Total Complaints
3 filings
MCLAREN MP4-12C · model year
3 NHTSA complaints. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2012MCLARENMP4-12C carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2012 MP4-12C is equipment:electrical:infotainment with 1 filings, followed by exterior lighting (1) and visibility/wiper (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
No open NHTSA investigation overlaps the 2012 MP4-12C in the current dataset. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
3 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:INFOTAINMENT | 1 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 |
The contact owns a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C. The contact stated that while driving during rainy weather, the front windshield wipers intermittently failed to operate as needed. An unknown windshield wiper error message was displayed on the instrument panel. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V541000 (Visibility); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.
Mileage: 8,000
This is the cars main navigation, radio, and other configuration critical to the cars operability and safety. McLaren calls this the IRIS system, and they issued an upgrade after the first one had many documented problems throughout the world, with the IRIS II system. They replaced them while the cars were under warranty, but once the warranty expires on your car, you have to pay upwards of $10,000 to replace what is essentially a radio touch screen. There is a high documented failure rate of the IRIS systems in following McLaren Models. The MP4-12C, the 650S, the 675LT. The part is made by Parrot in China, and they only sell the replacement screens to McLaren, creating a very expensive repair option. McLaren refuses to acknowledge a major problem. Problem: The IRIS screen which is a touch screen (resistive touch) fails to recognize your inputs. This happens typically on the right side of the screen, making it virtually impossible to use the Navigation when entering an addre
The main headlights on the McLaren MP4-12C are susceptible to condensation, and mold that cannot be cleared as it is internal. This is caused by a faulty seal, or glue, holding the top clear glass, to the plastic molding which allows condensation to happen, causing the mold. Almost all McLaren MP4-12C's have the moldy headlights, reducing visibility and creating a hazard for the driver, as well as incoming traffic, as the light pattern is no longer uniform making it hard to see at night. The only solution is to replace the headlights with new ones costing more than $4,000.
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2012 MCLAREN MP4-12C; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.