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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

Vehicle Speed Control complaints

7 reports
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75,000 miles · Jun 11, 2019
Electrical SystemElectronic Stability Control (esc)Vehicle Speed Control

EVERY SINCE I FIRST GOT CAR IT HAS HAD PROBLEMS.ALL THE WIRES UNDER THE MELTED TOGETHER AND CAUSED CORROSION. SINCE THEN RADIO BLINKED ON AND OFF TIL NOW IT'S JUST A BLACK SCREEN. HAD PROBLEMS WITH CAM SHAFT CONTROL. HAVE PURCHASED 4 BATTERIES IN 6 YEARS. THERE'S SOMETHING ELECTRICAL THAT BLOWS THE BATTERIES. IF I START MY CAR W…

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EVERY SINCE I FIRST GOT CAR IT HAS HAD PROBLEMS.ALL THE WIRES UNDER THE MELTED TOGETHER AND CAUSED CORROSION. SINCE THEN RADIO BLINKED ON AND OFF TIL NOW IT'S JUST A BLACK SCREEN. HAD PROBLEMS WITH CAM SHAFT CONTROL. HAVE PURCHASED 4 BATTERIES IN 6 YEARS. THERE'S SOMETHING ELECTRICAL THAT BLOWS THE BATTERIES. IF I START MY CAR WITH AUTOMATIC START FROM FOB IT CAUSES BATTERY PROBLEMS. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON NOW AND I HAD IT CHECKED THE CODE IS FOR TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE. THE CAR WILL BE FINE FOR A WEEK OR SO BUT THEN WHILE DRIVING IT CHANGES GEARS AND SLOWS DOWN AS IF IT WANTS TO STOP.. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS. SOMETIMES WHILE PUTTING THE CAR IN DRIVE IT WILL NOT ACCELERATE EVEN THOUGH I PUT MY FOOT TO THE GROUND. FINALLY IT WILL PICK UP SPEED. I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS CAR BUT I BELIEVE IT'S ELECTRICAL AND IT'S THE SAME THING THAT CAUSED THE RADIOS TO GO OUT. SOMETIMES THE STABILITY TRACTION LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE THEN IT GOES AWAY FOR AMONTHS. I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR. I'VE BEEN ON THE HIGHWAY DOING 60 AND IT WILL SWITCH GEARS AND SAYS SPEED IS TOO FAST FOR ENGINE.. PLEASE HELP!!!

NHTSA ODI #11219177

36,000 miles · Apr 19, 2019
EngineService BrakesVehicle Speed Control

I OWN A 2012 BUICK VERANO WITH ONLY 48K ON IT, OWNERSHIP TRANSFERRED OVER FROM MY FATHER IN LAW WHO BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE BRAND NEW. CAR HESITATES, DOES NOT PICK UP SPEED AFTER SLOWING/STOPPING WHICH WE NOTICED AT 36K, BURNS THROUGH A LOT OF OIL- OIL LIGHT DOES NOT GO ON WHEN LOW, REAR BRAKES AND ROTORS WERE ALREADY COMPROMISED AT…

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I OWN A 2012 BUICK VERANO WITH ONLY 48K ON IT, OWNERSHIP TRANSFERRED OVER FROM MY FATHER IN LAW WHO BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE BRAND NEW. CAR HESITATES, DOES NOT PICK UP SPEED AFTER SLOWING/STOPPING WHICH WE NOTICED AT 36K, BURNS THROUGH A LOT OF OIL- OIL LIGHT DOES NOT GO ON WHEN LOW, REAR BRAKES AND ROTORS WERE ALREADY COMPROMISED AT LESS THAN 45K, AND JUST RECENTLY LOST BRAKES COMPLETELY WHILE DRIVING A MONTH AGO DUE TO A BAD CALIPER. CAR ALSO ACCELERATES SOMETIMES WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE. THE BRAKE LIGHT HAS NEVER COME ON AT ANY POINT DURING ANY OF THIS, THOUGH THE LOW WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID LIGHT COMES ON EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT LOW. ALSO DOWNSHIFTS PRETTY ROUGH.

NHTSA ODI #11197329

44,000 miles · Oct 25, 2017
Vehicle Speed ControlCrash

I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT AND STARTED HITTING THE BRAKES THE CAR ACCELERATED BY ITSELF AND HIT A POLE. NO MY FOOT WAS NO WHERE NEAR ACCELERATOR. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN THANK GOOD THE FIRST TIME I DIDN'T HIT ANYTHING. I HAVE DONE RESEARCH ONLINE AND I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE THIS HAS HAPPEN TO. I BOUG…

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I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT AND STARTED HITTING THE BRAKES THE CAR ACCELERATED BY ITSELF AND HIT A POLE. NO MY FOOT WAS NO WHERE NEAR ACCELERATOR. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN THANK GOOD THE FIRST TIME I DIDN'T HIT ANYTHING. I HAVE DONE RESEARCH ONLINE AND I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE THIS HAS HAPPEN TO. I BOUGHT THIS CAR WITH 44,000 MILE ON IT AN IT HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP MORE THEN OUT. THIS DEFECT ALMOST KILLED ME AND MY FAMILY, BECAUSE I ALMOST HIT A WALL

NHTSA ODI #11039655

Mileage unknown · Oct 12, 2016
Electrical SystemElectronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel/propulsion System

BROUGHT CAR FROM CARMAX THEY SOLD ME A CAR WITH A MESSED UP MOTHERBOARD WHENEVER ONSTAR COMES THROUGH THE CAR IT PUT THE CAR IN CRUISE CONTROL ABOUT 50 OR LESS MPH. IT STAYS ON 24/7 AND NOW ITS DRAINING MY BATTERY AND NOW THE CAR COMPLETELY CUTS OFF WHILE IM DRIVING OR IT WONT EVEN START.

NHTSA ODI #10915498

56,000 miles · Aug 11, 2016
Electrical SystemEngineVehicle Speed Control

I WAS AT A STOP SIGN AND WHEN IT WAS MY TURN TO GO I STARTED TO DRIVE AND REALIZED MY CAR WAS NOT ACCELERATING, I HAD THE GAS PEDDLE ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AS A TRACTOR TRAILER WAS FASTLY APPROACHING MY REAR BUMPER, LUCKLY I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO MEDIAN. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY SAID THERE WAS A SWITCH THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED…

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I WAS AT A STOP SIGN AND WHEN IT WAS MY TURN TO GO I STARTED TO DRIVE AND REALIZED MY CAR WAS NOT ACCELERATING, I HAD THE GAS PEDDLE ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AS A TRACTOR TRAILER WAS FASTLY APPROACHING MY REAR BUMPER, LUCKLY I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO MEDIAN. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY SAID THERE WAS A SWITCH THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. MY ENTIRE DASHBOARD LIGHTS AND RADIO WENT OUT, WHICH DEALERSHIP HAD TO REPLACE TWICE. MY CAR SHUT OFF WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT, IT WAS RAINING AND DEFROST WAS NOT WORKING, TOOK TO DEALERSHIP WHICH THEY STATED IT WAS MY BATTERY, PAID $200 FOR A NEW BATTERY. MY CAR JERKS AND STALLS WHEN I AM GOING FROM A COMPLETE STOP AND BEGIN TO PICK UP SPEED. I WAS BACKING OUT A PARKING SPOT TODAY AND MY CAR SHUT OFF AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, I RESTARTED MY CAR WHICH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON AND THE STALLING AND JERKING CONTINUES. THESE ISSUES CAN CAUSE A MAJOR ACCIDENT AND IF SEVERE ENOUGHT CAN BE LIFE THREATENING. IF I AM REQUIRED TO HOLD UP MY END OF THE BARGAIN BY PAYING MY CAR NOTE THE MANUFACTURERS NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR END OF THE BARGAIN WHICH IS PROVIDING THEIR BUYERS WITH A SECURE AND RELIABLE VEHICLES FOR FAMILIES.

NHTSA ODI #10895186

Mileage unknown · Sep 30, 2014
Vehicle Speed Control

I WAS DRIVING AN HAD TO STOP OR SLOW DOWN WHEN I GO TO ACCELERATE AGAIN MY CAR CUTS OFF. I SIT THERE AND TURN KEY TO TURN BACK ON IT DOES BUT IF I DON'T PUSH DOWN ON GAS TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY IT WILL STALL AGAIN FOR THE LAST FIVE DAYS IT HAS DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES. I CALLED ON STAR TO HEAR WHAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE BUT THEY INF…

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I WAS DRIVING AN HAD TO STOP OR SLOW DOWN WHEN I GO TO ACCELERATE AGAIN MY CAR CUTS OFF. I SIT THERE AND TURN KEY TO TURN BACK ON IT DOES BUT IF I DON'T PUSH DOWN ON GAS TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY IT WILL STALL AGAIN FOR THE LAST FIVE DAYS IT HAS DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES. I CALLED ON STAR TO HEAR WHAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE BUT THEY INFORMED ME THAT I COULD STILL DRIVE MY CAR BUT SEE A DEALER SOON. I LIVE QUITE A DISTANCE FROM MY JOB SO I NEED A CAR TO GO TO WORK. I HAVE MISSED SOME DAYS BECAUSE CUTTING OFF ON 95 SOUTH IS NOT FUN AND CAN'T BE SPEEDING ON EXPRESSWAY EITHER ON I WILL GET A TICKET. PLEASE LET SOMEONE FROM GM CHECK FOR THIS PROBLEM IN OTHER CARS. I AM AT DEALER NOW PRAYING THIS ISSUE CAN BE RESOLVED. THANKS *TR

NHTSA ODI #10640083

5,500 miles · Nov 3, 2012
EngineVehicle Speed Control

WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH IN THE RIGHT LANE OF A 4-LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY, MY ENGINE QUIT, AND ALL GAUGES WENT DARK. I HAD STEERING, BRAKES, TURN SIGNAL AND HAZARD LIGHTS, AND TELEPHONE. I WAS LOSING SPEED, AND WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. HOWEVER, I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY. I WAS NOT ABLE TO RESTART THE C…

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WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH IN THE RIGHT LANE OF A 4-LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY, MY ENGINE QUIT, AND ALL GAUGES WENT DARK. I HAD STEERING, BRAKES, TURN SIGNAL AND HAZARD LIGHTS, AND TELEPHONE. I WAS LOSING SPEED, AND WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. HOWEVER, I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY. I WAS NOT ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR. I PUT ON THE HAZARD LIGHTS AND USED MY CELL PHONE TO CALL THE DEALER. AFTER 10 - 15 MINUTES OF WAITING, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR. A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE DEALER HAD JUST ARRIVED AND FOLLOWED ME TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY KEPT THE CAR OVERNIGHT. THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE EPISODE, SO THEY RESET THE COMPUTER. I AM SUSPICIOUS THAT THE COMPUTER ACTIVATED THE ENGINE IMMOBILIZER FEATURE. THE ENGINE STALL WAS PRECEDED BY SEVERAL INSTANCES OF THE INTELLILINK SCREEN GOING DARK, AS THOUGH THE LIGHT BULB HAD BURNED OUT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10483248

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.