High Mileage Sonics - the longevity thread
- Thread starter mja
- Start date
sarrm
New member
Have you done the timing belt !?2012 lt hatch, 1.4 6 speed manual. Bought at 99k a year and a half ago 150k now. Since I've owned it replaced turbo, cylinder head. Numerous cooling system parts. Intake valve cover, flex pipe sway bar links and lots and lots of maintenance. Left me stranded 3 times.
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Mine shut off when I had the coolant leak. When the coolant got low it would prevent the AC from working. I'm pretty sure I read the software did this it was not anything mecahnical in the AC. Once they finally believed me that I had a leak and replaced the water pump and thermostat housing, the collant stayed full and the AC has always worked.
EVOX_SPEED3
Member
Please tell me that you are being sarcastic. ...multiple car mags list the Sonic as one of top 10 cars NOT to buy.
Mine had 122k miles, b4 I finally traded it in for chump change just so I could get rid of all the problems I had with it....I will say this, when it wasn't broken it was a nice ride and had great mileage..would have kept it, but it would cost me more money to fix than it was actually worth.
You must have gotten lucky with yours, wish I was with mine.
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Exactly the same sentiments. I am very easy on equipment and very mechanically inclined. My Sonic is fantastic to drive. As a hatchback it offers tremendous utility and gets great fuel economy. It is the biggest piece of crap from a reliability and durability point of view that I have ever owned. I am 55 so I have been around. I paid $20,000 out the door for my LTZ Sonic 1.4 turbo 6 speed manual in January 2013. Trade in with 117,100 miles is $3000 4 years later. I tried to do it right. It was the only car in the segment built in the United States so I bought American to support American workers. My next car will be a Honda, either a Fit or a Civic.
Exactly the same sentiments. I am very easy on equipment and very mechanically inclined. My Sonic is fantastic to drive, as a hatchback it offers tremendous utility and gets great fuel economy. It is the biggest piece of crap from a reliability and durability point of view that I have ever owned. I am 55 so I have been around. I paid $20,000 out the door for my LTZ Sonic 1.4 turbo 6 speed manual in January 2013. Trade in with 117,100 miles is $3000 4 years later. I tried to do it right. It was the only car in the segment built in the United States so I bought American to support American workers. My next car will be a Honda, either a Fit or a Civic.
To be clear, none of the issues I have had with this car appear to be assembly issues. They all seem to be part failure, part design issues from the transmission bearing to the water pump, front sway area bushings, leaking oil pan, leaking valve cover, failing cam adjusters, leaking thermostat housing/coolant outlet and most recently the infamous P0496 purge valve solenoid.
What was wrong with yours?
dannyg
Member
Maybe that could be it. Both J.D. Powers and Consumer Reports (I realize some people don't like CR's ratings) recommend the new Sonic, but they don't seem to separate the 1.8L from the 1.4T.
JD Powers looked at the three-year dependability of 2014 cars:
2017 Vehicle Dependability Study Small Car | J.D. Power
2017 Vehicle Dependability Study: Most Dependable Small Cars | J.D. Power Cars
The 2017 Consumer Reports Auto Issue (April 2017, sorry I don't have a link) recommends the Sonic with reliability reported as "Average". They do say the 2012s have had significant problems...but more recent years seem to be reliable. For comparison, the Honda Fit is also rated as "Average".
Some people here on the forums clearly have had a lot of problems with their Sonics, I'm really sorry to hear that. But both JD Powers and Consumer Reports say that overall the newer Sonics seem to be reliable. I'm only up to 32K, but so far so good with my 2015 LS 1.8L/5sp.
Happy New Year folks.
Picture of your odometer please.
What type of driving do you do to accumulate these high miles? Is this the same engine or same internals? What oil? I seem to have my issues sorted out for the time being. I'm at 118,100. This car owes me a block of trouble free miles for a while.
What type of driving do you do to accumulate these high miles? Is this the same engine or same internals? What oil? I seem to have my issues sorted out for the time being. I'm at 118,100. This car owes me a block of trouble free miles for a while.
Gimpster
New member
I've kinda kept out of this thread, but now that I'm starting to have issues... why not. The 1.4 clearly has a few common achilles heels:
1.) Cooling system: water pump, surge tank, fan, some radiators, thermostat/housing, turbocharger water lines and drivers side housing.
2.) Suspension: sway bar end links, looking like the front TCAB's will be a "thing" as these cars age like the Delta chassis cars
3.) Turbocharger: waste gate pins, cracked exhaust housings.. i don't see much evidence of actual CHRA failures? so dumb to have to R&R an entire turbocharger assy. for simple crap like this IMO, having owned a lot of turbocharged cars.
4.) Various manual transmission dysfunctions, I have no experience with the autos.
All of the issues seem to be pretty well understood, and easily fixed for not much money IF you are mechanically inclined/don't let them fester into catastrophic cooling system failures. My car is currently experiencing something from that entire list almost (not transmission, knock on wood), and I've fixed about 50% of it for ~$250-300.
That said, and fine.. apples and oranges, I have literally driven older Honda Civic/Accords into the DIRT doing only tbelt/water pump swaps. I don't mind working on cars, but not when its my daily driver... and 63k miles/4 yrs old seems like a pretty low bar. My daughters Civic is a '97 HX with like 280k miles on it, and besides recently replacing brake pads/shoes/struts has never needed anything. It just.. goes. That was the "golden age" of Honda's though too. My previous beater is a Geo Prism w/350k on it and its still running w/o missing a beat..I gave it to someone who was in need of a car and had no money. I did NOTHING to that car except a couple timing belts.
So, in closing, I think the price point people like me are paying in the 2nd hand market of ~3.5-5k is spot on for this car. After this work/time, I expect a fairly problem free 3-4 years of service from the car and then I'm guessing it'll be a crusher by then. For the life of me, other than just wanting it, I can't grasp why anyone would pay for the higher level trim (LTZ/RS) of these cars with the data we have available. The depreciation curve sucks on any new car, but you go into that deal KNOWING you will get kicked in the teeth. I am thankful I got out of my '12 I bought new when I did and for as clean as I did.
The one thing this car seems to be doing well: resist corrosion. My car has been winter driven its whole life, and its really quite clean underneath except for the exhaust. Guessing the previous owner washed it regularly.
1.) Cooling system: water pump, surge tank, fan, some radiators, thermostat/housing, turbocharger water lines and drivers side housing.
2.) Suspension: sway bar end links, looking like the front TCAB's will be a "thing" as these cars age like the Delta chassis cars
3.) Turbocharger: waste gate pins, cracked exhaust housings.. i don't see much evidence of actual CHRA failures? so dumb to have to R&R an entire turbocharger assy. for simple crap like this IMO, having owned a lot of turbocharged cars.
4.) Various manual transmission dysfunctions, I have no experience with the autos.
All of the issues seem to be pretty well understood, and easily fixed for not much money IF you are mechanically inclined/don't let them fester into catastrophic cooling system failures. My car is currently experiencing something from that entire list almost (not transmission, knock on wood), and I've fixed about 50% of it for ~$250-300.
That said, and fine.. apples and oranges, I have literally driven older Honda Civic/Accords into the DIRT doing only tbelt/water pump swaps. I don't mind working on cars, but not when its my daily driver... and 63k miles/4 yrs old seems like a pretty low bar. My daughters Civic is a '97 HX with like 280k miles on it, and besides recently replacing brake pads/shoes/struts has never needed anything. It just.. goes. That was the "golden age" of Honda's though too. My previous beater is a Geo Prism w/350k on it and its still running w/o missing a beat..I gave it to someone who was in need of a car and had no money. I did NOTHING to that car except a couple timing belts.
So, in closing, I think the price point people like me are paying in the 2nd hand market of ~3.5-5k is spot on for this car. After this work/time, I expect a fairly problem free 3-4 years of service from the car and then I'm guessing it'll be a crusher by then. For the life of me, other than just wanting it, I can't grasp why anyone would pay for the higher level trim (LTZ/RS) of these cars with the data we have available. The depreciation curve sucks on any new car, but you go into that deal KNOWING you will get kicked in the teeth. I am thankful I got out of my '12 I bought new when I did and for as clean as I did.
The one thing this car seems to be doing well: resist corrosion. My car has been winter driven its whole life, and its really quite clean underneath except for the exhaust. Guessing the previous owner washed it regularly.
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JTee2017
Well-known member
You hit the nail on the head. That was then. . this is now. Check out some of the complaints and issues with the Honda Fit. . which is the comparable sub compact to the Sonic. Crappy CVT, quirky infotainment Touch Screen, not so comfortable, etc.
Apples and oranges. .. that was then, this is now. Mazda CX-3 rust issues, Nissan Versa CVT issues also, and the list goes on.
I bought the 2017 Sonic because the daughter's 2014 is doing well at 73,000 miles and GM covered the couple warranty items including the T-stat and housing and another small part just taken care of today. . . no charge. Other than that, she just has done regular oil changes and will be needing new tires soon. +73,000 on them.
I plan on keeping the Sonic for at least 7 to 10 years. Resale value is not a concern for me. Interior room, easy of enter/exit, quiet ride, very good handling, and driving comfort are. Some of the competition for the same money spent comes up very short in those areas.
Most cars today contain parts sourced form China, Mexico, Korea and even Viet Nam. Vendors from those places may mean well and claim to meet quality standards, but age on parts sometimes shows they used materials not up to the job. It happens. . . . on all brands.
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dannyg
Member
Were you just over the three-year warranty period for the coil?? Not covered by Powertrain Warranty? That sucks.
My bumper-to-bumper expires in about two weeks. Overall, my 1.8L/5sp has been good--thermostat replaced under warranty--but I'm only up to 32K miles. When I moved to NY from Maine my driving dropped from around 15K/yr to 5K/yr!
mja
Site Supporter
First reported Sonic on the forum over 300k miles :banana: