Owners have filed 14 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical and transmission. The 7 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2025Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/7 checked
2025 Buick Encore GX: inspection sheet
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2
Engine off, key in hand0/1
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/4
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Nearby years usually share most parts, so their problems are worth checking on this car too.
Worth adding to your 2025 checks
Worth adding to your 2025 checks
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Transmission failure and power loss
13,000–13,993 miles
NHTSA complaints for the 2025 Buick Encore GX, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
The infotainment screen freezes or goes blank while driving. In some cases the gauge cluster flickers out with it, so speed and fuel level disappear. Backup cameras fail intermittently, showing a black screen with a "camera unavailable" message or a distorted, flickering image. Other reports describe a "Service Charging System" warning saying the vehicle may stall, appearing within days of purchase and leading to alternator and wiring harness replacements. GPS and OnStar connections also drop out. Problems start very early, as soon as 100 miles. Owners describe repeat dealer visits, a back-ordered replacement screen, and faults that return after repairs.
The car loses power suddenly at highway speed and cannot get past 20 mph even with the pedal floored. Some owners also hear a hollow, tumbling noise. On a highway, that loss of power is a real crash risk. In one pattern, a sealed transmission was found dry of fluid around 13,000 miles and was replaced, and power failed again days after the repair. Other reports describe chugging on hills at about 63 mph that a transmission fluid change did not fix. A dealer reportedly called the chugging a daily occurrence.
Excerpts from complaints Encore GX owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
When I go 63 miles an hour the car starts chugging and my dealership changed the transmission fluid. I drove it home today and it still chugging. They called me and said they took a 2026 Buick encore and did the same thing but will not help me. They told me it’s a daily occurrence in the vehicle. It shouldn’t be chugging going up hills at 63 miles an hour.
Filed with NHTSA, January 2026
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2025 ranks sixth for owner complaints among 7 Encore GX years, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
Cars shoppers compare with the Buick Encore GX, with their own 2025 checklists.
2025 owner complaints, side by side
