2012 sonic 2LT disappointment :(

[hmae37]

I am new to the gmsidenews forum. I am a member of the sonic owner forum as well. I have a Crystal Red 2012 Chevy Sonic 2LT Sedan. I used to love this car. I still love the car but am scared to death of this car. It progressively gets worse the more it's driven. It has done many intermittent things to me, to which the computer is not even registering the issues. I have submitted the info to BBB for a lemon, it's been in and out of dealers for 10 months. I have never asked for money, I have never asked for anything but a safe reliable car for my family. I have been denied this. After being driven by a couple GM field techs it's been deemed as operating as designed. I am concerned that if this is as designed, then why is it the identical models drive much better? Is that considered exceptional performance. I have driven other sonics. They drive a world better than mine. And yet so blatantly get told mine is normal. I feel like I have been betrayed and pushed aside by such a trusted company. I have trusted GM for many years. In fact I traded my 2006 Malibu in for this sonic. It even drove much much better. All I've ever asked for was a replacement with a different motor as they have less problems, but would even settle for a replacement of identical model. I have not asked to be cheated out of a replacement but owing more. I have not asked for any compensation. Just a replacement. I have been lied, on paper, by dealers. So has GM I believe. But at what point does GM feel that a customers concern for safety outweighs what could possibly be wrong with the car? Has GM ever thought that maybe the issue is with the computer of the car not detecting the mechanical issue? Is it simply easier to have someone drive it around for 20-30 mins and say it's normal. What about when driving in traffic around town, running errands? Or when on a long trip and the feelings it puts out while driving? I have had this car over a year. Trust me when I say there is something wrong with it and it doesn't drive like a 1 yr old car, it drives like a 15 yr old pickup. I am not rich and can not afford to just scrap it and get new, or even trade it in since it's worth less now. I always asked for GM to just do the honorable thing and make it right. Driving it around for 20 mins won't recreate a problem that happens once a day, but that does not mean it doesn't happen at all. So my family is left with waiting for when this car dies because they don't detect a problem while driving for a short period or even twice a day for 20 mins each. I don't believe I have asked for too much. Why would you solely rely on a short drive and a computer compared to some longer daily life type driving and old fashioned mechanics? Do we mean so little to you that we aren't worth it? Is only the $400.97 payment to GM only worth it? Is that all that matters? This isn't some laptop or a phone or tv we're talking about here, right? It's something that controls lives, both for functioning daily but also literally hold the very essences of my life. To school and the sitter, to events, to holidays. As with any parent my children's lives are worth more than a car, are they not to you? I am hopelessly filled with grief and sadness of this betrayal. I know it is not a defect with the model. I know this is something with my car, but feel as if we aren't important enough for it to matter. I apologize for the wall post. It's been a very long and grueling 10 months and have been left with no sense of compassion or safety from a place I have loved and boasted about for years. I pray that no-one ever has to go through this. I would not wish this misery upon anyone. Not even the company themselves. It's a shame that is is coming from them, is all. Good day and god bless you all.

[solman98]

Maybe I missed it, but what exactly is it, or not, doing?

And have you called the Customer Service number from the owners manual?

[Pisswilly]

Tell us what is wrong with the car! Tell the dealer to give you a loaner for 1 or 2 weeks and let the tech use the car as a daily driver so he can experience these intermittent problems.

[goochman]

It you read enough it appears he doesnt like the engine he got in his and though says he is not asking for compensation, he is asking for a replacement with a different motor which actually is asking for compensation.

[LetsRace]

Maybe I missed it, but what exactly is it, or not, doing?

And have you called the Customer Service number from the owners manual?

I also didn't see it. What is the car doing man?

[hmae37]

it does a multitude of things, shifts improperly and harshly, the engine power is lacking so much so that it stalls or vibrates the whole car while in motion and driving it as normal. And it, as I call it, "chugs along". It sounds unhealthy too, rough idle. It grinds here and there too. It's all been diagnosed as normal. Yes I have dealt with GM directly through contacting them and to no avail then through a BBB complaint. GM techs came out and drove it briefly. It was deemed as all normal functioning characteristics of the car. The things that are felt during normal driving are normal as I have been told. Which it is not after having this car a year and many loaners later. It is not normal. No codes are popping for it though. When my car has stalled while in motion there was never a light that came on, no code displayed for that either. The things that are intermittent are not found and left as not duplicated. They are intermittent on a daily basis but not when driving it around the block. It recreates itself with normal daily driving through traffic in city. I do not do alot of highway driving as I live centrally in my city. It's a mess. Sorry you didn't miss it but with all I've been through it so hopeless and thought no one cared to know of the issues it has.

[All Star]

Paragraphs, use them man.

[ne_one]

Can you let us know your location and the dealership where you purchased the vehicle?

[solman98]

Is this a manual tranmission? Turbo?

[hmae37]

I did not ask for one with a different motor as compensation as I did also state I would even deal with an identical model. I truly asked for the same model with a different motor, which includes the lower fuel economy which is also not to my benefit, due to after reviewing safercar.gov and the sonic owner forums the other motor which is the 1.4l has much less issues and the issues they do have are minimal compared to the 1.8L's. So please do not judge me, I am a mother of 2 who has been dealing with this, a total of 9 times, since February. No I have not asked for money. I don't care about money. I would like to be able to feel safe having my babies in my car daily. I work hard, full time in fact. Thank you for your terrible judgement, that was wonderful of you.

[gorphil]

Suggestion: Replace the ECM fuse.

[hmae37]

I wish suggestions got me anywhere. As long as the computer is not registering anything it is deemed as functioning as normal. I have made suggestions and they are ignored. If there is not a code to match a suggestion it is not touched. That is literally what I've been told several times. Thanks

[ne_one]

I wish suggestions got me anywhere. As long as the computer is not registering anything it is deemed as functioning as normal. I have made suggestions and they are ignored. If there is not a code to match a suggestion it is not touched. That is literally what I've been told several times.

And you're based where? That information would be helpful.

[hmae37]

Sorry. I am in Springfield, MO.

[Tone]

To the OP: your post sound like venting. I'm sure you are frustrated, but you have done a fairly poor job of describing exactly what your car is doing. If this is how you are explaining it to the techs, I'm not surprised you aren't getting somewhere.

Troubleshooting car problems is a bit of scientific observation and a bit of detective work. Every and all details matter -- they might provide clues to what your car is doing and why it it doing it.

So far, the only actual symptom I can glean from your posts is that the engine has stalled while the car is in motion. That's definitely NOT normal! Every time this happens note all details you can: how long had the car been running before it stalled? What kind of driving? What were you doing when it stalled -- crusing, accelerating, braking? Were any warning lights on at the time? What was the fuel level? Every and all details might help narrow down the problem.

Do the same with every complaint you have around drivability as they all may have a single root cause. Equally as important, logging and tracking the issue clarifies that you have a specific complaint -- it's not just you don't like the way your car drives.