general problems of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic - part 2

I purchased my Sonic in April of this year. I was initially wowed by the avg mpg I was attaining based on the avg reported by the car's computer. After a few fill ups I realized I was adding more gas than the mpg would indicate. Since 6/21 I began recording the difference reported by the computer at each fill up & my manual calculations. The difference thru 10/17 averaged 5. 6mpg (a low of 2. 3 & a high of 8. 4 mpg) always higher. I took it to the dealer & was told there was nothing they could do & that the svc mgr's Cadillac had the same problem. In fact, I was told by him that the computer's figure was the "mpg the car was getting at the moment, not the avg since last fill up. I've called Chevrolet, told numerous people about the problem. I was promised callbacks & have never gotten them.

Car will start by itself after key is partially inserted into ignition and car will try to start over and over if left in ignition when turning off. Took to dealer they blamed on aftermarket radio. However, I am pretty sure has done almost from the point purchase. Disconnected radio stuff and still does same thing. Car is stationary in park. No safety issue other than what is stated.

Was driving and smelt something burning and thought someone was burning something and I drove thru the smoke and so I kept driving and a mile down the road I kept smelling something burning so I pulled over and looked around in my car then got out and checked under the hood and nothing so I went ahead and drove home then looked around again and didn't find anything so I just went inside then the next day after it rained I seen that both my fog lights had moisture in them and when I got down and looked both my fog lights are all burnt and melted inside, I guess it got so hot it melted the light housing and all that. . It got so hot its black inside my fog lights and u can see where it got hot and the plasted melted and ran down to the bottom on the inside of my fogs.

First of all the windshield wiper line keeps popping of of my car not allowing me to use my windshield whipper fluid so the tank is always empty. Second while driving my car radio flickers on and off and sometimes completely goes black not only that my car speedometer is electrical and after 30 min of driving says im going 20/34/whatever mph it wants to read when im really going the hwy speed limit and I have often had to mess with the wires that run to my battery to turn my car back on since its the wires(electrical work and not the battery) my battery has been tested many times. Finally third the little shift button on my car keeps sticking and wont allow for my car to properly shift causing my car to over rev and not want to drive. Im now at 115,000 miles and every time I go to a dealership they say there is nothing wrong with my car when I know there is since I have been the one driving it and then they just give it back to me which still costs me money with no solution my cars state has just been getting worse and worse and due to limited income I cant afford to get a new one at this time otherwise I would have already traded this chevy pos in. I also called Chevrolet's corporate office where the lady gave me a case number and never called me back like she was supposed to. While on the phone with her she told me that there was nothing she could do for my car since my car wasnt a reacall but I find it odd that my car was made on February 28, 2012 which falls between two major recalls with problems similar to what my car has especially since one is the windshield wiper recall. So I believe that the chevy corporation as a whole doesn't want to take responsibility for their faulty car that they have made and when you take it to a chevy dealership they will continue to tell you nothing is wrong so that they just take your money and not fix your car. Unsafe&immoral.

Accessory cigarette lighter was being used to charge a car phone while on a trip out of state, when we stopped to get gas and had the car off and returned it on after filled with gas all the gauges on the car went crazy dropping all the way down to zero on all gauges even though the car was working properly during this time, even the speedometer showed zero, I dont know if it was because we charging the phone or what caused it. But this only happened once so far.

Radio randomly turns on when car is shut off. Last night it turned on 13 times. It activates the full electrical system in the car. Won't shut off unless car is started and xm radio is tuned to fm and shut off. Then if your lucky it may stay off. I have been reporting this to the dealership in vermont and Chevrolet for 8 months. They tell me it is not an issue. They tested radio said it works fine. It is worse when cold out. Radio randomly turns on. Will not shut off.

There is no heat in my 2012 Sonic, the heat is turn to the highest position but only blows cold air. Occationally the heat will start but when the car is not in motion there is no heat and only cold air.

Stalls easily and frequently when pulling out from a stop and is then difficult to restart, or I must wait about 5 seconds before I can attempt a restart. Uneven idle most of the time. . Read more...

Idles roughly, idle increases dramatically while the car is at a stop, and the engine stalls very frequently, regardless of temperature or weather conditions. On start-up, or while stopped with the engine running, the idle will become rough and vary between 200-3,000 rpm, but not stall. Also at times, while stopped, the idle will increase from normal, smooth idle up to about 3,000 rpm for approximately one second, then drop back down to 750 rpm (normal idle speed) without touching the accelerator. The engine will also stall at parking lot speeds when I push in the clutch to shift from 2nd to 1st gear. The car also often stalls when pulling out from a stop. A re-start cannot be attempted for approximately 3 seconds. Turn the key, nothing happens. I've owned this vehicle (1. 4l turbo engine with 6 spd manual transmission) since 05/21/2012, and over 8,000 miles later, it still idles roughly and stalls every time I drive it. The dealerships say, "cannot reproduce. Operating to specifications. ".

I purchased my car brand new with 3 miles on it in November 2011. When I hit around 7500 miles I noticed the car when stopped on a hill would drift backwards - when I got to 7800 miles the whenever I was in traffic traveling around 5-13 mph I noticed the car would not shift on it's own the rpm's would shoot up and the tach would rev but the car would not go. I would need to put it in park and then drive and it would be fine. This happened almost every day for about 2 weeks. When going to park and put it in reverse to back in the car would hesitate about 30 seconds before it would move. . I contacted my dealer and took it in. Onstar said they did not find issues when they checked. The dealer corrected the problem. . On the engine control module they had to reprogram it with sps ( not sure what the means ) and it now works like the day I pulled it off the lot. . . . They also left me know if there are any other issues to contact them right away and they would get it right in. On the electrical - the driver window button sticks and window will go up and down on it's own until you get the button un-stuck -- this is also being repaired by the dealer however they had to order parts . . When they come in is to be determined.

The battery go's dead when not started for more then2 days.