8.5

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$160
Average Mileage:
10,850 miles
Total Complaints:
4 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. not sure (4 reports)
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #4

Mar 032014

Sonic

  • Automatic transmission
  • 37,000 miles

After purchasing the vehicle from a reputable nation wide used car dealer, who stated they do a 125 point check on their cars and make it like new, with a 30 day warranty, my car after the 30 day warranty expired started to rattle and jump.

I replaced the spark plugs since the check engine light came on and said #3 was misfiring. Still showing a misfire. I checked the coil pack, and it had a crack, so I replaced it $160.00 later and it lasted a week. I thought the problem was solved and now after a week, it's running rougher than before shaking and rattling and also losing power.

My daughter was driving it home on flat highway and she said the car wouldn't even go faster than 40mph and was shaking real bad. Now it's parked outside the house, with only a little over 38K miles on it, 2012 Chevy Sonic, and I've only owned this vehicle since January 27,2014. We moved it 10ft today to the driveway, and a pop sound was heard.

I don't know if there is a recall on this, but I'm really getting frustrated because no one seems to know exactly what is going on or wrong with the vehicle. The dealer I bought it from said..."well next time, buy the extended warranty..." Extended warranty my rear end...that sounds like all their vehicles have problems, and they just want you to spend the extra $$ on that. I did that once before, and the extended warranty they talked about didn't cover what needed to be fixed when my Honda Civic needed an new flywheel, and I only owned that vehicle for 2 months as well. but back to the sonic, I keep seeing engine and rough idle on some of the cruze and sonic engines, but no resolve. Now the engine light stays on, and I don't really know what to do but let it all out somewhere...Really annoyed, frustrated and pissed off.

- stutsb, Phenix City, AL, US

problem #3

Mar 092012

Sonic LT 2.4L

  • Manual transmission
  • 1,200 miles

well this has happened since i bought it.after driving a few miles when at a stop and idling the car shakes,acts like its going to shut off.they tell me its normal... who in the hell would want a car like this? i put 4,000 on this car and i was thinking buy new no issues ,but no problems since day one.

- Misty B., Powder Springs, GA, US

problem #2

Dec 122012

Sonic LS 1.8L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 186 miles

Car has extremely rough idle. The car always has inconsistent idle and has a major problem with the warm idle. Went to multiple dealerships and they all state it's "normal" ...it's clearly not normal escpecailly considering it has stalled on me twice. No codes were thrown so as usual dealer doesn't believe me and say nothing can be done.

- supersonic, Vancouver, BC, canada

problem #1

Jun 122012

Sonic 2LT 1.8L DOHC

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5,000 miles

This shake has progressively gotten worse, it shakes the whole car like an old pick up truck, idles really low. My car has stalled a couple times, no check engine light, no codes in computer module, no fix and refusal to replace. Same issue seems to be causing the car to run overall roughly. car in park, neutral, drive, moving or not it shakes roughly. Low guttural sound from motor. while running and hood up, whole engine shakes and anything attached to it. drove and compared to identical model, significant difference, just motor on new vehicle shakes lightly, nothing attached shakes at all. my car shakes and everything surrounded. also new vehicle had a one belt pulley and my car (identical model) had a 2 belt pulley with one belt. Not sure why the difference. dealer calls it normal, GM refuses replacement. Dangerous!!

- hmae37, Springfield, MO, US