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Consumer Reviews for the Chevrolet Sonic
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I own TWO 2012 Sonics... Read this Review!
Gary N, 07/03/2016
2012 Chevrolet Sonic LT 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 6A)
I'm not sure what some people do with their cars. We have TWO 2012 Sonic LT Auto's, both with the 1.8L engine. One is a Sedan and the other is a Hatch. I like the sedan a bit better because is is actually longer, giving more cargo space in most cases. Plus, due to aerodynamics, the sedan gets better MPG, especially on the highway, where we routinely get 37 MPG out of that car. But, I … also like the hatch, because it has the bigger wheels and fog lights. If it only got the same MPG... There have been a few recall issues, but not many. I do my own oil/filter changes and full synthetic is the way to go. The only odd thing on the sedan was the air intake hose between the air box and manifold cracked on the sedan and that tripped the engine light. It was a $35 part, so I just replaced it in the garage. UPDATE: GM extended the warranty on this part and reimbursed my repair cost.
UPDATE: Both cars have had the air intake break and both were fixed by GM. Also, we are starting to get some thermostat codes popping on the one with 75k miles on it. It's either a dirty connector, or a failed sensor (less than $50) as they all seem to do this.
On the hatch, I took a pot-holed exit ramp too fast and broke a ball joint, so that was $150 with labor and alignment. Other than that, we have about 100K miles combined and ONE unexpected repair. BTW tie rods and ball joints on smaller cars are almost routine maintenance when driving on Michigan roads. Overall pretty good repair record, in my opinion. These are good cars for the money. The insurance is reasonable (we are over 50) they ride pretty well for being so small, especially compared to the imports. We live in Michigan and have full sets of snow tires for these cars, since the factory tires are useless in the snow. But, with the right tires, they are good in winter. I routinely drive though 6-8 inches of snow and isolated patches up to a foot and have never been stranded. The sedan was rear-ended early on, and the fix was done well at the dealership. We take care of our cars and these have been particularly trouble-free. But, a lot of younger people buy these cars and maybe they don't take care of them.
Also, a lot of used Sonics are coming on the market now from rental fleets, so they might not have been cared for that well either. The flood of rental returns is also lowering the resale right now. All things considered, I'd buy another one tomorrow, probably a turbo LT sedan.
UPDATE: I did buy a 2013 LT Turbo Sedan, slightly used a few months ago, so now I have THREE Sonics. They are pretty good cars, my only recent gripe being a few rattles have developed, but they are cheap and easy to fix. The dealer put a replacement set of plastic stabilizer bar links on the 2013 with only 5k miles and there was a TSB put out for a bad seal between the engine and transmission on the car with the turbo engine. That leak was fixed at no cost to me.
UPDATE: I sold the 2012 hatch and traded off the 2012 sedan with the 1.8L engine, so we are down to only the 2013 turbo sedan now. Still good cars, but the cooling systems on them do tend to get leaks and cracks in the plastic parts. None of these parts are expensive or difficult to replace for a DIY person, but bleeding the air out of the system after repairs is nearly impossible. I had to take them to a local shop to have them do it for me because we had air in the heater core and it was 20 below zero outside... They pressure tested it and everything was good, but then a month or so later, the water pump started weeping coolant, and it was due for a timing belt... A few months after that I traded it off. The 2013 now has 20k miles on it and the rear shocks are starting to go bad - another common but inexpensive issue. I did this on at least one of the others and it was easier than I thought, but I'm waiting until spring to do this car.
I still recommend these cars, but you really need to get the right deal on them, as I did on two of the three I bought. They do tend to have some issues, but they are inexpensive repairs if done yourself and none of them ever left us stranded anywhere. I actually never replaced any of the batteries.
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