2012 Chevrolet Cruze: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 864 complaints about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze and NHTSA has issued 7 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is engine, named in 267 of them.

864
Complaints
7
Recalls
62
Crash reports
17
Fire reports
30
Injuries
68.3
Severity index

Severity index 68.3 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 68.3p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 129 2012 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze ranks 57 of 129 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 56% of its model-year peers. See the full 2012 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 267 complaints (30.9%)267 31%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 196 complaints (22.7%)196 23%Service BrakesService Brakes: 152 complaints (17.6%)152 18%Power TrainPower Train: 137 complaints (15.9%)137 16%Electronic Stability Co…Electronic Stability Control (Esc): 108 complaints (12.5%)108 12%SteeringSteering: 103 complaints (11.9%)103 12%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 84 complaints (9.7%)84 10%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 51 complaints (5.9%)51 6%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE26730.9%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM19622.7%
SERVICE BRAKES15217.6%
POWER TRAIN13715.9%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)10812.5%
STEERING10311.9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER849.7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL515.9%

Complaints filed per year

0851702011: 42012: 442013: 752014: 1612015: 982016: 872017: 922018: 852019: 782020: 402021: 312022: 182023: 262024: 132025: 62026: 6 (partial year)11121314161151617181920212223242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20114
201244
201375
2014161
201598
201687
201792
201885
201978
202040
202131
202218
202326
202413
20256
2026 (year to date)6
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
16V50200005/07/2016ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITIONGeneral 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, 2013-20
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
12V28900022/06/2012FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:MOUNTINGGENERAL 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.
12V28800022/06/2012ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGGENERAL 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
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.
13V36000015/08/2013SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSISTGeneral 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
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.