Factory build sheet
2020 Buick Encore Base
Build KL4CJ3SB-L · 1.4L 4cyl · Front-wheel drive · Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)
VIN positions 1 through 8 read KL4CJ3SB and position 10 reads L. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.
Every Encore whose VIN starts KL4CJ3SB and carries L in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 24 of them.
- Decoded Jul 7, 2026
- 24 known VINs
Factory specification
As filed by Buick with NHTSA for this build. Fields the filing does not record are left out entirely — a missing row means no recorded value, not a missing feature.
Engine
- Displacement
- 1.4 L
- Cylinders
- 4
- Engine model
- LUV: MFI, Variable Valve Timing, ALUM, E85 MAX
- Engine manufacturer
- GME
- Valve train
- Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC)
- Turbocharged
- Yes
- Fuel type
- Gasoline
Drivetrain
- Drive type
- Front-wheel drive
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Forward speeds
- 6
- Brake system
- Hydraulic
Body & chassis
- Body class
- Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)/Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
- NHTSA body type
- MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE (MPV)
- Doors
- 4
- Seats
- 5
- Seat rows
- 2
- Manufacturer
- GENERAL MOTORS LLC
Weight rating
- GVWR class
- Class 1C
- GVWR
- 4,001–5,000 lb
Gross vehicle weight rating is the loaded ceiling set by the manufacturer, not the car's own weight.
The same build, other model years
Buick used the VIN pattern KL4CJ3SB for 4 model years. Nothing but the year changes between these pages, so the price gap between them is depreciation on an identical car.
How this VIN pattern is read
A 17-character VIN carries two kinds of information: what was built, and which one it is. This page is the first kind — the nine highlighted positions.
| Positions | Characters | What they encode |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | KL4 | GENERAL MOTORS LLC · World manufacturer identifier |
| 4–8 | CJ3SB | Model, body style, engine and restraint system |
| 9 | × | Check digit — computed per vehicle, not part of the build |
| 10 | L | Model year — 2020 |
| 11 | × | Assembly plant |
| 12–17 | ×××××× | Production sequence number, unique to each vehicle |
NHTSA safety ratings
Crash-test results are published per model year and body style, so they cover the 2020 Buick Encore as a whole rather than this build alone.
Overall
★★★★★ 5 / 5
Frontal crash
★★★★★ 5 / 5
Side crash
★★★★★ 5 / 5
Rollover
★★★★ ★ 4 / 5
2 recall campaigns are recorded for the 2020 Encore. Recalls are issued per VIN range — check the VIN of the car you are looking at, not the model.
24 vehicles carry this build
Every VIN we have decoded to KL4CJ3SB-L shares the specification above.
- 24 Known VINs
- KL4CJ3SB 9LB050487
- KL4CJ3SB 1LB318710
- KL4CJ3SB 7LB016290
- KL4CJ3SB 9LB046357
- KL4CJ3SB 9LB014119
- KL4CJ3SB 1LB351125
- KL4CJ3SB 4LB047576
- KL4CJ3SB 9LB055690
- KL4CJ3SB 7LB043828
- KL4CJ3SB 3LB047603
- KL4CJ3SB 9LB013519
- KL4CJ3SB 1LB051519
- KL4CJ3SB 5LB043472
- KL4CJ3SB 5LB054729
- KL4CJ3SB 9LB054068
- KL4CJ3SB 1LB049480
- KL4CJ3SB 7LB018170
- KL4CJ3SB 6LB000243
- KL4CJ3SB 5LB008978
- KL4CJ3SB 5LB019124
- KL4CJ3SB 2LB328680
- KL4CJ3SB 8LB039948
- KL4CJ3SB 7LB039908
- KL4CJ3SB 1LB059457
Neighboring configurations
Other factory configurations of the Encore, each with its own build sheet. The set is fixed by the VIN patterns themselves, so it does not shuffle as prices or inventory move.
- 2020 Preferred 1.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · FWD 11,015 vehicles · $14,998 median
- 2020 Essence 1.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · FWD 1,339 vehicles · $11,899 median
- 2020 Preferred 1.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 4,301 vehicles · $14,900 median
- 2021 Preferred 1.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · FWD 5,537 vehicles · $15,693 median
- 2022 Preferred 1.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 14,091 vehicles · $19,138 median
Keep going
Where this data comes from
Specification fields are decoded from the manufacturer's filings in the NHTSA vPIC database, keyed on VIN positions 1–8 and 10. We publish the filed values as they stand and leave out anything the filing does not record.
Vehicle counts come from the 24 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.