BUICK ENCORE GX 2021 Owner's Manual

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
120 Instruments and Controls
Universal Remote System
Operation
Using the Universal Remote System
Press and hold the appropriate Universal
Remote system button for at least one-half
second. The indicator light will come on
while the signal is being transmitted.
Erasing Universal Remote System
Buttons
Erase all programmed buttons when vehicle
ownership is terminated.
To erase:1. Press and hold the two outside buttons until the indicator light begins to flash.
This should take about 10 seconds.
2. Release both buttons.
Reprogramming a Single Universal
Remote System Button
To reprogram any of the system buttons: 1. Press and hold any one of the buttons. Do not release the button. 2. The indicator light will begin to flash
after 20 seconds. Without releasing the
button, proceed with Step 1 under
“Programming the Universal Remote
System.”

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
Lighting 121
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer . . . . 122
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . 123
Automatic Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . 123
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . 124
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel IlluminationControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Battery Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Battery Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . 127
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.
IntelliBeam®System
If equipped, this system turns the vehicle's
high-beam headlamps on and off according
to surrounding traffic conditions.
The system turns the high-beam headlamps
on when it is dark enough and there is no
other traffic present.
This light comes on in the instrument
cluster when the IntelliBeam system is
enabled.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
122 Lighting
Turning On and Enabling IntelliBeam
To enable the IntelliBeam system, press
bon the turn signal lever when it is
dark outside and the exterior lamp control is
in AUTO or
5. The blue high-beam on light
appears on the instrument cluster when the
high beams are on.
Driving with IntelliBeam
The system only activates the high beams
when driving over 40 km/h (25 mph).
There is a sensor near the top center of the
windshield that automatically controls the
system. Keep this area of the windshield
clear of debris to allow for best system
performance. The high-beam headlamps remain on, under
the automatic control, until one of the
following situations occurs:
.The system detects an approaching
vehicle's headlamps.
.The system detects a preceding vehicle's
taillamps.
.The outside light is bright enough that
high-beam headlamps are not required.
.The vehicle's speed drops below 20 km/h
(12 mph).
.The IntelliBeam system is disabled by the
button on the turn signal lever. If this
happens, press
bon the turn signal
lever when the exterior lamp control is in
the AUTO or
5position to reactivate the
IntelliBeam system. The instrument
cluster light will come on to indicate the
IntelliBeam system is reactivated.
The high beams may not turn off
automatically if the system cannot detect
another vehicle's lamps because of any of
the following:
.The other vehicle's lamps are missing,
damaged, obstructed from view,
or otherwise undetected.
.The other vehicle's lamps are covered
with dirt, snow, and/or road spray.
.The other vehicle's lamps cannot be
detected due to dense exhaust, smoke,
fog, snow, road spray, mist, or other
airborne obstructions.
.The vehicle's windshield is dirty, cracked,
or obstructed by something that blocks
the view of the light sensor.
.The vehicle is loaded such that the front
end points upward, causing the light
sensor to aim high and not detect
headlamps and taillamps.
.The vehicle is being driven on winding or
hilly roads.
The IntelliBeam system may need to be
disabled if any of the above conditions exist.
Headlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer
Push the turn signal lever away from you
and release, to turn the high beams on. To
return to low beams, push the lever again
or pull it toward you and release.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
Lighting 123
This indicator light turns on in the
instrument cluster when the high-beam
headlamps are on.
Flash-to-Pass
The flash-to-pass feature works with the low
beams or Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) on
or off.
To flash the high beams, pull the turn signal
lever toward you momentarily and then
release it.
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
DRL can make it easier for others to see the
front of your vehicle during the day. Fully
functional DRL are required on all vehicles
first sold in Canada.
The DRL system comes on in daylight when
the following conditions are met:
.The ignition is on.
.The exterior lamp control is in AUTO.
.The light sensor determines it is daytime.When the DRL are on, the taillamps,
sidemarker lamps, instrument panel lights,
and other lamps will not be on.
The DRL turn off when the headlamps are
turned to
Oor the ignition is off. For
vehicles sold in Canada, this control only
works when the vehicle is parked.
The regular headlamp system should be
turned on when needed.
Automatic Headlamp System
When the exterior lamp control is set to
AUTO and it is dark enough outside, the
headlamps come on automatically.
There is a light sensor on top of the
instrument panel. Do not cover the sensor;
otherwise the headlamps will come on when
they are not needed.
The system may also turn on the headlamps
when driving through a parking garage or
tunnel.
When it is bright enough outside, the
headlamps will turn off or may change
to DRL.
The automatic headlamp system turns off
when the exterior lamp control is turned to
Oor the ignition is off.
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
Oor;to disable
this feature.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
124 Lighting
Hazard Warning Flashers
|:Press to make the front and rear turn
signal lamps flash on and off. This warns
others that you are having trouble.
Press
|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. Hold
it there until the lane change is complete.
If the lever is moved momentarily to the
lane change position, the arrow will flash
three times. It will flash six times if Tow/
Haul Mode is active.
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. Have any burned out bulbs replaced. If a
bulb is not burned out, check the fuse. See
Instrument Panel Fuse Block
0284.
Fog Lamps
The fog lamps button is on the instrument
panel beside the steering wheel.
To turn on the fog lamps, the ignition and
the headlamps or parking lamps must be on.
#:If equipped, press to turn on or off. An
indicator light on the instrument cluster
comes on when the fog lamps are on.
Some localities have laws that require the
headlamps to be on along with the fog
lamps.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
Lighting 125
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel Illumination
Control
The brightness of the instrument cluster
display, infotainment display and controls,
steering wheel controls, and all other
illuminated controls, as well as feature
status indicators can be adjusted.
The knob for this feature is on the
instrument panel beside the steering
column.
Push the knob in all the way until it extends
out and then turn the knob clockwise or
counterclockwise to brighten or dim the
lights.
Courtesy Lamps
The courtesy lamps come on automatically
when any door is opened and the dome
lamp switch is in the
1position.
Dome Lamps
The front dome lamp controls are in the
overhead console.
E:Press to turn the lamps off, even when
a door is open.
1: When the button is returned to the
middle position, the lamps turn on
automatically when a door is opened.
+: Press to turn on the dome lamps.
If equipped, the rear dome lamp controls are
in the headliner above the rear seats.
Reading Lamps
There are reading lamps on the overhead
console and over the rear seats. These lamps
come on when any door is opened.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
126 Lighting
Front Reading Lamps
The front reading lamps are in the overhead
console.
Press the lamp lenses to turn the front
reading lamps on or off.Rear Reading Lamps
If equipped with dual sunroof, the rear
reading lamps are over the rear seats.
Press the lamp lens to turn the rear
passenger reading lamps on or off.
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting
Some exterior lamps and interior lamps turn
on briefly at night, or in areas with limited
lighting, when
Kis pressed on the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter. They stay
on for about 20 seconds after door is closed. When all of the doors have been closed or
the ignition is turned on, they gradually
fade out.
This feature can be changed. See
“Vehicle
Locator Lights” underVehicle Personalization
0 114.
Exit Lighting
Some exterior lamps and interior lights
come on at night, or in areas with limited
lighting, when the driver door is opened
after the ignition is turned off. The dome
lamp comes on after the ignition is turned
off. The exterior lamps and dome lamp
remain on for a set amount of time, then
automatically turn off.
The exterior lamps turn off immediately by
turning the exterior lamp control off.
This feature can be changed. See Vehicle
Personalization 0114.
Battery Load Management
The vehicle has Electric Power Management
(EPM) that estimates the battery's
temperature and state of charge. It then
adjusts the voltage for best performance
and extended life of the battery.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
Lighting 127
When the battery's state of charge is low,
the voltage is raised slightly to quickly bring
the charge back up. When the state of
charge is high, the voltage is lowered
slightly to prevent overcharging. If the
vehicle has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information Center
(DIC), you may see the voltage move up or
down. This is normal. If there is a problem,
an alert will be displayed.
The battery can be discharged at idle if the
electrical loads are very high. This is true for
all vehicles. This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning fast
enough at idle to produce all of the power
needed for very high electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when several of
the following are on, such as: headlamps,
high beams, rear window defogger, climate
control fan at high speed, heated seats,
engine cooling fans, trailer loads, and loads
plugged into accessory power outlets.
EPM works to prevent excessive discharge of
the battery. It does this by balancing the
generator's output and the vehicle's
electrical needs. It can increase engine idle
speed to generate more power whenever
needed. It can temporarily reduce the power
demands of some accessories.Normally, these actions occur in steps or
levels, without being noticeable. In rare
cases at the highest levels of corrective
action, this action may be noticeable to the
driver. If so, a DIC message might be
displayed and it is recommended that the
driver reduce the electrical loads as much as
possible.
Battery Power Protection
This feature shuts off the interior lamps if
they are left on for more than 10 minutes
when the ignition is off. This helps to
prevent the battery from running down.
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver
The exterior lamps turn off about 10 minutes
after the ignition is turned off, if the parking
lamps or headlamps have been manually
left on. This protects against draining the
battery. To restart the 10-minute timer, turn
the exterior lamp control to the off position
and then back to the parking lamp or
headlamp position.
To keep the lamps on for more than
10 minutes, the ignition must be on or in
ACC/ACCESSORY.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14608036) - 2021 - CRC - 9/21/20
128 Infotainment System
Infotainment System
Introduction
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Using the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Software Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Radio
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
HD Radio Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Radio Data System (RDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Multi-Band Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Audio Players
Avoiding Untrusted Media Devices . . . . . 137
USB Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Auxiliary Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Bluetooth Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
OnStar System
OnStar System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Navigation
Using the Navigation System . . . . . . . . . . 141
Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Navigation Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146OnStar System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Global Positioning System (GPS) . . . . . . . 152
Vehicle Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Problems with Route Guidance . . . . . . . . 152
If the System Needs Service . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Map Data Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Database Coverage Explanations . . . . . . . 153
Voice Recognition
Voice Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Phone
Bluetooth (Overview) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Bluetooth (Pairing and Using a
Phone) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto . . . . . . . 163
Settings
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Teen Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Trademarks and License Agreements
Trademarks and License Agreements . . . 172
Introduction
Read the following pages to become familiar
with the features.
{Warning
Taking your eyes off the road for too
long or too often while using any
infotainment feature can cause a crash.
You or others could be injured or killed.
Do not give extended attention to
infotainment tasks while driving. Limit
your glances at the vehicle displays and
focus your attention on driving. Use voice
commands whenever possible.
The infotainment system has built-in
features intended to help avoid distraction
by disabling some features when driving.
These features may gray out when they are
unavailable. Many infotainment features are
also available through the instrument cluster
and steering wheel controls.
Before driving:
.Become familiar with the operation,
center stack controls, steering wheel
controls, and infotainment display.

Buick Encore GX Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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Infotainment System 129
.Set up the audio by presetting favorite
stations, setting the tone, and adjusting
the speakers.
.Set up phone numbers in advance so they
can be called easily by pressing a single
control or by using a single voice
command.
See Distracted Driving 0187.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
If equipped, ANC reduces engine noise in the
vehicle’s interior. ANC requires the
factory-installed audio system, radio,
speakers, amplifier (if equipped), induction
system, and exhaust system to work
properly. Deactivation is required by your
dealer if related aftermarket equipment is
installed.
Overview
Infotainment System
The infotainment system is controlled by using the infotainment display, the controls on the
center stack, steering wheel controls.
1.{:
.Press to go to the Home Page.
2.
g:
.Radio: Press and release to fast seek
the previous strongest station or
channel. Press and hold to go to the
previous station or channel.
.USB/Bluetooth: Press to seek to the
beginning of the current or previous
track. Press and hold to quickly
reverse through a track. Release to
return to playing speed.
3.
O:
.When off, pressOto turn the
system on. Press and hold to turn off.
.When on, pressOto mute the
system and display a status pane.
Press
Oagain to unmute the system.