2012 Chevrolet Cruze Recalls

NHTSA lists 7 open recalls for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer, however old the vehicle is.

Recall data as of Oct 16, 2026 — NHTSA. For a live answer, run the check yourself, or see the latest recalls.

Electrical System Ignition

What's wrong:
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."
Risk:
If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
What to do:
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 campaign 16V502000 — quote this at the dealer.Reported Jul 5, 2016.

Air Bags

What's wrong:
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.
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.
What to do:
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.

NHTSA campaign 14V300000 — quote this at the dealer.Reported Jun 6, 2014.

Tank Assembly Mounting

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:MOUNTING

What's wrong:
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.
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.
What to do:
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.

NHTSA campaign 12V289000 — quote this at the dealer.Reported Jun 22, 2012.

Engine And Engine Cooling

What's wrong:
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.
Risk:
EITHER CONDITION COULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE, POSSIBLY CAUSING INJURY OR DEATH.
What to do:
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.

NHTSA campaign 12V288000 — quote this at the dealer.Reported Jun 22, 2012.

Air Bags

What's wrong:
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.
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.
What to do:
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.

NHTSA campaign 12V522000 — quote this at the dealer.Reported Oct 31, 2012.

Air Bags

What's wrong:
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.
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.
What to do:
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.

NHTSA campaign 13V023000 — quote this at the dealer.Reported Jan 24, 2013.

Power Assist

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST

What's wrong:
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.
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.
What to do:
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.

NHTSA campaign 13V360000 — quote this at the dealer.Reported Aug 15, 2013.

Owner complaints

865filed with NHTSA · 7 in the last 12 months
Filed by yearpeak 2015
151617181920212223242526
Engine
268
Electrical System
196
Service Brakes
150
Power Train
137

62 involved a crash · 18 a fire · 30 injuries

Reported by owners to NHTSA and not verified. Complaints often surface a problem months before a recall.

See the complaints at NHTSA

Other Chevrolet Cruze years

Every year links to that vehicle's full recall page.

201920182017201620152014201320122011

Chevrolet Cruze, every year

How recall repairs work

  • Repairs are free at any franchised Chevrolet dealer — regardless of the vehicle's age or whether you bought it new.
  • Bring the NHTSA campaign number; it's printed on each recall above and on the sheet you can print here.
  • Call ahead: some recalls are announced before parts are available, and the dealer can tell you when yours are in.
  • Your VIN tells the dealer whether your exact vehicle is affected — the free check accepts one and never stores it.

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