2014 Sonic with electrical issues while driving

[lmathews2405]

I've had quite the experience with my Sonic, which I purchased back in December 2019 with 83,000 miles on it. The first issue I had was while driving at 45 mph I felt and heard a loud bang in the engine, which caused the traction control light to come on. I took it to auto zone and got a code for a lost connection with the transmission control module. I took it to a transmission guy and he could not diagnose any issues as the computer did not have any.

The second major issue was while driving, the car locks became possessed and started going up and down on their own. Meanwhile, the car stalled out and I had no control of the accelerator even though I was in drive. Luckily, I was able to coast into a gas station and get it towed to the dealership.

The dealership noticed that the shifter was sticking and it may have caused all the issues (the bang in the engine and the weird electrical failures.) The new shfiter cost me $466 and it seemed to fix to problem.

Two weeks later I turned the vehicle on and the traction control light immediately light up on the dashboard while the car was in park. I turned off the car and restarted it. After restarting, I put the car in reverse and the same possessed locks going up and down began again! I got it towed and the car is now at the service center once again and they can't seem to figure out the issue.

Please help if you know or have experienced this!

 

[ib2loud]

May be a stupid question but have you made sure your battery cables are all tight and the battery and alternator are in good working condition?

 

[lmathews2405]

At this point I don't think there are any stupid questions. Personally, I am not very mechanically inclined and have not checked the battery or alternator. But I will reach out to the service center tomorrow and suggest it. Based off my recent research it seems like this could just be corroded battery cable connectors. I know that the battery is basically brand new though.

 

[shorebreeze]

Check to see what your phone charger is like. I had an experience at 1,000 miles back in the fall of 2014 where the ECU crashed and the engine died. Dealer and I traced it to a "bullet" style phone charger I was using. I guess they can destabilize voltage or something.

I ditched that charger and it has never happened again. Might need to think about the manifold modification in the near future though!

 

[The34]

Had a similar situation, may help you. While I was driving radio is turning off and on, locks are acting, engine shot off and on while driving. Electrician didn’t managed to find the problem. Battery seems well, alternator seems working fine.
Dealer found that the battery has all the right voltage but defected. Replace the battery, cleaned the connection points and all is well now. Also you may consider unplugging all accessories, see what happens

 

[Kbaker]

Just wondering if anyone has figured out how to fix the intermittent 2014 sonic electrical issues. At least 3 times mine has had the power completely shut down (while driving 70 MPH). The engine shuts off, Radio, lights and acceleration are gone, the locks go up and down, then the car will automatically restart.
Battery and cables replaced twice. Shifter was replaced.
Last incident - The engine light was on- drove to the dealer and while the service rep was in the car getting the mileage - It died and restarted like I had explained to him. Unfortunately - he states it wiped out the error code. They have driven 2 x in 8 days.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated - Afraid them will have car 6 or more months at this rate since intermittent, but very afraid to drive a car that randomly stalls going 70mph.