Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
Vehicle Care 213
1.4L L4 Engine (LUV)
1. Engine Cooling Fan (Out of View)
2. Engine Coolant Surge Tank andPressure Cap
{Warning
An underhood electric fan can start up
even when the engine is not running and
can cause injury. Keep hands, clothing,
and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.
{Warning
Do not touch heater or radiator hoses,
or other engine parts. They can be very
hot and can burn you. Do not run the
engine if there is a leak; all coolant could
leak out. That could cause an engine fire
and can burn you. Fix any leak before
driving the vehicle.
Engine Coolant
The cooling system in the vehicle is filled
with DEX-COOL engine coolant. This coolant
is designed to remain in the vehicle for
5 years or 240 000 km (150,000 mi),
whichever occurs first.
The following explains the cooling system
and how to check and add coolant when it
is low. If there is a problem with engine
overheating, see Engine Overheating 0215.
What to Use
{Warning
Plain water, or other liquids such as
alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mixture will. With plain water or
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
the wrong mixture, the engine could get
too hot but there would not be an
overheat warning. The engine could catch
fire and you or others could be burned.
Use a 50/50 mixture of clean drinkable
water and DEX-COOL coolant. This mixture:
.Gives freezing protection down to −37 °C
(−34 °F), outside temperature.
.Gives boiling protection up to 129 °C
(265 °F), engine temperature.
.Protects against rust and corrosion.
.Will not damage aluminum parts.
.Helps keep the proper engine
temperature.
Caution
Do not use anything other than a mix of
DEX-COOL coolant that meets GM
Standard GMW3420 and clean, drinkable
water. Anything else can cause damage
to the engine cooling system and the
vehicle, which would not be covered by
the vehicle warranty.
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
214 Vehicle Care
Never dispose of engine coolant by putting
it in the trash, pouring it on the ground,
or into sewers, streams, or bodies of water.
Have the coolant changed by an authorized
service center, familiar with legal
requirements regarding used coolant
disposal. This will help protect the
environment and your health.
Checking Coolant
The vehicle must be on a level surface when
checking the coolant level.
It is normal to see coolant moving in the
upper coolant hose return line when the
engine is running.
1.4L L4 Engine (LUV) Shown, 1.4L L4 Engine(LE2) Similar Check to see if coolant is visible in the
coolant surge tank. If the coolant inside the
coolant surge tank is boiling, do not do
anything else until it cools down.
If coolant is visible but the coolant level is
not at or above the mark pointed to, add a
50/50 mixture of clean drinkable water and
DEX-COOL coolant.
Be sure the cooling system is cool before
this is done.
If no coolant is visible in the coolant surge
tank, add coolant as follows:
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Surge Tank
{Warning
Steam and scalding liquids from a hot
cooling system are under pressure.
Turning the pressure cap, even a little,
can cause them to come out at high
speed and you could be burned. Never
turn the cap when the cooling system,
including the pressure cap, is hot. Wait
for the cooling system and pressure cap
to cool.
{Warning
Plain water, or other liquids such as
alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mixture will. With plain water or
the wrong mixture, the engine could get
too hot but there would not be an
overheat warning. The engine could catch
fire and you or others could be burned.
{Warning
Spilling coolant on hot engine parts can
burn you. Coolant contains ethylene
glycol and it will burn if the engine parts
are hot enough.
Caution
Failure to follow the specific coolant fill
procedure could cause the engine to
overheat and could cause system
damage. If coolant is not visible in the
surge tank, contact your dealer.
If no problem is found, check to see if
coolant is visible in the coolant surge tank.
If coolant is visible but the coolant level is
not at the indicated level mark, add a
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
Vehicle Care 215
50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and
DEX-COOL coolant at the coolant surge tank,
but be sure the cooling system, including
the coolant surge tank pressure cap, is cool
before you do it.
1. Remove the coolant surge tank pressurecap when the cooling system, including
the coolant surge tank pressure cap and
upper radiator hose, is no longer hot.
Turn the pressure cap slowly
counterclockwise about one-quarter of a
turn. If you hear a hiss, wait for that to
stop. This will allow any pressure still
left to be vented out the discharge hose.
2. Keep turning the pressure cap slowly and remove it.
3. Fill the coolant surge tank with theproper mixture to the indicated
level mark.
4. With the coolant surge tank pressure cap off, start the engine and let it run until
you can feel the upper radiator hose
getting hot. Watch out for the engine
cooling fan.
By this time, the coolant level inside the
coolant surge tank may be lower. If the
level is lower, add more of the proper
mixture to the coolant surge tank until
the level reaches the indicated
level mark.
5. Replace the pressure cap tightly. 6. Verify coolant level after the engine is
shut off and the coolant is cold.
If necessary, repeat coolant fill procedure
Steps 1–6.
If the coolant still is not at the proper
level when the system cools down again,
see your dealer.
Caution
If the pressure cap is not tightly installed,
coolant loss and engine damage may
occur. Be sure the cap is properly and
tightly secured.
Engine Overheating
The vehicle has an engine coolant
temperature gauge to warn of the engine
overheating. See Engine Coolant
Temperature Gauge 078.
If the decision is made not to lift the hood
when this warning appears, get service help
right away. See Roadside Assistance Program
0 285.
If the decision is made to lift the hood,
make sure the vehicle is parked on a level
surface.
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
216 Vehicle Care
Then check to see if the engine cooling fan
is running. If the engine is overheating, the
fan should be running. If it is not, do not
continue to run the engine. Have the vehicle
serviced.
Caution
Do not run the engine if there is a leak
in the engine cooling system. This can
cause a loss of all coolant and can
damage the system and vehicle. Have
any leaks fixed right away.
If Steam Is Coming from the Engine
Compartment
{Warning
Steam and scalding liquids from a hot
cooling system are under pressure.
Turning the pressure cap, even a little,
can cause them to come out at high
speed and you could be burned. Never
turn the cap when the cooling system,
including the pressure cap, is hot. Wait
for the cooling system and pressure cap
to cool.
If No Steam Is Coming from the Engine
Compartment
If an engine overheat warning is displayed
but no steam can be seen or heard, the
problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when the
vehicle:
.Climbs a long hill on a hot day
.Stops after high-speed driving
.Idles for long periods in traffic
If the overheat warning is displayed with no
sign of steam: 1. Turn the air conditioning off.
2. Turn the heater on to the highest temperature and to the highest fan
speed. Open the windows as necessary.
3. When it is safe to do so, pull off the road, shift to P (Park) or N (Neutral), and
let the engine idle.
If the engine coolant temperature gauge is
no longer in the overheat zone, the vehicle
can be driven. Continue to drive the vehicle
slowly for about 10 minutes. Keep a safe
vehicle distance from the vehicle in front.
If the warning does not come back on, continue to drive normally and have the
cooling system checked for proper fill and
function.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and
park the vehicle right away.
If there is no sign of steam, idle the engine
for three minutes while parked. If the
warning is still displayed, turn off the
engine until it cools down.Washer Fluid
What to Use
When the vehicle needs windshield washer
fluid, be sure to read the manufacturer's
instructions before use. If operating the
vehicle in an area where the temperature
may fall below freezing, use a fluid that has
sufficient protection against freezing.
Adding Washer Fluid
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
Index 305
Electrical System (cont'd)Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . 231
Emergency OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Check Light (Malfunction Indicator) . . . . . 81
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Oil Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Extender, Seat Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . 102F
Filter, Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Folding Seatback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . 192
Frequency Statement Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Front Seat Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Economy, Driving for Better . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . 200
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197, 198
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Fuel (cont'd)
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Top Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Fuses Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . 227
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . 231
G
Gas Strut(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
GaugesEngine Coolant Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . 75
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
308 Index
OnStar Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
OnStar Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
OnStar System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118, 148
OutletsPower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105, 138 Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
P
ParkShifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Park Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Brake and P (Park) MechanismCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Extended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . 80
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . . . . 161
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Perchlorate Materials Requirements,
California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Personalization
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89, 94 Phone
Apple CarPlay and
Android Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128, 153
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123, 126, 149
Port USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113, 144
Power
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Pregnancy, Using Seat Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Privacy Vehicle Data Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Program Courtesy Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Proposition 65 Warning, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202, 219, 253, Back Cover
Publication Ordering Information . . . . . . . . 289
R
Radio AM-FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Radio (cont'd)
HD Radio Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Radio Data System (RDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Radio Frequency Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113, 143
Radios AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Rear Seat Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Rear Window Washer/Wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Recognition Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants . . . . . 275
Records Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System . . . . . . . .7