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Loss Of Power
2012 Chevrolet Cruze
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Chevrolet dealer.
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."
8.3
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $450
- Average Mileage:
- 53,750 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 7 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- not sure (3 reports)
- engine replacement (1 reports)
- repaced accelerator pedal assembly (1 reports)
- replaced throttle body (1 reports)
- turbo charger replacement (1 reports)
engine problem
Helpful websites
- No one has added a helpful site for this 2012 Cruze problem yet. Be the first!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Car went into low power mode one morning in January 2019. Had it towed to a local Chevy dealer and the throttle body was replaced. Car was fine until June 2020, when it would suddenly go into low power mode during acceleration, with the dash showing "Service Stabilitrak", "Service Traction", "Low Power Mode", and the Check Engine light would come on. Pulling over (scary and difficult, in traffic), cutting the car off, and waiting about a minute would seem to clear the error and the car would then operate o.k.
This kept happening, at irregular intervals.
After the third time, I took it back to the Chevy dealer and they replaced the accelerator pedal, saying that that should fix the problem. The issue happened three more times (twice, in one day), and I took it back to the Chevy dealer. They drove it, trying to get the problem to repeat so that they could get the error code to identify the issue. Because the error code disappears after the car is turned off, they had to drive with the code reader in the car to try to diagnose the problem while the engine was running. The problem did not recur while they had it, even though they drove the car a long distance several times over a two week period.
Because they couldn't diagnose the problem and therefore couldn't attempt a fix, they advised me to come pick the car up. They couldn't tell me the car was safe to drive or give me any advice on what to do when the problem happened again. I reached out to GM to see if they could help but they also couldn't offer any good advice. I've avoided driving the car because all the low power episodes have left me rattled and I'm afraid of being rear-ended. I'm stuck with a car with 73,000 miles on it that I can't get fixed and can't, in good conscience, sell to someone. I'm reading about other people who've experienced similar problems, so it sounds like it's not just a fluke. Sorry I bought this car.
- Lisa W., Mechanicsville, VA, US