When backing my daughters car out of our driveway, the brake pedal became hard and the car would not stop. There was a recall for her car for this exact same issue, but when I put the VIN number in for her car, it was not included in the recall. I am afraid to let her drive the car due to this issue.
2012 Chevrolet Cruze: soft or spongy brake pedal
6 of the 865 complaints about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze describe soft or spongy brake pedal.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- typical mileage
- 50,000
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 37 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Soft or spongy brake pedal by model year
- 20171
- 20161
- 20131
- 20126
- 20117
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet cruze. While driving various speeds, the brake pedal stiffened and the vehicle would not stop when prompted. In addition, when the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was diagnosed as having a faulty electronic brake assist. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 73,000.
Recall bulletin 12213 performed april 2014 for brake vacuum micro switch. Recalled part failed again august 2016. Vehicle has hard brake pedal upon cold start and sometimes when restarted after driving and warm. Vehicle becomes very hard to stop without warning and unsafe to drive. Dealer refused to replace part at no cost stating no additional recall exists and no warranty exists. It is unclear if this is the very start of a larger systemic problem with the actual design of these micro switches in this application. Gm part number 13460776 has become obsolete and part now comes as sub assembly with additional parts. This leads me to believe original design of micro switch was defective.
Has a hard brake pedal will not stop sometime the switch was replaced on early recall.
While driving the power steering shuts off, radio blinks on and off, and the brakes get spongy making it hard to drive and stop. I have had it in the shop and the mechanics were unable to find an problem.
I just started backing out of a parking spot at the grocery store, and when I went to hit the brakes, the brake pedal hardly moved and the car kept rolling. I applied extreme pressure to the brake pedal because I almost hit another parked car. It eventually came to a stop just inches from the other car. Then when I left the parking lot I proceeded to the traffic light, which was red at the time, I applied the brake, and it did the same thing! I almost rear-ended the car in front of me! I finally got the car home, but I kept great distances between our car and the cars in front of me. Luckily it didn't happen again, and I made it home safe! Later in the day, I tested the brakes again, by backing out of the garage, and it happened again! Makes me very nervous! This car is going to the gm dealer to get fixed! Hopefully I don't have an accident on my way there! Gm needs to do a recall to fix this problem before someone gets hurt or killed!!!
Service bulletins that may apply
- This bulletin advises the dealers to maintain the vehicle stock on hand by doing a full inspection on the...
- This service bulletin provides information for tire pressure monitoring (TPM) system concerns.
- This informational bulletin provides information on installing the correct tires for vehicles with the...
- This preliminary information communication provides information to the technician on how to diagnose and...
- Summary to be provided on a future date.
- Special coverage (revised population). gm has received a small number of reports regarding 2010 (non north...
- Special coverage. gm has received a small number of reports regarding 2011-2012 model year chevrolet cruze...
- This informational bulletin provides technicians with a brake lathe calibration procedure.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist
- What is wrong
- General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles equipped with 1.4L DOHC gasoline turbo engines and 6T40 front wheel drive automatic transmissions and equipped with an electric vacuum pump to provide supplemental vacuum for brake assist, when needed. In the affected vehicles, the pump may not activate, resulting in an intermittent reduction or loss of brake assist.
- Risk
- A loss of braking assistance will require extra pedal force and/or distance to bring the vehicle to a stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace a microswitch in the power brake vacuum pipe assembly, free of charge. The recall began on October 7, 2013. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1‑800‑222‑1020. GM's recall number is 12213.
Recall number 13V360000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze spongy pedal
Is soft or spongy brake pedal a common problem on the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze?
6 of 865 owner complaints about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze (1%) mention soft or spongy brake pedal. The model year with the most reports is 2011.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze?
There is 1 recall and 37 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
Check engine light 118Loss of power 68Stalling 54Jerking 53Overheating 47Fire or smoke 35Brake failure 33Wipers 32Power steering loss 28Transmission failure 25Won't start 25Steering lock-up 19Hesitation 17ABS 16No deployment 14Oil consumption 14Adaptive cruise 13Grinding brakes 13Headlights 13Warning lights 13Engine failure 12Screen failure 11Won't shift 11Key fob 8Airbag light 7Knocking 7Misfire 7Sudden acceleration 7Door locks 6Pulling 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2012 Chevrolet Cruze?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history