Angular distributions of differential cross sections for the 12C(π ±, π ±)12C and 12C(π ±, π ±)12C* reactions at pion kinetic energy ranging from 50 to 260 MeV have been analyzed with the 3α-particle model of 12C. The model provides good fits to a wide range of data. Differential cross sections for inelastic transitions to the (2 + ; 4.44 MeV) and (3 − ; 9.64 MeV) states in 12C are computed and the deformation lengths δ2 and δ3 are extracted. It is found that the extracted deformation lengths are sensitive to the nuclear model used and similar to the corresponding values found with other probes and nuclear models.