2012 Chevrolet Cruze Airbags Problems
NHTSA lists 34 airbag complaints for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, 4% of its 865 total complaints for the year, tied to 18 crashes and 17 injuries. Three related recalls cover a faulty steering wheel airbag coil, at a median failure mileage of 59,000 miles.
- Airbags complaints
- 34
- 4% of 865
- Crashes reported
- 18
- Fires reported
- 1
- Injuries reported
- 17
- Median mileage
- 59,000 mi
- Related recalls
- 3
Typical airbag symptoms owners report
- Owners report frontal airbags failing to deploy during moderate-speed crashes, including rear-end and T-bone collisions.
- Some describe airbags deploying but deflating immediately, offering little protection on impact.
- Several complaints mention a 'service air bag' dashboard warning appearing after a collision where the airbags never fired.
- One owner heard a loud bang and saw smoke fill the cabin during a rear collision with no airbag deployment.
- Non-deployment incidents span a wide mileage range, from as low as 2,000 miles to as high as 94,000 miles.
When 2012 Chevrolet Cruze airbag complaints were filed
First complaint May 10, 2012, latest May 23, 2022.
Airbags recalls for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
- NHTSA 14V300000Jun 6, 2014Airbags31,520 vehicles
Air bags
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.
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.
- NHTSA 13V023000Jan 24, 2013Airbags4,167 vehicles
Air bags
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.
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.
- NHTSA 12V522000Oct 31, 2012Airbags2,949 vehicles
Air bags
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.
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.
Airbags complaints by Cruze model year
Raw complaint counts per model year; newer years have had less time to accumulate complaints.
Frequently asked questions
- How many airbag complaints does the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze have?
- NHTSA lists 34 airbag complaints for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, which is 4% of the 865 total complaints filed for that model year.
- Is there a recall for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze airbags?
- Yes. Three NHTSA recalls (campaigns 12V522000, 13V023000, and 14V300000) address a driver-side frontal airbag shorting bar and require dealers to replace the steering wheel airbag coil free of charge.
- At what mileage do airbag problems tend to show up?
- The median mileage at failure for airbag complaints on the 2012 Cruze is 59,000 miles.
- Were there any injuries linked to airbag issues?
- NHTSA records 17 injuries and 18 crashes among the 34 airbag complaints for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, plus one fire.
- How does 2012 compare to other Cruze years for airbag complaints?
- The 2012 Cruze's airbag complaints are 4% of that year's total, lower than 2013 (8%), 2014 (11%), 2015 (8%), and 2016 (8%), but higher than 2017 (3%).