Chevrolet Cruze

Where it stands out against its peers

• Electronic stability control (esc): more complaints than 96% of 2012 cars — 13% of its 864 complaints, where an ordinary 2012 car has 3%.
• Engine and engine cooling: more complaints than 93% of 2012 cars — 5% of its 864 complaints, where an ordinary 2012 car has 2%.

Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.

Before you buy one

Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.

• ENGINE — 120 owners reported this, 2 involving a crash, 6 involving a fire
• SERVICE BRAKES — 99 owners reported this, 12 involving a crash
• POWER TRAIN — 66 owners reported this, 2 involving a crash, 1 involving a fire
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — 49 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash, 1 involving a fire
• STEERING — 33 owners reported this, 2 involving a crash
• VISIBILITY/WIPER — 31 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash
• ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING — 26 owners reported this, 1 involving a fire
• STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) — 26 owners reported this, 3 involving a crash
• AIR BAGS — 20 owners reported this, 10 involving a crash
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — 16 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash, 1 involving a fire
• ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) — 15 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) — 13 owners reported this
• POWER TRAIN,ENGINE — 13 owners reported this, 2 involving a fire
• POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — 11 owners reported this
• VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL — 8 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash
• VISIBILITY — 7 owners reported this
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE — 6 owners reported this
• ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — 6 owners reported this
• SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC — 6 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash
• STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — 6 owners reported this
• VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE — 6 owners reported this

Crash test

Crash-tested by NHTSA, the American road safety agency.

Specification

Recalls

Filed by the manufacturer with a regulator. A recall is repaired free of charge, whoever owns the car now.

54% of 2019 cars have more recall campaigns than this one, and an ordinary one has 3. More of them means more to check the service record for, not a worse car.

• 12V288000

  EITHER CONDITION COULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE, POSSIBLY CAUSING INJURY OR DEATH.

  GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE ENGINE SHIELD TO PREVENT FLUID FROM CONTACTING THE SHIELD. ALSO, ON VEHICLES WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, DEALERS WILL APPLY A PROTECTIVE TAPE TO THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING WIRE HARNESS. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE TO THE OWNER. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 10, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE CHEVROLET OWNER CENTER AT 1-866-694-6546.

• 12V289000

  THE FUEL TANK COULD COME LOOSE IN A CRASH, POSSIBLY ALLOWING FUEL TO LEAK FROM THE TANK. A FUEL LEAK IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

  GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLE FOR MISSING WELDS. IF THE VEHICLE IS MISSING WELDS, DEALERS WILL SECURE THE BRACKET ATTACHMENTS WITH FASTENERS. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 9, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE CHEVROLET OWNER CENTER AT 1-866-694-6546.

• 12V522000

  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.

  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.

• 13V023000

  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.

  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.

• 13V360000

  A loss of braking assistance will require extra pedal force and/or distance to bring the vehicle to a stop, increasing the risk of a crash.

  General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace a microswitch in the power brake vacuum pipe assembly, free of charge. The recall began on October 7, 2013. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020. GM's recall number is 12213.

• 13V452000

  If the half shaft fractures and separates while driving, the vehicle would lose power and coast to a stop. If a vehicle with a fractured half shaft is parked without the parking brake applied, the vehicle could move unexpectedly. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

  General Motors has notified owners. Dealers will replace the half shaft assembly, free of charge. The safety recall began on October 15, 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300. This is General Motors campaign number 13276.

• 14V092000

  If a vehicle's shift cable disengages from the transmission shift lever, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the driver may be able to shift the lever to the "PARK" position, but the vehicle transmission may not be in the "PARK" gear position. If the vehicle is not in the "PARK" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.

  General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected transmission shift cable adjusters, free of charge. The recall began on April 10, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020, Buick owners at 1-800-521-7300, and GMC owners at 1-800-462-8782. General Motors' number associated with this recall is 14048.

• 14V151000

  If the half shaft fractures and separates while driving, the vehicle would lose power and coast to a stop. If a vehicle with a fractured half shaft is parked without the parking brake applied, the vehicle could move unexpectedly. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

  GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the right half shaft, as needed, free of charge. Parts for the remedy are not currently available. GM will send an interim letter to owners in May 2014. A second owner letter will be mailed when parts are available. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-866-694-6546. GM's number for this recall is 14079. This is an expansion of recall 13V-452. NOTE: Some vehicles subject to this recall were subject to the recall campaign initiated in 2013. Some of those vehicles were repaired using defective parts. Those owners will be advised that they must have their vehicles remedied again under this campaign and that having the earlier recall completed did not remedy their vehicles.

15 more campaigns have been filed against this model. A dealer can check by VIN which apply to one car.

Regulator investigations

Opened by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation is a question the regulator asked about a possible defect, not a fault it found — most end without a recall.

• Air Bag Non-deployment

  Recall query, opened May 2013, closed July 2014.

  Became recall 13V023000.

• Chapman Chevrolet / Cruze Engine Recall

  Audit query, opened October 2012, closed October 2014.

• Engine compartment fire

  Preliminary evaluation, opened March 2012, closed July 2012.

  Became recall 12V288000.

What the maker told its dealers

Service bulletins are the manufacturer's own repair guidance to dealers, filed with NHTSA. A bulletin is not a defect finding; the count rises with how many things a maker writes down, not only with how many go wrong.

Chevrolet filed 725 bulletins about the 2019 Cruze.

• Equipment: 171
• Engine and engine cooling: 134
• Electrical system: 92
• Power train: 60
• Engine: 34
• Equipment adaptive/mobility: 34
• Wheels: 22
• Fuel system, gasoline: 21
• Structure: 15
• Fuel system, diesel: 14
• Other: 128

• PI to help diagnose A/C concern · July 2026
• This preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available. · April 2026
• This Preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a GDS2 Session Log and upload to a Technical Assistance Case in CX Connect. · March 2026
• This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance. · March 2026
• This Preliminary information communicates to the field on how to diagnosis a GPS issue with the Telematic module with no DTC'ss · March 2026
• This Preliminary information communicates to the field on how to diagnosis a GPS issue with the Telematic module with no DTC's · January 2026
• This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance. · January 2026
• This service bulletin provides information on Tire Sidewall Irregularities. · December 2025

717 more.

Grouped by NHTSA's top-level system; a bulletin filed under a sub-heading counts toward its system.