Tuning & Warranty on Sonic

[Steve Dallas]

I would say that the largest majority of Sonic owners are never going to mod their cards. I'm wondering why people would be risking voiding their warranties by tuning a Sonic while still in the warranty period.

I have nothing against people modding their cars...do what you will. Cosmetic changes are great, and something I'm considering doing.

If you tune your car and the engine breaks in some way...you're out a LOT of money when you would normally be under warranty. This goes for anyone buying a new car, I suppose...though if you bought a Corvette or Camaro, you're also likely to have more money to "Pay to Play" so to speak and the warranty won't matter as much.

Sonics, however, target a lower income demographic simply because they are inexpensive. That demographic is probably less likely to be able to absorb paying a 2-5k repair bill caused by tweaking the tune, adding different cams, etc.

I mean...if I wanted to tune a smaller car like the sonic, I'd look for something that's been out a couple of years and have at it. Cheaper up front cost, lots of parts available...there are many reasons I believe it'd be better to do it with a different car.

So, for those of you here that are tuning your Sonic...why are you willing to risk the warranty on an inexpensive new car like this? I'm curious.

 

[Eric Smit]

I traded in a Corvette for my Sonic. I didn't get the Sonic because it was inexpensive. I didn't get it because it has room for a car seat. I didn't get it because it gets good gas mileage. I got it because I genuinely loved the car. I had an 2004 Aveo LT back in the day, and I loved that car. Well, the Sonic has all the things I loved about the Aveo, and fixed all the shortcomings. When my wife asks me why I'm doing a certain mod or buying a piece, I tell her the same thing I'm about to tell you; because I like it, and it makes me happy. I have money to pay to play, so I play.


-Eric Smit

 

[Black Turbo LTZ]

Some of the mods being done on these cars by fellow members are not going to effect the warranty greatly if at all, exhaust done after cats does nothing to the waranty as the dealer as told me, with regards to an intake the service manager said I void the warranty on the airbox itself and nothing else. The dealer as told me that if I install Eibach springs by either them or a trained professional that they will not give a hassle for suspension repairs(minus shocks and anything in that assembly) Why do many of us mod these cars because whether your driving a corvette, camaro, WRX, civic Si your car is an extension of who you are and the style you want people to see in your ride. I've had 19 cars in the 14yrs of having my license and every single one(new or used) as been modified in one way or anothor because its my passion as I'm sure its everyone elses. In the end I love the fact I get stopped on a regular basis asking what kinda car it is, or wow thats a nice car didn't they just come out how did you find or make parts so fast is the best feeling I get about my car. Getting stopped by people(young and old) asking what kinda car it is or wow thats nicely done for a new car is the best feeling.

 

[SSpeckerwood]

I do it because I live on the edge.... Lol

 

[Steve Dallas]

I understand modding

CAI, Exhaust...those things aren't really huge power adders. It's when you start camming, porting or messing with the computer that makes more of a difference as far as warranty. Trust me, I'm well aware of this. Heck, some dealers may not enforce borderline tunes as well...but they always have that option. It's a risk you take.

Some people are going to be into racing these cars and truly outfitting them for that purpose. But I'd be willing to be there are at least a few people out there that couldn't afford anything better, this is their primary car...and they figure...let's add horsepower.

This car is a fun great car, but I wouldn't trust this transmission holding out very long if you thrash the heck out of it after adding 50-100hp (perhaps even less). And, it's likely if you did do that, the people at Chevy are going to laugh at you if you bring it in to get repaired.

I understand if you're buying this as a hobby car and doing that. I guess I'm more curious if there are people that use it as a DD and do this.

Personally, I bought the Sonic to be my DD over the next 10 years or so. I will be getting a hobby car as well in the next year. Personally, my thing is obviously Camaros. I'm not trying to make fun of Sonics or anything because I do understand the passion...but I personally am more into the sound & feel of a good V8, and would rather get an older Camaro or Corvette that cost the same as a Sonic used...and start modding that out. But that's just me

Of course, my plan is get a ZL1...but that's another story.

 

[Steve Dallas]

I traded in a Corvette for my Sonic. I didn't get the Sonic because it was inexpensive. I didn't get it because it has room for a car seat. I didn't get it because it gets good gas mileage. I got it because I genuinely loved the car. I had an 2004 Aveo LT back in the day, and I loved that car. Well, the Sonic has all the things I loved about the Aveo, and fixed all the shortcomings. When my wife asks me why I'm doing a certain mod or buying a piece, I tell her the same thing I'm about to tell you; because I like it, and it makes me happy. I have money to pay to play, so I play.


-Eric Smit

Like your sig

I made a video pretty early on after getting my Camaro about that very subject so I could test out some editing stuff, and decided to do it on that very subject.

Without music
The Left Lane - Live it, learn it, KNOW IT!!! - YouTube

With music (might be blocked in some areas)
The Left Lane - Live it, learn it, KNOW IT!!! - YouTube

 

[Eric Smit]

Steve, you're a terrific human being and should never ever stop making videos.


-Eric Smit

 

[Red Sonic LT]

I really don't see the tune being a big factor. Yes when you get to internals like cams and port jobs, I see where your going. But with the tune its almost undetectable. And if you are concern about the dealer finding it, just switch it back to stock tune. I myself don't have much money but I am doing the most I can with the car without voided my warrenty.

 

[rdss]

A tune can damage your motor and possibly transmission(TCM tuning for autos) if the person modifying the tune does not know what they are doing. Digging into the PCM allows you to negate limits that protect the motor for more power. Repitable tuners like trifecta know the limits and work with in them. You still take the chance of voiding your warrenty though.

 

[Steve Dallas]

I really don't see the tune being a big factor. Yes when you get to internals like cams and port jobs, I see where your going. But with the tune its almost undetectable. And if you are concern about the dealer finding it, just switch it back to stock tune. I myself don't have much money but I am doing the most I can with the car without voided my warrenty.

I'm not sure if it's undetectable or not on the Sonic, but I kind of doubt it.

I'm still learning about the Sonic, but with the Camaro...dealers can tell easily if you've tuned the car. In those cases, some dealers will outright disallow a warranty claim, others may look at what mods or the tune did. I think the important thing is...legally, if you tune the car and they find out, they can disallow the warranty service if they want.

I know that some that tuned Camaros found out the hard way...so I'm not sure if the Sonic computer uses the same stuff the Camaro does.

 

[Sonny@bnr]

The tune is undetectable

 

[Eric Smit]

I could swear I read that transparency mode doesn't work for the 1.8. Was that fixed?

The tune for 1.4T is undetectable with GM's normal scanning equipment.


-Eric Smit

 

[slitzell]

I'm not sure if it's undetectable or not on the Sonic, but I kind of doubt it.

I'm still learning about the Sonic, but with the Camaro...dealers can tell easily if you've tuned the car. In those cases, some dealers will outright disallow a warranty claim, others may look at what mods or the tune did. I think the important thing is...legally, if you tune the car and they find out, they can disallow the warranty service if they want.

I know that some that tuned Camaros found out the hard way...so I'm not sure if the Sonic computer uses the same stuff the Camaro does.

But when someone takes a camaro in to a dealship bc of motor/tranny problems, the dealerships is much more suspicious than someone bringing in a little sonic

 

[jim_de_hunter]

...as the dealer as told me, with regards to an intake the service manager said I void the warranty on the airbox itself and nothing else. The dealer as told me that if I install Eibach springs by either them or a trained professional that they will not give a hassle for suspension repairs

The dealer doesn't decide that he will do the warranty work unless the dealer wants to pay for it. If the dealer wants Chevy to pay for it, the dealer must submit it to Chevy for pre-approval (Some items are already pre-approved with Tech Bulletins.).

So, although a particular dealer may tell you that the warranty is not affected, you may find out differently at a different dealer that certain items my not be covered after a mod.

I'd be pleasantly surprised that a mod "after the converter" doesn't affect the warranty given the importance of exhaust back pressure to the system tune.

 

[Smartdave]

In addition to my sonic I have an '11 dodge ram with a cummins diesel engine. That is also a highly tuned vehicle. I know that the dealer can see the fact that I have tuned that as well. No tune is "undetectable". If the dealer is questioning warranty work and you had a tune installed they will find foot prints. For example if you have flashed the ECM with a new tune then went back to stock for warranty work there is a record of how many times the ECM has been flashed, that in itself may raise some red flags.

 

[laborsmith]

In general, your statement SmartDave is true. And no tune is completely undetectable. The Trifecta tune does not bump the flash counter and therefore is undetectable at the dealer level but to date there are no reports that the ecu has been removed and sent to GM, so as of now it remains undetectable.

Also, there are no reports of the Sonic experiencing an unusual number of engine failures, which may be why there are no reports of a dealer removing and sending an ecu to GM.

Laborsmith

 

[rdss]

Here y'all go......... http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/t722-2/

The detect ability issue has been talked about in depth already and found that with the tech tools available to the serivce department you can not see that anything has been done to the PCM when tuned with Trifecta in transperancy mode. This was done buy a service tech that had a tuned sonic with the tune in transperancy mode and all the info from GM's computer say the exact same thing tuned or untuned. No additional tune counts and all the codes are the same even though there is custom tuning. Now I'm sure if the PCM is sent to GM they can dig into it more than a tech at a service department and anyone that's driven a stock sonic will be able to tell its running more than 10-15psi. So, yes, it will void your warranty if they can prove it or pull your PCM and send it to someone that can dig in to the PCM. If Vince can do it, I'm sure the people that designed the PCM can find modified code.