The gear shift in the car started sticking about 3 years ago but it would still shift so I wasn't too concerned. Since then it's gotten gradually worse until tonight where it took me 5 minutes to put it into park. I couldn't released the key or get it out of reverse and it was terrifying. Mine and others safety was put at risk because my car not going into park means it can roll anywhere and cause an accident. I haven't taken it to a dealer to get checked and it hasn't been inspected by anyone else. There never have been any warnings from the car that there is an issue.
2012 Chevrolet Sonic transmission complaints
Page 2 of 6: complaints 11 to 40 of 154, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 2012 Chevy Sonic giving a P2138 error code. I have replaced the Throttle Position Sensor and the Accelerator Pedal Sensor and the problem is not going away. I have spent over $700 on this repair and they cannot fix it. It is a known problem with this vehicle but GM is there is no recall for this issue. I wish something could be done. The acceleration loses power and drops to is unable to go above 45 MPH.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 - 60 MPH, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The failure nearly caused a collision. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V315000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and Della Chevrolet of Plattsburgh (5101 U.S. Ave, Plattsburgh, NY 12901). Both dealers informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Driving 2012 Chevrolet Sonic approximately 50mph, car down shifted on its own to 20mph nearly getting rear ended. Tried driving in auto transmission and manual mode, transmission stuck in 3rd gear. Had to drive 11 miles on busy road at 20mph, speed limit is 50mph. Car is at dealer, has turbine shaft break and wave plate broken. Because car has 1-2012 on sticker, no warranty is available. My option is $4800 to replace transmission or junk it. Car only has 93 thousand miles and was always mainted very well, lucky there was no injuries.
During stop-and-go city traffic, the car will struggle to change gears, and has (between 5-10 times) "stopped responding," meaning that the car is unresponsive to pressing the brake or gas, although the electrical system continues to run. The only solution we have found to this is putting the car in park, turning it off, and turning it back on again, but this is very scary in the middle of traffic. This happened most recently on 5/8/21 but has happened at least 5 times in the past 18 months.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced at van buick gmc (8585 e. Frank lloyd wright blvd, scottsdale, az 85260) for a serpentine and timing belt replacement. After retrieving the vehicle from the dealer, the contact was driving at 55-60 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently. The check engine and drive warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel and automatically shifted from drive to first gear inadvertently. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who informed the contact that the failure was transmission related. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v315000 (power train) however, the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle independently downshifted into second gear as the d on the transmission indicator began to flash on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, his daughter immediately pulled over and called the contact. Upon arriving at the scene, the contact stated that the vehicle would not move forward when placed in drive. The contact drove the vehicle to his home in reverse. The contact called autonation chevrolet west amarillo (7300 I-40, amarillo, tx 79106) and was informed that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v315000 (power train). The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed the contact that he had to pay out of pocket for any repairs to the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 130,000.
First problem started when radio remained on after key removed from ignition. Radio would turn on and off when car was off and drained newly replaced battery. Advised to remove fuse as temporary fix. Car was also losing power when highway driving (up to 70 MPH). I don't speed, but car struggled to go above 70 MPH. Thought I smelled something burning, had radiator checked, oil changed, fluids added at beginning of october. Three weeks later on city street, slowing for traffic when car lost power. When traffic started moving, car continued to slow to complete stop in the street despite stepping on gas. Waited 25 minutes for tow, but when tow driver came, car was able to start and move. Less than an hour later, the problem happened again and car was towed. At mechanic, computer codes indicated low/no transmission fluid (even though fluid was added at oil change only three weeks prior). No evidence of leaks. Mechanic added fluid and went for ride on suburban back road, car lost power after 10 minutes. He had to wait approx 20 minutes for car to move again. He drained transmission fluid and found metallic bits, and says transmission would likely need replacing. Car has fairly low mileage '54k miles' and has been properly maintained. Also car was previously serviced because key was stuck in ignition.
I owned my 2012 chevy sonic lt for exactly 8 years, with only 81.3k miles on it. After about 2016, ironically, when it was paid off, it started to 'nickel & dime' me; with everything from electrical issues, to battery replacement several times, it seemed I was constantly taking it to the shop. I was always very timely with regular oil changes and maintenance but regardless, unbeknownst to me, the 2012 models of the sonic have transmission/power train issues that the manufacturer made sure were addressed in the 2013 models but failed to recall or pay for the faulty transmission for the 2012 models. I had no indication my transmission would fail on me so suddenly. On sept. 14th, 2020, I was backing out of my driveway, and when I started down my street, I noticed my car wasn't accelerating properly. I thought it was my imagination at first, but it continued getting worse to the point where a high-pitched whine started and I immediately pulled over - my check engine light came on at that time also - and that was the beginning of the end. I had my car towed to my auto shop and they wrote me a quote for $5200 to have my transmission completely replaced. It was then they told me about the 2012 sonic faulty power train issues. I think it's completely unethical to not address a known issue that could've been taken care of by the company since it was the first year the car was sold, it should be their duty. I had no choice but to sell the car for parts as it wasn't worth the resale value with such a major issue.
Transmission shifts hard and now it will not go in reverse and will not shift out of 1st. Engine revs but car doesn't move
I purchased a car from royal kia on may 29th a week later I felt a pool on the gas pedal took it in to royal kia and he said it was just a shifting gears second week almost died on me while driving it was between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon it kind of felt like if it was overheated and every time I came to a stop and try to go it almost died took it back into royal kia they have been giving me such a hard time I don't feel it's safe for me I've tried to talk to him about give me giving me my money back so I can purchase something else it's safer I am not satisfied with this car the guy from royal kia the salesperson wanted to take it to green valley and to work on it at his house I refuse to let him do that until the manager umberto called me back and said that they would have their mechanics look at it but he was a certified mechanic I just didn't trust them I I've been afraid to drive the car of getting stranded somewhere this week on monday they finally gave me a rental I got things done in these past few days and I have when I bought my car
Car has 52,000 miles, and the transmission blew.
At 94000 miles the car stopped shifting period. It would start and then go nowhere not forwards backwards nothing. Thank the lord I was parked at my house and it was a sudden occurrence. I only financed this car in the end of february at 89300 miles from carmax and still owe money for it. That is insane.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission ceased in 2nd gear. The vehicle was towed to the an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Don brown located at 2244 s. Kings highway blvd, st. Louis, mo 63110, and the manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced the failure stated in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v315000 (power train) however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 56,000. *bf *as
2012 chevy sonic only has 39k miles and the transmission is kicking in reverse and in drive .while coming out of park.
Transmission will not shift into reverse or shift out of 2nd gear
The car got stuck in 1 gear while driving on a highway and then would not go in reverse. Took it to the garage and was told the transmission wave plate has broken. This car has only 70,598 miles on it. Has been serviced regularly. I did a quick google search and this is a huge problem with these models! There was a recall for the same problem but doesn't include my vehicle. Https://m.carcomplaints.com/chevrolet/sonic/2012/transmission/bad_transmission.shtml
The shift lever button will not release when in park, so the vehicle doesnt not read that its firmly in park; the key wont release and I cannot turn off the vehicle until the button unjams itself or I lubricate it to do so. This has been happening frequently. The only fix is replacing the entire shift lever, which is upwards of $300
My car jerks when it downshifts. It's been doing this about a year after I got it. Got it checked out at the dealership and they said it's not a problem. Fast forward...it's worse. The car jerks in second and first downshifting. Doesn't matter if I'm driving on the interstate or city street.
Gear/transmission failure while driving in steady traffic... Car suddenly went to 5-6000rpms without pressure on the gas and then down quickly to 1000rpms before I was able to stop and pull over. Afterwards, I couldn't get the car to move above 1000rpms and reverse gear went into failure. The tow truck couldn't move it without placing it into manual mode. It's been in the garage for a week with all diagnostics showing failure within the transmission. At this point, I either need to replace the transmission or buy a new car. I only had approximately 55,000 miles on the car in 7 years.
While driving my car, the car looses power and began to stall. I've went to two chevy dealerships and two repair and no one is able to tell me what's the problem
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. While accelerating from a stop, the vehicle failed to exceed 10 MPH. The contact was three miles away from her destination with the accelerator pedal depressed to the floorboard. Each time the vehicle came to a stop, the failure recurred. In addition, the gear was not shifting and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the vehicle was losing transmission fluid. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called chevrolet of columbus (2825 merchant mile, columbus, in 47201, (812) m308-4380) and was informed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle began to hesitate and an unknown warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v315000 (power train). The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 150,000.
Automatic shifter release button sticking you can not get the car to go into park to shut off car also it stays depressed causing you to be able to easly hit the shifter into neuteral or reverse while driving
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the turbine shaft malfunctioned, which caused the vehicle to remain in third gear. The dealer stated that the turbine shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 134,000.
While driving on highway the transmission made a noise and just stopped. It is exactly what the recall states! I could have written it myself. Thankfully, got over to the side of the road without incident. Gm states this VIN is not part of the recall. Certified chevrolet dealer's "diagnostic" is "black fluid with metal in it" (more of an observation) and they will not take transmission apart to determine if it was indeed the turbine shaft fracture. Of course, they just want to put in a new one at my expense. Gm should want to know if there are more sonics with this issue to extend the recall and keep people safe!!
The car has under 100k miles and seems to be having transmission problems. Everything has been well maintaintanced. I recently purchased the car being the second owner. The car has issues getting up to speed causing people to tailgate me or speed up and go around me. You can also feel/hear the transmission going through the gears. The takeoff is absolutely terrible. You can tell the engine is working hard. The rpms don't go above the danger zone but they do rise when switching through the gears. It's very likely to cause a accident especially on the interstate. The car cannot get out of it's own way.
Car will not go into reverse. Car will not shift properly, appears to be stuck in 2nd gear.
The transmission failed while driving in suburban setting causing a serious safety issue. The vehicle only has 49,000 miles on it. This model and model year has been recalled for a similar transmission issue, but the manufacturer claims that my particular car is not part of it despite have the same issue as the recall.
Have been having bad issues with fear selector button sticking, and it affects the selector slipping into other gears as it cannot lock.
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