2013 CHEVROLET SONIC Complaints

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.

On Tuesday, September 27 at 10:25 AM, I was driving to pickup medication for my dog. I was less than 5 miles away from my home. As I pulled up to park, I slowed down and turned into the nearest parking stall. As I set the automatic shifter to Park, the car came out of park and shifted gears into Drive; mounting the curb. I hit the brake but the car continued to move forward. When I went to pull on my Emergency brake, the car hit the side of the building. As soon as I hit the building, I was able to regain control of the car and turn the ignition off. Gratefully, no one was hurt.

At around 45,600 miles the Odometer and Trip Meter on my 2013 Sonic stopped displaying numbers and instead shows just 3 dashes. Disconnecting the car's battery for 30 mins, reconnecting, and starting the car displays the mileage for a few seconds and then returns to the ---. Same happens when pulling the fuse for the gauge cluster; the mileage is displayed for a few seconds and then returns to the ---. Attempting to reset the Trip Meter results in the normal 'beep' but numbers are not displayed. Brought the car to the dealership and since the vehicle is out of warranty they want a nonrefundable deposit of $700 just to diagnose, parts and labor would be an additional bill on top of that. Ridiculous. Since this is likely a computer issue it's beyond the scope of work that can be performed by my trusted local garage and as a result I have not had the issued corrected. This should be a GM recall.

THE BUTTON IN THE SHIFT STICK GET STUCK AND DOESN'T COME BACK, KEY GETS STUCK AND I STRUGGLE TO GET THEM OUT OF THE IGNITION. THIS IS HAPPENING SINCE OCTOBER 2020 FROM NOW. ONE DAY THE BUTTON GOT STUCK AND WAS HARD TO MAKE IT COME BACK THAT I CONSIDERED LEAVING MY CAR WITH THE KEYS IN THE IGNITION, BUT I WORKED SO HARD TO GET IT UNSTUCK FOR A GOOD TIME AND I SUCCEEDED. THE BAD THING IT THAT I DOESN'T LOOK TO IMPROVE. IT HAPPES EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS PARKED AND I'M ABOUT TO LEAVE IT.

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.

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

THE PCV PRESSURE REG VALVE FAILS AND CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE. GM SENT A LETTER TO CUSTOMERS BUT ONLY COVERS THE WORK UP TO 120K MILES. MINE FAILED AT 125K MILES AND COST OVER $1000 TO FIX. GM IS REFUSING TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS.10/15/2020

MY POWER STEERING KEEPS GOING OUT, I HAVE TO TAP ON THE BATTERY POST CONNECTORS AND THE POWER STEERING STARTS WORKING AGAIN. SOMETIMES A WARNING LIGHT COMES ON, SOMETIMES NOT. MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING GOING AROUND A BEND IN THE ROAD WHEN THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT, ALMOST LOST CONTROL. MY ODOMETER QUIT WORKING, I TOOK IT TO A SHOP AND WAS TOLD IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM. WHY IS THIS NOT ON RECALL IF A CHEVROLET MECHANIC IS TELLING ME IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM...VERY EXPENSIVE AND UNNECESSARY AND SHOULD BE ON RECALL IF IT'S THAT COMMON.

MY SONIC HAD THE SAME ISSUE AS NHTSA RECALL NO. : 19E-064, MANUFACTURER RECALL NO. : N192223230. EXCEPT, IT HAPPENED WHEN I REACHED TO USE THE WIPERS RATHER THAN HITTING THE KEY FOB WITH MY LEG. I REACHED TO USE THE WIPERS AND MY ARM HIT THE KEY FOB, KNOCKING IT INTO THE NEXT POSITION, TURNING OFF THE ENGINE. IT COULD HAVE JUST AS EASILY MOVED OVER ONE MORE AND LOCKED THE STEERING. THE RECALL WAS DONE ON THE CAMARO'S, SO WHY WASN'T IT DONE ON ANY OTHER VEHICLE USING THE SAME KEY FOB AND IGNITION REPLACEMENT? WAS IT BECAUSE THE CAMARO'S PRICE IS 4 TIMES THE PRICE OF A SONIC? ARE CAMARO DRIVERS MORE VALUABLE THAN SONIC DRIVERS? THERE IS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT INCLUDING THE CAMARO RECALL, BUT NOT THE SONIC. HTTPS://WWW.GMIGNITIONSWITCHECONOMICSETTLEMENT.COM/ I REPORTED THIS BACK IN 2014, AND NEVER HEARD A WORD ABOUT IT.

I OWN A 2013 CHEVY SONIC. THE KEY FOB IS HUGE. IN FACT, THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHEN I ATTEMPT TO USE MY WIPER CONTROLS AND I HAVE ACCIDENTALLY HIT THAT KEY FOB AND TURNED THE CAR OFF. LUCKILY, I WAS NOT MOVING AT THE TIME, BUT BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM IT'S EXTREMELY POSSIBLE AND LIKELY THAT THE SAME COULD HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING AND POSSIBLY BE KNOCKED ALL THE WAY OVER WHERE IT WOULD NOT ONLY TURN THE CAR OFF, BUT ALSO LOCK THE STEERING. I WENT TO A DEALER AND HEARD A RUMOR THE SAME PROBLEM EXISTS FOR THE CAMARO'S AND GM CREATED KEYS WITH THE ELECTRONICS IN THEM TO USE IN PLACE OF THE KEY FOB'S. THEY ARE ABOUT 2 INCHES SHORTER. WHY THIS WAS NOT DONE FOR ANY VEHICLE BY GM THAT USES THE SAME KEY FOB'S AND IGNITIONS, I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I PERSONALLY GOT THE DEALER TO MAKE ME A SET OF THESE KEYS TO SEE IF THEY WOULD WORK IN MY SONIC. IT COST ME $80.00, BUT FOR THE SAFETY VALUE I PAID FOR THEM. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL/REPAIR OR A CLASS ACTION SUIT BECAUSE IT SCARED ME WHEN IT HAPPENED, AND I WORRY IT WILL HAPPEN TO OTHERS WHO HAVEN'T HAD IF HAPPEN, BUT ARE UNAWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY.