTACT RECEIVED NO RETURN CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE MANUFACTURER. THE CONTACT ALSO ATTEMPTED TO REACH THE MANUFACTURER BY PHONE ON FOUR OCCASIONS BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. *BF

PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT AND THE CAR TOOK OVER AND WAS SPEEDING AND HIT THE CONCRETE POLE,AIR BAGS WENT OFF THE CAR WAS TOTALED. *TR