Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
12163005) - 2019 - crc - 9/17/18
124 Instruments and Controls
could be low on oil and might have
some other system problem. See
your dealer.
Low Fuel Warning Light
This light comes on for a few
seconds when the ignition is turned
on as a check to indicate it is
working. If it does not come on,
have it fixed.
The low fuel warning light comes on
and a chime sounds periodically
when the vehicle is low on fuel. The
light turns off when fuel is added to
the fuel tank.
Immobilizer Light
The immobilizer light should come
on briefly as the engine is started.
If it does not come on, have the
vehicle serviced by your dealer.
If the system is working normally,
the indicator light turns off.
If the light stays on and the engine
does not start, there could be a
problem with the immobilizer
system. SeeImmobilizer Operation
0 40.
High-Beam On Light
This light comes on when the
high-beam headlamps are in use.
See Headlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer 0140.
Front Fog Lamp Light
For vehicles with front fog lamps,
this light comes on when the front
fog lamps are in use.
The light goes out when the front
fog lamps are turned off. See Front
Fog Lamps 0143 for more
information.
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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Instruments and Controls 125
Lamps On Reminder
This light comes on when the
exterior lamps are in use. See
Exterior Lamp Controls0140.
Cruise Control Light
For vehicles with cruise control, the
cruise control light is white when the
cruise control is on and ready, and
turns green when the cruise control
is set and active.
The light turns off when the cruise
control is turned off. See Cruise
Control 0183.
Information Displays
Driver Information Center
(DIC) (Base Level)
The DIC displays information about
your vehicle. It also displays
warning messages if a system
problem is detected. See Vehicle
Messages 0129. All messages
appear in the DIC display in the
center of the instrument cluster.
DIC Operation and Displays
The DIC has different displays
which can be accessed by using the
DIC buttons on the turn signal lever.
DIC Buttons
SET/CLR : Press to set or clear the
menu item displayed.
\: Turn the band to scroll through
the items in each menu.
MENU : Press to display the Trip/
Fuel Menu and the Vehicle
Information Menu. This button is
also used to return to or exit the last
screen displayed on the DIC.
Trip/Fuel Menu (TRIP) Items
Press MENU on the turn signal
lever until the Trip/Fuel menu
displays. Use
\to scroll through
the menu items. Not all items are
available on every vehicle. The
following is a list of all possible
menu items:
Digital Speedometer : Displays
how fast the vehicle is moving in
either kilometers per hour (km/h) or
miles per hour (mph). The
speedometer cannot be reset.
Trip 1 or Trip 2, Average Fuel
Economy : Displays the current
distance traveled, in either
kilometers (km) or miles (mi), from
the last reset for the trip odometer.
The trip odometer can be reset to
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Instruments and Controls 127
Driver Information Center
(DIC) (Uplevel)
The Driver Information Center (DIC)
displays information about the
vehicle. It also displays warning
messages if a system problem is
detected. SeeVehicle Messages
0 129. All messages appear in the
DIC display in the center of the
instrument cluster.
The vehicle may also have features
that can be customized through the
controls on the radio. See Vehicle
Personalization 0130.
DIC Operation and Displays
The DIC has different displays
which can be accessed by using the
DIC buttons on the turn signal lever.
The DIC displays trip, fuel, and
vehicle system information, and
warning messages if a system
problem is detected.
The bottom of the DIC display
shows the position of the shift lever
and the odometer. It may also show
the direction the vehicle is driving. In cold weather the DIC display may
change slowly. This is normal and
will move more quickly as the
vehicle's interior temperature rises.
Use the controls to open and scroll
through the different items and
displays.
SET/CLR :
Press to set or clear the
menu item displayed.
\: Turn the band to scroll through
the items in each menu.
MENU : Press to display the Trip/
Fuel Menu and the Vehicle
Information Menu. This button is
also used to return to or exit the last
screen displayed on the DIC.
DIC Info Page Options
The info pages on the DIC can be
turned on or off through the
Options app. 1. Press MENU to access the
cluster applications.
2. Use
\to scroll to the Options
menu and press SET/CLR.
3. Use
\to choose the Info
pages. Press SET/CLR to
select.
4. Select Edit List.
5. Use
\to move through the list
of possible information
displays.
6. Press SET/CLR while an item is highlighted to select or
deselect that item. When an
item is selected, a checkmark
will appear next to it.
7. To exit, scroll to Exit and select.
DIC Menu Items
Press MENU on the turn signal
lever until the Info menu is
displayed. Use
\scroll through the
menu items. Not all items are
available on every vehicle.
. Digital Speedometer
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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140 Lighting
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . 140
Headlamp High/Low-BeamChanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Automatic Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . 142
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Front Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Battery Power Protection . . . . . 145
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls
The exterior lamp control is on the
instrument panel to the left of the
steering column.
There are four positions:
O: Turns the exterior lamps off and
deactivates the AUTO mode. Turn
Oagain to reactivate the
AUTO mode.
In Canada, the headlamps will
automatically reactivate when the
vehicle is shifted out of P (Park).
AUTO : Turns the exterior lamps on
and off automatically depending on
outside lighting.
;: Turns on the parking lamps
including all lamps, except the
headlamps.
5: Turns on the headlamps
together with the parking lamps and
instrument panel lights. A warning
chime sounds if the driver door is
opened when the ignition is off and
the headlamps are on.
Headlamp High/
Low-Beam Changer
3: Push the turn signal lever away
from you and release, to turn the
high beams on.
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142 Lighting
The vehicle has a light sensor on
top of the instrument panel. Make
sure it is not covered, or the
headlamps will be on when they are
not needed.
The system may also turn on the
headlamps when driving through a
parking garage or tunnel.
If the vehicle is started in a dark
garage, the automatic headlamp
system comes on immediately. If it
is light outside when the vehicle
leaves the garage, there is a slight
delay before the automatic
headlamp system changes to the
DRL. During that delay, the
instrument cluster may not be as
bright as usual. Make sure the
instrument panel brightness control
is in the full bright position. See
Instrument Panel Illumination
Control0143.
Lights On with Wipers
If the windshield wipers are
activated in daylight with the engine
on, and the exterior lamp control is
in AUTO, the headlamps, parking
lamps, and other exterior lamps come on. The transition time for the
lamps coming on varies based on
wiper speed. When the wipers are
not operating, these lamps turn off.
Move the exterior lamp control to
P
or;to disable this feature.
Hazard Warning Flashers
|:
Press and momentarily hold to
make the front and rear turn signal
lamps flash on and off. This warns
others that you are having trouble.
Press and momentarily hold again
to turn the flashers off.
Turn and Lane-Change
Signals
Move the lever all the way up or
down to signal a turn.
An arrow on the instrument cluster
will flash in the direction of the turn
or lane change.
Raise or lower the lever until the
arrow starts to flash to signal a lane
change. The turn signal flashes
three times.
The lever returns to its starting
position when it is released.
If after signaling a turn or lane
change the arrow flashes rapidly or
does not come on, a signal bulb
may be burned out. Replace any
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Driving and Operating 155
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Driver Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Driving Environment . . . . . . . . . . 156
Vehicle Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 160
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 160
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . 162
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 167
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Parking over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 176
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . 181
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . 186
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . 187
Park Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Forward Collision Alert (FCA)System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Fuel
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . 196
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 197
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Trailer Towing
General TowingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On ElectricalEquipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
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Driving and Operating 157
.Watch the road. Do not read,
take notes, or look up
information on phones or other
electronic devices.
. Designate a front seat
passenger to handle potential
distractions.
. Become familiar with vehicle
features before driving, such as
programming favorite radio
stations and adjusting climate
control and seat settings.
Program all trip information into
any navigation device prior to
driving.
. Wait until the vehicle is parked
to retrieve items that have fallen
to the floor.
. Stop or park the vehicle to tend
to children.
. Keep pets in an appropriate
carrier or restraint.
. Avoid stressful conversations
while driving, whether with a
passenger or on a cell phone.{Warning
Taking your eyes off the road too
long or too often could cause a
crash resulting in injury or death.
Focus your attention on driving.
Refer to the infotainment section for
more information on using that
system. Refer to the infotainment
manual for more information on the
navigation system, if equipped,
including pairing and using a cell
phone.
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always
expect the unexpected.” The first
step in driving defensively is to wear
the seat belt. See Seat Belts060.
. Assume that other road users
(pedestrians, bicyclists, and
other drivers) are going to be
careless and make mistakes.
Anticipate what they might do
and be ready. .
Allow enough following distance
between you and the driver in
front of you.
. Focus on the task of driving.
Drunk Driving
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a global
tragedy.
{Warning
Drinking and then driving is very
dangerous. Your reflexes,
perceptions, attentiveness, and
judgment can be affected by even
a small amount of alcohol. You
can have a serious —or even
fatal —collision if you drive after
drinking.
Do not drink and drive or ride with
a driver who has been drinking.
Ride home in a cab; or if you are
with a group, designate a driver
who will not drink.
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Driving and Operating 159
.Holding both sides of the
steering wheel allows you to turn
180 degrees without removing
a hand.
. The Antilock Brake System
(ABS) allows steering while
braking.
Off-Road Recovery
The vehicle's right wheels can drop
off the edge of a road onto the
shoulder while driving. Follow
these tips: 1. Ease off the accelerator and
then, if there is nothing in the
way, steer the vehicle so that it
straddles the edge of the
pavement.
2. Turn the steering wheel about one-eighth of a turn, until the
right front tire contacts the
pavement edge.
3. Turn the steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
Loss of Control
Skidding
There are three types of skids that
correspond to the vehicle's three
control systems:
.Braking Skid —wheels are not
rolling.
. Steering or Cornering Skid —
too much speed or steering in a
curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force.
. Acceleration Skid —too much
throttle causes the driving
wheels to spin. Defensive drivers avoid most skids
by taking reasonable care suited to
existing conditions, and by not
overdriving those conditions. But
skids are always possible.
If the vehicle starts to slide, follow
these suggestions:
.
Ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and steer the
way you want the vehicle to go.
The vehicle may straighten out.
Be ready for a second skid if it
occurs.
. Slow down and adjust your
driving according to weather
conditions. Stopping distance
can be longer and vehicle
control can be affected when
traction is reduced by water,
snow, ice, gravel, or other
material on the road. Learn to
recognize warning clues —such
as enough water, ice, or packed
snow on the road to make a
mirrored surface —and slow
down when you have any doubt.