2012 CHEVROLET CRUZE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 860 complaints · 7 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (195 complaints · 22.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 62
  • Fires 17
  • Injuries 30
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2011 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 195 of 860 owner complaints (22.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 195 complaints, 22.7% of reports ENGINE 195 · 22.7% · 3 crash reports 11 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 123 complaints, 14.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 123 · 14.3% · 20 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 107 complaints, 12.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 107 · 12.4% · 4 crash reports 2 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 85 complaints, 9.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 85 · 9.9% · 6 crash reports 1 fire reports STEERING: 67 complaints, 7.8% of reports STEERING 67 · 7.8% · 6 crash reports 1 fire reports VISIBILITY: 41 complaints, 4.8% of reports VISIBILITY 41 · 4.8% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 37 complaints, 4.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 37 · 4.3% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 26 complaints, 3.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 26 · 3.0% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 22 complaints, 2.6% of reports AIR BAGS 22 · 2.6% · 11 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 153 complaints, 17.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 153 · 17.8% · 11 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 195 22.7% 3 crashes · 11 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 123 14.3% 20 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 107 12.4% 4 crashes · 2 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 85 9.9% 6 crashes · 1 fires
STEERING 67 7.8% 6 crashes · 1 fires
VISIBILITY 41 4.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 37 4.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 26 3.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 22 2.6% 11 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 153 17.8% 11 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2011; the first recall shown was reported in Jun 2012. 2011-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2012-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2012-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2013-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2013-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2013-Q3: 30 owner reports 30 2013-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2014-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2014-Q2: 46 owner reports 46 2014-Q3: 48 owner reports 48 2014-Q4: 37 owner reports 37 2015-Q1: 33 owner reports 33 2015-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 2015-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 2015-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 2016-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2016-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2016-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2016-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2017-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2017-Q2: 31 owner reports 31 2017-Q3: 32 owner reports 32 2017-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2018-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2018-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2018-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2018-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 2019-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2019-Q2: 29 owner reports 29 2019-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2019-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2020-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2020-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2020-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2021-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2021-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2021-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2023-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2023-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 Owner reports Oct 2011 Apr 2026 Recall campaign 12V288000 ◆ Recall campaign 12V288000 Recall campaign 12V289000 ◆ Recall campaign 12V289000 Recall campaign 12V522000 ◆ Recall campaign 12V522000 Recall campaign 13V023000 ◆ Recall campaign 13V023000 Recall campaign 13V360000 ◆ Recall campaign 13V360000 Recall campaign 14V300000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V300000 Recall campaign 16V502000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V502000 Investigation PE12010 ● Investigation PE12010 Investigation AQ12002 ● Investigation AQ12002 Investigation RQ13002 ● Investigation RQ13002
  • Campaign 13V360000 was reported 450 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 16V502000 was reported 1,503 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2011-Q4 Owner reports 4
2012-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 11
2012-Q3 Owner reports 22
2012-Q4 Owner reports 9
2013-Q1 Owner reports 19
2013-Q2 Owner reports 9
2013-Q3 Owner reports 30
2013-Q4 Owner reports 16
2014-Q1 Owner reports 29
2014-Q2 Owner reports 46
2014-Q3 Owner reports 48
2014-Q4 Owner reports 37
2015-Q1 Owner reports 33
2015-Q2 Owner reports 22
2015-Q3 Owner reports 26
2015-Q4 Owner reports 17
2016-Q1 Owner reports 22
2016-Q2 Owner reports 20
2016-Q3 Owner reports 27
2016-Q4 Owner reports 18
2017-Q1 Owner reports 13
2017-Q2 Owner reports 31
2017-Q3 Owner reports 32
2017-Q4 Owner reports 16
2018-Q1 Owner reports 25
2018-Q2 Owner reports 20
2018-Q3 Owner reports 18
2018-Q4 Owner reports 22
2019-Q1 Owner reports 19
2019-Q2 Owner reports 29
2019-Q3 Owner reports 13
2019-Q4 Owner reports 16
2020-Q1 Owner reports 15
2020-Q2 Owner reports 6
2020-Q3 Owner reports 11
2020-Q4 Owner reports 8
2021-Q1 Owner reports 10
2021-Q2 Owner reports 4
2021-Q3 Owner reports 10
2021-Q4 Owner reports 7
2022-Q1 Owner reports 7
2022-Q2 Owner reports 6
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 3
2023-Q1 Owner reports 5
2023-Q2 Owner reports 7
2023-Q3 Owner reports 10
2023-Q4 Owner reports 4
2024-Q1 Owner reports 6
2024-Q3 Owner reports 3
2024-Q4 Owner reports 4
2025-Q1 Owner reports 2
2025-Q2 Owner reports 2
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 2
2026-Q2 Owner reports 4
Recall campaign 1 12V288000
Recall campaign 1 12V289000
Recall campaign 1 12V522000
Recall campaign 1 13V023000
Recall campaign 1 13V360000
Recall campaign 1 14V300000
Recall campaign 1 16V502000
Defect investigation 1 PE12010
Defect investigation 1 AQ12002
Defect investigation 1 RQ13002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (7)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 12V288000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    EITHER CONDITION COULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE, POSSIBLY CAUSING INJURY OR DEATH.
    Remedy:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 12V289000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    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:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 12V522000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    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:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 13V023000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    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:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 13V360000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    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:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V300000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    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:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  7. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V502000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 860 complaints · page 1 of 35

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources