Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
Service and Maintenance 273
.Trained dealer technicians have the
diagnostic equipment to test the battery
and ensure that the connections and
cables are corrosion-free.
Belts
.Belts may need replacing if they squeak
or show signs of cracking or splitting.
.Trained dealer technicians have access to
tools and equipment to inspect the belts
and recommend adjustment or
replacement when necessary.
Brakes
Brakes stop the vehicle and are crucial to
safe driving.
.Signs of brake wear may include chirping,
grinding, or squealing noises, or difficulty
stopping.
.Trained dealer technicians have access to
tools and equipment to inspect the brakes
and recommend quality parts engineered
for the vehicle.
Fluids
Proper fluid levels and approved fluids
protect the vehicle’s systems and
components. See Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants 0275 for GM approved fluids.
.Engine oil and windshield washer fluid
levels should be checked at every fuel fill.
.Instrument cluster lights may come on to
indicate that fluids may be low and need
to be filled.
Hoses
Hoses transport fluids and should be
regularly inspected to ensure that there are
no cracks or leaks. With a multi-point
inspection, your dealer can inspect the hoses
and advise if replacement is needed.
Lamps
Properly working headlamps, taillamps, and
brake lamps are important to see and be
seen on the road.
.Signs that the headlamps need attention
include dimming, failure to light, cracking,
or damage. The brake lamps need to be
checked periodically to ensure that they
light when braking.
.With a multi-point inspection, your dealer
can check the lamps and note any
concerns.
Shocks and Struts
Shocks and struts help aid in control for a
smoother ride.
.Signs of wear may include steering wheel
vibration, bounce/sway while braking,
longer stopping distance, or uneven
tire wear.
.As part of the multi-point inspection,
trained dealer technicians can visually
inspect the shocks and struts for signs of
leaking, blown seals, or damage, and can
advise when service is needed.
Tires
Tires need to be properly inflated, rotated,
and balanced. Maintaining the tires can save
money and fuel, and can reduce the risk of
tire failure.
.Signs that the tires need to be replaced
include three or more visible treadwear
indicators; cord or fabric showing through
the rubber; cracks or cuts in the tread or
sidewall; or a bulge or split in the tire.
.Trained dealer technicians can inspect and
recommend the right tires. Your dealer
can also provide tire/wheel balancing
services to ensure smooth vehicle
operation at all speeds. Your dealer sells
and services name brand tires.
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
Customer Information 289
If the vehicle is leased, the leasing company
may require you to have insurance that
ensures repairs with Genuine GM Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts or
Genuine Manufacturer replacement parts.
Read the lease carefully, as you may be
charged at the end of the lease for poor
quality repairs.
If a Crash Occurs
If there has been an injury, call emergency
services for help. Do not leave the scene of
a crash until all matters have been taken
care of. Move the vehicle only if its position
puts you in danger, or you are instructed to
move it by a police officer.
Give only the necessary information to
police and other parties involved in the
crash.
For emergency towing seeRoadside
Assistance Program 0285.
Gather the following information:
.Driver name, address, and telephone
number
.Driver license number
.Owner name, address, and telephone
number
.Vehicle license plate number
.Vehicle make, model, and model year
.Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
.Insurance company and policy number
.General description of the damage to the
other vehicle
Choose a reputable repair facility that uses
quality replacement parts. See “Collision
Parts” earlier in this section.
If the airbag has inflated, see What Will You
See after an Airbag Inflates? 042.
Managing the Vehicle Damage Repair
Process
In the event that the vehicle requires
damage repairs, GM recommends that you
take an active role in its repair. If you have
a pre-determined repair facility of choice,
take the vehicle there, or have it towed
there. Specify to the facility that any
required replacement collision parts be
original equipment parts, either new
Genuine GM parts or recycled original GM
parts. Remember, recycled parts will not be
covered by the GM vehicle warranty.
Insurance pays the bill for the repair, but
you must live with the repair. Depending on
your policy limits, your insurance company
may initially value the repair using aftermarket parts. Discuss this with the
repair professional, and insist on Genuine
GM parts. Remember, if the vehicle is
leased, you may be obligated to have the
vehicle repaired with Genuine GM parts,
even if your insurance coverage does not
pay the full cost.
If another party's insurance company is
paying for the repairs, you are not obligated
to accept a repair valuation based on that
insurance company's collision policy repair
limits, as you have no contractual limits
with that company. In such cases, you can
have control of the repair and parts choices
as long as the cost stays within reasonable
limits.
Publication Ordering Information
Service Manuals
Service manuals have the diagnosis and
repair information on the engine,
transmission, axle, suspension, brakes,
electrical system, steering system, body, etc.
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
304 Index
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
CompartmentsStorage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Connected Services Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Connections Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Control
Traction and Electronic Stability . . . . . . . 185
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Controls Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106, 139
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Coolant
Engine Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . 287
Cover Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Covers Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Cruise Control (cont'd)
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Customer Information
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . 289
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . 282
Cybersecurity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Danger, Warning, and Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Data Collection Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Diagnostics Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Door (cont'd)
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
Drive Systems All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183, 219
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Driver Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Driving
Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Impaired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Driving the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
E
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Electrical System Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . 227
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Buick Encore Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-14607636) -
2021 - CRC - 8/18/20
310 Index
Special Application Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
StabiliTrakOFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Start Assist, Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . .106, 139
Stoplamps and Back-Up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Storage Areas
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Cargo Management System . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Underseat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Storage Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Struts
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
System
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Roof Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Systems Driver Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Text Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 All-Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Compact Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Tires (cont'd)
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . 245
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . 247
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . 243
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Towing General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Trademarks and License Agreements . . . . . . 132
Transmission
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181