2013 BUICK ENCORE airbag off

Black plate (38,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
3-38 Seats and Restraints
Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
protection for adults and older
children, but not for young children
and infants. Neither the vehicle's
safety belt system nor its airbag
system is designed for them. Every
time infants and young children ride
in vehicles, they should have the
protection provided by appropriate
child restraints.
Children who are not restrained
properly can strike other people,
or can be thrown out of the vehicle.
{WARNING
Never hold an infant or a child
while riding in a vehicle. Due to
crash forces, an infant or a child
will become so heavy it is not
possible to hold it during a crash.
For example, in a crash at only
40 km/h (25 mph), a 5.5 kg (12 lb)
infant will suddenly become a
110 kg (240 lb) force on a person's(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
arms. An infant should be
secured in an appropriate
restraint.
{WARNING
Children who are up against,
or very close to, any airbag when
it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Never put a rear-facing
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
child restraint in the right front
seat. Secure a rear-facing child
restraint in a rear seat. It is also
better to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in a rear seat. If you
must secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front
seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as it
will go.

Black plate (42,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
3-42 Seats and Restraints
We recommend that children and
child restraints be secured in a rear
seat, including: an infant or a child
riding in a rear-facing child restraint;
a child riding in a forward-facing
child seat; an older child riding in a
booster seat; and children, who are
large enough, using safety belts.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great if the
airbag deploys.
{WARNING
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is
because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating
airbag. A child in a forward-facing
child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
passenger airbag inflates and the
passenger seat is in a forward
position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right
front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is
turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints
in a rear seat, even if the airbag
is off. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
SeePassenger Sensing System
on page 3-29 for additional
information. When securing a child restraint in a
rear seating position, study the
instructions that came with the child
restraint to make sure it is
compatible with this vehicle.
Child restraints and booster seats
vary considerably in size, and some
may fit in certain seating positions
better than others. Always make
sure the child restraint is properly
secured.
Depending on where you place the
child restraint and the size of the
child restraint, you may not be able
to access adjacent safety belt
assemblies or LATCH anchors for
additional passengers or child
restraints. Adjacent seating
positions should not be used if the
child restraint prevents access to or
interferes with the routing of the
safety belt.
Wherever a child restraint is
installed, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.

Black plate (51,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
Seats and Restraints 3-51
Securing Child Restraints
(Front Passenger Seat)
This vehicle has airbags. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint on
page 3-41.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great,
if the airbag deploys.
{WARNING
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is
because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating
airbag. A child in a forward-facing
child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
passenger airbag inflates and the
passenger seat is in a forward
position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right
front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is
turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints
in a rear seat, even if the airbag
is off. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
SeePassenger Sensing System
on page 3-29 for additional
information. If the child restraint has the LATCH
system, see
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3-43 for how and
where to install the child restraint
using LATCH. If a child restraint is
secured using a safety belt and it
uses a top tether, see Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH System) on page 3-43 for
top tether anchor locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor
if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be anchored, or if
the instructions that come with the
child restraint say that the top strap
must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have
a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.

Black plate (1,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
Instruments and Controls 5-1
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 5-2
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 5-2
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . 5-3
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . 5-3
Rear Window Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10 Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . 5-11
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . 5-12
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Charging System Light . . . . . . 5-13
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Power Steering Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . 5-18
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
StabiliTrak
®OFF Light . . . . . . . 5-18
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . 5-19
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19 Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 5-20
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . 5-21
Immobilizer Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Daytime Running Lamps
(DRL) Indicator Light . . . . . . . 5-21
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . 5-22
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Battery Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Brake System Messages . . . . 5-26
Compass Messages . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Cruise Control Messages . . . . 5-26
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . 5-27

Black plate (12,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
5-12 Instruments and Controls
Passenger Safety Belt
Reminder Light
The vehicle may also have a
passenger safety belt reminder light.
When the vehicle is started, this
light flashes and a chime may come
on to remind passengers to fasten
their safety belt. Then the light stays
on solid until the belt is buckled.
This cycle continues several times if
the front passenger remains or
becomes unbuckled while the
vehicle is moving.
If the front passenger safety belt is
buckled, neither the chime nor the
light comes on.The front passenger safety belt
warning light and chime may turn on
if an object is put on the seat such
as a briefcase, handbag, grocery
bag, laptop, or other electronic
device. To turn off the warning light
and/or chime, remove the object
from the seat or buckle the
safety belt.
Airbag Readiness Light
This light shows if there is an
electrical problem with the airbag
system. The system check includes
the airbag sensor(s), passenger
sensing system (if equipped), the
pretensioners, the airbag modules,
the wiring, and the crash sensing
and diagnostic module. For more
information on the airbag system,
see
Airbag System on page 3-23.
The airbag readiness light comes on
for several seconds when the
vehicle is started. If the light does
not come on then, have it fixed
immediately.
{WARNING
If the airbag readiness light stays
on after the vehicle is started or
comes on while driving, it means
the airbag system might not be
working properly. The airbags in
the vehicle might not inflate in a
crash, or they could even inflate
without a crash. To help avoid
injury, have the vehicle serviced
right away.
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator
The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system. See Passenger
Sensing System on page 3-29 for

Black plate (13,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
Instruments and Controls 5-13
important safety information. The
instrument panel has a passenger
airbag status indicator.
United States
Canada and Mexico
When the vehicle is started, the
passenger airbag status indicator
will light ON and OFF, or the symbol
for on and off, for several seconds
as a system check. If you use
remote start, if equipped, to start the
vehicle, you may not see the system
check. Then, after several seconds, the status indicator will light either
ON or OFF, or the on or off symbol
to let you know the status of the
front outboard passenger frontal
airbag and knee airbag.
If the word ON or the on symbol is
lit on the passenger airbag status
indicator, it means that the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag are allowed to
inflate.
If the word OFF or the off symbol is
lit on the passenger airbag status
indicator, it means that the
passenger sensing system has
turned off the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag and
passenger knee airbag.
If, after several seconds, both status
indicator lights remain on, or if there
are no lights at all, there may be a
problem with the lights or the
passenger sensing system. See
your dealer for service.
{WARNING
If the airbag readiness light ever
comes on and stays on, it means
that something may be wrong
with the airbag system. To help
avoid injury to yourself or others,
have the vehicle serviced right
away. See
Airbag Readiness
Light on page 5-12 for more
information, including important
safety information.
Charging System Light
This light will come on briefly when
the ignition is turned on, and the
engine is not running, as a check to
show it is working.

Black plate (15,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
Driving and Operating 9-15
Starting and
Operating
New Vehicle Break-In
Notice:The vehicle does not
need an elaborate break-in. But it
will perform better in the long run
if you follow these guidelines:
.Do not drive at any one
constant speed, fast or slow,
for the first 805 km (500 mi).
Do not make full-throttle
starts. Avoid downshifting to
brake or slow the vehicle.
.Avoid making hard stops for
the first 322 km (200 mi) or
so. During this time the new
brake linings are not yet
broken in. Hard stops with
new linings can mean
premature wear and earlier
replacement. Follow this
breaking-in guideline every
time you get new brake
linings. Following break‐in, engine speed
and load can be gradually
increased.
Ignition Positions
The ignition switch has four different
positions.
The key must be fully extended to
start the vehicle.
To shift out of P (Park), the ignition
must be in ON/RUN and the regular
brake pedal applied.
1 (STOPPING THE ENGINE/LOCK/
OFF):
When the vehicle is stopped,
turn the ignition switch to LOCK/
OFF to turn the engine off.
This position locks the steering
wheel, ignition, and transmission.
The ignition switch can bind in the
LOCK/OFF position with the wheels
turned off center. If this happens,
move the steering wheel from right
to left while turning the key to ACC/
ACCESSORY. If this does not work,
then the vehicle needs service.
Do not turn the engine off when the
vehicle is moving. This will cause a
loss of power assist in the brake
and steering systems and disable
the airbags.
If the vehicle must be shut off in an
emergency:
1. Brake using a firm and steady pressure. Do not pump the
brakes repeatedly. This may
deplete power assist, requiring
increased brake pedal force.

Black plate (16,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
9-16 Driving and Operating
2. Shift the vehicle to N (Neutral).This can be done while the
vehicle is moving. After shifting
to N (Neutral), firmly apply the
brakes and steer the vehicle to a
safe location.
3. Come to a complete stop, shift to P (Park), and turn the ignition
to LOCK/OFF. On vehicles with
an automatic transmission, the
shift lever must be in P (Park) to
turn the ignition switch to the
LOCK/OFF position.
4. Set the parking brake. See Parking Brake on page 9-27.
{WARNING
Turning off the vehicle while
moving may cause loss of power
assist in the brake and steering
systems and disable the airbags.
While driving, only shut the
vehicle off in an emergency. If the vehicle cannot be pulled over,
and must be shut off while driving,
turn the ignition to ACC/
ACCESSORY.
Notice:
Using a tool to force the
key to turn in the ignition could
cause damage to the switch or
break the key. Use the correct
key, make sure it is all the way in,
and turn it only with your hand.
If the key cannot be turned by
hand, see your dealer.
2 (ACC/ACCESSORY): This is the
position in which you can operate
things like the radio and the
windshield wipers when the engine
is off.
3 (ON/RUN): This position can be
used to operate the electrical
accessories and to display some
instrument cluster warning and
indicator lights. This position can
also be used for service and
diagnostics, and to verify the proper
operation of the malfunction
indicator lamp as may be required for emission inspection purposes.
The switch stays in this position
when the engine is running.
If you leave the key in the ACC/
ACCESSORY or ON/RUN position
with the engine off, the battery could
be drained. You may not be able to
start the vehicle if the battery is
allowed to drain for an extended
period of time.
4 (START):
This is the position that
starts the engine. When the engine
starts, release the key. The ignition
switch returns to ON/RUN for
driving.
A warning tone will sound when the
driver door is opened, the ignition is
in ACC/ACCESSORY or LOCK/
OFF, and the key is in the ignition.
If the ignition becomes difficult to
turn, see Keys on page 2-1.