Types Of Gas A Buick Encore Uses (Explained)

Today, we’ll look at a Buick Encore’s fuel requirements. We’ve written multiple articles about this subject already for other Buicks that are sold in the United States. Let’s start with a quick answer:

All model years of the Buick Encore take regular gasoline with an octane level of 87. Furthermore, they can all take gasoline with a maximum of 15% ethanol.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. We will go deep into every engine and the type of gas you can and can not use. First, we will discuss all the engine types and their fuel requirements; after that, we’ll discuss things like fuel mileage and gas tank sizes. Read on!

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Does The Buick Encore Require Premium Gas?

There have been two generations of the Buick Encore. The first generation was sold between 2013 – 2019, and the second-gen Buick Encore debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show and is still in production today.

2019 – Present

In the 2nd gen Buick Encore, you only have one engine option. According to the manufacturer’s recommendation, gasoline with a minimum of 87 octane rating should be used in your 1.4 L Turbo inline-4 paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission.

We also want to clarify that using premium gasoline (with an octane rating of 91 or higher) has no performance or longevity benefits for the Buick Encore, as well as other models like the Buick Enclave or Buick Envision. The 1.4L turbo that’s used across generations is simply not designed to make use of higher octane gasoline and won’t derive any benefit from it.

2013 – 2019

The first-gen Buick Encore also had a 1.4L inline-4 turbo engine and should also be filled with gasoline with a minimum octane rating of 87.

What Types Of Gasoline Can And Can’t Be Used?

Besides regular/conventional gasoline and diesel, there are plenty of other fuel types on the market. Most of these alternative fuels are marketed to be great, but are they? Let’s find out about each of those fuels and whether or not they are suitable for your Buick Encore or not. 

Reformulated Gasoline

It’s one of the newer types of gasoline available in the market, specifically designed to have fewer carbon emissions than conventional gasoline. Although it’s not on the list of recommended fuels, you can, however, use RFG — it’s safe and wouldn’t cause damage to the engine.

This fuel is advantageous in areas that have strict emission requirements. However, people in regions with extreme pollution should have reformulated gasoline regardless – as it would help the environment by exposing it to fewer emissions, less smog, and, most importantly, we get a better Air Quality Index. 

Gasoline/Oxygenated Blends Or E85

We also have to talk about ethanol- or methanol-based fuels. Ethanol and methanol are substances made from organic material. For this reason, they burn much cleaner than conventional gasoline.

All model years of the Buick Encore can take gasoline with a maximum of 15% ethanol. Therefore E10 and E15 are safe to use. However, in some cases, gas stations also sell gasoline with an ethanol percentage of 85%. This is also referred to as flex-fuel.

Flex-fuel contains 85% ethanol. Although it runs pretty clean in the engine, it has corrosive nature. The Buick Encore is not a flex-fuel vehicle and cannot take E85.

Finally, it’s good to know that fuel with any percentage of methanol is strictly forbidden and will result in major engine damage to your Buick Encore.

Gasoline With Added Materials

The final gasoline-specific topic we will talk about is the use of additives that need to be mixed into your fuel. These additives are widely available on the market these days. Supposedly they do a whole range of different things, such as:

• Boost the octane level in your fuel, thereby giving it better performance.
• Help the engine clean itself more effectively.

However, it’s good to know that Buick strongly advises against using additives in your Encore. This is because these additives can contain materials such as silicon or metallics that will seriously damage the engine and the fuel system.

Therefore, it’s recommended that you buy fuel that already has all the proper additives mixed into it. This kind of fuel can be purchased at certified TOP TIER gasoline retailers. These retailers sell gasoline that will provide the optimal performance for your engine and clean it as well as possible without damaging it. You can find a retailer at toptiergas.com.

The only exception to this rule is If TOP TIER detergent gasoline is unavailable in your region, you can put ACDelco Fuel System Treatment Plus-Gasoline in your fuel tank instead. You can add these additives to your gas tank on every oil change. Make sure to have a full tank and add according to the instructions mentioned on the can of additive you are adding.

Gasoline With MMT

MMT stands for Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, which can severely damage your emission system as well as your spark plugs. This is a kind of metal – and Buick does not endorse metallic additives. Any damages caused by these additives will not be covered under warranty.

MMT’s purpose was to reduce knocking but at the expense of environmental damage. Most of these metals were added in the past. These days, only race fuels have these metal additives.

What If I Hear A Knocking Noise From The Engine After Refilling

Hearing a slight knocking coming from the engine is an entirely regular occurrence. Especially when the car is performing at peak levels, such as when you’re towing with your Buick Encore, a slight knocking sound can be heard. However, if this knocking sound becomes very audible and happens right after refilling, you may have more significant problems.

First off, in this case, you’re likely using gasoline with a lower-than-recommended octane rating. For example, in the Buick Encore, we would talk about gasoline with an octane rating lower than 87. This will almost always result in an engine knock.

This knocking noise tells you the engine is misfiring because it can’t handle the octane level used. This will be the case if you use lower-than-recommended octane-level gasoline. It’s best to stop your car immediately and call your dealer or garage. Your car will need to be drained from its fuel, and the fuel filter will need to be replaced. Continuing to drive will result in severe engine damage.

Does the Buick Encore Have Good Gas Mileage?

Because of its reasonable size and efficient engine, the Buick Encore has very reasonable gas mileage. On average, you can expect to get a combined MPG of 28 across the two generations.

2019 – Present

Engine	Combined MPG	City MPG	Highway MPG
1.4L	27	25	30

2013 – 2019

Engine	Combined MPG	City MPG	Highway MPG
1.4L	28	25	33

What’s The Gas Tank Size Of A Buick Encore?

The first-gen Buick Encore 2013-2019 has a capacity of 53 liters or 14 gallons, while the 2nd gen Buick Encore has a capacity of 51L or 14 gallons.

Sources

• 2018 Buick Encore Owners Manual
• 2021 Buick Encore Owner’s Manual
• Gasprices.ca
• 2021 Buick Encore fueleconomy.gov
• 2018 Buick Encore fueleconomy.gov