2012 Chevrolet Cruze: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The newest campaign is 16V502000. NHTSA received the report on 5 Jul 2016. The NHTSA record gives the component Electrical System / Ignition. NHTSA has 865 complaints on file for this model year. 3 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 16V502000, in the NHTSA record

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.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

7 campaigns, newest first. 806,269 units in total.

16V5020005 Jul 2016Electrical System / Ignition
14V3000006 Jun 2014Air Bags
13V36000015 Aug 2013Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Power Assist
13V02300024 Jan 2013Air Bags
12V52200031 Oct 2012Air Bags
12V28800022 Jun 2012Engine and Engine Cooling
12V28900022 Jun 2012Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly / Mounting

16V502000Received 5 Jul 2016. 8,367 units.
Electrical System / Ignition
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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."
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 50490, 50491. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 14 Oct 2016.
14V300000Received 6 Jun 2014. 31,520 units.
Air Bags
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12261. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 25 Jul 2014.
13V360000Received 15 Aug 2013. 292,879 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Power Assist
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12213. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 7 Oct 2013.
13V023000Received 24 Jan 2013. 4,167 units.
Air Bags
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12261. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 13 Feb 2013.
12V522000Received 31 Oct 2012. 2,949 units.
Air Bags
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12261. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 11 Jan 2013.
12V288000Received 22 Jun 2012. 413,148 units.
Engine and Engine Cooling
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Either condition could result in an engine compartment fire, possibly causing injury or death.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12081. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 10 Jul 2012.
12V289000Received 22 Jun 2012. 53,239 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly / Mounting
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12133. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 9 Jul 2012.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

865 complaints, 1,354 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2012 Chevrolet Cruze
All 2012 vehicles

2012 Chevrolet Cruze: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2012 Cruze	All 2012 vehicles	Cruze, all years	Mentions
Engine	197.9	144.2	217.4	268
Electrical System	145.5	130.1	131.6	197
Service Brakes	104.9	56.2	59.6	142
Power Train	101.9	108.9	117.1	138
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)	79.8	20.8	63.9	108
Steering	77.5	97.9	65.1	105
Unknown or Other	62	69.3	81	84
Vehicle Speed Control	37.7	34	40.9	51
Fuel/Propulsion System	35.5	44.1	43.7	48
Engine and Engine Cooling	34	9.7	24.7	46

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 28.

Complaints that report a crash: 62
Complaints that report a fire: 18
Injuries in the complaints: 30
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 31 Aug 2026

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2014, with 161 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
RQ13002	Recall query	Air Bag Non-deployment	Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module	31 May 2013	9 Jul 2014	13V023000
AQ12002	Audit query	Chapman Chevrolet / Cruze Engine Recall	Engine and Engine Cooling / Engine / Gasoline	15 Oct 2012	20 Oct 2014
PE12010	Preliminary evaluation	Engine compartment fire	Engine	28 Mar 2012	19 Jul 2012	12V288000

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2012 Chevrolet CruzeThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2012 Chevrolet Cruze: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/chevrolet/cruze/2012/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: General Motors LLC

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze?: 806,269 units in 7 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Chevrolet Cruze have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 26 recall campaigns for the Chevrolet Cruze, model years 2010 to 2019. 7 of them name the 2012 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze name most often?: Engine: 268 of 1,354 component mentions, or 197.9 per 1,000. For all 2012 vehicles the figure is 144.2 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze open?: No. Each of the 3 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.