2012 Buick Verano: owner complaints and recalls

Analysis of 106 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 3 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.

106
Complaints
3
Recalls
8
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
4
Injuries
66.0
Severity index

Severity index 66.0 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.

Among the 129 2012 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2012 Buick Verano ranks 62 of 129 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 52% of its model-year peers. See the full 2012 ranking.

What actually fails

ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE4845.3%
AIR BAGS2725.5%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1615.1%
STEERING98.5%
POWER TRAIN76.6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL76.6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER54.7%
VISIBILITY/WIPER43.8%

The single most-reported system is ENGINE, cited in 48 of 106 complaints (45.3%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.

Complaints filed per year

2012: 52013: 52014: 112015: 102016: 72017: 72018: 152019: 192020: 82021: 62022: 62023: 32024: 32026: 11213141516171819202122232426
YearComplaints
20125
20135
201411
201510
20167
20177
201815
201919
20208
20216
20226
20233
20243
2026 (year to date)1
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
14V30000006/06/2014AIR BAGSGeneral 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, a
12V52200031/10/2012AIR BAGSGeneral 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.
13V02300024/01/2013AIR BAGSGeneral 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.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.