10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 37,473 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
My car is a lemon, brought from Arizona and they sold me a car that has a rusted chassis so if repairs are needed I will have to spend more money to get fixed because things are very fragile because everything is rusted and then I-??m lease the car for a price a car isn-??t worth for.
- San Diego, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that the button on the gear shifter would not release while shifting between gears. Due to the failure, the key would remain stuck in the ignition due to the defective gear shifter button. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was given a diagnostic fee; the contact declined to pay for the diagnostic. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed her that the matter would be escalated to a senior manager. The contact had not heard back from the manufacturer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. The contact stated that the issue has been repaired.
- Old Forge, PA, USA
My 2013 Chevy Sonic developed ticking sound shortly after I bought it at 60000 miles. The ticking got worse over time and then check engine light came on. I scanned the codes and multiple four codes were found. P0171, P0496, P1101, and P2270. After doing some research it seemed to be that most Cruze, Sonic, and trax vehicles all had the same issues. I took it to the dealer for diagnostics and was informed the vehicle needed a new intake manifold, purge valve, PCV hose, and valve cover. They called the dealership to see if there were any recalls and the only one was the valve cover but would have to pay for diagnostics to see if they would cover it or not. The breather diaphragm in the valve cover goes bad due to a fault intake manifold on these vehicle models. There is a little orange gasket in the manifold that goes bad and causes the diaphragm to go out resulting in having to replace the entire system. The intake manifold not only causes ghat issue but causes the car to get jumpy at stops and stalling out. Have almost had a few people rear end me due to this. The purge valve goes out as well and when at the fuel pump the car will hesitate to crank or run at very low idle shutting off multiple times before it starts up and then runs rough until a decent amount of fuel has ran through the engine. The car would not get enough fuel when at stops or on highways and would also just lose fuel and cut the engine off. Those components have since been replaced by myself and no more issues. Chevy will not recall the parts that are causing the issues and therefore there is a safety issue when out on the highways.
- Jblm, WA, USA
The fuel system is running weak, for a car with only 30000 miles, one owner and full maintenance, the engine light came and go all the time and everything was checking
- Flushing, NY, USA
Button on gear shift gets stuck in the pushed in position causing the gear shift to move even if bumped. If driving this could cause a crash resulting in injury, or death. When gear shift button is pushed in it prevents the car from completely turning off and key from coming out. This poses a risk of theft.
- Madison, WI, USA
Car gave me a code of U0101 and took it to Chevy dealership and told me it has something to do with lost communication. They tried fixing issue but couldn't.
- La Feria, TX, USA
Began over heating at short distances. A/C went cool ran hot air tried to see if freon just needed refilling but even using alomst a full can still nothing. Having fuel issues big difference weeks apart fuel issues.then over heating, next unable to hold coolant, car was returned to dealer for repair. Still unable to keep coolant from leaking, while driving on interstate I 95 out of no where I loose the ability of speed then shuttering running hot again blew head gasket lost power hard to gain control and was almost hit 2 times by car behind and on side.car had to be pushed to shoulder and picked up with wrecker service. Mechanic had to come to car bc it wouldn't stsrt. He said the gasket is gone. Car will not do anything now. Will get receipts from dealer servicing, wrecker, auto zone mult coolant purchases, mechanic
- St Johns, FL, USA
Transmission control module failed. When I was backing up, I felt a jerk and when I put it back in "drive", the "D" indicator light was blinking. I took it to the shop and they said the tcm had to be replaced.
- Chesterfield, VA, USA
2013 Chevrolet Sonic turbo has issue with coolant system. Car is constantly triggering the 'check engine' light and may cause damage to car due to overheating and coolant leak. Coolant leaks after call is not in motion and trying to cool. Fan continues to run after vehicle has been shut down.
- Charlotte, NC, USA
Power train - transmission failure - I was traveling on the interstate at 70 mph and all of a sudden my car lost power and went to 5 mph; the RPM's revved at 3500 yet no power went to the wheels. It was an extremely precarious situation in which I was nearly rammed by several vehicles before I limped off the exit at 5 mph; still very much in danger. I was able to pull into a safe space and called aaa for a tow. It was a Saturday night so no services were available. This car only has 37,000+ miles on it, has been regularly serviced by the dealer and is out of warranty on the power train. No car should have its transmission go out with such low mileage and regular service. This is a serious situation and a flaw in the transmission system of this car. Cost to repair for a new transmission by the dealer is set at $4100, very unreasonable for a car who's warranty just went out three months ago. The danger of a car going from 70 mph to 5 mph with no warning was frightful and I am grateful to be here and that no one crashed into me. I have escalated this up to GM for investigation.
- Bonita, CA, USA
There was a shift flare when switching from gear 2 to gear 3. this would happen when the car was warmed up. When it was cold, it would not happen. There was no fluid leak.
- Oak Lawn, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that when the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle hesitated and ceased to move. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 76,788.
- Miami, FL, USA
The turbocharger failed. It seems like a common issue because the replacement part is on national backorder. Driving without replacement poses safety concerns. It is also a large expense when not covered after the 5 year powertrain warranty expires.
- Malta, NY, USA
-engine valve oil leak -engine valve cover had to be replaced due to a crack -oil pan leak -hoses fell apart while on highway (495) causing all refrigerant to leak out and cause A/C to blow warm air -all coolant leaked out due to faulty thermometer housing & gasket causing the heat to blow out cold air. No check engine light or engine temperature light was displayed despite the fact that there was no coolant in the resovoire -side mirrors stopped adjusting due to faulty switch -driver side heated seat had a shortage due to faulty seat cushion this vehicle only has 65,000 miles on it and has had to be practically rebuilt due to cheap/faulty parts. Leaking coolant can cause the engine to overheat.
- Catonsville, MD, USA
After several manufactural repairs my car continues to run hot. I have had over $2000 worth of repairs and my car continues to run hot. Also the electrical system appears to be going know if you close the door with the keys in the ignition the car locks.
- Orlando, FL, USA
To begin, I have been having a shift flare problem with my automatic transmission. There are no trouble codes in the system. This would happen when I would get off the highway when there was a lot of traffic or when the car was running for a long time. The problem went away when the car was cooled and was parked for several hours. The RPM would spike about 200rmp when accelerating. This would happen from 2nd to 3rd gear. I have changed the fluid and I had to put a little more than half a quart of fluid into it. The transmission is leaking fluid. One thing that I noticed was that the drain plug backed out. I don't know why this happened but it leaked around it. There is another small leak where the engine and transmission meet. This is a very small leak and it only leaks in freezing temperatures. The leak that has been happening where the engine and transmission meet has been happening for about 2 years now. I have brought the vehicle in to have someone take a look at it and they said that there was no leak. At 60-65K miles, the fluid is a solid glossy black color.
- Oak Lawn, IL, USA
The button on the gear shift that activates the shifter and allows it to move regularly gets stuck allowing the car to be put into gear without holding the button. This poses a serious safety hazard due to the fact that there is no safety mechanism preventing the car from accidentally being put into gear and allowing the car to roll while unattended. This issue also prevents the key from being removed while the button is stuck even while in park which poses an additional safety hazard. This issue is very common with this car and needs to be addressed immediately
- Chesapeake, VA, USA
The button to shift gears snapped pff with no misuse. Couldn't put my car in park because of it it happened as soon as it was put in drive. Very dangerous. Did not realize how cheap the plastic was for something so important.
- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA
Automatic shifter button remains in depressed position, even when vehicle is in park, 1) preventing removal of key and 2) allowing free movement from park to reverse, drive, neutral or vice versa. Stationary, whenever I park. After some minutes the button may pop out, but problem is getting worse.
- Carson City, NV, USA
- Oklahoma City , OK, USA