Thermostat replaced

[franl24fan]

My 2012 Sonic 1.8L has 28,000 miles on it. Obviously out of warranty.

The check engine light came on. I had recently received the letter from GM about issues with the emission system so I thought maybe that was it. Took it to dealer. Instead the thermostat was shot, had to replace it at total cost of $528. When I had a hissy fit that a part with 28,000 miles on it would fail, they said the car was 5 years old. Duh.

How do I contact GM to file a claim or something so that maybe if enough complaints are filed they will issue a recall and reimburse me for the repair. This car has had issues with the brakes (master cylinder replaced at 10K miles), windshield wipers, and other minor issues. Reliability is definitely not there. Wonder how many miles before the new thermostat conks out, it only has a 2 year warranty, which for me is 10K miles.

And yes, I would trade it but obviously I'd lose a lot of money even with the low mileage and like new condition. I cannot in good conscience sell it to a private party, knowing how unreliable it is.

 

[Papasonic]

Our 2012 1.8 had the same problem. The check engine light came on, and I suspected the cracked air duct was the cause; the hose was definitely broken, but I scanned the code, and it was coolant temperature not sufficient. I erased the codes, only to have it to return. The heater outlet temperature was also not very hot, so I suspected the thermostat was the cause. I ordered an OEM AC Delco thermostat online which was substantially different than the one I removed. The old one was made of a composite material, and was kind of molded together. The replacement was made of machined alloy, and the components were retained with snap rings. My cost to repair was around $65.00 for the thermostat; I did the install myself, as I have the tools and facilities to do this. I am shocked at what you were charged to replace your thermostat. I wish that the dealerships would charge a fair price for their services, and not gouge the consumer with unrealistic repair fees.

 

[minitrucking02]

OE list on a thermostat is $148.78 and takes roughly 2.1 labor hours.
Most dealers run labor at $110 per hour.
They probably tacked on a coolant flush and I'm assuming it's an automatic so a flush for that as well. That would make up the missing $200 from my math. Seems reasonable to me.
That being said the car you purchased probably only had a 3/36K warranty unless you opted for an extended, in which case there is a deductible, usually $100.
Hope this helps..

 

[ib2loud]

Sucks that you got ripped off. Dealerships are so expensive that it's not even funny.

I put a thermostat on myself, it was about $70 and took about 30 minutes. I didn't even drain the coolant. I know it's no help for you now but maybe next time try looking into repairing it yourself and save a few hundred bucks.

 

[Criket6]

Is this the part talked about here?

This part is cracked where my finger is pointing and it is leaking coolant. I don't know what it's called so I can get a replacement part. It does not have a code, no idiot light, no overheating...my only indication something was wrong was my heater was fluctuating between cold and hot repeatedly suddenly. I opened the hood and saw my coolant was almost empty.
Appreciate any help I can get right now as I use my car for work and need it fixed asap!
2012 1.4l turbo

 

[rodslinger]

That being said the car you purchased probably only had a 3/36K warranty .

Didn't the 2012 models have the 5 year, 100k powertrain warranty also? My 2013 does and thought they didn't cut it down to 5/60 until 2016. I would check the in-service date as the car might still be a hair under the 5 year limit.

If still under that five year limit the thermostat should be covered. Per GM... "Coverage on the engine cooling system begins at the inlet to the water pump and ends with the thermostat housing"

 

[RMinNJ]

Depending what part they used you may never replace that thermostat again.

A bit pricey repair but you didn't have to get your hands dirty and no bleeding knuckles.

I say be thankful its not a V6 Passat or Audi; those require the bumper and entire frontend of car be
taken apart to replace the $15 thermostat. While taken apart you may as well replace other stuff...
$1500 was the starting price I read.

 

[Tormach]

Criket6,

That is the water outlet on the 1.4, if your still under warranty it should be covered.

If your a diy, I found the part on amazon for $18 (looks like its 21 now)

This is the part.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...age_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=viglink20858-20

You will need a E10 star socket and the bolts are torq'd to 71inch/lbs., you have to disconnect the charge pipe from the throttle body to get to the lower bolt and to have room to work. You dont have to drain the entire system to replace this, just to the lowest point of the block/water outlet connection point (or you could flush the entire system).
When filling it, to save time burping the system, leave the reservoir floating and the top hose from reservoir to the water outlet disconnected. Fill till you see the coolant reach the almost the top of the water outlet and reconnect the fitting and put the metal clip back in. connect the reservoir to the body, top off and burp the system. Took me total time about 1.5 hrs taking my time completely flushing the system, prep the block and replacing part, refilling and burping the system and driving for 10 mins.

GL, hope this helps.

 

[Llia]

Is there no coolant bleed valve to let the air out of the system?

 

[Ponchoguy]

My 2012 1.8L auto LT sedan has had the t/stat changed last year and now again, it will need it again (P0599 code as of this morning). I have a special coverage letter with GM due to the problems I had, so I am covered.

This hasn't been a great car thus far: three sets of stabilizer bar links, rear drums and shoes, cylinder head gasket and cylinder head, brake pedal position sensor, air intake hose, and these are all off the top of my head. If the car wasn't covered under warranty, it would have been gone already. Shame to say.

I do the maintenance work myself, but looking under the car when working on it, I don't see it to be a very well made car. I don't think GM's cost cutting (rumor had it that GM told the UAW that the workers had to build the car at a lower wage tier or they would simply go to Korea and make it there---we all know it has a fair amount of Korean made parts on it anyway) has helped matters...

I'd sure fight for reimbursement. It does sound like the $528 for the replacement is very high.....

 

[Ponchoguy]

2nd T/stat

My car (2012 1.8L LT sedan auto) has 53k on the clock and the dealer just changed the 2nd thermostat under warranty.......

 

[Tormach]

Llia, it probly does have one on the radiator (my guess anyway, passenger side, now im going to have to look ). At the time when i was replacing mine it is night time and snowing... so i didnt really look for the bleeder valve, but noticed that the water outlet top hose fitting and tank are the height point of the system :banana:.

 

[franl24fan]

Reimbursement

After my initial post concerning the replacement of the thermostat I contacted GM customer service. The first rep basically said - oh well out of warranty. But the next day a senior customer service rep called me and said she would look into the case. She kept me updated, at one point she said the dealer should have provided financial assistance since the car had low mileage. It's taken a while for the dealer service manager to respond but today she called and said the dealer was going to reimburse me $396, out of the $528 charged , which is basically all but the part cost. If dealer doesn't do that within week or so she said to call her. So at this point I am very pleased with GM customer service, although I still have no confidence in the 2012 Sonic long term reliability. Next year I may look at trading for a used Malibu.

 

[Z71]

The thermostat issue appears to be a common problem on these cars, just like the defective throttle body intake hose. GM decided to reimburse customers for the replacement of the intake hose, but not for the defective thermostat. I had to replace the thermostat in my car around 65k miles (3 years). The issue appear to be defective electric circuit for the thermostat heater. I also had a slight coolant leak around the thermostat gasket. I did the repair myself and the cost for the par from the GM dealer with my discount was around $ 110. the new assembly replaces some plastic parts with metal. When replacing the thermostat, do not forget to replace the oddly shaped oil pipe seal where the pipe enters the T-stat housing. I also changed my coolant while doing this job.

To get the air out of the system, it is best to let the engine idle for awhile with the cap of the recovery coolant tank and leaving the heater turned on high. This also allows the heater core trapped air to be removed form the system.

I hope GM will finally step up to the plate to reimburse Sonic owners fully for replacement of this defective T-stat housing part. They should also reimburse us for the cost of one gallon of Gm antifreeze.

 

[parvan]

It looks like I will have to replace my 2012 1.8 thermostat as well. I just replaced the intake hose too. I'm guessing a lot of people are experiencing failures on these parts.

 

[Llia]

Rock Auto has two thermostat designs one had the thermostat in it for $60 and the other is just a bunch of tubes for like $20

 

[franl24fan]

Received reimbursement check

After my initial post concerning the replacement of the thermostat I contacted GM customer service. The first rep basically said - oh well out of warranty. But the next day a senior customer service rep called me and said she would look into the case. She kept me updated, at one point she said the dealer should have provided financial assistance since the car had low mileage. It's taken a while for the dealer service manager to respond but today she called and said the dealer was going to reimburse me $396, out of the $528 charged , which is basically all but the part cost. If dealer doesn't do that within week or so she said to call her. So at this point I am very pleased with GM customer service, although I still have no confidence in the 2012 Sonic long term reliability. Next year I may look at trading for a used Malibu.

Sent
It took 2 calls to dealer but I have received my refund. Seems the accounting office didn't know how to code the check request☺

I am debating whether to put $600 into tires, battery and detailing and keep for another year or two since I only have 29,000 miles. As this year Sonic is listed as unreliable in reviews, I wonder if something else will fail and not be covered. I had the master brake cylinder replaced under warranty and this thermostat, which seem to be the most mentioned issues. Overall I like the car, even on road trips it's comfortable, very good mpg. Hard decision to make.