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2012 Buick Verano

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2012 Buick Verano do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 80.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

75 reports with mileage · 31 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 48 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports1 fire reports3 injury reports

Engine complaints

48 reports
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88,015 miles · Sep 2, 2020
Engine

PURCHASED THE CAR USED WITH 65K MILES AND EVERYTHING SEEMED GOOD. AT AROUND 72K THE CAR HAD A LOUD PINGING NOISE. I CHECKED THE OIL AND THE DIP STICK WAS DRY. I CHANGED THE OIL AND FILTER TO BE SAFE. THE CAR HAS BEEN USING A QUART OF OIL EVERY 2000 MILES. AT 80K THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. IN PA THAT MEANS YOU DO NOT P…

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PURCHASED THE CAR USED WITH 65K MILES AND EVERYTHING SEEMED GOOD. AT AROUND 72K THE CAR HAD A LOUD PINGING NOISE. I CHECKED THE OIL AND THE DIP STICK WAS DRY. I CHANGED THE OIL AND FILTER TO BE SAFE. THE CAR HAS BEEN USING A QUART OF OIL EVERY 2000 MILES. AT 80K THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. IN PA THAT MEANS YOU DO NOT PASS INSPECTION SO WE HAD TO HAVE THE ENGINE SERVICED. THE BILL WAS ONLY $212 DOLLARS FOR TWO VALVE POSITION SOLENOIDS. I DID A COMPLETE OIL AND FILTER CHANGE THEN ALSO. AT 1712 MILES LATER THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN, THE ENGINE OIL WAS 1,5 QUARTS LOW AGAIN. I GUESS I AM IN THE SAME BOAT AS MOST OF THE OTHERS WITH HIGH OIL CONSUMPTION, SHAFTED BY GM AGAIN. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW A COMPANY CAN SELL SOMETHING SO BADF AND GET AWAY WITH IT. IT SEEMS ALL OF THE GM VEHICLES WITH THE 22.4 LITER 4 CYLINDER ENGINE HAVE THESE ISSUES. THE SHAME IS THE CAR ITSELF SO FAR HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD EXCEPT FOR THE OIL ISSUE. WHEN WILL GM START TO STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT?

NHTSA ODI #11352768

Mileage unknown · Jun 7, 2020
Air BagsEngine

THE SYSTEM AIR BAG NOTICES KEEPS COMING IN THE CAR, WHEN YOU PUT YOUR SEAT BEAT ON IT GOES AWAY. ALSO THE OIL BUTTON DOESN'T COME ON , THE CAR CONSTANTLY SHAKES AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIKE KEEPS COMING ON AFTER EVEN BEING REPAIRED. I NEEDED A FUEL PUMP AND THAT'S BEEN FIXED BUT THE PROBLEM IS HAPPENING AGAIN

NHTSA ODI #11327599

118,000 miles · May 2, 2020
Engine

EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION. LOW OIL LIGHT DID NOT COME ON CAUSING CAR TO PRODUCE "ENGINE POWER REDUCED" WARNING ON DASHBOARD. LESS THAN HALF A QUART OF OIL IN ENGINE CAUSED TIMING BELT TO BREAK ALONG WITH HEAD GASKET TO COLLAPSE. ISSUE WITH CAR HAPPENED AT WORK SITTING IN STATIONARY PARKING SPOT

NHTSA ODI #11323029

95,000 miles · Oct 15, 2019
Engine

AS I WAS DRIVING IN THE CITY THE CAR SUDDENLY STOPPED AND THERE WAS A SMELL OF BURNING OIL. I NOTICED DARK OIL ON THE PAVEMENT. I WAS GOOD ABOUT CHANGING MY OIL PER MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDATION. I WASN'T AWARE THAT OTHER SIMILAR CARS HAD THIS SAME ISSUE. I WISH A RECALL HAD BEEN DONE PRIOR TO THIS MAJOR LOSS.

NHTSA ODI #11268783

66,000 miles · Oct 1, 2019
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

VEHICLE STALLED AT RED LIGHT ON CITY STREET. VEHICLE ENDED UP NEEDED 4 QUARTS OF OIL WHICH CAUSED A BROKEN TIMING CHAIN AND COMPLETE ENGINE REPLACEMENT. ENGINE WAS THE 2.4L ECOTEC, WHICH HAS BULLETINS FOR OIL CONSUMPTION ISSUES. THE LOW OIL LIGHT DID NOT COME ON IN THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI #11265453

81,207 miles · Sep 24, 2019
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. WHILE DRIVING, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE CAMSHAFT SOLENOID FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO KENDALL AUTO GROUP (1400 EXECUTIVE PKWY # 400, EUGENE, OR 97401, (541) 3…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. WHILE DRIVING, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE CAMSHAFT SOLENOID FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO KENDALL AUTO GROUP (1400 EXECUTIVE PKWY # 400, EUGENE, OR 97401, (541) 335-4000) AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS NO HISTORY OF A FAILURE CODE; HOWEVER, THE PISTON AND RINGS. WERE REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING AND SHOWED THE TECHNICIAN THE FAILURE. THE TECHNICIAN FOUND THE CODE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE CAMSHAFT SOLENOID NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE HAD AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST PERFORMED ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS DOWN TO THREE QUARTERS OF A QUART OF OIL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: SR 9-5484491631. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 81,207.

NHTSA ODI #11257728

100,000 miles · Aug 30, 2019
Engine

I HAVE A 2012 BUICK VERANO WITH ABOUT 115000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE BEEN TO SEVERAL GM DEALERS WITH COMPLAINTS OF EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION TO THE POINT OF THERE BEING NO OIL IN THE CAR WHATSOEVER AND THEY CLAIMED THERE WAS NO ISSUE. I WENT TO A THIRD SERVICE CENTER AND THEY DID OVER 700 DOLLARS WORTH OF WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE…

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I HAVE A 2012 BUICK VERANO WITH ABOUT 115000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE BEEN TO SEVERAL GM DEALERS WITH COMPLAINTS OF EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION TO THE POINT OF THERE BEING NO OIL IN THE CAR WHATSOEVER AND THEY CLAIMED THERE WAS NO ISSUE. I WENT TO A THIRD SERVICE CENTER AND THEY DID OVER 700 DOLLARS WORTH OF WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE BECAUSE OF DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE FROM LOW OIL. GENERAL MOTORS CUSTOMER SERVICE DENIES THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE RECALLS FOR OTHER VEHICLES WITH THE SAME EXACT ENGINE (2.4 LITER 4 CYLINDER). I DO NOT FEEL SAFE WITH THIS VEHICLE KNOWING THERE'S A POSSIBILITY OF ENGINE FAILURE WHILE I AM ON THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE SERVICE RECORDS TO PROVE I'VE HAD THIS WORK DONE AND I'VE BEEN TO SEVERAL DEALERSHIPS. THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE I AM DESCRIBING ONLINE. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS ISSUE HASN'T BEEN RECALLED BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS HAPPENING TO NUMEROUS VEHICLES AND IN ADDITION THERE IS A RECALL OUT FOR VEHICLES MADE BY GENERAL MOTORS WITH THE SAME EXACT ENGINE AS MINE.

NHTSA ODI #11252452

Mileage unknown · Aug 3, 2019
Engine

EXCESSIVE ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION. NEED TO ADD MORE THAN 3-4 QUARTS EVERY 2K MILES. NOTE THAT LOW LEVEL OIL LIGHT NEVER TURNS ON. AT A RECENT OIL CHANGE IN LATE JULY '19 THERE WAS ~1 QUART OF OIL IN THE RESERVOIR WHEN OIL WAS DRAINED. OIL CHANGES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED AT SPECIFIED INTERVALS SINCE PURCHASED IN JULY OF '15 (~39,900 M…

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EXCESSIVE ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION. NEED TO ADD MORE THAN 3-4 QUARTS EVERY 2K MILES. NOTE THAT LOW LEVEL OIL LIGHT NEVER TURNS ON. AT A RECENT OIL CHANGE IN LATE JULY '19 THERE WAS ~1 QUART OF OIL IN THE RESERVOIR WHEN OIL WAS DRAINED. OIL CHANGES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED AT SPECIFIED INTERVALS SINCE PURCHASED IN JULY OF '15 (~39,900 MILES WHEN PURCHASED). STARTED NOTICING EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION IN '17.

NHTSA ODI #11241433

70,000 miles · Jul 12, 2019
EnginePower Train

CAR JERKS WHEN SITTING AT STOP SIGNS, RED LIGHT, IN CONGESTED STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. IT ALSO HESITATES WHEN YOU INITIALLY PRESS THE GAS AND ARE GOING UNDER 20 MILES PER HOUR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DOESN'T COME ON AND WHEN YOU TAKE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY RUN DIAGNOSTIC AND CAN NOT DETECT THE ISSUE

NHTSA ODI #11231469

149,400 miles · Jul 2, 2019
Engine

EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION BETWEEN OIL CHANGES

NHTSA ODI #11228892

Official recalls

3

14V300000 · Air Bags

Jun 6, 2014

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

13V023000 · Air Bags

Jan 24, 2013

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

12V522000 · Air Bags

Oct 31, 2012

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

RQ13002 · Air Bag Non-deployment

Opened May 31, 2013 · Closed Jul 9, 2014

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags; Air Bags:frontal; Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

General Motors (GM) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (MY) 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.These vehicles are a small percentage of all MY 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from December 1, 2011 to August 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14V-300 for more information).Also, see attached additional report for more information.This investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023) of certain MY 2012 Verano, Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles.These recalls involved the same defect issue as the new recall mentioned above.Accordingly, this investigation is closed based on the recall actions GM is undertaking.

Additional source detail variants (6)

Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

General Motors (GM) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (MY) 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.These vehicles are a small percentage of all MY 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from December 1, 2011 to August 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14V-300 for more information).Also, see attached additional report for more information.This investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023) of certain MY 2012 Verano, Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles.These recalls involved the same defect issue as the new recall mentioned above.Accordingly, this investigation is closed based on the recall actions GM is undertaking.

Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

General Motors (GM) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (MY) 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.These vehicles are a small percentage of all MY 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from December 1, 2011 to August 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14V-300 for more information).Also, see attached additional report for more information.This investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023) of certain MY 2012 Verano, Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles.These recalls involved the same defect issue as the new recall mentioned above.Accordingly, this investigation is closed based on the recall actions GM is undertaking.

Air Bags:frontal

General Motors (GM) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (MY) 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.These vehicles are a small percentage of all MY 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from December 1, 2011 to August 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14V-300 for more information).Also, see attached additional report for more information.This investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023) of certain MY 2012 Verano, Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles.These recalls involved the same defect issue as the new recall mentioned above.Accordingly, this investigation is closed based on the recall actions GM is undertaking.

Air Bags:frontal

General Motors (GM) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (MY) 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.These vehicles are a small percentage of all MY 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from December 1, 2011 to August 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14V-300 for more information).Also, see attached additional report for more information.This investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023) of certain MY 2012 Verano, Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles.These recalls involved the same defect issue as the new recall mentioned above.Accordingly, this investigation is closed based on the recall actions GM is undertaking.

Air Bags

General Motors (GM) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (MY) 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.These vehicles are a small percentage of all MY 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from December 1, 2011 to August 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14V-300 for more information).Also, see attached additional report for more information.This investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023) of certain MY 2012 Verano, Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles.These recalls involved the same defect issue as the new recall mentioned above.Accordingly, this investigation is closed based on the recall actions GM is undertaking.

Air Bags

General Motors (GM) has initiated a safety recall of 31,520 model year (MY) 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles to address a defect condition that could result in the primary or secondary stage air bag not deploying.These vehicles are a small percentage of all MY 2012 vehicles and were built on several specific production dates broadly ranging from December 1, 2011 to August 2, 2012 (see NHTSA recall 14V-300 for more information).Also, see attached additional report for more information.This investigation was opened to evaluate the scope of two uninfluenced safety recalls (NHTSA recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023) of certain MY 2012 Verano, Camaro, Cruze and Sonic vehicles.These recalls involved the same defect issue as the new recall mentioned above.Accordingly, this investigation is closed based on the recall actions GM is undertaking.