What 145 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Captiva

The car will stall and shut off, the radio quits working and the key will get stuck in the ignition.

NHTSA ODI 11591705

Engine light came on lost compressions. Engine wouldn't turn off. Steering was loose like we were on water. Traction control and stabilitrac were disabled and unable to turn bsvjninuiHas to press breaks to the floor. If I was going any faster I could have lost control. The repair shop replaced the fuse box and Bcm not even 3 miles engine light came back on and it misfires, pistons problems, compression. I called the dealership I bought it from and they state it's safe!

NHTSA ODI 11461301

I am not sure what component could be one could be several. When I pulled into my driveway and put it in park. The engine light came on and the stereo went off. When checking the stereo would not turn back on and nothing on the instrument panel would work, heater/air conditioning, rear wipers, heated seats, hazard lights, the parking/emergency break literally nothing. So I turned the key in the ignition to the off position took the key out and the engine continued to run? I called onstar from the vehicle and realized that didn't work either so I had called from my cell. They advices me to call a mechanic. Unable to do so as it was 9pm and not was mechanic shop was available I looked online. I ended up pulling the fuel relay switch and waited several minutes for it to finally die then I undid the negative battery cable. Tried again the next day and same thing happened. It is available for inspection as I have no clue as to if and when it can be fixed. My safety was at risk due to the vehicle not shutting off and a fire/explosion could happen. The safety feature or requirement of the hazard lights (good thing I wasn't on the freeway) the parking/emergency break no need to explained this. Unable to call for emergency with onstar equipped vehicle and who know what else could be wrong. Unknown if anyone else has a verified claim but it seems to be a problem with this vehicle and no it has not been inspected but will be taking to a shop Monday morning! No lights/lamps/warnings were on or appeared prior to the engine light turning on with all this at the same time.

NHTSA ODI 11459472

Vehicle has a know oil useage problem. Have to check to make sure it is not low between oil changes. In the past I had it start to cut out if I was sitting at a stop light & had to put my foot on the brake & the gas pedal to keep it from quitting. Only happened occasionally & never gave it more thought till about a month ago. Was sitting in my car while it was idling and it just quit. Started it back up & it did it again. Thank goodness I was sitting in a driveway not on a highway. It drove terrible on the way home. Sputtered at every stop sign. Got it home a mile away and parked it. I was lucky to get home because it had started to leak oil just before my driveway so you could see it on the road. I lost the rest of the oil in my driveway! Got to doing some calling & research & found out they have issues with freezing up a tube on the top of the engine & now I have a blow rear main seal! Had we been informed of this issue we would have been able to prevent a real problem. Now I have a 2012 Chevy Captive (manufactured 02/24/12) that has 87,000 miles on it an needs a major repair! From our understanding some vehicles were issued a notification that this was an issue & offered a engine repair. Our vin number unfortunately doesn't come up under this issue. So now we are sitting a a major repair issue & no help with covering the cost of this known issue! The car is in good shape and we are unable to drive it till we get it fixed. Wish we would have known about this issue. Not too happy to find out this problem has been known about but yet many have not been notified of this issue. Glad my car died in my driveway & not out on some highway in the middle of now where. Could have caused a major accident when the car just died in the roadway! Would like to know what is offered for this issue & why car owners are not notified of this issue. Just frustrating!

NHTSA ODI 11451164

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Captiva. The contact stated that while his engine was off, the vehicle had caught fire and burned out on its own. The contact discovered the failure upon the entrance of the vehicle and saw smoke within the cabin. The vehicle would not start and was towed to the dealer. The contact was then informed that the climate control module had caused a fire within the vehicle and the module was replaced. After the repair, the check engine light would intermittently illuminate on the dashboard. The contact took the vehicle to Bob Tyler Toyota(7201 Pensacola Blvd, Pensacola, FL 32505) where they diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The manufacturer was notified and the contact was given a case number. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 125,379

NHTSA ODI 11436627

STABILITY CONTROL AND BREAK WARNING CONSTANTLY..HAD BREAKS COMPLETELY REPAIRED TWICE WITHIN THE 2 YEARS OF PURCHASING IT..ONLY HAS 160,000 MILES. LIGHTING WIRING ISSUE MALFUNCTION.

NHTSA ODI 11373072

WHILE DRIVING - OR EVEN SITTING STILL - RADIO AND CLOCK WILL SHUT OFF, "SERVICE STABILITRACK LIGHT" ILLUMINATES ON DASH WITH THE MESSAGE SHOWING ON THE MESSAGE CENTER DASH DISPLAY. AFTER 5 SECONDS OR SO, IT DISAPPEARS; HOWEVER OCCURS OFTEN BUT NO CONSISTENT (SOMETIMES NONE AT ALL, SOME TIMES 4 OR SO TIMES IN A 20MI DRIVE). BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR ARE BRAND NEW (ALTERNATOR HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE IN 12 MONTHS). VEHICLE IS OWNED OUTRIGHT AND HAS 142,000+ MILES.

NHTSA ODI 11361055

OIL CONSUMPTION

NHTSA ODI 11342393

1. AFTER DRIVING TO ANY LOCATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, GROCERY STORES, TRAIN STATION PARKING LOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THE KEY WOULD NOT COME OUT OF THE IGNITION, BUT SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE. THEN AFTER 15-30 MINUTES, THERE IS ALWAYS A CLICK, AND ONCE I TURNED THE KEY , IT STARTS THE CAR SUDDENLY. THIS HAS OCCURRED TWICE THE PAST FEW MONTHS, AND MY CHEVYL DEALERSHIP HAD WORKED ON THIS ISSUE. YET, IT HAS STARTED CURRING AGAIN THE PAST 2 DAYS 07/19/2020, AFTER THEY WORKED ON IT SINCE12/04/2019. 2. THERE IS ALSO A JUMP SURGE WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO STOP WHEN TRAFFIC IS MOVING SLOWLY, AND AS I TRIED TO DRIVE FORWARD OR WHEN TURNING FROM A STOP SIGN.

NHTSA ODI 11340805

ON 2/20/19 THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR WAS IDLING ROUGH AND MAKING A CHUGGING SOUND. MILEAGE ON CAR AT THIS POINT WAS 108,270. CAR WAS TAKEN TO AUTO ZONE WHERE THE CODE P0016 WAS PULLED REFERENCING A CAMSHAFT ISSUE ACCORDING TO THE EMPLOYEE. WHEN I CHECKED THE OIL, IT SHOWED BELOW THE MINIMUM LEVEL AND SO I PUT 1 QT. OF OIL PER THE OWNER'S MANUAL. AFTER I ADDED 1 QT. OF OIL, CAR SEEMED TO RUN MUCH MORE SMOOTHLY. I SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT TO GET THE OIL CHANGED. OIL WAS CHANGED AT MILEAGE 108832. ON 5/1/19 CAR WAS IDLING ROUGH AND MAKING CHUGGING SOUND. CHECKED OIL LEVEL AND FOUND THAT IT WAS BONE DRY ON THE STICK AND I ADDED 1 QT OF OIL PER THE OWNER'S MANUAL. EXHIBITING SAME SYMPTOMS OF THE ISSUE REFERENCED ON TSB # 13-06-01-003H, SAME ISSUE I HAD WITH MY 2012 EQUINOX WHICH HAS THE SAME TYPE OF ENGINE AS THIS CAPTIVA (2.4L ECOTEC). MILEAGE WAS 111,215 WHEN THIS OCCURRED. I THEN TOOK MY CAR IN TO A GM DEALER TO HAVE OIL CHANGED AND REQUESTED AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST AND THEY CHANGED THE OIL/FILTER AT MILEAGE 111,252. OVER THE NEXT YEAR WE CHANGED THE OIL AT 115,874 MILES, 118,744 MILES, 122,106 MILES. THERE WERE A HANDFUL OF TIMES WHERE I HAD TO ADD 1 QT. OF OIL TO THE CAR PER THE OWNER'S MANUAL BECAUSE IT BECAME LOW ON OIL. THEN ON 6/10/20 THE CAR DIED IN TRAFFIC AND IT WAS ABLE TO BE STARTED AGAIN. IT WAS DRIVEN LESS THAN 5 MILES TO A FIRESTONE WHERE 3 QT OF OIL HAD TO BE ADDED AS ENGINE WAS BONE DRY. OIL WAS CHANGED NEXT DAY AT 125,919 MILES. THEN ON 7/9/20 THE CAR DIED ON THE ROAD AND WOULD NOT START AGAIN. HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A FIRESTONE WHERE THE TECHNICIAN SAID THAT METAL SHAVINGS WERE FOUND IN THE ENGINE OIL AND IT WAS BELIEVED TO BE FROM TIMING CHAIN ISSUE. LOW ENGINE OIL CAUSED FROM OIL CONSUMPTION ISSUE CAN CAUSE THOSE PARTS TO WEAR AND METAL SHAVINGS CONTAMINATE ENGINE OIL. NEW ENGINE IS NEEDED, MILEAGE 126,825.

NHTSA ODI 11338769

AFTER DRIVING AND PARKING, THE VEHICLE AT THE STORE. THE VEHICLE CONSTANTLY LOOSES ALL POWER AND WILL NOT START AND THERE ARE NO WARNING SIGNS. KEYS WILL LOCK IN THE IGNITION, REMOTE START DEPROGRAMS, THE CAR HAS NO POWER. POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE IS EXTREMELY HOT AND SECOND-DEGREE BURNS ARE ON HAND WHEN TOUCHED. REPLACED BATTERY, POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE, AND 1 WEEK LATER THE PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN. NO PROBLEM WITH THE STARTER, ALTERNATOR. NO LOOSE WIRES AND THERE IS NO ELECTRICAL SHORTAGE. RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AND THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. THE BATTERY WILL NOT CHARGE FROM A JUMP. NO POWER TO THE CAR AND YOU ARE STRANDED FOR HOURS WAITING FOR THE POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE TO COOL DOWN. AFTER HOURS OF WAITING THE CAR STARTS UP WITH NO PROBLEM, BUT WILL DO THE SAME THING AGAIN WHEN TURNED OFF. NOTHING IS LEFT ON TO DRAIN THE POWER FROM THE CAR. THIS IS HAPPENING CONSTANTLY AFTER DRIVING. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11326400

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA SPORT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATED ABNORMALLY WHENEVER THE VEHICLE EXCEEDED 60 MPH. ADDITIONALLY, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED CONSTANTLY. STEW HANSEN HYUNDAI (11344 HICKMAN RD, CLIVE, IA 50325, 888-426-6396) WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL SENSOR MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $1,000. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER ON FOUR OTHER OCCASIONS WHERE THE CAMSHAFT WAS ALSO REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 54,500.

NHTSA ODI 11324652

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 ODI 11287216

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA SPORT. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL NOISE AND THE VEHICLE SEIZED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MOBILE CHEVROLET (LOCATED AT 2900 GOVERNMENT BLVD, MOBILE, AL 36606, (251) 545-4291), BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11286903

STALLED, SLOWED SPEED, STOPPED. WILL NOT RESTART

NHTSA ODI 11257333

THE CAR HAS LEAKAGE AND COOLANT PROBLEMS. THE ENGINE OVERHEATS AFTER A LITTLE WHILE OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11252980

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 ODI 11217767

MANY TIMES THIS CAR HAS JUST DIED WHILE DRIVING. OIL AND BATTERY ARE GOOD. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TIMING CHAIN. THERE NOW SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH A FUEL PUMP OR SENSOR CAUSING THE CAR TO DIE. I AM TAKING IT TO A MECHANIC THIS WEEK. CURRENTLY NOT DRIVEABLE. I HAVE HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS OUT OF THIS CAR. GREAT LOOK ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT IT BEING A GENERAL MOTORS CAR, THERE ARE MANY PROBLEMS. I THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD A RECALL ON THIS BY NOW. I WILL DO MY BEST TO FILE COMPLAINTS AND SUBMIT PROOF. NOT A DURABLE CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11207145

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 ODI 11195291

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE MADE AN ABNORMAL SOUND. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THREE QUARTS OF OIL WERE ADDED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE WAS CONSUMING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF OIL AND IT NEEDED TO BE CHANGED BEFORE EVERY 1,000 MILES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE CONTACT CALLED HEALEY CHEVROLET BUICK (LOCATED AT 5216 NY-17M, NEW HAMPTON, NY 10958, (845) 360-9821) AND AN APPOINTMENT WAS SCHEDULED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000.

NHTSA ODI 11193467

A LITTLE OVER 93000 MILES AND THE ENGINE BLOWS. OIL CHANGE WAS COMPLETED LESS THEN 200 MILES BEFORE

NHTSA ODI 11174616

GM HAS A CAMPAIGN TO FIX THIS PROBLEM BUT REFUSED MINE.BASICALLY OIL IS BYPASSED IN LARGE VOLUME TO THE ENGINE INTAKE BECAUSE THE PASSAGES ARE UNDERSIZED FOR PCV SYSTEM. THIS IS SPECIAL COVERAGE ADJUSTMENT 14882 BY GM. PCV VALVE REPLACED AND PASSAGES ENLARGED

NHTSA ODI 11171193

ON 1/2/19, I LEFT WORK AND TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES WHEN I BEGAN HEARING ENGINE NOISE. UPON PULLING INTO CONVENIENCE STORE, I CHECKED DIPSTICK AND FOUND NO OIL SHOWING. SINCE OIL WAS CHANGED ABOUT 400 PRIOR AND NO LEAKS WERE FOUND, I PROCEEDED TO ADD OIL TO ENGINE. FOUND OIL LEAKING OUT AS FAST AS PUTTING IN. AFTER BEING TOWED BACK TO WHERE I WORK (INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP) AND NEXT DAY FOUND REAR CRANKSHAFT SEAL ON ENGINE DISLODGED FROM ENGINE. FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND TAKING IT TO CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP VERIFIED THE OCCURRENCE OF A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE PCV CAUSING THIS FAILURE TO HAPPEN.. APPARENTLY AS I DROVE UP THAT BUSY HIGHWAY FROM WORK, MY VEHICLE WAS DISPERSING A VERY FIINE SPRAY OF OIL ON THE VEHICLES FOLLOWING ME, THE ROAD, AND THE ROADSIDE VEGETATION, APPROXIMATELY 5 QUARTS WORTH. THIS CREATED A VERY UNSAFE CONDITION FOR THE VEHICLE FOLLOWING ME AND RAISED SOME SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. IN SPITE OF GM HAVING ISSUED A SPECIAL POLICY ON CERTAIN VEHICLES WHICH WOULD HAVE COVERED THIS REPAIR, I WAS TOLD MY VEHICLE WAS NOT ON THE LIST. I HAVE HAD THE REPAIR PERFORMED, BUT IF IT IS A KNOWN FAULTY DESIGN, GM SHOULD STAND BEHIND CORRECTING THE ISSUE AND IF I AM NOT ON THEIR LIST, THEY SHOULD EXPAND THE LIST. I HATE HAVING BEEN THE VEHICLE BEHIND CREATING AN UNSAFE SITUATION FOR OTHER DRIVERS AND FOR CONTAMINATING THE ROAD AND ROADSIDE WITH PETROLEUM WASTE. THE SPECIAL POLICY THAT DID NOT HAVE ME ON THE LIST WAS 14882 - SPECIAL COVERAGE ADJUSTMENT

NHTSA ODI 11170730

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE KEPT SHUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN COLD STARTED FROM A PARKED POSITION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SEVERAL INDEPENDENT MECHANICS TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT NO FAILURE COULD BE FOUND. WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, ALL OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA ODI 11154298

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS CONSUMING A LARGE AMOUNT OF OIL WITHIN 1,000 MILES WELL BELOW THE 3,000 MILE NORMAL CHECKUP PERIOD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A 20,000 MILE EXTENSION OF THE MANUFACTURER'S 100,000 MILE WARRANTY. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE REASON FOR THE EXCLUSION HAD TO DO WITH WHERE THE ENGINE PARTS WERE SUPPLIED FROM, EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE IN THE CAPTIVA WAS THE SAME AS THE OTHER VEHICLES INCLUDED IN THE WARRANTY EXTENSION. THE DEALER (CHAPMAN CHEVROLET, 1717 E BASELINE RD, TEMPE, AZ 85283, (480) 838-1234) STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR THE OIL CONSUMPTION FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000.

NHTSA ODI 11131469