The Used Car Index

2012 Mclaren MP4-12C Spider problems

NHTSA lists 2 complaints for the 2012 Mclaren MP4-12C Spider, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as MCLAREN MP4-12C SPIDER.

At a glance

Complaints
2
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
3
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
2,792
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
82

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
EXTERIOR LIGHTING2100.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
visibility or lighting2100.0%1.00
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
low150.0%0.93
moderate150.0%0.50

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 2 tagged complaints of 2 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

3 recalls.

19V141000

Date: 2019-02-28. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: McLaren Automotive Incorporated (McLaren) is recalling certain 2012-2013 MP4-12C, 2014-2016 650s, 2015-2016 675 LT, 2014-2015 P1 and 2015-2017 570 vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air ba (excerpt)

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. (excerpt)

Remedy: McLaren will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bags, free of charge. The recall began March 28, 2019. Owners may contact McLaren customer service at 1-646-429-8916. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

17V005000

Date: 2017-01-09. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: McLaren Automotive Incorporated (McLaren) is recalling certain 2012 MP4-12C vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators a (excerpt)

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death. (excerpt)

Remedy: McLaren will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began November 13, 2017. Owners may contact McLaren customer service at 1-646-429-8916. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

13V541000

Date: 2013-10-30. Systems: VISIBILITY.

Defect: McLaren Automotive, Inc. (McLaren) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 MP4 12-C Spider and Coupe vehicles manufactured October 10, 2011, through October 23, 2013 and originally sold in, or currently registered in, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Due to a combination of high ambient temperatures and humidity, the wiper motor brushes may jam causing the wiper mot (excerpt)

Consequence: Non-functioning wipers during inclement weather may be reduce the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: McLaren will notify will notify owners and dealers will replace the wiper motors, free of charge. Vehicles outside of the recall area will have a lifetime warranty on their wiper motors that fail for this issue. The recall began on December 19, 2013. Owners may contact McLaren at 1-646-429-8916. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

82 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM31
EQUIPMENT31
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING15
POWER TRAIN11
UNKNOWN OR OTHER7
SUSPENSION6
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES4
STEERING4

11037802

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Other. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

ESP Causing Vehicle Limitations

11035612

Date: 2026-07-30. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Updated Voltage for Sensor Position

11034517

Date: 2026-06-18. Type: Other. Systems: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM.

McLaren DMTL Test Diagnosis

11032355

Date: 2026-04-29. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Apple CarPlay Quick Start Guide and Troubleshooting

11030616

Date: 2026-03-25. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Airbrake Diagnosis Guide

11026430

Date: 2025-11-26. Type: Other. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

McLaren DMTL Test Diagnosis

11026431

Date: 2025-11-18. Type: Other. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Nose Lift Operation Concerns

11025114

Date: 2025-10-01. Type: Other. Systems: ENGINE.

A guide to aid in the identification of a missing core plug and repair method on V8 cylinder heads

11023913

Date: 2025-09-25. Type: Other. Systems: ENGINE.

Boost Control Diagnosis Guide

11021417

Date: 2025-07-16. Type: Other. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Nose Lift Operation Concerns

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
MP4-12C SPIDER2

Same model, other years

All model years | All Mclaren models

Other Mclaren models, 2012

Sources

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