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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

Electrical System complaints

16 reports
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53,000 miles · Nov 24, 2015
Electrical SystemEngine

10/26/15 - CAR WOULDN'T START; RECV'D JUMP, REPLACED BATTERY ($169.40). 11/6/15 - CAME OUT OF RESTAURANT, CAR WOULDN'T START. GOT JUMP TOOK TO DEALER. DEALER REPLACED STARTER AND ISSUE RESOLVED. 11/12-11/21: CAR STALLED 8-10 MORE DOCUMENTED TIMES BOTH WHEN BACKING OUT OF PARKING SPOT IN REVERSE AND AT VEHICLE SPEEDS VARYING…

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10/26/15 - CAR WOULDN'T START; RECV'D JUMP, REPLACED BATTERY ($169.40). 11/6/15 - CAME OUT OF RESTAURANT, CAR WOULDN'T START. GOT JUMP TOOK TO DEALER. DEALER REPLACED STARTER AND ISSUE RESOLVED. 11/12-11/21: CAR STALLED 8-10 MORE DOCUMENTED TIMES BOTH WHEN BACKING OUT OF PARKING SPOT IN REVERSE AND AT VEHICLE SPEEDS VARYING FROM 35MPH TO 67MPH ON 5 LANE INTERSTATE DURING RUSH HOUR. TOOK TO DEALER AND CALLED GM. REPLACED TWO SOLENOIDS AND SOME HOSE, KEEPING CAR SO TECH CAN DRIVE FOR 2 DAYS TO SEE IF PROBLEM CAN BE REPLICATED. I CAN'T DETERMINE A CAUSE OR PATTERN AND DON'T GET ANY PRIOR WARNING, SO HOPING IT DOES OCCUR IN THEIR POSSESSION DURING TESTING. THIS VEHICLE IS UNRELIABLE AND VERY DANGEROUS. I ALMOST CAUSED A MULTIPLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT ON THE INTERSTATE AND RISK INJURY OR DEATH BY OPERATING THIS VEHICLE. MY FAMILY IS AT RISK, MYSELF AND OTHER MOTORISTS. GM SAYS THERE IS NO PROBLEM BUT AFTER SEEING THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON NHTSA.GOV AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER ONLINE FORUMS, IT IS CLEAR THAT GM IS TRYING TO AVOID ANOTHER ISSUE WITH THEIR VEHICLES. I HAVE OWNED GM PRODUCTS SINCE TURNING 16 AND THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. I HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH A DEALERSHIP LOANER AND WILL REFUSE TO TAKE MY VERANO BACK AS I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING OR OWNING THIS VEHICLE. CURRENTLY HAVE OPEN COMPLAINT WITH GM BUT DO NOT HAVE RESOLUTION AT THE TIME OF THIS COMPLAINT.

NHTSA ODI #10806599

59,831 miles · Apr 10, 2015
Electrical SystemService Brakes

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL REMAINED ILLUMINATED AND THE BRAKES MADE AN ABNORMAL NOISE WHEN THE GEAR WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE TRACTION AND LOW VOLT LIGHTS NEEDE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL REMAINED ILLUMINATED AND THE BRAKES MADE AN ABNORMAL NOISE WHEN THE GEAR WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE TRACTION AND LOW VOLT LIGHTS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 59,831.

NHTSA ODI #10705053

28,000 miles · Aug 26, 2014
Electrical SystemEngine

FROM THE TIME I LEASED THE CAR IN AUGUST OF 2012, THE CAR ALWAYS STALLED FROM TIME TO TIME. I TOOK IT IN 2 MONTHS AFTER I PURCHASED IT FOR THE STALLING, BUT THEY DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. ONCE IN MARCH OF 2014 I TURNED MY CAR ON AND WENT TO PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AND IT WOULDN'T SHIFT. I TRIED MULTIPLES TIMES, BUT IT WOU…

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FROM THE TIME I LEASED THE CAR IN AUGUST OF 2012, THE CAR ALWAYS STALLED FROM TIME TO TIME. I TOOK IT IN 2 MONTHS AFTER I PURCHASED IT FOR THE STALLING, BUT THEY DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. ONCE IN MARCH OF 2014 I TURNED MY CAR ON AND WENT TO PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AND IT WOULDN'T SHIFT. I TRIED MULTIPLES TIMES, BUT IT WOULDN'T SHIFT. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AND THEN THE GEAR MOVED TO DRIVE. ON JULY 12, 2014, THE CAR ACTUALLY TURNED OFF WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT. I WAS LEAVING WORK AND AS I PROCEEDED TO EXIT MY JOBS PARKING LOT, THE CAR TURNED OFF AND I NOTICED THE MALFUNCTION LIGHT WAS ON. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED BUICK/ONSTAR TO REPORT THE PROBLEM. I DROVE THE CAR HOME BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO BE STRANDED AT WORK BECAUSE I WORK FOR A SCHOOL AND IT WAS CLOSED FOR THE DAY. ANYWAY, THE CAR WAS ATTEMPTING TO TURN OFF THE ENTIRE DRIVE HOME WHICH IS ABOUT A 25 MINUTE DRIVE. THE BUICK/ONSTAR REPRESENTATIVE STAYED ON THE PHONE WITH ME TO MAKE SURE I WAS SAFE AND WHEN I ARRIVED HOME A TOW TRUCK ARRIVED SHORTLY AFTER TO TOW MY CAR TO THE BUICK DEALER THAT I PURCHASED THE CAR FROM. I RECEIVED THE CAR BACK 2 WEEKS LATER AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE CABLES CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY WERE LOOSE AND THAT THEY HAD FIXED IT. I DROVE THE CAR FOR ANOTHER 2 WEEKS AND ONE DAY I WENT TO DRIVE IT AND IT WOULDN'T START. SO, I CALLED BUICK AGAIN, THEY TOWED IT AGAIN AND IT HAS NOW BEEN BACK AT THE BUICK DEALER FOR A LITTLE OVER 2 WEEKS NOW. I HAVE ONE OF THEIR LOANER CARS IN MY POSSESSION NOW. I DO NOT WANT THIS CAR BACK BECAUSE I CAN'T BE SURE THAT THE CAR WON'T CUT OFF ON ME WHILE I'M DRIVING ON THE EXPRESSWAY OR ANYWHERE WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. THEY NEED TO RECALL THIS MODEL BECAUSE I'VE READ OTHER COMMENTS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUES. A CAR RANDOMLY CUTTING OFF WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING IT IS JUST NOT SAFE! *TR

NHTSA ODI #10628363

200 miles · Mar 24, 2014
Electrical System

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35-45 MPH AND REACHED FOR THE RADIO BUT HAPHAZARDLY HIT THE KEYS IN THE IGNITION CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO GENERATE A FAILURE CODE AFTER PERFORMING A DIAGNOSTIC. THE FAIL…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35-45 MPH AND REACHED FOR THE RADIO BUT HAPHAZARDLY HIT THE KEYS IN THE IGNITION CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO GENERATE A FAILURE CODE AFTER PERFORMING A DIAGNOSTIC. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER, WHO TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE FOR SIX MILES BUT WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT TO LIMIT THE LOAD ON THE KEY RING TO AVOID THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 15,000. UPDATED 04/28/14 UPDATED 05/05/2014*LJ UPDATED 05/09/2014 *JS

NHTSA ODI #10574403

12,641 miles · Nov 30, 2013
Electrical SystemEngine

THIS BUICK VERANO HAS CASCADING ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PROBLEMS. WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED THE ENGINE STOPPED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THIS LEFT MY WIFE WITH ONLY A FEW SECONDS TO STEER THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER. IT WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION JUST PAST THE CREST OF A BRIDGE. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND WE WERE INFORMED TH…

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THIS BUICK VERANO HAS CASCADING ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PROBLEMS. WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED THE ENGINE STOPPED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THIS LEFT MY WIFE WITH ONLY A FEW SECONDS TO STEER THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER. IT WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION JUST PAST THE CREST OF A BRIDGE. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND WE WERE INFORMED THAT A FRAYED WIRE HAD SHORTED OUT AND BLEW A FUSE. TWO DAYS LATER THE CAR WAS "REPAIRED" AND DIED IN A SIMILAR FASHION. AFTER A WEEK'S CONSULTATION WITH GM WE WERE INFORMED THE CAR WAS "FIXED". THE SERVICE MANAGER STATED HE WOULD NOT WANT HIS WIFE TO DRIVE THIS CAR. SO WE WON'T EITHER. THIS FOLLOWED A REPAIR A MONTH BEFORE WHICH WAS CAUSED BY THE BATTERY BEING INSTALLED OVER A PORTION OF THE WIRING HARNESS. THESE PROBLEMS STARTED AT 11 MONTHS AND 11,237 MILES. STILL UNRESOLVED. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10554190

12,641 miles · Nov 18, 2013
Electrical SystemEngine

THE VEHICLE IS UNRELIABLE, UNPREDICTABLE AND DANGEROUS TO DRIVE, SINCE YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY WARNING OR KNOW WHEN AND WHERE THE ENGINE WILL DIE. THE ENGINE DIED WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH ON A TWO LANE HIGHWAY, LEAVING ONLY A FEW SECONDS TO STEER ONTO THE SHOULDER. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART. THIS WAS FOLLOWING AN EARLIER ELECTRICAL SYST…

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THE VEHICLE IS UNRELIABLE, UNPREDICTABLE AND DANGEROUS TO DRIVE, SINCE YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY WARNING OR KNOW WHEN AND WHERE THE ENGINE WILL DIE. THE ENGINE DIED WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH ON A TWO LANE HIGHWAY, LEAVING ONLY A FEW SECONDS TO STEER ONTO THE SHOULDER. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART. THIS WAS FOLLOWING AN EARLIER ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PROBLEM FOUR WEEKS BEFORE IN WHICH MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS STAYED ON AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE AND THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR (WE WERE TOLD THIS WAS CAUSED BY THE BATTERY BEING INSTALLED OVER A PORTION OF THE WIRING HARNESS AND EVENTUALLY CUTTING THE WIRES). THIS WAS REPAIRED BY REPLACING SEVERAL COMPUTER MODULES AND PORTIONS OF THE WRING HARNESS. THE EARLIER REPAIR, WAS DOUBLE CHECKED BY ANOTHER BUICK DEALERSHIP AND WE WERE ASSURED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS FULLY REPAIRED AND SAFE TO DRIVE. THE 60 MPH FAILURE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO A CHAFED WIRE SHORTING OUT AND BLOWING A FUSE. THE DAY FOLLOWING THE LATEST REPAIR THE ENGINE DIED AGAIN, WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART. BEFORE BEGINNING THE NEXT REPAIR, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DRAINED THE BATTERY OVERNIGHT. WE WERE TOLD TWO DAYS AGO, THAT A NEW MAIN COMPUTER AND FOUR COILS WERE REPLACED. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD SINCE THEN, THAT THE CAR WAS READY TO BE PICKED UP IN THE MORNING AND THEN CALLED THE NEXT DAY AND WAS TOLD MORE TEST WERE REQUIRED. IT IS NOW 7 DAYS LATER, AND GM ENGINEERS AND THE DEALER ARE STILL TRYING TO DIAGNOSE THE ROOT CAUSE AND FIND A SOLUTION. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD REPEATEDLY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST AUTO OF ITS KIND, WITH THIS PROBLEM FOR A BUICK VERANO. DAY 28/18, DEALER CALLED THIS MORNING AND TOLD US THEY HAVE NOW FOUND A GROUND FAULT IN THE WIRING HARNESS. THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD US HE WOULD WANT HIS WIFE TO DRIVE THIS CAR. WE DON'T DRIVE IT EITHER. *JB ..UPDATED 12/17/13 *BF

NHTSA ODI #10556710

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.