MM Ownership - 2021 Encore GX (initial and ongoing updates)
#31
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Thanks, Jill. Yes, the two-tone interior, IMO, was a no-brainer. Even the Encore GX reviewers remarked that the black monotone interior looked like something out of Clancy's Funeral Home. A black/camel-tan combo interior, in leather, is available on the top-line Essence trim level, but I preferred the black and off-white.
![](https://www.autotrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-buick-encore-gx-interior.jpg?h=235&crop=1&strip=all)
![](https://www.autotrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-buick-encore-gx-interior.jpg?h=235&crop=1&strip=all)
#32
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The only issue with the white/off white is the dye transfer. The Pacifica has the same kind of interior and my wife's jeans just transfer a TON of dye. Tried cquartz leather coating, no good. Recently have used Colourlocks' new leather kit with leather shield, and that doesn't stop the dye transfer but it makes it easier to clean off.
#33
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Some of the forms were both paper and electronic. I ended up signing a few of the same ones twice. And, I don't know why, but a few were also duplicates.
I'm a very paitient person, though, and tolerate some things that might rile or irk others.
#34
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Well......I'm over one of the electronic hurdles. I got the Hands-Free Liftgate system to work....something that is a $520 Stand-Alone option on the Select trim-level, but very convenient when your arms and hands are full, and, IMO, worth the money. For the better part of two days, it didn't seem to work. I tried everything, or almost everything (so I thought), and, in the Owners' Manual, the operation is split up into four different sections in the Manual...one in front, two in the middle, and one in the rear. I thought, at first, it might need reprogramming or a repair. With the fob within 3 feet of the rear-bumper, it projects a white/lighted Buick Tri-Shield logo on the ground, underneath the bumper....you swipe your foot over the logo to unlock and raise the liftgate. The logo projection worked fine...My problem was that I thought it worked like the Ford Escape's system, where you swipe your leg sideways.
Nope.....no dice. Doing that rewards you with...well, nothing. Once again, I poured through the Manual as thoroughly as I could....and finally found the problem. The Manual, in a section that is almost hidden, specifically states that you have to kick your leg fore/aft over the logo, NOT sideways.
Problem Solved.![Thumb Up](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
The cute little video that Buick puts out on it does show a fore-aft motion...but doesn't specifically state it, and you have to look very closely.
Nope.....no dice. Doing that rewards you with...well, nothing. Once again, I poured through the Manual as thoroughly as I could....and finally found the problem. The Manual, in a section that is almost hidden, specifically states that you have to kick your leg fore/aft over the logo, NOT sideways.
Problem Solved.
![Thumb Up](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
The cute little video that Buick puts out on it does show a fore-aft motion...but doesn't specifically state it, and you have to look very closely.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-13-21 at 06:49 PM.
#35
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Yeah you have to know how to wag/kick your leg. When we got the 2020 Pacifica I thought for sure it wasn’t working because kicking in the same place as we did with the 2017 didn’t work. Well the 2020 has a trailer hitch, so the sensor is off to the right of center.
#36
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The only issue with the white/off white is the dye transfer. The Pacifica has the same kind of interior and my wife's jeans just transfer a TON of dye. Tried cquartz leather coating, no good. Recently have used Colourlocks' new leather kit with leather shield, and that doesn't stop the dye transfer but it makes it easier to clean off.
![Uhh...](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/1387914497.gif)
Jeans-manufacturers like Levis, Wrangler, Lee, Calvin-Klein, etc..... probably couldn't stay in business nowadays if their products all shed their color the first time someone sat down.....the public simply wouldn't stand for that any more.
But you do have one point.....I can remember, years ago, when new jeans would turn the water in the wash-machine blue....even cold water. I had a pair of white crew-socks in the machine with them...and they came out almost matching the jeans LOL.
![Big Grin](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-13-21 at 07:02 PM.
#37
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I don't like the regular paper/book-styles, either....it's sometimes difficult to keep a page open if you aren't holding it with both hands.
Locking it doesn't necessarily mean that a legitimate potential lender can't look at your rating. What it primarily means is that no one can hack it and make any changes.....including you, until you unlock it.
The only issue with the white/off white is the dye transfer. The Pacifica has the same kind of interior and my wife's jeans just transfer a TON of dye. Tried cquartz leather coating, no good. Recently have used Colourlocks' new leather kit with leather shield, and that doesn't stop the dye transfer but it makes it easier to clean off.
![Thumb Up](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
#38
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oh and mmarshall, i forgot to say, the exterior color of yours is AWESOME! Not too bright, and nice metallic, unique and classy. i'm glad you didn't get the 'grape' one. ![Stick Out Tongue](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
![Stick Out Tongue](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
#39
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Do you actually tow with it?
![Uhh...](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/1387914497.gif)
#40
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![Uhh...](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/1387914497.gif)
oh and mmarshall, i forgot to say, the exterior color of yours is AWESOME! Not too bright, and nice metallic, unique and classy. i'm glad you didn't get the 'grape' one.
![Smilie](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
GM also has some odd marketing-prices in their different divisions on paint-colors. Chevy, on some models (depends on make and model) charges less than Buick does on what are essentially the same colors, and Cadillac also has some varying-pricing on colors that are the same as Chevy, Buick, and GMC.
That's one thing (among many) at GM that still puzzles me
![Uhh...](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/1387914497.gif)
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-13-21 at 07:44 PM.
#41
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Steve and i shop where you do, walmart and jc penney. ![Stick Out Tongue](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
![Stick Out Tongue](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
#43
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OK, getting back to the GX...........
Haven't had it very long or put many miles on it yet, but so far, I like the paint job (In the sunlight), the excellent maneuverability into and out of tight spaces (compared to my Lacrosse), the high-stance making for easy entry/exits and not have to worry about those concrete end-curbs built into some parking spaces, the 360-surround camera-view (which is graphic-excellent), the interior color and materials (especially up front, with the carbon-fiber pattern on the dash, the nice fore-aft shift-lever (although the throws on it are a little long), the Buick Quiet-Tuning (though not as quiet as my Lacrosse, you can tell that the designers put a fair amount of insulation in it), the smooth 9-speed 9T45 transmission that (so far) hasn't shown the mid-range flare/hiccup the early-production 9T60 9-speed did in the Lacrosse, and the presence of some useful things that my Lacrosse lacked....brake-pad wear-indicators, cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise-control, the disconnect-switches for AWD and engine idle stop/start, and, of course, the hands-free lift gate, which (finally) I figured how to operate correctly. Buick finally got back to putting the red/white/blue Buick logo/Tri-shield on the steering wheel, instead of that El Cheapo plastic-chrome-outline shield-online that was used here in the U.S., but not in China. I also like the fact that the right-front passenger seat folds flat to allow long/narrow objects up to 8 feet long to be carried.
Complaints? Yep, a few.....IMO, there never was a perfect vehicle, and this is no exception. Front seats are a little narrow (just slightly) for my anatomy, but, fortunately, the bolsters make up for that by being flat and not intruding. Nice Buick-grade interior materials up front (better, IMO, than in some Cadillacs) are countered by some cost-cutting in the back, with hard plastic door-trim on the rear doors....but, of course, virtually no one ever sits in the back of my vehicles, and grocery-bags and packages don't tend to complain LOL. The Korean Hankook tires that came on my vehicle are not likely to be as good as the excellent Continental Contipro Contacts that came on both my Verano and Lacrosse....some Trailblazers and Encore GXs (which are built in the same Korean plant) come with Contis, but most seem to have the Hankooks. Overall, I was more pleased with the small turbo-three-pot engine than I expected to be, particularly when it is warm and relatively smooth/quiet, but, when cold and warming-up, it does have some slight audible clatter. I suspect that will decrease as air temperatures warm up in the spring and summer.
Haven't had it very long or put many miles on it yet, but so far, I like the paint job (In the sunlight), the excellent maneuverability into and out of tight spaces (compared to my Lacrosse), the high-stance making for easy entry/exits and not have to worry about those concrete end-curbs built into some parking spaces, the 360-surround camera-view (which is graphic-excellent), the interior color and materials (especially up front, with the carbon-fiber pattern on the dash, the nice fore-aft shift-lever (although the throws on it are a little long), the Buick Quiet-Tuning (though not as quiet as my Lacrosse, you can tell that the designers put a fair amount of insulation in it), the smooth 9-speed 9T45 transmission that (so far) hasn't shown the mid-range flare/hiccup the early-production 9T60 9-speed did in the Lacrosse, and the presence of some useful things that my Lacrosse lacked....brake-pad wear-indicators, cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise-control, the disconnect-switches for AWD and engine idle stop/start, and, of course, the hands-free lift gate, which (finally) I figured how to operate correctly. Buick finally got back to putting the red/white/blue Buick logo/Tri-shield on the steering wheel, instead of that El Cheapo plastic-chrome-outline shield-online that was used here in the U.S., but not in China. I also like the fact that the right-front passenger seat folds flat to allow long/narrow objects up to 8 feet long to be carried.
Complaints? Yep, a few.....IMO, there never was a perfect vehicle, and this is no exception. Front seats are a little narrow (just slightly) for my anatomy, but, fortunately, the bolsters make up for that by being flat and not intruding. Nice Buick-grade interior materials up front (better, IMO, than in some Cadillacs) are countered by some cost-cutting in the back, with hard plastic door-trim on the rear doors....but, of course, virtually no one ever sits in the back of my vehicles, and grocery-bags and packages don't tend to complain LOL. The Korean Hankook tires that came on my vehicle are not likely to be as good as the excellent Continental Contipro Contacts that came on both my Verano and Lacrosse....some Trailblazers and Encore GXs (which are built in the same Korean plant) come with Contis, but most seem to have the Hankooks. Overall, I was more pleased with the small turbo-three-pot engine than I expected to be, particularly when it is warm and relatively smooth/quiet, but, when cold and warming-up, it does have some slight audible clatter. I suspect that will decrease as air temperatures warm up in the spring and summer.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-13-21 at 08:21 PM.
#44
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Where is she buying those jeans?
Most jeans, nowadays, are either pre-washed or pre-treated so that the color doesn't run.....and I also pre-wash them myself, in hot water and a good laundry-detergent, just to have some extra insurance. I've had beige/ivory seats on several of my vehicles, and have never had that kind of a problem.
Jeans-manufacturers like Levis, Wrangler, Lee, Calvin-Klein, etc..... probably couldn't stay in business nowadays if their products all shed their color the first time someone sat down.....the public simply wouldn't stand for that any more.
But you do have one point.....I can remember, years ago, when new jeans would turn the water in the wash-machine blue....even cold water. I had a pair of white crew-socks in the machine with them...and they came out almost matching the jeans LOL.![Big Grin](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
![Uhh...](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/1387914497.gif)
Jeans-manufacturers like Levis, Wrangler, Lee, Calvin-Klein, etc..... probably couldn't stay in business nowadays if their products all shed their color the first time someone sat down.....the public simply wouldn't stand for that any more.
But you do have one point.....I can remember, years ago, when new jeans would turn the water in the wash-machine blue....even cold water. I had a pair of white crew-socks in the machine with them...and they came out almost matching the jeans LOL.
![Big Grin](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
#45
Lexus Champion