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2012 Chevrolet Cruze Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 865 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, most often about the engine (36% of complaints, typically around 63,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Cruze model year since 2000 and has 7 recalls.
Most common 2012 Chevrolet Cruze problems
Engine
308 complaints · 36%Half of these problems showed up before 63,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
Driving on rural road temperature gauge went all the way to hot. Stopped car looked under hood there was no liquid in the antifreeze tank went to a house and got water to fill it up. Temp gauge went back to normal. Check engine stayed on. Took car to dealer for inspection they said thermostat housing replaced . Every…
Started vehicle drove 2 miles engine RPM started increasing without pressing excellerator I looked down at temperature gage and it was maxed all the way to hot. Stopped the turned engine off raised the hood couldn't see any reason for car to be hot in such a short distance of driving. After about 45 minutes started…
Electrical
196 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring.
The trunk release switch that is located on the trunk of the vehicle does not work. The only way to open the trunk is by using the keyless entry remote. Though this does not pose a direct threat to safety it is extremely inconvenient due to the need for the key just to open an unlocked vehicles trunk. I purchased the…
While driving all the lights are coming on, the dashboard. The brake lights, service stabilitrak light, and the ABS light and the radio blinks on and off and then sometimes the radio stays off for several minutes. I had taken the care to the dealership to have them to check it and they advised me it was my thermostat…
Brakes
150 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 45,000 miles. Parts named most often: power assist.
I was backing out of my garage and as I pushed on my brake pedal to slow down and maneuver out of the garage I realized the pedal would not go down and the car kept going in reverse with no way of stopping it! There was no give to the brake pedal at all, it was as if it was locked up. I rolled backward several feet…
Similar issue to the previous brake recall to which repair was completed on this vehicle months prior to these incidents. The brake peddle on the car would become much harder than anticipated multiple times, mostly when first starting the vehicle or reversing from a parking spot, had several near miss accidents at low…
Transmission
137 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, clutch assembly.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled away in reverse as the contact was exiting the vehicle and closing the door. The vehicle then crashed into a truck. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that they could not diagnose the cause of the…
Tl contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while approximately driving 60 MPH, the traction stability, reduce engine power and check engine warning lights illuminated. In addition, the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not aware…
Stability control
108 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles.
I am writing in reference to my 2012 chevy cruise eco. I purchased it new with only 5 miles on it. I have never been in an accident and I am religious with maintenance scheduling. On feb. 19th was the first time we noticed it. My wife was leaving the driveway and the top speed that could be achieved was 10 MPH and the…
The vehicle dash board flickered all the lights and displays came on the radio display went black, service stabilitrack indicator came on, the bluetooth went out, the brake light and traction control lights came on. This is happening at any time it can happen when you first start the car or after you driving for a…
Steering
103 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 45,500 miles. Parts named most often: hydraulic power assist, electric power assist system.
My 2012 chevy Cruze turned the radio dashboard on/off and the check engine light came on in december 2013 the engine light remained on the radio only once then didn't do it again. In february 2014 it started doing it again this time the stereo would turn on/of, the dash board on/off and my locks would unlock and lock…
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the steering became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The contact was not aware of the repair necessary to remedy the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not…
Other or unspecified
84 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles.
I was taking my wife to work which is only 10 mnutes away, on my way home I had a display on my digital display saying engine over heat/AC off so I panicked and seen the engine light was on and it was super hot and panicked more! I had my 15 month old in the car so I didnt stop but I get home and check the coolant and…
This car has had issues since we purchased it brand new in 2012. Does not accelerate when merging on freeway or trying to pick up speed. It puts the driver at a very high risk of an accident. This car was purchased for my daughter to attend college and she feels very unsafe. We have had to have it towed and taken into…
Fuel system
52 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles. Parts named most often: storage.
During acceleration I smell gas, oil burning, exhaust fuels in my car. I have taken it to the dealer who keeps stating it running like it should. Now I believe my warranty is over and my new car functions like its 20 years old. I can't get them to believe me and I don't believe they even bother test driving it. I…
2012 Cruze lt. The third turbo was installed 2 days before extended warranty expired. It has 56668 miles now. I spent 4 hours putting glue putty in the cracks on the bottom intake manifold, to plenum junction corners of cylinders 2 and 4 because of the gm plastic [], curing the low boost and lean mixture codes at…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 Chevrolet Cruze recalls
Electrical: ignition
Risk: If the key is removed without the transmission in park, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on october 14, 2016. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, buick 1-800-521-7300, and gmc 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 buick verano and 2016 chevrolet malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in park. Also, certain 2013 buick encore, 2011 buick regal, 2013-2014 buick verano, 2011-2016 chevrolet cruze, 2010-2013 chevrolet equinox 2013-2015 chevrolet malibu, and 2011-2013 gmc terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention."
Air bags
Risk: If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, that air bag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel air bag coil, free of charge. The recall began on july 25, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact gm at 1-800-222-1020. Buick owners may contact gm at 1-800-521-7300. Note: this is an expansion of recalls 12v-522 and 13v-023.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2012 buick verano vehicles manufactured december 2, 2011 to july, 16, 2012, chevrolet cruze vehicles manufactured december 7, 2011 to july 25, 2012, chevrolet sonic vehicles manufactured december 5, 2011 to august 2, 2012, and chevrolet camaro vehicles manufactured december 1, 2011 to june 11, 2012. The driver side frontal air bag has a shorting bar which may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.
Brakes: power assist
Risk: A loss of braking assistance will require extra pedal force and/or distance to bring the vehicle to a stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: General motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace a microswitch in the power brake vacuum pipe assembly, free of charge. The recall began on october 7, 2013. Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020. Gm's recall number is 12213.
Full defect summary
General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 chevrolet cruze vehicles equipped with 1.4l dohc gasoline turbo engines and 6t40 front wheel drive automatic transmissions and equipped with an electric vacuum pump to provide supplemental vacuum for brake assist, when needed. In the affected vehicles, the pump may not activate, resulting in an intermittent reduction or loss of brake assist.
Air bags
Risk: If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, that air bag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel air bag coil, free of charge. The safety recall began on february 13, 2013. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2012 chevrolet camaro, cruze and sonic, and model year 2012 buick verano vehicles. The driver side frontal air bag has a shorting bar which may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.
Air bags
Risk: If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal airbag, that airbag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.
Fix: General motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel airbag coil, free of charge. The safety recall began on january 11, 2013. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Full defect summary
General motors is recalling certain model year 2012 buick verano, chevrolet cruze, and chevrolet sonic vehicles. The driver side frontal air bag has a shorting bar which may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.
Engine: engine and engine cooling
Risk: Either condition could result in an engine compartment fire, possibly causing injury or death.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will modify the engine shield to prevent fluid from contacting the shield. Also, on vehicles with a manual transmission, dealers will apply a protective tape to the electronic power steering wire harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge to the owner. The safety recall began on july 10, 2012. Owners may contact the chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.
Full defect summary
General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2011 and 2012 chevrolet cruze vehicles manufactured from october 2, 2009, through may 31, 2012. Spilled or dripping oil (such as after an oil change) may collect in the engine shield (bellypan) near hot engine or exhaust system surfaces. As a result, the oil and the engine shield may ignite and burn.
Fuel system: mounting
Risk: The fuel tank could come loose in a crash, possibly allowing fuel to leak from the tank. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle for missing welds. If the vehicle is missing welds, dealers will secure the bracket attachments with fasteners. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on july 9, 2012. Owners may contact the chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.
Full defect summary
General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2011 and 2012 chevrolet cruze vehicles manufactured from october 2, 2009, through may 14, 2012. Attachment welds for the fuel tank strap secondary brackets may have been omitted.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Air bag non-deployment
Summary
General motors (gm) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (my) 2012 buick verano and chevrolet camaro, cruze and sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.these vehicles are a small percentage of all my 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from december 1, 2011 to august 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14v-300 for more information).also, see attached additional report for more information.this investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12v-522 and 13v-023) of certain my 2012 verano, camaro, cruze and sonic vehic
Chapman chevrolet / cruze engine recall
Summary
Nhtsa opened aq12-002 to determine whether chapman chevrolet of philadelphia, pennsylvania complied with the requirements of the national traffic and motor vehicle safety act, 49 u.s.c.chapter 301 (safety act) and its implementing regulations.the safety act requires, among other things, that a manufacturer notify its dealers of defects related to motor vehicle safety and non-compliances with federal motor vehicle safety standards and, in turn, that a dealer not sell a new vehicle subject to a recall unless the recall remedy has been performed (49 u.s.c. ? 30120(I)). Nhtsa issued an information request (ir) letter to chapman chevrolet on october 16, 2012.chapman chevrolet responded to this re
Engine compartment fire
Summary
In a june 21, 2012 letter to NHTSA, general motors llc. (gm) submitted a defect information report (dir) identifying a defect in approximately 413,148 model year (my) 2011 through 2012 chevrolet cruze vehicles manufactured from october 2, 2009 through may 31, 2012 (recall 12v-288). According to gm, engine oil change procedures can result in spilling or dripping of oil on the engine shield.also, manual transmission vehicles with a completely worn clutch may cause hydraulic fluid to be expelled from the clutch housing vent hole.if oil, debris or the burning hydraulic fluid contacts hot engine or exhaust system surfaces, and the engine shield, the shield may ignite and burn, leading to a possib
Questions about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (308 complaints, typically around 63,000 miles); electrical (196 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles); brakes (150 complaints, typically around 45,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze have?
- 7 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from July 5, 2016 (electrical). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2012 a bad year for the Chevrolet Cruze?
- It is the most complained-about Cruze model year since 2000, with 865 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.