Manual car - shifting issues, dealership issues

[cdaiscool]

So, I've tried to enjoy this car. I really, really have. First time owning a new, or newish car (always bought $1,000 beaters before this) and over all, I've had a lot of good times. But lately? Well...

The car is 1 month old and has 2,600 miles on it. I drive a lot. I even took 10 days off to go on a motorcycle trip, so its actually under 30 days old probably. While the car is a decent car, it's got a few issues:

1. Shifter feels like its out of adjustment. A couple times, its not gone into 1st. Twice, the gears have had a grind going into 1st, and once into 2nd. It almost feels like its got several "spots" its got to go past before it actually goes into gear. I go to shift, go from central (neutral) into gear, and I feel it hit several points before its actually in gear. I brought this up in December, a week after I bought the car with 400 miles I drove on it (got it with 102, it had 500 on it) and I was told, point-blank, "driver error is the reason for this, drive it more and get used to it". Asked for them to have a mechanic spend 5 minutes driving it around, or I'd schedule it in, and was told the trans guy was busy, refused to go for a drive, and to not worry about scheduling it. As I was leaving for the 10-day trip via motorcycle 4 days later, I didn't push it and just agreed.

Now, I brought it there on Tuesday of last week to have them check it out officially. They said no loaners, but they'd have one "for sure" on Thursday evening and would work on it Friday. Call Thursday to verify they have a loaner, no loaner. We pushed it out to Tuesday (yesterday) so they would have a loaner after all.

No loaner.

I was told that they agreed it was a bit ridiculous that they have kept pushing it back and then saying they don't have one, and I've even asked several times "How long should we schedule? No issue, just want to know." And was told oh, no issue, 2 days we'll have one! And then none. I was told they would give me a call after they spoke to their manager, and didn't get one. So I ran out there today after no call, and they just tell me "no idea when we'll have a loaner, we have 1 guy ahead of you and then you're next" followed by how they're so behind on big motor jobs so they don't have any time to work on my car or have a loaner for me.

2. Gas mileage has been subpar. I understand that the motor needs to be broken in, but so far even at 2600 miles its barely staying at 32 mpg. Averaging 31, best ever was 32 and that was babying it. Mini Me (Chevrolet Sonic) | Fuelly I drive a lot of highway and do 75 mph on the highway and its getting 28, 29 mpg on the highway. How's that make sense? I'd like for the dealership to look into this as well, but...

Sorry for the rant. Are these normal? Perhaps I'm just going overboard? Or are these valid complaints you think?

 

[Eric Smit]

Slow down and you'll get better gas mileage. The dealer owes you a loaner if your car is in their possession for 8 hours.


-Eric Smit

 

[firstorbit84]

I thought it was up to the dealer, no?

 

[Eric Smit]

I thought it was up to the dealer, no?

GM will provide a loaner at no cost to the customer after 8 hours out of your possession.


-Eric Smit

 

[sx sonic]

that does not sound normal (albet many owners, myself included have/had a grind going into 2nd with high RPM quick shifts). There is a TSB for the shifter adjustment to remedy notchy shifting, kicking out of gear, trouble going into gear. The TSB & document # have been posted in the " 2nd gear grind " thread somewhere around the 1/3-1/2 way mark of the thread (sorry I can't link it to you)

That bulletin may or may not be your problem but it only takes around 1-2 hours to do and doesn't involve tearing apart your trans. IMHO it would be something worth asking the delaer to check/correct and then going from there.

As for MPG that sounds kinda low. As Eric said slowing down can have an enourmous impact, however yours does seem a little low. My last tank was 33mpg with some really short trips, aprox 140 mi highway @70 mph and an 8mi 140 mph run with below freezing temps and winter gas.

So long as your not idling a lot, go the speed limit, don't do a lot of short trips, and keep your foot off the go pedal you should get 36 mpg+ and if its cold where you're at around 30-35 mpg is about normal without applying some hypermiling techniques.

Good luck on getting the car fixed , its a shame the dealer keeps putting you off especially as it sounds like your being pleasant/understanding with them :/ keep us aprised of how things turn out

-tyler

 

[sx sonic]

Oh and OP which engine do you have? I was refering to the 1.4T's MPG
And what's your temps like in your area? If its pretty cold out your MPG sounds about normal.

 

[cdaiscool]

The dealer kept telling me that they have loaners whenever needed, and that's why I should go with them. I realize now it was a simple sales pitch, but would have been nice if they'd been honest from the get-go. The fact they keep pushing it out just a couple days when they apparently have a long list of people needing loaners is what really got to me. I asked them from day 1, how much time do they need to guarantee me a loaner and they said just 2 days. That's a bit out the window.

I am a hobbyist mechanic, with a turbocharged Integra and doing all the work to my motorcycle, but refuse to work on a brand-new car that's under warranty. I've got a feeling they'd use that as a "you done broke it yourself, adios." No thanks.

It is super-cold here; its been 0 deg. lately, but even in December it was in the 30's. I drive probably 1/2 the tank on highway, and the other half on back roads cruising a lot between lights. I've got the timing down well. I've smelt rotten eggs a few times, not sure if its cars around me or mine. I'm going to mention it to them when I do finally get to drop the car off.

I'll keep everyone updated on what happens.

 

[cdaiscool]

Oh and OP which engine do you have? I was refering to the 1.4T's MPG
And what's your temps like in your area? If its pretty cold out your MPG sounds about normal.

1.4 MT. And I've been getting this mileage even when it was in the 30's and 40's last month. They haven't really fluctuated.

 

[Swordsmith]

I got significantly better mileage when temp was in the 50s than when it was in the 30s. Cold air really seems to affect this more than I expected.

Tell the dealership there's no problem, you don't need a loaner car, you will instead take a new off the lot corvette and drive that until they produce something cheaper they'd rather have you roll around in. You will be in first thing in the morning, and you will drive off the lot in something while they work on your car, they are already several days late in starting the work that they scheduled.

Alternately, and more politely, send Vanessa or Matt a PM and see if they can kick some asterisk for you. They're pretty good at it from all reports.

I have to agree with Eric about your MPG problem though, 75mph is not the speed they use to determine mileage, and if you insist on going that fast, you're pushing a lot of extra drag so you have to expect to pay for it in mpg. Best mpg I've seen was driving 55-60, lower or higher than that seems to cost me more, I guess that is the "sweet spot" and could probably get 50mpg if I babied it along in that speed range.

 

[seanp1]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Your "Low" MPG is likely due to your HIGH MPH. Like Eric said, slow down.

As far as the dealer giving you the "No Loaner" run around, why not try a different dealer?

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

The dealer kept telling me that they have loaners whenever needed, and that's why I should go with them. I realize now it was a simple sales pitch, but would have been nice if they'd been honest from the get-go. The fact they keep pushing it out just a couple days when they apparently have a long list of people needing loaners is what really got to me. I asked them from day 1, how much time do they need to guarantee me a loaner and they said just 2 days. That's a bit out the window.

I am a hobbyist mechanic, with a turbocharged Integra and doing all the work to my motorcycle, but refuse to work on a brand-new car that's under warranty. I've got a feeling they'd use that as a "you done broke it yourself, adios." No thanks.

It is super-cold here; its been 0 deg. lately, but even in December it was in the 30's. I drive probably 1/2 the tank on highway, and the other half on back roads cruising a lot between lights. I've got the timing down well. I've smelt rotten eggs a few times, not sure if its cars around me or mine. I'm going to mention it to them when I do finally get to drop the car off.

I'll keep everyone updated on what happens.

I apologize for your frustrations and for the issues you're having with your Sonic. I would be glad to reach out to the dealership to see if I can speed up the process of you getting a loaner. Some dealerships do have a limited number of loaner cars and in some instances maybe all assigned out. This is probably the reason for this.

I would be glad to reach out to the dealership and see if I can speed up the process of getting a loaner for you while your Sonic is being serviced. If so, please private message me your first and last name, last 8-digits of your VIN, current mileage, and the dealership’s name.

Look forward to your reply.


Vanessa
GM Customer Service

 

[cdaiscool]

Vanessa (and everyone else)-

They said they were out of loaners, but even when I said "Okay, no issue, totally understandable! When can we schedule so you'll likely have one?" "2 days, let's do 2 days."

And then it took 1.5 weeks to get one was more bad planning than anything, and happening several times took the cake. I did get a loaner yesterday evening.

They've looked at the car today, but today the weather was quite bad. So they weren't able to drive it much. They're going to keep it until Monday, hope for even mildly better weather, and drive it some more to check it out. So I've got an auto Cruze for now.

As for mileage, highway speed around here is 70 legal, traffic moves at 75. If you're not doing 75, there's a decent chance you're going to get passed by a semi-truck and a lot of traffic. I have seen accidents and a car fire from someone getting rear-ended for going legally slower than traffic. Also, traffic in many other areas such as Ohio, Texas, Louisiana (I think) etc are 75 mph top limit. So designing a car that gets "39 mph highway (iirc) and actually gets high-20's when doing what traffic is going is ridiculous to me.

Either way, the dealer agreed that it sounded low, and are checking into it. Partially why they need to put some miles on the car.

I will update everyone with the next update I've got!

 

[cdaiscool]

Just wanted to show something I just came across:

These new tests—they had, in fact, been in use since the late 1990s but for emissions purposes—are the US06 high-speed (80 mph max) cycle; the SC03, or “A/C,” cycle, which is very similar to the city cycle but run in 95-degree heat with the vehicle’s air conditioning filching fuel; and the cold FTP test, which is exactly the same as the city cycle but run at a frigid 20 degrees. Until the 2012 model year, however, automakers may use results from the two old fuel-economy cycles and then plug those numbers into an elaborate equation developed by the EPA that approximates the new five-cycle procedure. For 2012, all fuel-economy figures will derive from the results of the 43.9 miles covered by the five tests.

Measuring Fuel Economy

So they test the cars highway to 80 mph. Granted, its not easy to tell if the Sonic's made a venture over there, but they aren't supposed to be getting their recommended highway MPG at 55 mph, either.

 

[Chainsaw]

Gas mileage surprise

I can't help you with the "grinding" issues, since I don't notice any on mine. I've got the same car you do. LS hatchback, 5 spd, 1.8 engine, etc. Bought the car used with 210 miles on it-yeah, somebody changed their mind. Had some major buyer's remorse when I realized that it wasn't really a gas-saver. Here's the thing, though. I've got 2,266 miles on it, I drive 120 miles plus each day, roughly 50% highway, 50% rural hilly roads following slow locals and pole trucks. After a little research, I decided to put 40 psi in the tires and drive a little more thoughtfully, meaning I try to keep the revs between 2,000 and 2,500, so I'm not really sissy-footing but not racing it either. I'm averaging 38.7 mpg right now. Every once in a while I push the heck out of it to blow out anything that might build up in the engine, and I have a cheap Spectre CAI installed. Hope this helps.

 

[pwntbywombat]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Your "Low" MPG is likely due to your HIGH MPH. Like Eric said, slow down.

As far as the dealer giving you the "No Loaner" run around, why not try a different dealer?

Agreed. This is my average after a good bit of PA highway which is filled with massive hills and wicked bends. This also includes a bit of city driving AND 10-15 minutes of the car idling to warm it up in the mornings.

 

[jchasp59]

Vanessa (and everyone else)-

They said they were out of loaners, but even when I said "Okay, no issue, totally understandable! When can we schedule so you'll likely have one?" "2 days, let's do 2 days."

And then it took 1.5 weeks to get one was more bad planning than anything, and happening several times took the cake. I did get a loaner yesterday evening.

They've looked at the car today, but today the weather was quite bad. So they weren't able to drive it much. They're going to keep it until Monday, hope for even mildly better weather, and drive it some more to check it out. So I've got an auto Cruze for now.

As for mileage, highway speed around here is 70 legal, traffic moves at 75. If you're not doing 75, there's a decent chance you're going to get passed by a semi-truck and a lot of traffic. I have seen accidents and a car fire from someone getting rear-ended for going legally slower than traffic. Also, traffic in many other areas such as Ohio, Texas, Louisiana (I think) etc are 75 mph top limit. So designing a car that gets "39 mph highway (iirc) and actually gets high-20's when doing what traffic is going is ridiculous to me.

Either way, the dealer agreed that it sounded low, and are checking into it. Partially why they need to put some miles on the car.

I will update everyone with the next update I've got!

Now at 10K miles, I'm still having the same issues with poor shift quality (1.4L, 6spd manual), stalling, and mpg.
Have been to the dealer several times.
Last time, eventhough I had an appointment, I sat there for 3 hours only to have them bill me for 0.3 hours (18 minutes) of labor, and they didn't even open the hood!
I found a wiring harness that runs transversly above the shifter to be in the way, and even pointed this out to the dealership on a follow-up visit.
They told me, "There's nothing in the computer (TSB) regarding problems with the shift quality, so nothing needs to be done."
I've visited other dealerships only to have an even worse experience.
Contacted GM to no avail.
Filed complaints on the NHTSA website.

My Sonic is wrought with problems.

Was going to keep it until the warranty expired, but no reason to if GM isn't going to honor the warranty.
GM had a great opportunity, after being saved from bankruptcy, to prove themselves as reputable.
Unfortunate that nothing's changed with the company, or their products, or support for their products.

Spreading the word whenever and however I can: No more GM products for me!

 

[cdaiscool]

So you guys getting 35+ don't ever go above 60 mph on your drives? Saying I need to slow down because my 20 miles/day on back roads doing 55 and ~20 miles/day doing 75 on the highway is the reason I'm getting 30 mpg?

I bought this car because I was told it got 38 on highway, and do a lot of highway driving. I guess my going freeway speeds on the freeway is too quick for this car.

Got the car back last week, they said user error. They drove it on the back roads, which have a speed limit of 30 and said "we're getting 35 in our tests" when they didn't even reset the average mpg calculator; they must have used their own device, or fibbed it. Additionally, they couldn't get it to act up. I took them for a ride, showed them what I was talking about, and they said "hmm, that must be the design of the shifter. Sorry!"

Good to know only Chevy would put 3 notches into their shifter, and that it comes and goes.

Yeah, this is definitely making me rethink my purchase of a Chevy as well. Should have gone with the Mazda3 Touring I could have gotten for cheaper. Oh well, live and learn!

 

[Eric Smit]

I enjoy a 65 MPH speed limit on the freeway to work, and I can enjoy 35 MPG on E85.


-Eric Smit

 

[ThatTmoGuy]

I usually pull down around 45-50 MPG doing ~68 MPH on a 22 mile commute.

 

[cdaiscool]

I enjoy a 65 MPH speed limit on the freeway to work, and I can enjoy 35 MPG on E85.


-Eric Smit

Doing 65 out here means you're likely to get run over by a semi-truck. I tried slowing down to 70 this past week, little/no change in mileage.

I usually pull down around 45-50 MPG doing ~68 MPH on a 22 mile commute.

My god, I could only dream. Any mods?