The Recall Desk
Our severity:SevereNHTSA·12V522000·Announced 2012-10-31

GM Recalls 2012 Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze, and Sonic for Air Bag Defect

General Motors is recalling 2012 Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze, and Chevrolet Sonic vehicles because the driver's air bag may fail to deploy in a crash.

What this means for you

Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 4/5 (Severe).

The hazard poses a serious risk of illness, injury, or structural failure. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.

Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a structural vehicle defect where the driver's airbag may fail to deploy, increasing the risk of injury in a crash, which aligns with the 'Severe' criteria for significant injury risk or structural defects.

Plain-English summary

General Motors is recalling certain model year 2012 Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze, and Chevrolet Sonic vehicles. The recall addresses a defect in the driver side frontal air bag system where a shorting bar may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.

If the shorting bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash that necessitates the deployment of the driver's frontal airbag, the airbag will not deploy. This failure increases the driver's risk of injury during a collision.

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 or the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.

The recalled product

Product
CHEVROLET, BUICK CRUZE, SONIC, VERANO
Brand
CHEVROLET
Manufacturer
General Motors LLC
Category
Vehicle — Air Bag
Hazard
Affected units
2,949

Is your product affected?

Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.

Model numbers (3)

  • CRUZE
  • SONIC
  • VERANO

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

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