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CarComplaints.com Notes: In many ways, the 2012 Cruze continues the legacy of its predecessor. It's a legacy of sluggish transmissions and coolant leaks, but it's still a legacy.

To be fair, the number of complaints about the cooling system are way down versus the 2011 model which led to a class-action lawsuit.

On the flip-side, there's more concerns about brake problems.

However, there were far more Cruze vehicles sold for the 2012 model year so we'll give it our "Beware of this Clunker" badge rather than the "Avoid Like the Plague."

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,402 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Chevrolet Cruze brakes problems

brakes problem

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2012 Chevrolet Cruze Owner Comments (Page 2 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #88

Feb 102018

Cruze

  • 83,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Since November 2016 at 56,000 miles the car has been constantly overheating. The engine coolant flange, water pump, and thermostat have been replaced 2xs. When this happens the car flashes sporadic messages such as A/C off high engine heat, service stabilitrak, change oil, etc. The car also has started leaking oil. Finally on February 10th, 2018 the car had these same issues again and this time the engine went entirely. The car had total engine failure at 83,500 miles and now requires a new engine. This is the worst car I have ever owned and I would never recommend it to anyone. Upon going online everyone has these same exact issues so I have no idea why massive recalls have not been made.

- Gaston, SC, USA

problem #87

Jan 232018

Cruze

  • 110,000 miles
Car randomly displaying service stabilitrax and dashboard lights flash radio turns on and off. Seems to happen more at stops but sometimes when moving also. Started with radio turning on and off only but now includes the other also. This has been an issue for about a month.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #86

Dec 172017

Cruze

  • 105,000 miles
While driving, on at least four occasions, I have lost power completely, causing all electrical functionings to stop, making me lose ability to accelerate, causing my lights to shut off, and all other functionalities of the car, besides steering and using inertia, resulting in pulling over without endangering myself or other drivers. There also seems to be a skipping or jumping involving the fuel injection when accelerating, which makes speed regulation irregular, sporadic, and does not allow the driver to make accurate judgements on the cars capabilities concerning timing and distance to other drivers. Recently, I was in motion driving through chatanooga, tn, where it is mountainous and has steep hills, during nighttime, so visibility was lessened, and danger, due to the type of road it was, was increased. While going downhill, luckily, with other cars around me traveling at 70 mph, my car just shut off, completely. I lost the ability to accelerate, my lights shut off, almost causing an accident with the cars around me. Luckily, I pulled onto the shoulder without any damages. This happened again, about two months ago, at a stop light. I began to accelerate, and in the middle of the intersection, my car shut off, I had to coast off of the road, lost all acceleration, and again almost was involved in an accident.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #85

Dec 302017

Cruze

  • 40,955 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The "check engine" light came on one evening and with a message to service the stabiltrack. I did get the car home. Next morning, started the car, was stopped at an intersection near my home when the engine lost power in the middle of the intersection. Was able to get the car home by turning it off and restarting it, but in trying to drive the car to the repair shop, was not able to get any acceleration and had to have the car towed from my driveway. Diagnostics revealed the throttle body had to be replaced and the sensor cleared. Was told by my mechanic that there is a service bulletin out for this issue from GM. This is a car with 41,000 miles on it.

- Pewaukee, WI, USA

problem #84

Dec 282017

Cruze

  • 114,000 miles
Engine loss of power and stability and traction control. The vehicle was moving and lost power and would not go above 5mph causing a safety issue on highway.

- Moore, OK, USA

problem #83

Dec 272017

Cruze

  • 67,000 miles
When starting my car, my windshield wipers start going along with windshield wiper fluid coming out, my four ways start blinking, and my trunk opens up and will not shut. I have not touched anything that would cause any of this to happen. This has happened multiple times and it puts me in a huge inconvenience. I was driving today and it's 14 degrees outside, yet my car started to overheat and a warning came up on my dash saying something about the A/C being shut off due to overheating.... why would I be using my A/C at all?

- Sarver, PA, USA

problem #82

Nov 292017

Cruze

  • 78,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving my car would not accelerate. The car will not move when changing gears. I took the car to the dealership because the check engine light and stabilik service light came on. The mechanic diagnosed the car and replaced a connector. Now, the car gears don't work. Misdiagnosis.

- Harrison Township, MI, USA

problem #81

Nov 072017

Cruze

  • 65,000 miles
I was driving down the interstate and my car started to lose power. The engine reduced power and service stabilitrak messages came up and the check engine light and traction control light came on. I got of the interstate and putted along, barely able to accelerate at stop lights, until I made it to my local Chevy dealership. They don't seem to know what is going on and I'll probably end up doing a trial and error with sensors and throttles. A few weeks ago a similar incident happened while I was driving down a residential road (25mph), but everything turned off (dash, A/C, radio, digital speedometer, etc) and my car powered off for a few seconds and then came back on again. This is seriously a scary problem to have.

- Paw Paw, MI, USA

problem #80

Sep 222017

Cruze

  • 104,000 miles
While breaking, using the blinker, turning, or just driving the car will loose power, slow the car down, the radio looses power, and my service stablitky track, service power steering, along with traction control, anti-breaking lights, and a few other light will all come back on. It will do this randomly while driving, it seems to do it more frequently when coming to a stop or accelerating. I had this serviced back in February of 2017 and the dealership told me I had acid from my battery leaking into the positive cable, so I had all the battery and battery wires replaced. This took care of the problem until a few weeks ago. This is happening more and more often and the problem is becoming worse. This is a persistent problem with the Chevy Cruze from the research I have done and Chevy seems to be doing nothing about it.

- Manhattan, KS, USA

problem #79

Aug 212017

Cruze

  • 80,043 miles
Car slow to crank, check power steering comes on or check anti theft system occasionally. Sometimes the wipers, emergency lights or trunk pops open. No on can give me an answer as to what the heck is going on with my 2012 cruz. This happens while the car is stationary.

- Austell, GA, USA

problem #78

Aug 142017

Cruze

  • 134,882 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When I try and start my car sometime it stalls like it doesn't want to crank up and when I finally do get it crank the emergency lights flash, power steering comes on the screen and then windshield wipers come on. I had this problem previous a couple months again to where when I crank it the trunk came open and the stabilitak and jerk and other things would pop up. They put it on the machine and it said it was misfires so I went and got it fixed now it's happening again.

- Mcdonough, GA, USA

problem #77

Jun 282017

Cruze

  • 66,000 miles
Car when in park with parking break and idiling in neutral. The steering wheel will jerk, the speedometer will spike at max speed and doors will lock and all dash lights flash on. While driving down the road between 25 to 45 mph the radio will turn itself off and then back on for no reason. Also while turning at slow speed, car will reset itself. As in it will lose all power to the power steering, ac, radio, everything and you will have to restart the car. Not safe at all when driving in traffic.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #76

Jun 232016

Cruze

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel seized and all the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. In addition, the vehicle stalled and would not restart until five minutes later. On another occasion, the vehicle stalled and restarted independently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty and that there were no open recalls. The contact would have to pay for the diagnostic and repair costs. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

- Savannah, GA, USA

problem #75

Mar 272017

Cruze

  • 51,000 miles
My vehicle has 51000 miles on it. In the last 1 month I have had 4 different incidents involving the service stablik causing reduced power and check engine lights to come on. Just once I was able to retrieve a code P-2132 indicating to have the trottle body sensor replaced which I did from a Chevy dealership. In the last 2 weeks since therepair, this has happened to me 2 more times, only to have the dealership tell me they are unable to retrieve codes to diagnois the problem. I have been fortunate that the reduce power has been happening early in my trips. Whether pulling out from a parked spot, or just recently crossing and intersection were I was the 1st car and able to coast into a safe area. My car is currently at the dealership for the 2nd time in 2 days. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle I am afraid I am going to get rear ended. I am schedule to move out of state in less than a month, and currently have no way of getting there.

- Schaumburg, IL, USA

problem #74

Oct 012012

Cruze

  • 1,100 miles
I recently had a diagnostic done on my 2012 Chevy Cruze eco 1.4 liter. The code read as P069E, fuel pump control module. I have had issue with the instrument panel not showing accurate fuel levels. Sometimes if the fuel goes below half a tank it reads empty for a few days or a week, even if I fill up the tank it still reads empty. This can be dangerous, especially on long trips and I have a long commute in and out of different cities. I have had this issue since I have had the car at 1100 miles when I got it. I currently have about 108000 miles. I used to think it was the fuel pump, but recently learned it could be a few things like the fuel line pressure sensor, fuel pump mra, wiring, circuit issues, or the fuel pump control module. And the fuel pump control module seems to be the main issue or so I have heard. It would be great if this could be resolved, it is not good driving around with a defective fuel system.

- Lamont, CA, USA

problem #73

Apr 032017

Cruze

  • 135,000 miles
Takata recall, I have a 2012 Chevy Cruze and the stable I track light comes on reduced engine power light comes on and it's just basically shuts off in the middle of traffic, check engine light comes on, stays on flashes on and off.

- Jackson, TN, USA

problem #72

Feb 252017

Cruze

  • 35,162 miles
I have a 2012 Chevy Cruze ltz rs with 35,162 miles.I was driving home from work at 2am during a snow storm. 30 mph in white our condition. Luckily I was on a city road. Out of nowhere my service stabitrack light flashes and my speed reduced dramatically and my car became erratic. I was almost rear ended by a snow plow.I could have been seriously injured or killed. I basically had no control over my car. I had no idea what it was and it scared the living daylights out of me.I was searching forums and this seems to be a common issue with the car. However Chevy doesn't care enough about its customers to issue a recall on the issue. I hope this issue can be addressed before someone is killed or seriously injured

- Bozeman, MT, USA

problem #71

Mar 012013

Cruze

  • 16,000 miles
I have a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze eco, within a year I had to have the turbocharger replaced. Before I had it replace I brought it to the dealer with complaints of losing power and the smell of gas and exhaust. They said working as normal; within days it started making a loud noise. I call onstar to do a diagnosis' it was my turbocharger. It was fix but a few days later it smelt like fumes again. Took it in and they said working as normal. A year later the turbocharger went out again and I paid 1200 to have it fix. Long story short I'm still smelling exhaust even after having all the recalls fix. Now my stability traction control light came on the off again. This car was a lemon from the beginning but I'm out of warranty. I thought by now they would of had a recall on their turbocharger and the oil line that they say that keeps getting block and the exhaust smelll. Is anyone working on all these complaints?

- Oakley, CA, USA

problem #70

Jan 042017

Cruze

  • 41,000 miles
"takata recall" I have and issue now for months since I financed the Chevy Cruze 2012. It has something to do with the brakes or running lights switch. If the lights are on running mode and you touch the brakes it seems the radio goes on and off, also acts like the car is shutting off when you are stopped. Also the stablity trac light on dash comes on multiple times. I do not have the funds to have someone check on the situation especially when I have read up and seen so many complaints bout the same thing. I believe this is a manufacturer problem maybe to much power surge to circuit or whatever you want to call it. However it is a serious condition because when I went to make a turn the brakes N steering went out basically I assumed the car lost power and thank god I knew to hit the gas pedal to get it to stop, and re-function like its suppose to do. I hate to say this to Chevy but they need a recall on these Chevy Cruze 2012"S. before someone like myself or another gets hurt or even worse killed in the car systems malfunction. Feel free to contact me. I will love to take you for a ride in the car so you can enjoy the faulty systems I see and who knows maybe the power brakes N steering will shut off so you can feel the way I felt when it happen less than a mile from home after working 12hrs. You ask for a specific date well there has been so many days and multiple times in one day it is hard to list all the actions. But trust me if you would like to take a ride and see for yourself I be more than willing to comply.

- Brownwood, TX, USA

problem #69

Dec 282016

Cruze

  • miles
Radio is turning on and off. Stabilitytrak control light comes on power steering give out and brakes

- Chandler, AZ, USA

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