2012 Chevrolet Sonic Brakes Problems

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that when the vehicle was turned on, the brakes, ABS, traction control, and braking system warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated while driving the vehicle at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle took longer than normal to slow down. The contact stated that while the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle jerked abnormally. The vehicle taken to a dealer where it was it diagnosed and determined that the brake booster pump assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 159,000.

IN 2015, MY 2012 CHEVROLET SONIC HAD TO HAVE THE FUEL PURGE VALVE REPLACED. THE CAR WORKED FOR A WHILE AFTER THIS. HOWEVER, A FEW MONTHS AGO, IT STARTED HAVING A ROUGH IDLE, WITH THE RPMS DIPPING UP AND DOWN. THE PROBLEM GOT WORSE RECENTLY, WHEN THE CAR ACTUALLY COMPLETELY DIED WHILE MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN, ALMOST CAUSING ME TO GET HIT. NOW, IT IS EVEN WORSE. NOW, IN ADDITION TO THE ROUGH IDLE, TRACTION CONTROL RANDOMLY ENGAGES EVEN WHEN I AM NOT SLIPPING, CAUSING ME TO LOSE ALL POWER FOR BRIEF PERIODS OF TIME, WHILE IN MOTION. THE TRACTION CONTROL IS GLITCHING SO BAD THAT IT EVEN RANDOMLY ENGAGES WHEN I AM COMPLETELY STOPPED. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE, AND THE DEALERSHIP THAT SOLD ME THE CAR WANTS $113 JUST TO TELL ME WHAT IS CAUSING IT, AND HOW MUCH IT WILL COST TO ACTUALLY FIX. THERE ARE NO ACTIVE RECALLS ON THIS VEHICLE, BUT FURTHER RESEARCH ON THE MODEL I OWN, SHOWS OTHER OWNERS HAVING SIMILAR ISSUES. CHEVROLET HAS BEEN NO HELP

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET (STRAIGHT AND FLAT, NO TURNS OR HILLS) AT 25 MPH AND WENT TO USE MY BRAKES. TO MY SURPRISE THERE WAS NO POWER ASSIST. THE CAR ONLY HAS 48K MILES ON IT AND HAD NEVER DISPLAYED BRAKING PROBLEMS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT. THE CAR DID NOT HAVE ISSUES AT THE STOP SIGN JUST A BLOCK BEFORE. AS IT HAPPENED A FEW BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE, I DROVE IT HOME AND PARKED IT. BESIDES THE LACK OF POWER ASSIST, THE MOTOR STARTED TO IDLE ROUGH-- IT WOULD SURGE TO 2500 RPM AND THEN SLOW DOWN TO 700 RPM, ALL WITH NO THROTTLE INPUT. WHEN I POPPED THE HOOD, TO LOOK FOR AN OBVIOUS LOOSE HOSE, I DID NOT SEE ANYTHING THAT LOOKED OUT OF THE NORM. HOWEVER, THERE WAS QUITE A BIT MORE NOISE THAN NORMAL-- IT WAS A COMBINATION OF HISSING AND WHIRRING. NOT THE NORMAL SOUND THE ENGINE WOULD MAKE WHILE RUNNING WITH THE HOOD OPEN. THERE WERE SOME NOISES COMING FROM THE BRAKE BOOSTER AREA (DRIVER'S SIDE BY THE FIREWALL) THAT I HAD NEVER HEARD PRIOR TO THAT DAY. THE CAR HAS A 1.8 FOUR CYLINDER AND A 5 SPEED MANUAL. THE ISSUES DID NOT IMPACT THE CLUTCH PEDAL IN ANY WAY, SO I DOUBT IT IS THE MASTER CYLINDER. AS I NOTED IT SEEMS TO BE A BRAKE BOOSTER ISSUE... HOWEVER, I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET IT TO A GARAGE YET AS THE ISSUE JUST HAPPENED. (I AM NO MECHANIC, BUT HAVE A DECENT UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CARS WORK.) EITHER WAY, IT WAS QUITE A SURPRISE. WHILE I AM A MALE IN GOOD PHYSICAL SHAPE, EVEN I NEEDED TO STAND ON THE BRAKES TO GET THE CAR TO SLOW DOWN FROM ONLY 25 MPH-- HAD I BEEN GOING FASTER, I WOULD HAVE LIKELY NEEDED TO USE THE E-BRAKE TO SLOW THE CAR. AGAIN, AT THIS TIME THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED, BUT THE ISSUE HAPPENED JUST YESTERDAY. FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH, THE TEMPERATURE WAS COLD AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT (15 F), BUT THERE WAS NO SNOW OR ICE ON THE ROAD, AND IT WAS SUNNY OUT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET SONIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL STUCK TO THE FLOOR BOARD, WHILE ATTEMPTING TO SLOW DOWN AND DRIVING AT 65 MPH. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A GUARD RAIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,500. UPDATED 03/09/16*LJ *TR

WHEN I AM SLOWING AND THERE IS A GRATE IN THE STREET, MY VEHICLE HAS PROBLEMS BRAKING. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES EVERY TIME I AM ON A GRATE, WHICH IS FAIRLY COMMON IN THE CITY. I TOLD [XXX] AND THEY ADVISED ME THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES (THEY WERE DOING AN OIL CHANGE AND SAID THEY CHECKED THE BRAKES). WHEN I DRIVE OVER ICE, IT MAKES A LOUD NOISE AND THERE APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM BRAKING. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *DT .....UPDATED 02/10/16 *BF

WHEN I APPLY MY BRAKES AT LOW SPEED THERE IS A ROTATIONAL NOISE IN THE REAR END. I FOUND OUT ON MY LAST RECALL VISIT THAT GM KNOWS OF THIS ISSUE AND SENT OUT A DOCUMENT, #PICA DATED 11/19/2012 SAYING THEY WERE WORKING ON THE PROBLEM. I HAVE CONTACTED GM TO SEE IF THEY HAVE RESOLVED THIS ISSUE. THEY REPORTED BACK TO ME, AFTER 3 WEEKS OF PHONE CONVERSATIONS AND TALKING TO MULTIPLE PERSONS, THAT THE REAR DRUMS HAVE TO BE RE-DESIGNED AND THAT THEY ARE WORKING ON THE FIX. I ASKED FOR A LETTER OR EMAIL SHOWING ME THE DATE MY CAR WILL BE FIXED AND THAT IT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE EVEN THOUGH THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE BRAKES. THEY REFUSED ME A LETTER OR EMAIL ON THIS ISSUE AND I ONLY TALK TO SOMEONE WITH A FIRST NAME. I HAVE HEARD THIS SAME NOISE SINCE 5/12/2012 BUT NOW IT IS GETTING LOUDER.

REAR NOISE COMING FROM THE BRAKE AREA. GM TOLD ME THEY HAVE TO RE-DESIGN THE REAR BRAKE DRUMS, THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME A FIX DATE AND WOULDN'T SAY IF IT WAS A SAFETY PROBLEM. NOISE IS GETTING LOUDER. GM PRODUCED A DOCUMENT #3213219 NOV 2012 SAYING THEY WERE WORKING ON THE PROBLEM AND DIDN'T SEE IT AS A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

WHEN PRESSING ON THE BRAKE THE BRAKE FRONT PADS DON'T CATCH ALL THE WAY SOME TIMES EVEN THE ROADS ARE DRY. IT IS ESPECIALLY NOTICEABLE IF I'M DRIVING OVER A BUMPY ROAD AND APPLY THE BRAKES YOU CAN FEEL THE SKIPPING OF THE BRAKES NOT CATCHING. HAD BRAKES INSPECTED THEY ARE IN GOOD CONDITION WITH LIFE STILL ON THEM. THE DEALERSHIP CHECKED THE BRAKES THEY SAID NOTHING IS WRONG. I MADE A COMPLAIN TO THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT THE UNSAFENESS I FEEL DRIVING. I ONLY DRIVE ON THE STREET TO WORK AND HOME. I STILL HAVE THE SKIPPING IN THE BRAKING. I'M ALWAYS CHECKING TO SEE IF THERE IS A RECALL OF SOMEKIND ON THIS CAR PART. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET SONIC LS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE SITTING ON AN INCLINE, THE HILL HOLDER WAS ENGAGED YET THE VEHICLE ROLLED AWAY IN REVERSE. ON A SEPARATE OCCASION WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE BRAKES STARTED TO SQUEAL AFTER BEING DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR BOTH FAILURES. THE DEALER CONFIRMED THERE WAS CORROSION ALONG THE REAR BRAKES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 925 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1041. UPDATED 04/25/12*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR. UPDATED 04/30/12