Cracked air intake piping

[JTee2017]

I have a 2014 Sonic with 22,XXX miles on it. I got the code for the lean condition. Called the dealer and set up appointment. Got there and the service advisor said it would be $100+ for the diagnostics. I mentioned that its under warranty. He said it would only be under warranty if its an internal engine part. He said if the parts comes in contact with oil its covered, and sensors or other items are not covered. I left without letting them fix the car. Long story short a mechanic buddy of mine thought the MAF sensor was dirty. So I cleaned it and as I was putting it back together I saw a rip in the pipe. Upon closer look there were 4 separate rips in the pipe. I taped the existing pipe with duct tape to seal it until I could get a new one. I bought a pipe from Amazon for $13 delivered to my door in a week and it fixed the problem. This is the second bad experience I have had with that dealer and the Chevrolet warranty. Not overall impressed with the quality so far.

Bad dealer. . . My daughter had 55,000 mile on her 2014 Sonic and they replaced her intake duct pipe under special warranty. At 76,000 miles, they also replaced the Thermostat and housing at no charge under the special warranty for that as well.
It isn't just that the Sonic is a cheap, low cost car, there are many others out there besides GM using parts that are not as durable as in the past. Those parts become "Maintenance Items". On our Sonics, there are maybe half a dozen low cost parts that degrade with age, heat and wear. All of those can be replaced for less than $300.
I knew this when we bought ours and to me, compared to some Honda, Nissan and Toyota compact car parts .. it is small change and easy to fix.
I replaced her purge solenoid valve for $22 last winter. They go bad on a lot of vehicles these days from trucks to pricey SUVS. It was a 15 minute job and only took that long because I didn't want to rush and break those kind of fragile plastic hose clips they use on vacuum connectors these days.

 

[GreyGerbil]

Welp, looks like it's my 2014's turn for the torn air intake at 27,200 and change.

 

[dannyg]

Welp, looks like it's my 2014's turn for the torn air intake at 27,200 and change.

I carry a small roll of duct tape in the car for a quick intake repair when the inevitable happens! (Then replace the intake when I can get to it.) So far so good on 2015 with 36K miles...

 

[Vicarious]

The metal aftermarket intakes aren't that expensive... Wouldn't it be easier/cheaper in the long term just to do it once? (Plus you never have to buy another air filter again, you just wash them!)

 

[Dingleberry69]

The power train warranty will cover the engine, if there is an internal problem while driving your car on a two lane road following a green 73 Gremlin driven by an 18 year old male with brown hair and blue eyes. On a Sunday of a leap year during a snow storm in July in south Folrida returning from the store where you bought a bag of chips and a bottle of soda.

Yeah I don’t think those terms are specific enough . Lol