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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is fairly new & is already showing an early trend of transmission problems.

Owners report hesitation when shifting & grinding/hard shifting into gears. Some dealers are calling the condition "normal". Another owner reported his dealership replaced the transmission under warranty, but the new transmission had the same exact grinding problem. Design defect?

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 1
Average Mileage:
51,853 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic brakes problems

brakes problem

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2012 Chevrolet Sonic Owner Comments

problem #3

Feb 102017

Sonic

  • 85,560 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owned a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. While the contact's husband was driving 35 mph in inclement weather, the condition went from rain to snow and the vehicle started to fishtail. The contact stated that the all terrain traction control system activated and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that her husband lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The driver's side frontal air bag and the passenger frontal air bag deployed; however, the driver's frontal air bag only partially deployed. The driver sustained a fractured sternum, a fractured hip, a fractured pelvis, and internal bleeding. The contact's husband died from his injuries. The passenger suffered a mild concussion, kidney failure, and burns from the seat belts and air bag deployment. The driver and passenger were transported by separate ambulances for medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent facility. A police report was filed. Lithia Chevrolet of redding (200 E cypress ave, redding, ca 96002, (530) 410-6002) was contacted as to what may have caused the vehicle to lose control. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The approximate failure mileage was 85,560.

- Westwood, CA, USA

problem #2

Mar 012016

Sonic

  • 7,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would begin to shake and make a loud pop noise from underneath the front-end. The vehicle would than stall causing the contact to have the vehicle towed. The traction warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the air duct was fractured and needed to be replaced however, the failure occurred again. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer and replaced the vehicle's battery, fuel pumps, and the fuel injectors. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

- Balley, AL, USA

problem #1

Jun 062015

Sonic

  • 63,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. While driving 55 mph, the front end of the vehicle began to jerk and the traction control and check engine lights appeared. The vehicle stalled and was coasted over to the side of the road. The dealer diagnosed that the fuel module failed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 63,000.

- Olympia, WA, USA

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