Chevrolet Cruze Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 260 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the Chevrolet Cruze across 10 model years. The 2014 model year has the most (77). The words owners use most often: “air bags deploy” (10% of reports).
- 260air bags complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 149mention a crash
- 88mention an injury
- 7related recalls
- $1,100typical repair cost reported by owners
- 32%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Air bags deploy: mentioned in 27 of 260 complaints (10%)
- Airbags deployed: mentioned in 23 of 260 complaints (9%)
- Medical attention: mentioned in 19 of 260 complaints (7%)
- Rear ended: mentioned in 19 of 260 complaints (7%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical air bags repair on the Chevrolet Cruze at $1,100, and half of them between $980 and $1,400.
Based on 9 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2014–2022), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 186 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 260 complaints, 149 mention a crash, 6 a fire, 88 an injury.
Chevrolet Cruze air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Cruze | 3 | 13% | 91,000 |
| 2018 Cruze | 8 | 7% | 36,000 |
| 2017 Cruze | 7 | 3% | 17,237 |
| 2016 Cruze | 21 | 8% | 71,000 |
| 2015 Cruze | 20 | 8% | 55,684 |
| 2014 Cruze | 77 | 11% | 43,000 |
| 2013 Cruze | 49 | 8% | 47,000 |
| 2012 Cruze | 34 | 4% | 59,000 |
| 2011 Cruze | 40 | 5% | 39,953 |
| 2010 Cruze | 1 | 50% | 48,456 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (7)
Air bags:side/window
Model years: 2014
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. The left and/or right-side roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflators located on the roof rails above the headliner, may rupture at the inflator weld joint.
Risk: An inflator that ruptures may partially inflate the air bag and cause sharp metal fragments to enter or exit the vehicle, increasing the risk of an injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and/or right-side RRAB modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 5, 2025. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N252530830. This recall is an expansion of previous NHTSA recall numbers 23V674 and 23V870.
Air bags:side/window
Model years: 2014
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. The left and/or right-side roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflators may rupture at the inflator weld joint. This recall is an expansion of Recall 23V-674.
Risk: An inflator that ruptures may partially inflate the air bag and cause sharp metal fragments to enter or exit the vehicle, increasing the risk of an injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and/or right-side RRAB modules as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 22, 2024. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232425640.
Air bags:side/window
Model years: 2014
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. The left and/or right-side roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflators located on the roof rails above the headliner, may rupture at the inflator weld joint.
Risk: An inflator that ruptures may partially inflate the air bag and cause sharp metal fragments to enter or exit the vehicle, increasing the risk of an injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and/or right-side RRAB modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 12, 2024. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232408490.
Air bags
Model years: 2013, 2014
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the driver's front air bag inflator may have been manufactured with an incorrect part.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's air bag, the air bag's inflator may rupture and the air bag may not inflate. The rupture could cause metal fragments to strike and potentially seriously injure the vehicle occupants. Additionally, if the air bag does not inflate, the driver is at an increased risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver side air bag, free of charge. The recall began on June 28, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14305.
Air bags
Model years: 2012
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
Model years: 2012
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
Model years: 2012
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.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
An authorized Chevrolet dealer diagnosed an electrical problem on my 2019 Chevrolet Cruze and found that the HVAC case/condensate drain was disconnected. The dealer determined that condensate water had been draining into the passenger compartment instead of outside the vehicle. According to the…
My transmission blew up. My airbags did not deploy. And neither of my brakes or emergency brakes worked. I was in a car accident where I hit another car in a tree and was admitted into the hospital as I am pregnant.
The contact owned a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, a Chevrolet Impala crashed into the rear of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to fishtail and flip over several times and land upside down in the woods. The contact stated that the air bags deployed and exploded…
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the local dealer for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V764000 (Air Bags). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact had not experienced a failure.
My airbag light came on. My vehicle has less than 100K miles on it. I took it to the Chevy Dealership that I purchased it from. The dealership indicated that the passenger side rail air bag is the issue. Apparently, that airbag is no longer available. If I wanted to repair it, they can't, because…
Frequently asked questions
Do all Chevrolet Cruzes have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 260 owner complaints about air bags for the Chevrolet Cruze. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Chevrolet Cruze air bags?
Yes: 7 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
How much does it cost to fix air bags problems on the Chevrolet Cruze?
Owners report a typical cost of $1,100 (half paid between $980 and $1,400), from 9 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the Chevrolet Cruze?
The most frequent phrase is “air bags deploy”, in 27 of 260 complaints, followed by “airbags deployed” (23).
Other Chevrolet Cruze problems
See all Chevrolet Cruze problems.