Intermittent Loss of Power....Dangerous to Drive

[UnHappy Sonic]

I purchased a 2013 Turbo LTZ for my daughter this past January.

It has been in the shop numerous times for no acceleration and complete loss of power. The dealership has driven this car and states that they could not replicate the problem, or the car is operating as designed.

I know she has problems passing cars at times during acceleration and climbing hills. I've done some research and found that its not an uncommon problem with the Sonic.

Has there been anything found on this? Is the turbo the problem itself?

Not sure if this is the correct section of the forum for this, hopefully it is.

I just would like her to be able to safely drive the car. I'm sure others have run into this and she's already working with a second dealer since the first wasn't very helpful after multiple visits. I'm a very long time Chevy driver and hope someone can solve this for her.

 

[Chevy2012sonic]

I purchased a 2013 Turbo LTZ for my daughter this past January.



It has been in the shop numerous times for no acceleration and complete loss of power. The dealership has driven this car and states that they could not replicate the problem, or the car is operating as designed.



I know she has problems passing cars at times during acceleration and climbing hills. I've done some research and found that its not an uncommon problem with the Sonic.



Has there been anything found on this? Is the turbo the problem itself?

I think there's a recall on the turbo shaft.


2012 chevy sonic

 

[UnHappy Sonic]

I think there's a recall on the turbo shaft.


2012 chevy sonic

Has that caused the types of problems similar to no acceleration when passing or climbing?

 

[ChrisJ]

I think there's a recall on the turbo shaft.


2012 chevy sonic

I believe that recall is on a shaft in the automatic transmission, not a "turbo shaft".

 

[Chevy2012sonic]

I no the tans I thought I saw something with the turbo


2012 chevy sonic

 

[ChrisJ]

I no the tans I thought I saw something with the turbo


2012 chevy sonic

Close but no cigar. It's 100% the trans.

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/official-sonic-recalls-tsbs/15448-recall-turbine-shaft.html


I don't think the symptoms are the same and it's the wrong engine.

 

[UnHappy Sonic]

I should state that my daughter's car does have an auto transmission, but I highly doubt it's that.

 

[ahtoxa]

I should state that my daughter's car does have an auto transmission, but I highly doubt it's that.

It's not that in your case.

Have you been able to experience the issue or is it just info from your daughter? What I'm driving at is - it would be helpful to know as many details as possible. Doe the RPMs spike when this happens or does the engine simply bog down and not do anything? Is the transmission downshifting correctly? Things like that.

 

[Swordsmith]

It could be transmission related, I know that if I am in too high a gear there comes a point where no matter how far down I press the "go" pedal, nothing more is going to happen. The MT solution is to downshift. The Sonic AT, as I understand it, has manual mode, has she tried pushing down to a lower gear when this problem arises? That would still indicate a problem since I think the AT should do that for her... but it would pin down where the problem is.

It could also be a problem with the turbo, and if so, I would think the main suspect would be the waste gate or the bypass valve; these are systems designed to dump or bleed off boost. If they are working incorrectly, she could be trying to drive what is essentially an NA 1.4 engine when in the same circumstances she would normally be getting the response of the 1.4T. I believe I have seen three or four people on the forum report borked waste gates. You could also look for MFab's thread on bypassing the bypass; if that fixes the problem then you could restore the bypass and take it back to the stealership with a specific complaint.

Are you seeing no check engine light at any point, even if it goes back off later?

Another possible diagnosis, although farfetched, is that the TC or SC systems might be engaging. If a Sonic loses traction, the system responds by reducing the car to about 20 hp for a few seconds... or sometimes longer, depending on how dire it thinks the problem is. This would feel like "complete lack of power", but would be hard to replicate. Normally when this happens, the TC and SC warning lights go on on the dash, you didn't report whether she saw anything like that, but then again who knows if she would have noticed.

Another possibility would be something loose in the fuel filter or fuel delivery system. I have never heard of this happening with a Sonic, but I once had a Ranger with similar symptoms, and it turned out to be a secondary fuel filter (sort of a mesh sock around the fuel intake tube in the tank) that had become disconnected, floating around the tank, and every now and then being sucked up against the intake, dramatically restricting fuel flow. It would stay stuck there for just a little while, or for much longer, but inevitably when I turned the car off (say, after getting to a mechanic) it would dislodge as there was no more suction... so mechanics could find nothing wrong.

I'm sure the myriad clever minds here can come up with a half dozen other possibilities.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

I purchased a 2013 Turbo LTZ for my daughter this past January.

It has been in the shop numerous times for no acceleration and complete loss of power. The dealership has driven this car and states that they could not replicate the problem, or the car is operating as designed.

I know she has problems passing cars at times during acceleration and climbing hills. I've done some research and found that its not an uncommon problem with the Sonic.

Has there been anything found on this? Is the turbo the problem itself?

Not sure if this is the correct section of the forum for this, hopefully it is.

I just would like her to be able to safely drive the car. I'm sure others have run into this and she's already working with a second dealer since the first wasn't very helpful after multiple visits. I'm a very long time Chevy driver and hope someone can solve this for her.

Hey there,

Very sorry for this! If you need any further assistance with this, please let me know! Just shoot me over a private message with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and a preferred dealership. Hope to hear from you soon.

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[UnHappy Sonic]

Hey there,

Very sorry for this! If you need any further assistance with this, please let me know! Just shoot me over a private message with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and a preferred dealership. Hope to hear from you soon.

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care

Thank you Patsy. I really appreciate the support on this and coming from the manufacturer no less. I'll have my daughter provide me the information and PM you the details as requested.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

Thank you Patsy. I really appreciate the support on this and coming from the manufacturer no less. I'll have my daughter provide me the information and PM you the details as requested.

Hi there! Patsy is out of the office today, but we'll be sure to keep an eye out on your message. Talk to you soon!

Amber N.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[rodslinger]

I think the best way for anyone here to help is to describe the conditions in which it happens. Is there a trend?

Certain weather. Hot, cold, raining, etc..
Mostly happens on a certain route? Long hill? After an extended idle? First 10 minutes of driving? Constant cruise conditions or stop/go traffic?

Have you experienced it yourself? Make her take some notes. She might be using the gas pedal as an on/off switch and at some point the ECU is backing off power for longevity.

I've experienced this sometimes too but it is almost always in warmer weather and I've been driving it like I stole it. I have no fears about the vehicle being safe and reliable but I have started to expect a slight reduction in power if I'm driving in a hurry up offense mode for a while.

 

[Italianjoe1]

I noticed a loss of boost/power on my car when I was experimenting with the tune. It only happened during heavy accelleration with the a/c on, the sensation was as if the gas pedal was released even though you were stepping down. I adjusted some of the torque tables and boost controls and it went away, was triggering some sort of overboost limit and just removing all boost until you released the gas and stepped back down.

I don't know why it would be happening on a stock unmodified vehicle though, that seems odd. As rodslinger mentioned, you have to narrow down exactly when it happens and how to duplicate it, once you can repeat the concern you can show it to a tech and they can diagnose it.

 

[UnHappy Sonic]

I noticed a loss of boost/power on my car when I was experimenting with the tune. It only happened during heavy accelleration with the a/c on, the sensation was as if the gas pedal was released even though you were stepping down. I adjusted some of the torque tables and boost controls and it went away, was triggering some sort of overboost limit and just removing all boost until you released the gas and stepped back down.

I don't know why it would be happening on a stock unmodified vehicle though, that seems odd. As rodslinger mentioned, you have to narrow down exactly when it happens and how to duplicate it, once you can repeat the concern you can show it to a tech and they can diagnose it.

The car is bone stock, no mods what so ever.