Shift knob problem in automatics
- Thread starter mtbrdad
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dbratboy92
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dbratboy92
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That came up as either a 08 Saturn astra with no bulletins or special coverages about the shifter it does have a Takata, air bag recall that hasn't been completed though. .. the other possible bin was a Z06 corvette whith a few special coverages available nothing relative to a shifter. Did you give me the right vin? Or are one of those your car?
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I’m sorry that was for my sons Astra. The sonic is C4112405.
I’m sorry that was for my sons Astra. The sonic is C4112405.
dbratboy92
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Well if your son is driving that car schedule an appointment to have the recall don't. The takata airbags are the ones that act as pipe bombs and launch shrapnel when they go off. I'll check for anything on the shifter on your sonic.
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dbratboy92
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dbratboy92
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dbratboy92
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gm part numbers if you plan to do it yourself are 42423234 for all except the RS the RS part number is 95393166
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As far as all the dealer techs already knowing the problem without diag. You guys asking is the first time I heard about this
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Thanks good info, the Chevy dealer has that part ordered now.
Does the bulletin give any time allotment for this repair? I just had this done at the dealer and their costs were:
Labor $297
Parts $19.31
And now get this!
Waste Disposal $22.28
Needless to say if this occurs on any of our other sonics my son or I are fixing it.
dbratboy92
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It has a warranty time. But gm time is about half what any other shop manual states. For example replacing a 1.4 turbo on an encore pays 1.4 hours under warranty. But all data, shop key and the like list the job about 5 hours, which is actually about what it takes. So any customer pay jobs dealerships use other labor calculators like shop key or all data. That said I think the warranty labor op was .5, so there probably using a Shop key or all data time of about an hour or so. id assume. Most dealerships are super rip offs but in the case of not using gm time it is because in most case GM pays less for warranty work than it costs the shop to do it. There isn't a single guy in my dealership that can even come close to most of GMs warranty times. It is similar to how movie theaters loose money on ticket sales so they need to jack up food prices just to keep the doors open.
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dbratboy92
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The waste disposal is a blanket charge most places (independent shops included) charge. And 20 bucks for parts make sense, but 300 dollars seems like allot of money for labor. My dealership is cheaper than allot of independent shops near me, but even at a high labor rate of 100 bucks an hour that is still 3 hours that is allot. I'd say you got ripped off. I'd ask them what labor calculator they use.
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Papasonic
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I've had this shift button apart on our 2012, glued the pieces back together, relieved some areas with interference, and put it back together. It is not difficult, and if using new parts, would only take 15 minutes if you took your time. $297 for 15 minutes of work? This is disturbing to me!
dbratboy92
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I drive a stick so I don't have these problems. My car is in the gear I want when I want.
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JTee2017
Well-known member
No problems here either . . ..
The Red Rampage has automatic and I shift using Manual Mode. It works great.
Papasonic
Active member
My Sonic is also a 6 sp manual: The one I repaired was the wife's 1.8 LTZ auto, which we no longer own; traded it for a 2017 Malibu.
dbratboy92
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Blue Moon Sonic
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I'll be going on my third button in 70,000 miles. I can safely say this is going to be common failure. My first one broke under the 3yr/36000, the second one broke this year about 2 months ago.
The button is just made with a cheap flimsy plastic that looks like it should be used for a fake sword on Halloween costume for kids. The spring mechanism causes added stress in the weak part of the assembly, causing it to break towards the bottom where the pin is. This part should've been made with a more durable plastic or out of billet aluminum or should've been engineered better.
Edit:
There is an update part number for the button.
The button is just made with a cheap flimsy plastic that looks like it should be used for a fake sword on Halloween costume for kids. The spring mechanism causes added stress in the weak part of the assembly, causing it to break towards the bottom where the pin is. This part should've been made with a more durable plastic or out of billet aluminum or should've been engineered better.
Edit:
There is an update part number for the button.
Last edited: