There are 15 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2012 Chevrolet Captivain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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!
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
THE CAR HAS LEAKAGE AND COOLANT PROBLEMS. THE ENGINE OVERHEATS AFTER A LITTLE WHILE OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE.
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.
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.
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.
A LITTLE OVER 93000 MILES AND THE ENGINE BLOWS. OIL CHANGE WAS COMPLETED LESS THEN 200 MILES BEFORE
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
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.
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.
STOPPED RUNNING SUDDENLY.I HAD DRIVEN THIS VEHICLE AND IT WAS RUNNING FINE. SHUT IT OFF CAME BACK IN ABOUT 4 HOURS AND IT WOULD NOT START. HAD IT TOWED TO GARAGE FOR REPAIRS...TIMING BELT BROKEN AT APPROX 100,000 MILE.
I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE ON MARCH 2, 2018. WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF OWNING THIS VEHICLE, IT HAS HAD A CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACED (WITHIN THE FIRST 2 WEEKS). ON JUNE 11, 2018, THE VEHICLE CUT OFF AND WOULD NOT RESTART. I HAD IT TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A BROKEN TIMING CHAIN. THE VEHICLE HAD ABOUT 95,000 MILES ON AT THE TIME. I PURCHASED IT WITH 92,500 ON IT. A WEEK AND A HALF LATER I HAD TO RETURN THE VEHICLE FOR ANOTHER REPAIR WITH THE VALVES DEALING WITH THE TIMING BELT. THE VEHICLE IS NOW BACK IN THE SHOP AND HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH AN ENGINE CAMSHAFT/EXHAUST PROBLEM DUE TO IT CUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE CUT OFF AT LEAST 9 TIMES WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC.
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.
OIL CONSUMPTION
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET CAPTIVA. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER (MARTIN CHEVROLET, 8800 GRATIOT RD, SAGNINAW MI 48609) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED ON DECEMBER 3, 2016 THAT THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED ON JANUARY 25, 2018. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE LOCAL DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE PISTONS, RINGS, AND WATER PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ADDITIONALLY, THE OIL CONSUMPTION TEST WAS COMPLETED ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND OPENED CASE NUMBER: 8-3844130010. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT UNDER A WARRANTY. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 87,390.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026