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Chevrolet Sonic repairs by problem area

Engine (41%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (7%)

Brakes and Traction Control (4%)

Suspension and Steering (13%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (23%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (6%)

Other (4%)

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Chart based on 282 repairs.

See TSBs and recalls for the Chevrolet Sonic.

Chevrolet Sonic engine repair cost distribution

$2500+ (0%)

$1000 - $2499 (3%)

$500 - $999 (12%)

$100 - $499 (33%)

< $100 (51%)

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Chart based on 90 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

69000 mi

US $417

water pump failed. drove to dealer for repairs. Repair took a little over an hour. Dealer provided part and replacement cooling. Inside of the water pump on the 1.4L is very mickey mouse and the plastic backing plate behind the impeller shifted. While running, the pump did not leak. Once the engine was shut off, coolant would pour out of the impeller drive.

61704 mi	Thermostat replacement under OEM warranty
64791 mi US $542	Cooling fan replacement partially under extended warranty.
68048 mi	Replaced engine air intake hose under warranty. Known issue with these cars.

14000 mi	Bad turbocharger
15000 mi	Coolant Leak after turbo replacement

59000 mi US $301	Second trip to dealer in less than six months for turbo issues and wiper decided to quit during a downpour
59000 mi	Bought back. No oil in the engine and I refused to drive the car any longer due to numerous issues with the car and the shabby way the dealership replaced the valve cover gasket and waste gate solenoid.

27000 mi	Oil pan gasket leaking, gasket replaced.
31000 mi	Car was loosing coolant. Water pump was leaking and replaced.
32000 mi US $100	Car was leaking coolant and oil, found oil cooler and water outlet leaking.

35000 mi	Started losing coolant and noted it puddling under the car when parked overnight. Oil leak noted when I took the car in for a coolant leak. It was found that the bolts were loose, so the pan gasket was replaced and bolts tightened.
78000 mi	Oil leak pooling on the ground under my vehicle. It was leaking from an "actuator" plug for the oil pressure sensor.
112000 mi US $235	I noticed a loss of coolant and tok the car in to be checked. The upper radiator hose and coolant overflow tank were leaking, so they were replaced.

31000 mi	Water pump defect allowed coolant to leak. Known defect covered under special extended warranty.
43000 mi	Water pump flange cracked. Repaired under powertrain warranty.

35000 mi	hose replaced
68000 mi US $680	The car over heated and stalled; the water pump was replaced and the cooling system flushed. The total including diagnostic came to $710 - $680 was for the water pump only. It was driveable after that as long as I was not stuck in traffic - as soon as I was in traffic for a prolonged period, less than a week later, he car overheated and stalled again. The dealer said it would take another $600 to repair the fan motor. As the fan was operational, I declined the repair - they seemed to be guessing. The car has now been with another mechanic for two days and he has not been able to determine the cause.
75000 mi US $500	Smoke from the engine is pulled into the cabin air when the heat and defroster are on (75K miles onward).

29000 mi US $300	Intake hose split. Replaced with K&N CAI
38000 mi US $750	Replace vent valve solenoid. Drop gas tank and replace vent valve solenoid. Code was thrown. Replace radiator fan. Fan was making noise and visibly not spinning correctly.

231000 mi US $650	Heating and cooling problem. After fighting the disappearing coolant for some time now my radiator finally gave up the ghost.
265000 mi US $200	Coolant and oil leaks from turbocharger. Replaced all coolant and oil lines going to and coming from the turbo.
268300 mi US $200	Had to replace the turbocharger Had to replace all the gaskets and O-rings on the oil cooler due to oil leaks. This was easiest done by removing the turbo again in order to provide access to oil cooler and hardware.

48000 mi US $258	Valve Cover broke
73800 mi US $136	EVAP system Failure
90000 mi US $263	valve cover needed to be replaced again a hose that went through the firewall was leaking causing coolant to leak and lose heat
118000 mi US $274	valve cover gasket caused oil leaking onto spark plugs. replaced spark plugs, valve cover gasket, and oil change.

39680 mi	Replaced fan
68200 mi	water Pump

51000 mi US $780	Got 'check engine' light and noisy fan. Results were a coolant leak and defective coolant fan. Serious repair cost. Car is only 3 years old with 51k. Planning to see before it's too late. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR OR ELSE...
115000 mi US $550	Part 2 of previous problem. After numerous issues with low coolant levels radiator was replaced.
128300 mi US $400	Cracked radiator. Had another unit installed.
220000 mi	Car has multiple oil leaks around the entire engine. Mechanic advised us to liquidate the care ASAP. Repair not worth the investment.

10000 mi	Oil pressure valve broken. Coolant line broken.
27000 mi US $1100	Hole in exhaust pipe

34000 mi	Rusted through exhaust pipe coming from exhaust manifold
79000 mi	Air intake hose cracked

7000 mi	chek engine light came on, car idled rough
17000 mi	catalytic converter checked due to rotten egg smell

27700 mi	Thermostat housing, heater hoses and all related gaskets and seals Main hose from throttle bottle to air cleaner was torn causing a check engine light and an OBD-II code
67000 mi	Obd II system initiated a check engine light with a code read of PO597. The service technician determined the thermostat was faulty.

123000 mi US $100	PCV rupture disc burst in valve cover causing the engine to run rough and several engine codes to pop up. Had to replace valve cover assembly.
143200 mi US $140	cooling fan went out and had to be replaced.
179000 mi US $80	"low fuel pump performance" purchased used fuel pump & fuel pump driver module on ebay from newly salvaged car & installed. old fuel pump filter sock filled with some kind of gel restricting the flow of fuel. cleaned and tested old pump.good
184000 mi US $400	Turbo failed. No engine power and rattling noise.
265000 mi US $45	replaced cracked reservoir tank and cracked plastic "T" fitting near water pump

9000 mi	Constant check engine light stating emissions leak in system. Dealer smoke tested system and reset ecu. Light reappered. Back at dealer for further evaluation.
9000 mi	Constant CEL.

68496 mi US $317	Replaced Thermostat Housing due to coolant leak. GM Part #25193922 (Thermostat) Outlet Housing. Flush & Refill with 50/50 Dex-Cool. Note: OEM Thermostat temperature is 221F. Leak was probably caused by pulling lightweight travel trailer up grade. Temperature briefly reached 240F possibly causing housing failure. Will look into a cooler thermostat.
70934 mi US $308	Check Engine Light - Code: P0171. Replace valve cover with defective PCV valve due to vacuum leak.

39600 mi	Camshaft vacuum leak. Replaced camshaft cover
69000 mi US $450	Car was making a rattling sound. Mechanic replaced the water pump
96000 mi US $2000	Check engine light. Code said it is the turbo.

26000 mi	P0449 OBD code for emissions EVAP recirc valve. Two trips needed for diagnosis/repair: Engine control computer seemed to lock the circuit so it was replaced but engine coded again later; second diagnosis found a broken wire over gas tank.
47000 mi	Issue: CEL P0449 - Evap Emission Control Sys Vent Valve/Solenoid Circuit Malfunction reappeared. Diagnosis: dealer's previous repair (broken wire above rear axle) broke again. Repair: reroute wire to avoid bending/pulling and re-solder wire.
80000 mi	Third occurrence of P0449 CEL related to fuel system evaporative recirculation system. Broken and corroded circuity wire above fuel tank repaired again.

11000 mi	Engine light came on. On my call to dealer they wanted an appointment so I made one. However, on the day on the appointment the light was not on & the dealer could not find any fault code in memory. Since then, the light has not come on.
13000 mi	Engine Light would come on intermittently; then go off. However, this spring the light came on, stayed on, & I took the car to the dealer who said it was either engine knock sensor or wiring to this sensor. Engine Knock sensor replaced.

54000 mi US $200	Thermostat replaced.
54000 mi US $325	Check engine light indicated lean fuel/air mixture. Intake part was replaced with factory redesigned part.

60000 mi US $100	The intake boot between the airbox and throttle body is a known culprit for developnig a tear on the unseen side causing a CEL. Chevy knows of this exceedingly common issue but will not cover outside of warranty and will not issue a TSB or recall for this vital engine component that allows unfiltered air into engine when broken.
61500 mi US $200	Thermostat failed. Common Sonic failure item. Also affects Cruze models.

Chevrolet Sonic repairs by problem area

Chevrolet Sonic engine repair cost distribution

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Chevrolet Sonic Engine Problems

51000 mi US $120	Inlet tube from air filter to throttle body was cracked causing a check engine light.
69678 mi US $341	No heat. Heater core outlet coupling was leaking. Back flushed heater core due to a restriction.
79000 mi US $551	Replaced Purge Solenoid and Vent Solenoid - ECM reprogrammed with updates
89000 mi US $504	Exhaust noise coming from under car. Flex pipe rusted and was leaking. Flex pipe replaced

22200 mi US $163	Engine light came on, dealer diagnosed a cracked air intake valve. Dealer replaced with in stock GM part.
43000 mi US $400	Rough idling at slow speeds. Dealer diagnosed that spark plugs had failed.