This Car Is Junk :(

[Xgenx]

2012 Chevy Sonic

At 75,000 replaced transmission parts, just ticked 101,000 and its shaking in reverse and neutral again and the check engine light came on and my girlfriend barely made it home from work. I went to test drive it when I got in and it started the shaking again in reverse and neutral. The kicker is now we're past 100k so the power train warranty is gone and average transmission cost is $1500 to $3000 repair for the car to last maybe another 25,000 miles.....

The last time we went to the Stealership and got the transmission replaced it took them a week, we didn't get a rental(they gave us the run around) and after we got it we drove about 100 miles in it and heard a rumbling noise coming from under the hood and I figured it was maybe a wheel bearing because it sounded like it was near the driver side. So we stopped in a mom and pop shop and the guy had me pop the hood and go through a series of reverse and drive shifts and he asked my gf to do the same and had me watch, and lo and behold our motor mounts were very loose, I watched him tighten the bolts and literally saw the engine raise up to where it should be.

So I called the Stealership back and told them about it and they said "oh we're so sorry we will give you a free oil change". SMH!:blankface:

On a side note I took my Chevy work van in there and it took them 3 times before they finally replaced the ac compressor and each time I was told them that I saw it spray refrigerant out the side and I could hear the compressor kicking off and on. Needless to say they never got my air going.

So I guess I wont be buying from Chevy again. We really love the sonic too, shame it's a lemon. I'm not sure what options we have as I doubt when I call them tomorrow they'll do anything as far as a repair goes without us paying out of pocket since the warranty is shot. Thanks for reading fellow Sonic owners. Open to ideas...

 

[Eric Smit]

Worth noting, the dealership isn't required to give you a loaner. Your Sonic is out of warranty. I'm sorry, but you're kind of stuck there. If it had symptoms before your warranty ran out, you should have taken it in.

On that note, shaking in neutral and reverse might not be your transmission. What if it's your trans mount?

You're not going to buy Chevrolet because you had a bad experience with a dealership and then continue to go to that dealership? Your Sonic isn't a lemon, it's just got 101k miles and things are starting to need to be replaced. Welcome to the game.

 

[Xgenx]

Worth noting, the dealership isn't required to give you a loaner. Your Sonic is out of warranty. I'm sorry, but you're kind of stuck there. If it had symptoms before your warranty ran out, you should have taken it in.

On that note, shaking in neutral and reverse might not be your transmission. What if it's your trans mount?

You're not going to buy Chevrolet because you had a bad experience with a dealership and then continue to go to that dealership? Your Sonic isn't a lemon, it's just got 101k miles and things are starting to need to be replaced. Welcome to the game.

When it had warranty they wouldn't give us a rental. Honesty the symptoms didn't start until just yesterday. I attempted to drive it to the dealer today and in drive the rpms would just go up and the car would be slowing down seemed to operate fine until it shifted beyond first. These are all the same issues we had before. The dealer just bandaided it until the warranty ran out(smart on their end).

There is a recall on the 2012s https://www.cars.com/articles/2014/06/recall-alert-2012-chevrolet-sonic/

Not sure that is related or not.

Well we took it in at 75k and the transmission had issues, we took it in again at 100k and its having issues, to me that's a lemon in 100k of miles a transmission shouldn't have to be replaced twice at this day in age, honestly I've had cars I've put 300k miles on and sold that ran fine from 20 years ago.

Its the whole customer service experience that has ruined it for me with GM, as my buddy says don't buy domestic. I continue to go to this dealership this is my 2nd time visiting them because this is their bandaid they should be the ones to fix it.

 

[TheGreenDragon]

A bad dealership can easily ruin a brand for you, especially if you don't have a lot of other options. I'm sorry to hear you had this experience, but rest assured you will find just as many crooks hawking Hondas as Chevy or Ford. Ultimately car dealerships are a franchise and the brand itself can only take responsibility for abuses reported to the home office.

You've also got a 2012 on your hands that is over 100K miles. The 2012s were the first iteration of this car, so there were definitely going to be kinks to work out of the new platform. I've got a 2015 and it has been smooth sailing with only a few minor issues that were easily fixed by my dealership.

If you like the Sonic platform, I would encourage you to try again with one of the more recent model years. If you are afraid of getting burned on a new car price, shop used (but do it smart) for a 2014-2016. And for goodness sake, stop using that dealership and report your incidents to Chevy Customer Care.

Side note: Usually these kind of threads explode into flames as those of us who love our cars come to their defense. I would like to suggest preemptively that we try to keep it civil.

 

[RMinNJ]

I had to try a second dealer to get my transmission leak fixed. I think some of these dealers are such high volume that they do not want to do some repairs ..they have so much business that they rather not do warranty work that takes too long. They do can 5 brake jobs for XXX$ in the time it takes to do 1 transmission job with only X$ from GM. At least that was the impression I got.

 

[Chuck Schick]

In all honesty I would not expect a compact car to last beyond 100k.

 

[zippypcs]

In all honesty I would not expect a compact car to last beyond 100k.

Really??? I had 2 GM built Saturns that went 200k plus. I had a Chevy Cobalt that went 170k before I sold it to a friend, by the way she is still driving it.
My current Sonic has 80k on it with no signs of slowing down.
Proper maintenance goes a long way. Just because eco box ,doesn't mean doesn't last.
My brother drove a hand me down Chevy Chevette for over 200k. That was supposed to be a throw away at 50k.
So I guess in the end it is how you take care of what you drive.
I plan to drive my Sonic to at least 150k or greater before I move to something else.
Yes mine had the factory recall for the 6 sp slush box but since that item everything else has pretty much been just regular maintenance.
Mine also has been tuned since around 5500 miles without issue.

 

[cndctrdj]

In all honesty I would not expect a compact car to last beyond 100k.

Any car built since 1995 should be able to go 200k easy.

 

[cndctrdj]

Lemon law is only good if you bring the car in for the same problem 3 or more times and they can't fix it. But I'm sure there is a mileage limit
Also if your problem was before the warranty ran out and it has been in for it before than they should still figuring it under warranty. I would contact gm directly and go to a different dealership

 

[dannyg]

Yes, try a different dealer!

For what it is worth, Consumer Reports recommends the 2017 Sonic in the current auto issue (4/2017) and predicts Average reliability. My 2015 has had zero problems in 29K miles so far. Hope it lasts.

 

[Andy3521]

Try another dealership before you bail on GM products. Not every dealership is created equal, nor is the quality of staff a dealership hires.

 

[Xgenx]

Well they are just not even wanting to deal with it I called them today and they said "well we weren't able to get it out of the parking lot into the garage it wouldn't even drive well enough to take it in there, we recommend replacing the entire transmission which will be $3500 and you also need a new thermostat so you're looking at $225-300 for that." We still owe $9000 on the car, we may just give it back to the lot and pay on the remaining balance not sure yet, its turning into a money pit.

 

[Xgenx]

So we attempted to have it towed to a trusted town mechanic who said he could rebuild the transmission for $2000-2500 and in the process of the tow the Dealer wouldn't let our tow truck move the car because we had a pending "diagnostic fee of $106" so I called and told them I would be contacting GM in regards to how we are being serviced and forced to pay a fee for our shot transmission that they didn't fix right the first time and how they expect us to pay a fee for something they didn't even pull into the garage, and the guy said "it wasn't work fighting over" and he waived it.

 

[RMinNJ]

Get it out of that dealership. You didnt say what type of trans...

Used 2012 Chevrolet Cruze Transmission A.T., 1.4L, ID 2JFW - Purzauto Guaranteed Used Auto Parts

 

[Chuck Schick]

Really??? I had 2 GM built Saturns that went 200k plus. I had a Chevy Cobalt that went 170k before I sold it to a friend, by the way she is still driving it.
My current Sonic has 80k on it with no signs of slowing down.
Proper maintenance goes a long way. Just because eco box ,doesn't mean doesn't last.
My brother drove a hand me down Chevy Chevette for over 200k. That was supposed to be a throw away at 50k.
So I guess in the end it is how you take care of what you drive.
I plan to drive my Sonic to at least 150k or greater before I move to something else.
Yes mine had the factory recall for the 6 sp slush box but since that item everything else has pretty much been just regular maintenance.
Mine also has been tuned since around 5500 miles without issue.

Not because of mechanics, but rust. At least around here. Sorry, I should have been more specific.

 

[Chuck Schick]

Well they are just not even wanting to deal with it I called them today and they said "well we weren't able to get it out of the parking lot into the garage it wouldn't even drive well enough to take it in there, we recommend replacing the entire transmission which will be $3500 and you also need a new thermostat so you're looking at $225-300 for that." We still owe $9000 on the car, we may just give it back to the lot and pay on the remaining balance not sure yet, its turning into a money pit.

It sure does hurt, but getting it fixed and back on the road is a good idea.

 

[JulanMastrow]

A Car isn't scrapped until it will stop working. So, if your car is working properly don't consider it a junk car.

 

[WinsletshawnA]

I have had to face this more than once. When I bought a brand new car, and later I had a problem, the transmission leaked. I turned to the first dealer, he just ignored me, I had to turn to the second dealer to fix this problem, they are not very willing but took up the job. For example, I have a truck, so there was no such thing in the wall work service center. I think a lot of dealers have such a large volume that they don't want to do some complicated repairs that take a long time. That's why they do 10 jobs in a day to replace a part, such as replacing brakes or shock absorbers, than they do with my car for half a day...