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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:
25 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
45,366 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 4 of 7)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #79

Jun 012016

Cruze

  • 48,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. When the brake pedal was depressed at a red light, the vehicle continued to move forward without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously serviced per NHTSA campaign number: 13V360000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,000.

- Oneonta, AL, USA

problem #78

Mar 172016

Cruze

  • 73,000 miles
Car suddenly shifted into 4th gear while going 70 mph. Squalled left front tire, and violently snatched steering wheel to the left. After shutting car off, the problem was gone. Shortly after, stabilitrack, and steering alarm appeared on message display. That cleared once shut-off. Three weeks later it occurred again. This time, on a trip, it did the exact same problems four times in a row. This is a very dangerous problem. If I had not had a firm grip on the wheel, I would have been hurt. I pity the fool who tailgates me! I took the car to the local dealer, and had the California flash "recall" done. Sense that the transmission has not shifted down while at high speeds, but now, the stabilitrack, and ABS lights are staying on.

- Leicester, NC, USA

problem #77

Oct 142015

Cruze

  • 36,000 miles
2012 Chevrolet Cruze recalled for brake failure at low speed. It was allegedly repaired at bacharodt Chevrolet, pompano beach, fl. Subsequently, the brakes again failed and a crash resulted against a wall at low speed in my apartment parking lot. After complaint to GM was sent to auto nation Chevrolet, delray beach fl and they determined that the recalled replacement sensor for the brakes was not put on correctly by bachrodt, and that they failed again and that caused the crash, no injuries. GM picked up cost of repair in full including body damage.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #76

Feb 012016

Cruze

  • 50,000 miles

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

While driving the power steering shuts off, radio blinks on and off, and the brakes get spongy making it hard to drive and stop. I have had it in the shop and the mechanics were unable to find an problem.

- Burnet, TX, USA

problem #75

Feb 092016

Cruze

  • 69,265 miles
Around sunrise on a highway with an adult passenger the car lost all power instantly. The steering was heavy and the brakes had very little power. We was able to drift over to a safe area. The way this car performs with little braking effort it can cause some bad accidents in other enviroments such as mountains. The safety of the Chevrolet Cruze models needs to be improve.

- Euclid, OH, USA

problem #74

Jan 092016

Cruze

  • 45,000 miles
We purchased the car for my daughter in 2012 and made the decision based on all of the safety features and supposedly waranties that were associated with this car, which she loved. We have had numerous recalls over the 4 years, but now the car is failing to brake when she is pressing the pedal and after she pumps it, it finally comes to a stop, but of course this is a safety issue for anyone. Took it to our mechanic thinking maybe it was brake fluid, but then he found on this website the recall #12213 that GM had from 2013 describing this very issue. He suggested calling the dealership because it was under the recall and when I did, they are telling me it was already repaired on her car (which I am not sure I believe because we have had so many bad experiences with this dealer & recalls that I don't think it was ever repaired!) they tell me we will have to pay to repair the problem because it is no longer under the recall. I called GM to question why they wouldn't repair a "known" issue with the brakes and she tells me that the recall itself has already been closed down, so it must be something else wrong with the car! I guess they would rather have a crash on their hands then take responsibility because after reading this website, my daughter is not the only one having this issue. What terrible civic responsibility, customer service and blatant disregard for someone's life than to just ignore an obvious problem. I have already asked our mechanic to fix her brakes so that she is not involved in a crash, but this is an obvious issue and they have nothing to say. I feel like some of the others on this site, that I'm not even sure we got a notice on this issue or we fell through the cracks. Last usa car for us-they really don't care about customers! I can't put my child's life into their hands any longer.

- Zachary, LA, USA

problem #73

Nov 182015

Cruze

  • 30,000 miles

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

Chevrolet Cruze recall my 2012 Chevrolet Cruze was recalled twice, once of overheating while driving, and once for brake failure when crawling, such a parking. The dealership tried to fix these problems, but the brakes still fail, and now the uses 1 quart every week. The brake failure recently reoccurred when my spouse was parking and she hit a wall and damages the car. The dealer has since told me they do not know why the car is consuming oil, so I have elevated the issue to GM I think that the ntsb has to further monitor this problem to ascertain why the recalled items are still failing.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #72

Dec 262015

Cruze

  • 90,000 miles
The vehicle sporadically will not stop despite flooring the brake while in reverse. Most recently, I pulled the parking brake, put the vehicle in park and then back into reverse gear. The problem corrected itself.

- Morrow, GA, USA

problem #71

Sep 142015

Cruze

  • 37,292 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. While coming to a stop at a traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed and failed to respond. The contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,292.

- Jonesboro, LA, USA

problem #70

Jun 112014

Cruze

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13V360000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The contact stated that the brake pedal was difficult to depress and hesitated to stop the vehicle. The failure recurred multiple times intermittently. The vehicle did not experience the failure prior to the recall repairs. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the failure was not able to be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.

- Hallsboro, NC, USA

problem #69

Aug 112015

Cruze

  • miles

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

Car was recalled for replacement of vacuum pipe assemble micro switch, it was replace but starting to have problems again. The dealer says they will not replace again, I afraid my brakes will fail.

- Woodbury, MN, USA

problem #68

Apr 152015

Cruze

  • 88,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that that while at an independent mechanic for routine repairs, the mechanic diagnosed that there was oil leaking from the turbo into the intake hose and the turbo needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who diagnosed that the cam cover assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. In addition, while driving at 10 mph, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact had to apply force to the brake pedal in order to get the vehicle to stop, however, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was aware of NHTSA campaign number: 13V360000 (service brakes, hydraulic), however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 88,000.

- Harpers Ferry, WV, USA

problem #67

Mar 172015

Cruze

  • 51,058 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. While driving at 15 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and failed to respond without warning. The front end brakes failed. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of the preceding vehicle. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 51,058.

- Schulenburg, TX, USA

problem #66

Jun 012015

Cruze

  • 39,000 miles
When in reverse, several times (but randomly) the brakes are inoperable. They have to be stomped on in order to stop but sometimes do not activate and the car rolls.. only in reverse, but very scary. Taking to the dealership immediately. Currently at 39,000 miles - purchased in November with 22,000.

- Westminster, MD, USA

problem #65

Jun 282015

Cruze

  • 48,000 miles
I was trying to park my 2012 Chevrolet Cruze car in a parking place. I turned into the parking spot and when I placed my foot on the brakes, nothing happened. I looked down at my foot and watching myself repeatedly pump the brakes. Instead of stopping, my car went over the parking spot yellow curb, over a sidewalk and some grass, and I hit a parked vehicle. Before I hit the vehicle, I luckily turned my wheel, causing less damage to the parked vehicle. After I hit the vehicle, my car turned back into the parking lot where it finally stopped. I am not sure if it stopped because of me repeatedly pumping the brakes, or that I finally ran out of momentum, since I had not hit the accelerator since before trying to park. My bumper is damaged, had to have car towed because I am too afraid to drive it. My 5 year old daughter was in the backseat, in her booster seat, during all of this, and I am afraid thinking of how worse it could have been, with the brakes not working. I found out after the fact that there was a recall for this year and model car for the brakes, and that recall was before I owned the car.

- Kenner, LA, USA

problem #64

Jun 032015

Cruze

  • 95,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. While driving at various speeds, the brakes malfunctioned and the brake pedal could not be depressed to stop the vehicle. The failure occurred on several different occasions, at multiple speeds, in both drive and reverse, and with the cruise control activated and deactivated. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13V36000 (service brakes), although the vehicle experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 95,000.

- Bulluck, NC, USA

problem #63

Jun 142015

Cruze

  • 38,000 miles
Was backing out of my parking spot in apartment complex, brake assist failed to engage hard to stop required a lot of [unexpected] pressure on brake pedal. Almost backed into neighbors car, could have backed into a child. Brakes continued to operate in similar manner until I got to the street.. issue seems to similar to Chevy Cruze recall for 1.4turbo

- Flagstaff, AZ, USA

problem #62

May 262015

Cruze

  • 65,550 miles
I was traveling app. 60 mph down I26 when my brakes completely malfunctioned. I came within inches of hitting a transfer truck due to the inability to brake. I've sought resolution from corporate Chevy along with my local dealer who simply tested the brakes to tell me they are functioning properly. I do not feel sale in the Cruze. I have constant anxiety while driving. Who knows when they will malfunction again and kill me and my precious children.

- Hendersonville , NC, USA

problem #61

Apr 272015

Cruze

  • 65,000 miles
I have had many issues with my brakes on my 2012 Chevy Cruze. Sometimes it feels like I am hit from behind while stopped because the vehicle will randomly lurch forward an inch. Then, the brake lights began to randomly come on when the car was not running. This caused the battery to die numerous times. Eventually, the check engine light came on and the fault said the brake pedal position sensor was bad. I had that replaced. Now, the brake pedal does not come all the way up when it is lightly depressed (like when slowing down just a little or canceling the cruise). This causes the brake lights to stay on. The only way to fix it is either hit the brakes hard or pull the pedal back up. I have been researching this and it appears that many people are having similar problems. Tsb #PI0928/NHTSA id #10052020 discusses the "lurching". tsb #pic-5862/NHTSA id #10053904 doesn't say it's for Cruze, but appears to be the same type of problem.

- Pittsboro, IN, USA

problem #60

Apr 012014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 35,000 miles
The brake lights would randomly come on and stay on when car was off and sitting still. I replaced the brake pedal position sensor and it seemed to stop. Now, the brake pedal doesn't come back up all of the way after applying the brakes. This keeps the brake light on and the brakes slightly applied. The only way to get it all the way up is to pull it from behind with your foot. This seems to be part of the brake pushrod and brake assist issue they are having, but haven't done a recall.

- Pittsboro, IN, USA

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