Grinding/ Rattle On Star Up

[rrjason18]

Lately it has been getting worse. I get this rattling noise when I start the engine. It has recently become more often and does it longer during start up. Sometimes it will not do it at all, but some days it will do it every time I start my car.

Just to give you a a visual. My car is a 2012 Sonic 1.4T manual. I have had it for about a year and 2 months now. I have noticed nothing in the performance after the engine is started(as far as it loosing power). I do know that this problem first happened early this year during the winter months.( cant remember exactly)

I am taking it to the dealer this week, but just wanted to see if anyone else had this issue and what I should expect. Also wanted to post this in case anyone else has the problem and wanted to know more.

 

[SONIC1.4]

Maybe your spark plugs are horribly gapped from factory. Are you completely stock?

 

[rrjason18]

The only this that isn't stock is a K&N drop in filter

 

[SONIC1.4]

Try to post a video also

 

[rrjason18]

Ill try to get it on video sometime before Monday

 

[SONIC1.4]

Sounds good to me

 

[Barnold]

I had a rattle/shake at startup.

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/general-discussion/8115-2-issues.html

 

[Stew]

Loose exhaust heat shield? That's a common source of rattles but usually not on new cars.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

Hi rrjason18

So sorry to read about this frustrating issue you are experiencing. Please inbox me if you have any questions or need me to call the dealership for you. I can also open a Service Request to document this issue in our system. Please send me a private message if you want my help.

Jackie
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[rrjason18]

Thanks, and I have been taking videos every time I start the car the past 3 days and have not been able to replicate it enough to capture it on video. Hopefully the dealer sees the problem. Ill keep the thread updated with what is going on. Ill be taking the car in today.

 

[rrjason18]

I have also notice my coolant seems to be low. ill mention it to the guys at the dealership when I drop it off. The weird part is the problem I am having is not consistent whatsoever.

 

[rrjason18]

So I talked to my service manager and he said that they don't see any problem with the car. I figured that would happen and he does not want to spend any more time on it. They had it in the shop for a couple hours checking it. I will be picking it up and waiting for them to receive ordered parts on some stuff they are fixing in my interior. When I drop it off again I'm going to ask them to check more into it and take their time to find the issue. I hope they are willing to put a little effort into this to help me but right now it doesn't seam very likely.

 

[ss2000slp]

Do you notice the noise only on the first startup after the car has sat all night? Intermittant noises can be one of the most frustrating/time consuming repairs. Also keep in mind that the tech is probably only getting paid .3 hours to diagnose the problem, so if it not immediately apparent, he's not going to spend all day working for free to try and find it. Your best bet is to try and determine EXACTLY when it makes the noise. If its only on cold starts, might be best to make arrangements to leave it at the dealer overnight so they can listen to it first thing in the morning.

 

[schofell84]

I've been in the new vehicle service game on and off and notice it on occasion as well, but it has never amounted to anything i've seen so far.

 

[rrjason18]

Well, we finally "found" the problem. After a frustrating few weeks of showing the dealer the noise and problems the car has been having they said it is the Tension Actuator. They will be replacing the part and then sending me on my way. Will let you know if this fixes the issue. Also, I did a quick google search to see what it was and kinda understood it has something to do with the pullies. IDK. I'm just going to go with it and if it isn't fixed it will be my 5th time bringing it back to the dealer with this problem. If anyone has some input on the Tension Actuator I'd love to hear it. I will say this will be my last Chevy. I love the car but having to deal with the different dealers and the low quality service it has been a nightmare. I have a friend who has just purchased a Jetta, VW has bent over backwards for him when he has had an issue. From day one Chevy has been a bear to work with. Hopefully the car will be sound when I receive it. Thanks again for everyone's input thus far.

Jason

 

[dkennedy1989]

Well, we finally "found" the problem. After a frustrating few weeks of showing the dealer the noise and problems the car has been having they said it is the Tension Actuator. They will be replacing the part and then sending me on my way. Will let you know if this fixes the issue. Also, I did a quick google search to see what it was and kinda understood it has something to do with the pullies. IDK. I'm just going to go with it and if it isn't fixed it will be my 5th time bringing it back to the dealer with this problem. If anyone has some input on the Tension Actuator I'd love to hear it. I will say this will be my last Chevy. I love the car but having to deal with the different dealers and the low quality service it has been a nightmare. I have a friend who has just purchased a Jetta, VW has bent over backwards for him when he has had an issue. From day one Chevy has been a bear to work with. Hopefully the car will be sound when I receive it. Thanks again for everyone's input thus far.

Jason

I know how that goes, it's been the same for me with my transmission, they look at me like I'm crazy when I say the transmission crunches.

 

[Barnold]

I am glad to see you found the problem, cause my start-up shake/low coolant was a bad head.

 

[rrjason18]

I should have came back earlier, it ended up not fixing the issue. The problem actually got so bad that sometimes the car wouldn't even start. After a few more shots at it chevy said they can not figure it out. I also did some research and found out chevy had to repurchase some cars with the same problem. Long story short they repurchased mine. I would have stuck with chevy or even the sonic but trying to work with them was too difficult. I will say once we got to the repurchasing process it went very smoothly

 

[Ms.DannyStone]

I should have came back earlier, it ended up not fixing the issue. The problem actually got so bad that sometimes the car wouldn't even start. After a few more shots at it chevy said they can not figure it out. I also did some research and found out chevy had to repurchase some cars with the same problem. Long story short they repurchased mine. I would have stuck with chevy or even the sonic but trying to work with them was too difficult. I will say once we got to the repurchasing process it went very smoothly

Hope I get that raddle so GM will repurchase mine haha

 

[CyberGreyTURBOZ]

My sonic one day last fall or spring it made a weird gear whine noise after i started it. It did if for a while so i was actually able to record it on my phone in case anything happened later or did it again. I will try to get the video uploaded soon to see if anybody else has heard it before. Other than that basically every time i turn my AC on for the first time of the day it makes a audible clunk or bang noise. Haven't had it looked at yet, but i have a few other more important things to fix first. Squeaky clutch peddle, seat heating element again, and oh yea a transmission bolt that magically is loose.