Ownership report: '12 Sonic turbo

alfadriver wrote: FYP. 220 isn't that hot on a modern car. For most cars, that's where the high speed fan really turns on. It tries to not go over that, but it's happy to hit it.

Some Chryslers won't even bother to turn the fan on until 245, under certain conditions.

This is why we don't get the gauges anymore, or when we do, they're heavily weighted. "Well my OTHER car never goes over 190!"

dropstep wrote:

belteshazzar wrote: 10mm head, but how big is the threaded portion? NAPA has a nice catalog for drain plugs listed by every manner of dimension. Might find something sweet that fits the hole and is easier to use. Rarely over $5.

Its m14x1.50 but its really short and threaded straight in the bottom of the pan. We keep replacements handy. Took a while to find the correct length from service pro though. 4.38 each you just have to buy a box of 12.

that is what I needed … what is the optimal length ?

I'm tempted to try a Fumoto anyway

Fellow who works for me has a 1.8 version and put the "quick drain" on it. Seems like a decent little commuter.

I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

92dxman wrote: I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

Meh. In my VW, I'm around 4000 at 75...

Super low cruise RPM just means you have to row your way around.

92dxman wrote: I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

My car (also mz5) gets better mileage at 3k than 2k so 75 is perfect cruising speed.

92dxman wrote: I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

not sure what 75 is in my '14 LT … should probably be pretty much the same … but as soon as I pass 2000, the gas milage starts to drop … same thing happens whenever the AC or defrost is on

wbjones wrote:

92dxman wrote: I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

not sure what 75 is in my '14 LT … should probably be pretty much the same … but as soon as I pass 2000, the gas milage starts to drop … same thing happens whenever the AC or defrost is on

Yeah, the A/C does take a pretty significant bite out of the mileage, and I don't think you can turn the defrost on without running the A/C compressor. Your gearing should be the same as mine - IIRC the RS gets slightly lower gearing, but all the other 6MT Sonics have the same trans.

Knurled wrote:

92dxman wrote: I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

Meh. In my VW, I'm around 4000 at 75... Super low cruise RPM just means you have to row your way around.

In my Miata I'm at about 4500 at 75mph. My Subaru Loyale was at 3500rpm at 55mph and I didn't dare make it go any faster.

my '84 ford diesel truck was at about 3300 rpm at 75 mph. And I believe that was redline. Got 12-14 mpg with a full bed and a car+trailer.

psteav wrote:

wbjones wrote:

92dxman wrote: I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

not sure what 75 is in my '14 LT … should probably be pretty much the same … but as soon as I pass 2000, the gas milage starts to drop … same thing happens whenever the AC or defrost is on

Yeah, the A/C does take a pretty significant bite out of the mileage, and I don't think you can turn the defrost on without running the A/C compressor. Your gearing should be the same as mine - IIRC the RS gets slightly lower gearing, but all the other 6MT Sonics have the same trans.

that's one of the reasons I've loved my Hondas so much … defrost with or without AC (though it appears my Mom's '12 Fit, runs the AC when the defrost is on ) … and yeah I figured that our gearing would be the same

here's my one yr report as viewed on the Sonic forum

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/chevy-sonic-owners-forum/19013-1-yr-review.html

so you don't have to go there

8000 mi after 1 yr ownership … Sonic 1.4T 6MT hatch

the Sonic IS a nice car … like I said, wish I'd had a week or so with it before making the purchase decision

I've got a 1.4t Cruze six speed and am closing in on 65,000 miles since I purchased it new about a year and a half ago.

Overall no complaints. I tracked the mileage for about the first year and saw a low of 33mpg on a tank and high of 40 most coming in around 36-37. Computer is showing 37.4 lifetime.

Aside from an relatively well known ground cable that occasionally causes the radio to turn off and on I haven't had any issues. Still need to take it it on that tsb.

I haven't found it easy to stall, quite the opposite really, its probably one of the easiest stick cars I've driven. Perhaps a difference in gearing from the sonic. It does not like quick 1-2 shifts much to my dismay.

As noted the power does fall off by 5k rpm. I'm planning on a tune in a year when its out of warranty.

One of the things I really like about my Focus ST is that in addition to the dummy water temp gauge it has an actual oil temp gauge. Of course, I had pay $26k for the privilege.

chandlerGTi wrote:

92dxman wrote: I'd take 2100rpm at 75 mph. In my MZ5, I'm at about 3200-3500 at 75

My car (also mz5) gets better mileage at 3k than 2k so 75 is perfect cruising speed.

The MZ5 just putters along on the highway at 75. I've had it higher w/no issues.

rockauto shows a dorman drainplug (#55568037) for $7.78. It also shows that it is 14 x 1.5 thread which is the same as..... Anyone? A 10mm head on a 14mm bolt IS kind of silly...

noddaz wrote: rockauto shows a dorman drainplug (#55568037) for $7.78. It also shows that it is 14 x 1.5 thread which is the same as..... Anyone?

A whole LOT of things, actually.

noddaz wrote: A 10mm head on a 14mm bolt IS kind of silly...

Over torquing it is even sillier

UPDATE: So I'm 18 months in to owning it, and have put 24k miles on the little guy including a 24-hour round trip to New Orleans, as well as minor fender bender requiring me to replace the hood, grille, core support, and front bumper.

RELIABILITY: At about 60k I started to notice a whine from the transmission that started at about 30 mph and increased in both pitch and volume as you went faster. Changed the oil in the trans, no difference in the noise. Read up on the issue...apparently this transmission has a bearing on the end of the countershaft that doesn't get enough oil, leading to noise and eventually failure. The trans is designed not to be rebuildable, so the only remedy is new transmission. The good news is apparently there's a redesign of the case that supplies more oil to the bearing. The better news is that I'm still under 100k powertrain warranty. So I take it my friendly local Chevy dealer (Bob McCosh) who diagnoses it, agrees that it needs a new transmission, and gets the new trans ordered, installed, and the car back to me in 36 hours. I took it in Monday at 7:30 a.m., they called me at 9:00 and told me they were ordering the trans, and told me I'd have it back Tuesday night. I did not believe them. Tuesday at 5:30 they told me to come pick it up. It drives nice now. ALthough it's a very common issue, GM hasn't recalled and apparently a lot of Cruze and Sonic owners get the runaround if they try to take it in for warranty work.

-Before I took the car in for the trans replacement, the shift quality had degraded from "pretty good for a cable shifted FWD car" to "absolute garbage". If cold, it would crunch on the first 1-2 shift of the day no matter how gingerly I shifted, how long I waited while double clutching, nothing. It got a little better when it warmed up. Apparently this is also very common with these cars, and there's a TSB for adjusting the shift cables that will generally cure the problem. If you're out of warranty, it's not a difficult procedure. Shifter adjustment

The car does have a persistent CEL for an evaporative emissions leak. It's the evap solenoid - common failure, cheap part ($45), but it requires dropping the fuel tank. Haven't done it yet. Doesn't affect driveability, and coming from a 90's BMW I'm used to having the CEL on.

-GAS MILEAGE: Not as good as the EPA would predict (39 hwy), and consistently a few mpg less than what the onboard computer reports, but still gets 33-34 on the highway with the air on. Can't complain too much.

I'm out of powertrain warranty in July, and I think I'm going to go with a Bad News Racing tune. Conservatively, it can add 35-40 lb/ft of torque and 25-30 whp without any big downsides, and with no big hits to powertrain longevity or fuel mileage.

Overall, I still say it's a good buy. As a GM economy car, they are getting stupid cheap now. I would still recommend it to anyone needing a high-mpg DD. If you buy one and the trans does go out, a brand-new trans from GM is about $1,700 list.

I think I'd take more rowing for less highway buzz. My civic turns about 4k at 80 (typical Honda).

I have a '13 with the 1.8NA. Both Sonic engines are very much in the idiom of an American V-8. You get lots of usable torque down low (vs. most Asian engines) but you'll pay for it in MPG.

I can get close to 40 if I drive reasonably on the highway, but if there's a ton of city driving in the mix, I'm lucky to get 33. Still not bad, since the EPA says 26/35 - but they tend to be horribly low on any stick shift car I've owned.

Have you replaced the sway bar end links yet?

All of this sounds a lot like my Fiesta.

Except the oil drain plug has a 13mm head.