2023 Buick Encore Gx

When starting from a traffic light after the green light, the car made mechanical noises and would not accelerate above approximately 25 mph. It seemed obvious at the time that the transmission had failed, which was later confirmed after being towed to the dealership. There were no warning lamps or messages displayed; however, during the previous days, there were a few instances when the transmission "shifted" hard (this seemed odd considering it is a CVT transmission).

The shifter assembly failed. When shifting to Park, a "Shift to Park" message appears on the driver information center. Although the shift lever is in the Park position, it is not recognized, and the car cannot be turned off or locked. The selling dealership inspected and confirmed the failure, which first appeared at about 21,000 miles (2023 model). The solution was to replace the shifter assembly (car is out of warranty by less than one month), at a cost of $562.10. Invoice breakdown: 1) Labor = 350.00, 2) Parts = 169.50, 3) Sales Tax = 42.60 It is interesting to note that the Labor rate of 350.00 is almost certainly a "flat rate", as the time to complete the repair was only about 30 minutes.