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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:
7 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
44,360 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 steering problems

steering problem

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2012 Chevrolet Cruze Owner Comments (Page 4 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #43

Jun 132014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 58,650 miles

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

Since 11/13 to present, I've been experiencing instances with the stability trak issues with the radio turning on/off for a few mins; the dashboard lights would blink and go dim; it happened often when I'd use the defogger and try to let the window up/down and it would also dim my headlights (I noticed that in the evenings) or even just using the turn signal. Recently I was hitting the highway & the power steering went out, the doors unlocked & the messages were on my dash. There's also a dark ring around my steering wheel for the airbag that I believed tried to open. I had to turn the steering wheel with a lot of force to pull to the side of the road to avoid getting hit from behind. I turned the car off & waited a few minutes & turned it back on. It came back on with no issues. The next day the power steering went out again but this time I was in the driveway after arriving home. Both times that this has happened, I was using my ac. I went to the dealership & was told that the codes may not come up since it had only happened 2 times. I took it to advance auto and they put it on their computer and no codes showed up. I was told by the place that I purchased my car from to wait for the recall. I've been checking every day since then to see if there is a recall for my car because I don't want to pay for repairs that should already be on the recall list! I'm too afraid to drive the car a long distance for fear of getting hit or even killed by other vehicles if & when my car does it again.

- Kittrell, NC, USA

problem #42

Feb 202014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 46,000 miles
My 2012 Chevy Cruze turned the radio dashboard on/off and the check engine light came on in December 2013 the engine light remained on the radio only once then didn't do it again. In February 2014 it started doing it again this time the stereo would turn on/of, the dash board on/off and my locks would unlock and lock themselves the blinker stopped making the clicking sound and the open door sound failed as well. This problem would occur occasionally until April 2014 the vehicle started to do all the issues above except this time it would include anti theft, service stabiltrack, and power warnings every time and the vehicle would turn off/on the engine and required me to put it on park and turn it off/on. In May 12 of 2014 I took the vehicle into the Chevrolet dealer to resolve this issue.they resolved several issues to what they believed resolved the issue of the vehicle turning on off. That didn't resolve the issue. My vehicle now is worse it turns off/on while driving accelerating or decelerating. It turns the radio on/off and gives me the same errors codes. Its life threatening as I almost got into a accident jumping onto the free way June 1014, my vehicle turned off and would not turn on on the free way entrance and a vehicle from behind was about to hit me. My vehicle is un safe for, me and my family keeps turning on/off and I have taken it to Chevrolet dealer 3 times and they do not know what is wrong. Life threatening issues!!

- San Jacinto, CA, USA

problem #41

Dec 022013

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 20,000 miles
Car shuts down and it can not be restarted, (no dome light, no on start) no power anywhere..can't get keys out of ignition, going down the road, steering service light come on and off, radio display shuts down and restarts, gauges turn on and off..dealership has replaced battery, generator and it is still doing the same thing. Currently at dealership again.!....updated 07/31/14 it was determined the ground wire on the battery was broke. Which caused the vehicle to stall, shutting down all the gauges. There have been no problems, since it was replaced. Updated 09/23/14

- Hillsdale, MI, USA

problem #40

May 302014

Cruze

  • 56,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the power steering suddenly malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was unable to be controlled as the steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 56,000.

- Rush City, MN, USA

problem #39

May 052014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 398,000 miles
Purchased the car on 28 April 2014 from knox Ford in radcliff, ky. Noticed a faint burning smell. Was advised that I rode the clutch during the test drive. Had the car checked out and was advised it was good to go. The car was delivered on 30 April. It was finally driven on 5 Monday 2014 down to fort campbell, ky. At that point the car reeked of burning ceramic and the power steering locked up completely. After resting it for a few minutes and restating the car, it reengaged. Contacted dealer and was advised to go to local Chevy dealer for assessment. Chevy dealer advised that the power steering module was reading that it was out of center and disengaging. Was also advised that a part of the clutch assembly had been replaced a few thousand miles previously and seemed to be rubbing incorrectly. Knox Ford advised me to return the car to their dealership (120 miles away) and they would work on the car. Upon leaving the other dealership, the power steering locked up again and didn't reengage. Drove the car 120 miles without power steering and returned to knox Ford to have them take to to a Chevy dealership. The power steering module was replaced and the car aligned. The Chevy dealer couldn't find an issue with the clutch. Reclaimed the car on 16 May 2014 and drove the car back down to fort campbell today 19 May 2014. Once again, the burning smell has returned. Not as strong but it's still there.

- Vine Grove, KY, USA

problem #38

Dec 162013

Cruze

  • 48,000 miles
December 2013 -- the radio and dash board lights (service stabilitrak) have been flashing on and off then this evening while driving on a straight road, the "service power steering" light flashed on and my steering wheel locked up. That continued for approx. 2 minutes then started working correctly. When I got home and pulled into my parking spot and turned my car off everything turned off, including my interior lights and I couldn't remove my key from the ignition. I let it sit for approx. 5 minutes then tried to start the car and it did turn on so I turned it off again and I was able to remove the key. February 2014 -- the same things are happening and the power steering turns off and the steering wheel locks up May 2014 -- power steering turns off and steering wheel locks up; battery completely dies randomly; new dealership tells me the battery cables need to be replaced; however, other Cruze owners who have filed a complaint with the same issues and had their battery cable replaced report that this does not resolve the issue.

- Columbus, MS, USA

problem #37

Apr 072014

Cruze

  • 20,000 miles

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

Radio starts turning on and off, stability control lights flash, power steering gets hard to turn.this is the third time we brought it to the shop.its good for a week or so and does the samething again. They claim this is the only Cruze they ever heard of doing this.I don't think so not according to your web site somebody knows this is a big problem. Why do dealer ships think lying is the way to solve the problem, I mean it just come out and say ya your daughters car is not the only 2012 Cruze with this problem! my patience are getting a little thin. Car was bought with 20000 miles on it by my oldest daughter who is 20 yrs old and putting herself trough college to become a nurse. She was so happy when she bought the car now she thinks she bought a lemon! car from kissel Chevrolet calumet mi cant figure out the problem, its to late when somebody gets hurt or worse!!!! concerned father.

- Atlantic Mine, MI, USA

problem #36

Mar 152014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 51,000 miles
Our 2012 Chevy Cruze started with the radio turning "off" and "on" on its own the month after we bought the car. A month later it happened again as well as left my wife stranded at a store. Car didn't want to turn on. I figured it may have been a bad battery. Before I could even "jump" the vehicle, the car got all power back on with no problem. The 3rd time radio turned off and on its own and then shut down completely with no power to vehicle at the same store near my wife's work. I noticed nothing electrical worked in the car, like hazard lights, brake lights, and anything that should have 12 volt constant power. I now carry a multimeter in the car. On a 400 mile drive on the highway I experience the radio issue as well as "stabilitrac", and many other malfunction lights displaying on and off on my dash while driving 75 mph. I even recorded this while driving. My family and I were on vacation and while driving I lost power steering then the car shut down and left us stranded with no power again. Wait about 10 to 15 minutes, the car will return back to normal like nothing happened. Took it straight to the dealer right at that moment and they couldn't duplicate the problems. Returned home from vacation and it all happened again in traffic while driving. My wife and kids were in the car. I called for a tow truck and towed it to the Chevy dealership in town. I left it with them for 4 days and they still couldn't find anything wrong with the car. This car still continues to turn off to this day and I've only had the car for 6 month now. I won't let my family in this car. I have also experienced the door locks, lock and unlock on its own and the wipers activated on there own. Not sure whether it could be a bad ECU, BCM, electrical harness, fuse boxes. The ECU was reprogrammed at the 2000 miles for an unknown reason. Wish I had bought a different car instead of this lemon.

- Corpus Chrisit, TX, USA

problem #35

Apr 072014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 43,500 miles
As I drive down the road my stability trak light comes on and my radio turns on and off. Now my power steering goes out and my car won't always start. I've taken it in 3 times to have these issues fixed and nobody can seem to figure out what is wrong. I've been left stranded with my 3 year old son because my car wont start. I've only had this car 2 months and it is by far the worst car I have ever had.

- Umatilla, OR, USA

problem #34

Feb 052014

Cruze

  • 51,000 miles
I was sitting at a stoplight to turn left. After the light turned green I applied pressure to the gas pedal and noticed a slight loss of power. As I proceeded through the turn I had difficulty turning as though I had no power steering. Once through the turn I still has no power steering and noted a message on the dash reading "service steering". I controlled the car to the next stoplight which was approximately 1/2 mile during which time I still had no power steering. At the stop light I turned the car off, and started it again. After restarting the car I had no more problems with the steering. Prior to this instance and multiple times following I have had issues with the electrical system failing. It usually begins with the radio board "blinking" off. By blinking I mean that the radio completely shuts off and the radio dash lights blink off and on until it finally returns to full power. But usually its not a one time thing. There are times where this occurs every 5 seconds until I'm able to pull the car over and turn it off. While this occurs I will get a message on my dash cluster saying to "service stabilitrac" along with several other cluster lights that blink. I have taken this car to the dealership where it was purchased and they have not been able to reproduce what I've experienced, and such they have not been able to fix anything. This first began while the car was under bumper to bumper warranty, but that has since passed and if they were able to actually fix anything I would be stuck with the bill.

- Cersco, NE, USA

problem #33

Apr 012013

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 9,000 miles

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

After about 15 minutes on the interstate at a speed of about 60mph the steering seems to have a spot that it sticks in and does not seem safe. Have called dealership but they say they havent heard of this problem but I can have it checked. It does not seem to happen everytime so I havent taken it in.

- Brownsburg, IN, USA

problem #32

Apr 012014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 63,000 miles
Vehicle started with the radio panel light flashing on and off and the radio would also turn off. Today the electrical problems progressed greatly, impacting the power stealing I was turning around the corner and, the steering seems to stick/bind and requires additional effort to make a steering correction. I almost hit the car waiting in the corner for the light. But I was able to control the steering while even though it was very hard to do.

- Fort Worth , TX, USA

problem #31

Feb 052014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 50,000 miles
While driving all the lights are coming on, the dashboard. The brake lights, service stabilitrak light, and the ABS light and the radio blinks on and off and then sometimes the radio stays off for several minutes. I had taken the care to the dealership to have them to check it and they advised me it was my thermostat causing the issue. They replaced the thermostat which was under warranty and the dealership said everything was ok to go. A week later the all the lights on the dashboard came back on again I took it back to the dealership and they advised me they didn't see any codes reading that there was and issue. I showed them the pictures and the video that I captured while the car was doing it and they advised me I had a electrical problem but they can't find it. The problem is still an issue and its still doing the same thing.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #30

Mar 222014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 54,968 miles
I purchased a used Chevy Cruze, previous rental, from the Chevy dealer about a month ago. Within the past week I began to have intermittent electrical issues, which started with the radio panel light flashing on and off and the radio would also turn off for several mins at a time. Today the electrical problems progressed greatly, impacting the power stealing and I lost power steering completely while driving. In addition, multiple warning signals began to flash: Power steering, stabilink, brakes and security traction control. This happened while driving, thankfully I was going at a very low speed otherwise this could have been a potential serious and dangerous situation as I briefly lost control of the car and almost crashed at 10mph (or less.) thankfully I was already on my way to the dealer (1 miles away) for an appointment for servicing that I had previously scheduled due to this issue. Once I got to the dealer they were able to see the issues first hand. I turned off the car and then this car completely died. I left the car at the dealer and hope this issue is resolved and the car is safe to drive. Honesty, I am very nervous to drive the car in fear that the car is unsafe and these issues will continue.

- Murrieta , CA, USA

problem #29

Dec 182013

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 30,000 miles
Driving at speeds in the 40 to 75 mph range on a straight road, if there is no steering adjustment for a few seconds, the steering seems to stick/bind and requires additional effort to make a steering correction. Almost as if the electric power steering "falls asleep".

- Florence, AL, USA

problem #28

Jan 302014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 26,150 miles
Vehicle momentarily steered to right without driver input. Vehicle was going straight on interstate at approx. 70 mph and pulled to right for approx. One second, then went back to normal. Happened approximately seven times on 110 mile drive. We (wife and I) were just fortunate that no one was near us in right lane when these anomalies occurred. Took vehicle to dealer and dealer put approx. 100 more miles on vehicle and could not duplicate problem. Dealer checked alignment and it was within specifications. Have researched online and found vehicles with jtekt eps system having similar steering anomalies. Concerned that steering input not controlled by driver can cause vehicle accident at highway speed. This is a potential "catastrophic" safety issue, so please investigate.

- Vero Beach, FL, USA

problem #27

Feb 032014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 21,000 miles
Electrical issues that include loss of power steering while driving: Warning indicators would flash on and off, such as "service stabilitrack", "service power steering" and "service ABS", while driving. Radio began shutting on and off while driving. When the display & radio shuts off, even the blinker wouldn't make a sound. What I find alarming is during these episodes, the power steering actually fails for a short period of time. On a 20 minute drive, I experienced 4 failures and the above electrical issues happening non-stop for the duration of the trip. A day later, as a test, I drove my car around my neighborhood (less than a 1 minute drive) and experienced all the same issues, including loss of power steering. I have scheduled service with a dealer. A search on the internet shows an alarming number of Chevy Cruze owner with this issue, which points to manufacturing or design defect and not wear & tear. Loss of power steering while in motion would seem to be a safety issue and should be addressed.

- Indian Land, SC, USA

problem #26

Jan 032014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 53,220 miles
It begins with the radio blinking on and off when this is happening there are several things we notice that goes on in the instrument panel such as signal lights no sound, sometimes putting the window up will trigger the wrench to be displayed, also loss of the ability to turn the wheel. No cruise control when the radio is blinking.

- Martinsville, VA, USA

problem #25

Jan 192014

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 21,000 miles
Electrical issues that include loss of power steering while driving: Warning indicators would flash on and off, such as "service stabilitrak", "service power steering" and "service ABS", while driving.radio began shutting on and off while driving. When the display & radio shuts off, even the blinker wouldn't make a sound. What I find alarming is during these episodes, the power steering actually fails for a short period of time. On a 20 minute drive, I experienced 4 failures and the above electrical issues happening non-stop for the duration of the trip. A day later, as a test, I drove my car around my neighborhood (less than a 1 minute drive) and experienced all the same issues, including loss of power steering...I have scheduled service with a dealer...a search on the internet shows an alarming number of Chevy Cruze owner with this issue, which points to manufacturing or design defect and not wear & tear...loss of power steering while in motion would seem to be a safety issue and should be addressed.....updated 07/31/14

- Altamonte Springs, FL, USA

problem #24

Nov 152013

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 41,485 miles
The center information center with the radio began shutting on and off while driving. When the display & radio shuts off, even the blinker wouldn't make a sound. Sometimes during this a notification would come up "service traction control" and/or "service stabilitrack." I tried troubleshooting it myself for a few days. Sometimes the blinker, seat warmer, or even plugging in my phone to the usb port seemed to trigger it. I noticed the voltage fluctuating from 12.9 - 15.2V while driving or at a stop. The day that I took the vehicle in for repair, all the notification lights began to blink and then the power steering went out during a left turn. The dealership replaced both battery cables and mentioned that they've had many of these cars in with this same issue. The issue appeared to be resolved and the car was running great, until yesterday 1/15/14. Everything mentioned above, except for the power steering loss, is happening again. If you search the internet and youtube, you'll quickly see this is a growing problem that needs to be resolved and recalled.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

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