Best year of the sonic/ Wind/road noise??

[RealchicksDriveStick]

Curious if any of ya experience a fair amount of road noise (RS) when going high speeds. Any thoughts on how to reduce it ? Also inquisitive about what the Best year of the sonic would be for reliability (no extreme and constant major repairs) for the 1.4 turbo?

 

[JTee2017]

AS far as wind noise. . door fit and worn door gaskets would cause air leaks and noise.

The 1.4L turbo is problem prone no matter what year.

But 2014 and later should have the upgraded water pump and maybe one or two other slight improvements. It is what it is.

 

[carsNskis]

AS

The 1.4L turbo is problem prone no matter what year.

But 2014 and later should have the upgraded water pump and maybe one or two other slight improvements. It is what it is.

Pre-2014 turbo issues are well known, but saying they're all problem prone is wholly false.

My 2014 RS manual has 70k on it and I've only had an o2 sensor and pcv/valve cover replaced, both under warranty. My hvac blower is starting to chirp a bit because I RallyCross and have never changed the cabin filter, some blame that on bad design but I find it debatable.

Besides Whitesmoke and a select dozen or so others I probably drive my Sonic harder than most in the Country (that is not an exaggeration). I can't assure all Sonics are great, but mine has been.



[emoji593][emoji809][emoji472]

 

[AlphaWhiskeyPapa]

I live in a windy area and my wind noise is Almost none with the radio 25 xD

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[dannyg]

Consumer Reports continues to recommend the Sonic, rating the new ones “Average” for reliability. They’ve been recommending it for a few years. Unfortunately, they dont seem to break out 1.8L vs. 1.4T.

 

[EyeluvSmegma]

On the Hatchback, remove the spare tire and everything surrounding it, rear seats included. Use dynomat or even just some radiant barrier and line everything. Made a huge difference on mine. For the price of $30 And 5 hours time it was well worth it. I took out my headliner and put radiant barrier front to back there too. Plan on doing the doors this spring.

Curious if any of ya experience a fair amount of road noise (RS) when going high speeds. Any thoughts on how to reduce it ? Also inquisitive about what the Best year of the sonic would be for reliability (no extreme and constant major repairs) for the 1.4 turbo?

 

[carsNskis]

I lined my spare wheel well, behind the plastics in the hatch, the inside of the hatch shell and inside of the doors with duct insulation (self adhesive foam with foil backing, or poor man's dyna mat) because it's lighter and cheaper than car audio insulation.



It made a huge difference. I still think dyna mat would be slightly better but I'm ok with the compromise for $36 vs $200+

[emoji593][emoji809][emoji472]

 

[mja]

In the lesser reviewed maintenance schedule for the sonic, GM recommends applying their expensive weatherstripping sealant. They also recommend normal silicon grease in place of that since it's about 80$/tube.

I've done this twice and it's the best + cheapest thing you can do for a quieter interior. After detailing the car the first time and doing this, I thought I had some engine/exhaust or speaker problem. I racked my brain for a couple days trying to find why my exhaust note was quieter then found it was the silicon grease applied onto the clean weatherstripping.

 

[mja]

... as far as the 1.4t, the Cruze had the most issues in 2011. 2012 also had a few issues with parts that were changed in 2013. Sonics in general and the '13+ don't have as many issues.

Sonic 1.4t didnt change much in '13... a redesigned cam cover (less susceptible to safety diaphragm blowout) and removal of an underbody tray (less fires).

Manual transmission - shift tower and clutch changed in '13. Big improvements.