You could do a lot worse than the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze if you’re shopping for a ten year old car. But, compartment fires and airbag failure have persisted despite recalls, and brake failure reports haven’t even led to a recall in the first place. Combine that with the car’s age and a 2012 Cruze is a hard sell.
- The 2012 Chevrolet Cruze earned a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and five stars overall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- There have been two recalls for fires, but complaints of smoking under the hood persist a decade later.
- Drivers report airbags failing to deploy even after three recalls.
- Braking issues range from total failure to stiff brake assist.
- At present, the NHTSA reports seven recalls, 812 complaints, and three investigations on file for the 2012 Cruze.
Compartment Fires Persist a Decade After Recalls
A pair of recalls were issued for potential fire hazards within the first year of the 2012 Cruze’s release. In the first instance, covering over 53,000 units, both 2011 and 2012 Cruzes, the fuel tank was liable to come loose in a crash. In the second, internal oil spills could cause fires in over 400,000 units.
There are currently 37 complaints on file for engine cooling, with many of these pointing to overheating and smoke coming from under the hood, often filling up the cabin and forcing drivers to pull over. These issues are sometimes accompanied by rough shifting, sputtering, or engine fires.
In affected units, drivers are typically reporting antifreeze spills as the root cause, meaning that oil spillage was not the only issue that needed to be addressed under the hood. An investigation into the issue actually led to Chevrolet paying out to 23 drivers, but the problem itself persists in many units.
Failure mileage is usually reported before the Cruze reaches 100,000 miles. If you want to chance it, the odds are that if you’re test-driving a car with 120,000 miles on the odometer and you’re not seeing any white smoke, you’re in the clear. The question is if you want to chance it.
Airbag Failure Leads to Three Recalls, Several Complaints
Three recalls were issued between 2012 and 2014 for failure to deploy in the frontal driver side airbag. In total, nearly 40,000 Chevrolet and Buick drivers were sent notifications regarding these recalls. In affected units, the issue came down to a shorting bar which could come in contact with the airbag terminal, preventing deployment.
In other words: it was a wiring issue. When the wrong wires and terminals come into contact with each other, you get electrical shorts. When you get electrical shorts, you get electrical components not working as they’re intended to work.
While complaints have not exactly been frequent since these recalls were issued, they’re not unheard of, either. A driver complains in late 2021 of total airbag failure after hitting a deer at 60 mph. In 2020, a driver reports the airbags not deploying after rear-ending a vehicle at 45 mph.
Most likely, you’ll get a “service airbag” light blinking on, with one driver reporting that the repairs eventually cost them $950 in 2016, which you can adjust for inflation to a little over a thousand bucks today. On the upside, there are only 34 airbag complaints on file with the NHTSA, so rate of incidence is low.
Reports of Brake Failure Have Gone Unaddressed
There are currently 138 complaints on file with the NHTSA for service brakes, with the most worrying complaints pointing to total failure when pressing down on the brake pedal. In some instances the pedal may go stiff, and in others, it may simply be completely unresponsive.
One driver reports that their brakes work perfectly fine in drive, but when they go into reverse, the brakes simply do not work at all. This isn’t the most common issue to encounter, but it is possible to produce this effect by using your brake and gas pedal at the same time, creating a low vacuum.
Some drivers are not experiencing total brake failure, but stiffness or weakness on the part of the power assist. Meaning that they can bring the car to a stop, but only by applying extra effort. This can be a problem when you need to come to a sudden halt.
There have been no recalls issued to address the brake issues reported in the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, and there have been no investigations into the matter. All you can really do as a buyer is make sure to check the brakes on the test drive.
There are Worse Cars Than the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, but Unaddressed Braking and Fire Issues are Worrying
The 2012 Cruze earned a Top Safety Pick award with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and five stars overall from the NHTSA. With proper maintenance, there’s no reason a ten year old Cruze can’t go another five years or more.
But, when something does go wrong, it’s usually pretty serious. Compartment fires, brake failure, airbag failure, this isn’t a busted window switch or a loose panel, these are potentially catastrophic problems. While the rate of incidence isn’t incredibly high, the risk of your car catching on fire may be too much for some buyres.
