My car battery died less than 18 months after I bought the car brand new. I had started working from home about 2 months before the battery died, so I was driving the car less frequently; I had also gone on a 10 day vacation and when I got back the car wouldn't start. I wasn't too surprised since I hadn't been driving it as much and it had been sitting for a while so I had it jumped and that lasted 4-6 weeks before the battery died again. My dad brought over a battery charger so we charged it up and that held for another few weeks.

On the third episode, I charged it up and drove it to the shop to replace the battery thinking there must be something wrong with the battery itself since it was dying after just 1-2 days of sitting. Fast forward a year with no problems on the new battery; I go out of town for 5 days, come home and try to start the car and when I turn the ignition the only thing that happens is the windshield wipers start moving very, very slowly. No interior lights came on and the electric lock/unlock wasn't even able to function. I charged up the battery and it's running again now, but this battery has only been in use for 14 months. I am posting this twice as two separate complaints.

Five month old replacement battery dead without warning. Engine light works now that it won't start.

Something is fishy with the electrical system. I have zero confidence the Encore will start in the morning, or at any time for that matter. When I get this vehicle to the dealer I will report the "fix". I'm done replacing batteries.

My 80 year old ticker is more than half shot, but it appears to be more reliable than the Encore electrical system.

Update from Dec 23, 2017: Charged battery. Engine light stayed out. So far so good. Merry Christmas Buick owners.

My name is Rhonda Griffith, I have be having this ongoing issue with GM for 3 years and I am stressed out!

I purchased a Buick Encore in May 2014, from Jim Hudson Buick in Columbia SC. I drove the car for two months, and the battery went dead. I was in West Palm Beach Florida at the time; and took the vehicle to Schumacher Buick, where I was told the battery had a dead cell. During that period I had 4400 miles on my vehicle. That second battery lasted one year and six months, then died. I took the car back to Jim Hudson Buick, where they replaced the battery again, and gave me the same diagnosis; the battery had a dead cell; this time I had 42,623 miles They replaced the battery again, and this time it only lasted two weeks. At this time my car is a year and eight old; I became concerned because my car is not two years old, and I know it should not be on its forth battery, no matter how many miles I have on it. I went to Jim Hudson expressing my concerns, and I called GM corporation. All I have asked from the very beginning is that Jim Hudson send my car to more specialized mechanics, so they can dig deeper into the situation, and figure out what is causing my care to burn out batteries. Jim Hudson nor GM, feels as though they should honor my request. I have a serious problem, since our government supplied your corporation with finances to work with consumers; and then we purchase your product, and cannot get sufficient or adequate help when your products are not operating properly. This is not the first purchase of a brand new car; I have owned brand New off the lot Nissans (Altima and Murano), I have drove each of those cars to 70,000 plus miles and never changed the battery. I have owned a used Mercury Mariner, I put over 40,000 miles on that and never changed the battery; so when Dayshia one of GM workers told me that GM stated they will do nothing for me because my car has 42,000 miles, I was appalled. So what she was telling me, that your Buick Encore batteries only last for 4,000 plus miles, or 36,000 miles. I do not believe that! The cheapest battery i know last more than three years. I believe my Buick Encore, has an underlying ELECTRICAL problem; I BELIEVE GM CORPORATION IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM; I AM SURE MY BUICK 2014 IS NOT THE ONLY VEHICLE SUFFERING FROM THIS PROBLEM; AND I BELIEVE GM CORPORATION IS TRYING TO COVER IT UP! I want to get to the bottom of this problem, and I AM TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND, AND IGNORED LIKE MY PROBLEM DOES NOT MATTER.

Now that your technician discovered there is something draining the battery. but cannot find out exactly what; I was offered some deal that is suitable for GM not myself. I received a call from Steve Schmidt today regarding an option for me with the car. He told me that they would let me trade the car in at a manufactured price which would be $30,000.00. I asked him what are the other options, and he stated that he would have to meet with some other people and at this time there was no other option. I told him I did not really trust GM because I got a defective Buick; however, I did like the Acadia when i was driving it while my car was in the shop. I told him i would go back to Williamson or Williams Buick to look at the car, and he told me to talk to Kevin. At no time did he tell me I had to use the trade on a new car, or that I could not go to any other dealership. When i arrived at the dealership, Kevin to me to a sales person who stated he would get me into a new car, and i told him i did not want a new car, but i would look at a used one. I was told i had to use the trade on a new car only. Afterwards, i called Steve back, and told him what transpired. He told me I could not go to any dealership except for GM, and I only could use the trade on a brand new car. I told him I needed a few days to think about it.

As I am thinking that $30,000.00 seemed like a great deal until i calculated what i still owe on the vehicle which is $18,000.00 plus; therefore, leaving me with about $10,000.00 to add towards a new car. So, tell me who is coming out on top, surely not me. Now I feel like I am being screwed twice. Three years complaining about a defective vehicle all stressed out, and the worst part i still have to pay for it; now i feel like i am being conned into a deal like it is in my favor. This deal is not in my favor, i end up paying the defective vehicle off, and accruing more debt. I am not happy, and this whole ordeal has stressed me out tremendously.

I am sending this email because, i feel like i have been and still is getting railroaded by GM. First your corporation did not believe me, and now you want to give me this offer that does not work for me because at this time my car has 70,000 plus miles. I will continue to sending to various entities UNTIL YOU ALL AT GM DO THE RIGHT THING CONCERNING THIS ISSUE!

If your car sits longer than a day, your battery is dead. This has happened 3 times since I bought it.

Two times my son has jumped me. This morning I called triple A. My car is in the shop as I type this.

Something is draining the battery of this car. Both alternator and battery have checked out fine.

This car has electrical issues for sure! Purchased the car two months ago and I'm the 3rd owner of this car. BUYER BEWARE.

Update from Jul 28, 2017: My car went to the dealership for two days. After AAA came out and jumped me. I was told they could not find anything wrong. So frustrating to say the least. NOTHING like going out starting your car on even on your days off so it will start the following day. Next time I'm not jumping it but having it towed in. I'm not abusing my AAA anymore, next time GM can flip the bill.

This has been a continuing problem since first leasing this car in April of 2014, It has low milage and each time the battery goes dead we are told should drive it more. Battery changed several times.-- Last occurrence Feb 2017 car had been driven previous week for a couple of hours.

It appears that something is draining the battery. Recommendation was a battery tender. I find this unacceptable- If it is necessary for proper operation of the vehicle it should be provided. Really don't know what to do . It is my wife's car and she has apprehension every time she goes to start the car. I am a decades Buick owner but this situation has damped my loyalty. I am writing this to inform others. Since the car is being leased we will be rid of the problem in a few months.

I purchased this car new in Sept. 2014. From that date until September 2016, I had to call Roadside assistance 5 or 6 times to come jump start me because the battery was dead. I had the battery & alternator checked each time & they were fine. Each time the service department hooked it to the computer, they could never find an error code. I was told "We can tell by your mileage that you just don't drive it enough. With these new cars & all of this electronic stuff they have, you have to drive them to keep it all charged up."

There were times that the door chime would not shut off until I started the car, pulled forward or backed up a bit & then killed the car. Sometimes however, I'd have to go through that process a couple of times before the chime would stop.

After calling road side assistance to be jumped again, I traded this sucker off. It had less than 22,000 mile on it.

I loved this car, until I realized that it was far from reliable. (Thanks to never knowing when it was never going to start!) Good luck if you own a 2014 Encore!

I purchased a Buick Encore in May 2014, from Jim Hudson Buick in Columbia SC. I drove the car for two months, and the battery went dead. I was in West Palm Beach Florida at the time; and took the vehicle to Schumacher Buick, where I was told the battery had a dead cell.

During that period I had 4400 miles on my vehicle. That second battery lasted one year and six months, then died.

I took the car back to Jim Hudson Buick, where they replaced the battery again, and gave me the same diagnosis; the battery had a dead cell; this time I had 42,623 miles They replaced the battery again, and this time it only lasted two weeks. At this time my car is a year and eight old; I became concerned because my car is not two years old, and I know it should not be on its forth battery, no matter how many miles I have on it.

I went to Jim Hudson expressing my concerns, and I called GM corporation. All I have asked from the very beginning is that Jim Hudson send my car to more specialized mechanics, so they can dig deeper into the situation, and figure out what is causing my care to burn out batteries. Jim Hudson nor GM, feels as though they should honor my request. I have a serious problem, since our government supplied your corporation with finances to work with consumers; and then we purchase your product, and cannot get sufficient or adequate help when your products are not operating properly.

This is not the first purchase of a brand new car; I have owned brand New off the lot Nissans (Altima and Murano), I have drove each of those cars to 70,000 plus miles and never changed the battery. I have owned a used Mercury Mariner, I put over 40,000 miles on that and never changed the battery; so when Dayshia one of GM workers told me that GM stated they will do nothing for me because my car has 42,000 miles, I was appalled. So what she was telling me, that your Buick Encore batteries only last for 4,000 plus miles, or 36,000 miles. I do not believe that! The cheapest battery i know last more than three years.

I believe my Buick Encore, has an underlying ELECTRICAL problem; I BELIEVE GM CORPORATION IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM; I AM SURE MY BUICK 2014 IS NOT THE ONLY VEHICLE SUFFERING FROM THIS PROBLEM; AND I BELIEVE GM CORPORATION IS TRYING TO COVER IT UP! I want to get to the bottom of this problem, and I AM TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND, AND IGNORED LIKE MY PROBLEM DOES NOT MATTER.