Three problems related to transmission failure have been reported for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic based on all problems reported for the 2012 Sonic.
The automatic transmission failed. It failed while I was driving the vehicle. Yes, it was confirmed by a dealer. It has been inspected by the chevy dealer. No, there were not any warning signs prior to the failure.
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.
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.