2012 Buick Verano Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Verano years
- More complaints than other years 2nd of 6 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 3 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 106 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Buick Verano. That ranks 2nd out of 6 Verano model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is engine (48 complaints, 45%), typically at around 65,000 miles. Complaints mention 8 crashes, 1 fire, 4 injuries. There are 3 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
- 106owner complaints
- 3safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 8complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2012 Buick Verano problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 48 | 45% | 65,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 27 | 25% | 61,500 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 16 | 15% | 56,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 9 | 8% | 55,499 | — | — |
| Power Train | 7 | 7% | 53,125 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 7 | 7% | 44,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 5 | 5% | 75,360 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 4 | 4% | 71,500 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 4 | 4% | 59,831 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 4 | 4% | 370 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 3 | 3% | 66,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 3 | 3% | 40,050 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 2% | 60,148 | — | — |
| Structure | 2 | 2% | 30,250 | — | — |
| Visibility | 2 | 2% | 11,013 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 1% | 120,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 1% | 63,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 1 | 1% | 63,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2012 Buick Verano recalls (3)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags
Problem: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air bags
Problem: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air bags
Problem: 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.
Fix: 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.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Air Bag Non-deployment (RQ13002) — opened May 31, 2013, closed Jul 9, 2014, led to recall 13V023000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Rear window shattered while driving. No rock or other damage. I just heard a loud bang and it exploded
NAV display and radio stopped working black screen blank
On 2 separate occasions, I have gone through 4 quarts of oil in 2000 miles. No leaks as verified by mechanic. Just excessive burn. The check oil light does not come on to warn you and says I still have 50% oil life but almost bone dry.
The passenger airbag indicator goes on and off with person in passenger seat. We first noticed this Summer 2023. It has gotten worse. Now a passenger can shift weight slightly one way or another and cause the indicator status to change which disables the airbag. Dealer also confirmed (4/16/24) DTC…
Oil Consumption- Burning through 2 qts of oil every 2000 miles. No warning lights coming on. Last oil change my car had no oil in it.
Other Buick Verano years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 Verano | 9 | 1 |
| 2016 Verano | 59 | 2 |
| 2015 Verano | 59 | 0 |
| 2014 Verano | 101 | 6 |
| 2013 Verano | 107 | 3 |
| 2012 | 106 | 3 |
See all Buick Verano problems by year, every Buick model, or the Buick VIN decoder.
Similar Buick models
Embed this 2012 Buick Verano badge on your site
Copy this code into your blog or forum post. It shows live complaint and recall counts and links back here.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2012 Buick Verano?
Owners most often report engine, air bags, electrical system problems. The top one, engine, accounts for 48 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Buick Verano?
Yes, 3 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2012 Buick Verano a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Verano model years, the 2012 has more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.