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Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2012 Chevrolet Captiva

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

65

Complaints

0

Crashes

2

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2012 Chevrolet Captiva have filed 65 safety complaints with NHTSA between August 2014 and December 2019. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 43 of them (66%). The typical failure was reported at 60,000 miles, the median across the 53 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 65.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 43 66%
ENGINE 16 25%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 8 12%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8 12%
POWER TRAIN 5 8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 6%
AIR BAGS 3 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 5%
STEERING 3 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 5%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 3%
PARKING BRAKE 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2018 at 22.

2014 2018 2019
2014 to 2019

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN AT 30 MPH, ALL THE LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, THE RADIO AND THE HEATING SYSTEM FAILED TO FUNCTION AS TEMPERATURE BELOW 40 WAS DISPLAYED ACROSS THE MESSAGE BOARD. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT HAD TO MANUALLY OPEN THE DOORS IN ORDER TO ENTER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE ALSO FAILED TO START AS THE THEFT ALARM INDEPENDENTLY ACTIVATED AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKE FAILED TO RELEASE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT A THEFT MODULE MELTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA complaint 10749278. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

fire

I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK ON HIGHWAY 1 SOUTH TOWARD HARRISBURG AR AND I STARTED SMELLING SMOKE AND NOTICED IT COMING FROM VENTS. AFTER I GOT OUT OF MY CAR , FLAMES ENGULFED AND TOTALED MY CAR COMPLETELY.

NHTSA complaint 11035596. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:STARTER ASSEMBLY

towed

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. WHILE THE CONTACT'S HUSBAND WAS DRIVING 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE STARTER MALFUNCTIONED AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE STARTER WAS REPLACED, BUT THE SERVICE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED FOR SEVERAL DAYS AFTER THE REPLACEMENT. RECENTLY, THE CONTACT'S HUSBAND ATTEMPTED TO START THE VEHICLE, BUT IT FAILED TO START UNTIL AFTER THE STARTER WAS KNOCKED ON SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE CONTACT PROBABLY RECEIVED A FAULTY STARTER. SINCE THE STARTER WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, THE MECHANIC STATED HE

NHTSA complaint 11016198, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

150,000 miles

GOING DOWN ROAD AT 70MPH AND VEHICLE SLOWS DOWN TO 40MPH ON ITS OWN AND I ALMOST WAS REAR ENDED BY THE CAR BEHIND ME. THIS HAPPENED ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY.

NHTSA complaint 11287216. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

85,000 miles

THE VEHICLE IS LIGHTWEIGHT TO THE POINT WHERE HIGH WINDS PUSH THE CAR TO THE SIDE WHILE IT IS IN MOTION. YOU CAN FEEL THE WIND MOVING IT AND FEEL THE CAR MOVE A LOT WHEN OTHER VEHICLES ARE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS NEXT TO IT.

NHTSA complaint 11221600. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

47,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE WAS UNABLE TO EJECT THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. THE CONTACT HAD TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND MANUEVER THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER FOR THE KEY TO BE REMOVED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,000. *JS

NHTSA complaint 11220829. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL

84,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. WHILE STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE KEY FAILED TO RELEASE FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH AND THE TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS FAILED TO MAKE A CLICKING NOISE WHEN ACTIVATED. ADDITIONALLY, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START OCCASIONALLY AND THE SERVICE VEHICLE AND BRAKE WARNING INDICATORS WERE ILLUMINATED. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA complaint 11217767. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

94,258 miles

THE E-BRAKE COMES ON BY ITS SELF WHILE DRIVING DOWN ROAD. CHECKED AGAINEST VIN AND STATED NOT ON RECALL LIST BUT OTHERS HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR SAME THING.

NHTSA complaint 11195437. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

92,000 miles

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CONTINUES TO COME ON. HAD IT TESTED AND I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE CAMSHAFT AND THE CRANKSHAFT SENSORS. DID THAT DROVE IT FOR A WEEK OR TWO AND THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON TESTED IT AGAIN AND GOT THE SAME READING CONCERNING BANK 1 CAMSHAFT AND CRANKSHAFT SENSOR. WAS TOLD IT COULD BE THE TIMING CHAIN CAUSING THIS PROBLEM AND THAT THIS VEHICLE IS KNOWN FOR THE TIMING CHAIN ISSUE. WAS TOLD THAT THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE CAMSHAFT BUT THE READING STILL COMES UP THE SAME IN BANK 1. IS THIS NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE AND IS IT UNDER SOME KIND OF WARRANTY. HAVE ONLY 104200 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE.

NHTSA complaint 11195291. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Captiva

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2014 138 0 —
2013 97 0 —

Other 2012 Chevrolet models

Malibu 905 Cruze 864 Equinox 682 Traverse 354 Sonic 353 Impala 258 Volt 245 Silverado 1500 215

Every Chevrolet on this site — 298 vehicles, 747 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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Independent developer and analyst