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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.

About this comparison →
106Owner complaints

Model-year median: 80

3Recall campaigns

View recall details →

1Investigations

View investigation details →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
106
2012107
2013101
201458
2015
Compare all Verano years →

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

What owners reported most

Engine
48Air Bags
27Electrical System
16Steering
9Power Train
7
All reported categories
Vehicle Speed Control
7Unknown Or Other
5Electronic Stability Control (esc)
4Service Brakes
4Visibility/wiper
4Fuel/propulsion System
3Suspension
3Engine And Engine Cooling
2Structure
2Visibility
2Fuel System, Gasoline
1Tires
1Wheels
1

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

What owners actually said

106 reports
150 miles · Mar 18, 2013
Visibility/wiper

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH IN RAINY WEATHER, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE ACTIVATED BUT WOULD NOT CLEAR THE WATER FROM THE WINDOW. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE WIPERS WERE PERFORMING AS DESIGNED. THE WIPER BLADES WE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH IN RAINY WEATHER, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE ACTIVATED BUT WOULD NOT CLEAR THE WATER FROM THE WINDOW. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE WIPERS WERE PERFORMING AS DESIGNED. THE WIPER BLADES WERE REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 12,000.

NHTSA ODI #10503509

590 miles · Nov 6, 2012
Visibility/wiper

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED TO CLEAR THE WINDSHIELD PROPERLY, CAUSING SEVERE OBSTRUCTION OF THE CONTACT'S VIEW OF THE ROADWAY. THE DEALER REPLACED THE WIPER BLADES SEVERAL TIMES HOWEVER, THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WAS PE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED TO CLEAR THE WINDSHIELD PROPERLY, CAUSING SEVERE OBSTRUCTION OF THE CONTACT'S VIEW OF THE ROADWAY. THE DEALER REPLACED THE WIPER BLADES SEVERAL TIMES HOWEVER, THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WAS PERFORMING ACCORDING TO THE DESIGN OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 590 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 6,000. ..UPDATED 01/30/13 *BF UPDATED 2/1/2013 *JS

NHTSA ODI #10483466

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

100 miles · Jul 26, 2012
Power TrainSuspension

A CONSTANT "PERCOLATING" OR RATTLING SOUND IS HEARD WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY AND ESPECIALLY ON UNEVEN SURFACES. THE NOISE GETS WORSE AND MORE CONSISTENT AS THE CAR IS DRIVEN. SINCE NOBODY CAN TELL ME WHAT IT IS, I MUST ASSUME IT COULD BE A SAFETY CONCERN. THE NOISE BECAME WORSE AFTER A STRUT WAS REPLACED AT 100 MILES. THE NOISE GOT …

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A CONSTANT "PERCOLATING" OR RATTLING SOUND IS HEARD WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY AND ESPECIALLY ON UNEVEN SURFACES. THE NOISE GETS WORSE AND MORE CONSISTENT AS THE CAR IS DRIVEN. SINCE NOBODY CAN TELL ME WHAT IT IS, I MUST ASSUME IT COULD BE A SAFETY CONCERN. THE NOISE BECAME WORSE AFTER A STRUT WAS REPLACED AT 100 MILES. THE NOISE GOT LOUDER AFTER AN ATTEMPT TO FIX IT BY INSTALLING A NEW COIL (F-SPRING?). I WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE CAR SO THEY WILL NOT MAKE ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR IT WHEN I REQUEST SPECIFIC ACTIONS. I HAVE HEARD SIMILAR NOISES IN AT LEAST 7 OTHER SAME MODEL CARS. THREE SEPARATE PEOPLE HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR AND CONFIRM THE NOISES. IF THERE IS A STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS IT WOULD BE A SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10467742

7,000 miles · Jul 11, 2012
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BUICK VERANO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 7,700.

NHTSA ODI #10465310

295 miles · Apr 13, 2012
Engine And Engine Cooling

THE ENGINE OF THIS NEW 2012 BUICK VERANO STALLED FOUR TIMES. THE FIRST TIME WAS IN FREEWAY. THE SECOND TIME WAS IN FRONT OF A RED LIGHT. THE THIRD TIME WAS IN A LOCAL STREET AT ~35 MILES/HOUR. THE FOURTH TIME HAPPENED WHEN THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS DRIVING IT. SIMILAR PROBLEM EVERY TIME: THE ENGINE SUDDENLY STALLED AND B…

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THE ENGINE OF THIS NEW 2012 BUICK VERANO STALLED FOUR TIMES. THE FIRST TIME WAS IN FREEWAY. THE SECOND TIME WAS IN FRONT OF A RED LIGHT. THE THIRD TIME WAS IN A LOCAL STREET AT ~35 MILES/HOUR. THE FOURTH TIME HAPPENED WHEN THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS DRIVING IT. SIMILAR PROBLEM EVERY TIME: THE ENGINE SUDDENLY STALLED AND BECAME VERY ROUGH. THE CAR CANNOT GO FASTER THAN 10 MILES/HOUR FOR A MINUTE OR TWO AND THE ENGINE WOULD COMPLETELY DIE. THERE'S ALWAYS A MISFIRE CODE. THE VEHICLE APPEARED OK AFTER 5-10 MINUTES LATER BUT THE "CHECK ENGINE" MAY STAY ON. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT SUSPECTED THE FUEL WAS BAD. WHAT'S IRONIC IS THAT THE ENGINE STALLED AGAIN WHEN THEY WERE DRIVING IT AFTER THEY DRAINED THE FUEL AND PUT IN NEW GASOLINE. THIS IS A BRAND NEW CAR FROM BUICK WITH ~600 MILES ON IT. SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS VEHICLE AND THE SUDDEN STALLING OF THE ENGINE CARRIES TOO HIGH RISK OF REAR-END COLLISION. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10455104

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.