Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Chevrolet Cruze owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Since March 2015, I have been experiencing issues with and I have video evidence while in failure mode, of what I believe to be failures of the body computer(s) in this vehicle. The dashboard displays have been going on and off under a wide variety of driving situations, and while sitting at idle. They fault when the vehicle is simply driving down the highway. More often I notice it when utilizing turn signals, hazard lights, and breaking. During these faults, the center information display for the HVAC and entertainment will frequently turn off. This kills the radio. It at times kills the HVAC systems and the turn signals (at least the noise for the turn signal indicators). At times, the center display above the steering column will go black and then display a message about the stabilitrak having failed and requiring it to be checked or the ABS needing to be serviced. …
The main console in the car starting turning on and off, the lights doing this as well. It affected the turn signals when I was making a turn, making them turn on and off as well. Turned off headlights as well, while I was on my way home. Once I got home I turned off the car and restarted it, and the whole system rebooted and I had to fix the date and time. This happened again when I used the auto-start on the key fob, drove a little bit as the console kept turning on and off, pulled over and tried to restart car. Couldn't remove the key from ignition, eventually got car to restart after trying to restart it for about fifteen minutes. The next day the same thing happened, so I parked the car and turned it off and tried to restart it again. Wouldn't start and the key would not come out of ignition for at least forty-five minutes. Finally got the car to start and drove home. …
I just purchased my 2012 Chevy Cruze 3 months ago, it has 36,000 miles. Last week when I started off to work I got a reduced engine power message and the car would not accelerate. I read the manuel and followed the instructions, turned off the car, waited and restarted,but it still would not accelerate. I checked online for reported problems with the car and found that many people have had the same issue. I called the dealership and was told I could take the car in but would have to pay for any repairs because there was no recall on this problem. A few days later I started the car and it seemed fine so I tried driving it. It was fine for the first 15 minutes but then the reduced engine power light came on again and the car would not accelerate once again. …
?/?/16 sunny-driving on city street. Traction light/service traction control appear. Drove car to shoulder-car could barely move then was completely unable to move. Turned car off/back on. Lights/errors were gone. Drove away. 7/9/16 sunny-driving out of parking lot. Traction light/service traction control/service stabilitrak appear. Car barely crept forward before it could not move. Called OnStar for vehicle diagnosis. Nothing found. Turned car off/back on and everything reset/was OK 10/21/16 rainy-driving on interstate. Car randomly yanks left (didn't brake/accelerate) car spins & crashes into guardrail multiple times. Car barely crept forward as I drove to left shoulder but stopped moving before getting to safety. …
I was driving by myself down a busy road, luckily not too busy with traffic and the service engine soon light came on with comment stability traction. I immediately pulled over, turned the car off and called our Chevy dealer. I was instructed to leave the car off a few minutes then turn it back on which I did. All the lights went away. I scheduled an appointment for several days later to have the car checked. The car was fine the rest of the day. The next day around 3 pm I was leaving work the stability traction light came on and then the reduced engine speed light came on. My car dropped to 10 miles an hour I was about rear ended. I turned on hazards. I right at an intersection, I started blowing my horn cause the light turned yellow. I turned into a parking lot. I immediately turned the car off and called the dealer again. …
"Takata recall" I have and issue now for months since I financed the Chevy Cruze 2012. It has something to do with the brakes or running lights switch. If the lights are on running mode and you touch the brakes it seems the radio goes on and off, also acts like the car is shutting off when you are stopped. Also the stablity trac light on dash comes on multiple times. I do not have the funds to have someone check on the situation especially when I have read up and seen so many complaints bout the same thing. I believe this is a manufacturer problem maybe to much power surge to circuit or whatever you want to call it. However it is a serious condition because when I went to make a turn the brakes n steering went out basically I assumed the car lost power and thank god I knew to hit the gas pedal to get it to stop , and re-function like its suppose to do. …
While driving, on at least four occasions, I have lost power completely, causing all electrical functionings to stop, making me lose ability to accelerate, causing my lights to shut off, and all other functionalities of the car, besides steering and using inertia, resulting in pulling over without endangering myself or other drivers. There also seems to be a skipping or jumping involving the fuel injection when accelerating, which makes speed regulation irregular, sporadic, and does not allow the driver to make accurate judgements on the cars capabilities concerning timing and distance to other drivers. Recently, I was in motion driving through chatanooga, tn, where it is mountainous and has steep hills, during nighttime, so visibility was lessened, and danger, due to the type of road it was, was increased. …
The stability track control and service traction control messages have both happened to me now a few times while driving down city/country roads and down the highway. The first time I had the service traction control was yesterday. (8/02/2016) it's scary because the radio resets and the power steering goes out. I have a [redacted] daughter and she's terrified as well. I wish they would figure this out already. I called the dealer once and like most people write online about this issue they didn't know what it could be and they didn't have a car I could use to go back and forth to work while they checked it out so I haven't taken to the dealer yet. The issue comes and goes. It could go away for months but always comes back. I keep checking online to see if they finally found a fix for this issue and I still haven't found anything. …
On the first occurrence the lights on the radio display began to flicker and then all electrical power to the dashboard. The electrical came back on and the dash display depicted the warning message check stabilitrak. I took it to the dealership where I purchased the car and they said that high voltage codes c0800, 07 and high voltage history showed up on the scope and there were no issues. The second time the lights on the radio display began to flicker and then all electrical power to the dashboard, airbags and the electrically assisted power steering went out, while on a very steep mountain road and I had no control over the vehicle. The electrical came back on and the dash display depicted the warning message check stabilitrak. …
Car was like new for a few months, driven to and from orlando maybe 4 times, but mostly use it for work to take my daughter to school then it started the check engine light being on, then shortly, car started jerking while parked, or on brake, and the "check stabili track control" light comes on, and then would just turn off. I would start smelling a very strong burnt smell but no oil was falling to the floor, but once I stopped driving there would've smoke everywhere. Was told there is a vacuum leak coming from pcv which is built in valve cover...have had valve cover changed 3 times in 3 weeks and each time, it looked like someone died under my hood and bled oil! Am told that there is too much pressure coming in and so causes oil to find a way out and leaks it spills it slashes, and it's a mystery! Also, there is another leak that all of a sudden strated from the side of the engine! …
Traction Control complaints in other Cruze years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze?
NHTSA has 108 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, 12% of the model year's 865 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Chevrolet Cruze traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, though it has 7 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Chevrolet Cruze traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 63,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to stability & traction control problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.