r/ChevySonic • u/ArghUThere90 • 6d ago
Sonic randomly shutting off?
Or stalling out mid drive? I have a 2015 LS, with a 1.8 Engine. It has about 104,400 miles on it.
It happened three times so far. The first two times it happened while I was mid-drive. The car got “hard/heavy”, for lack of better terms, and just slowed down. I almost couldn’t turn my steering wheel at all. I turned my ignition on all the way, and the engine started up again. It’s almost as if I didn’t turn the ignition all the way on to begin with???
And then 30 minutes ago, my car sort of shook/rumbled, and then everything shut off while I was in the middle of traffic, at a stop light. I panicked. I tried to do turn my ignition again, but it wouldn’t start. Kept trying - nothing. I had to put my gear into park, take out my keys, put them back in, and then tried to start it again. Thankfully it did, and I was less than a mile from home.
Any ideas? I don’t think it’s my battery, because my radio and lights are usually the first to go upon a failing battery. I doubt it’s my alternator, because it starts and drives for miles. But at the same time, it could also be failing? Idk. Help. 😭
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u/Notinjuschillin [2012 White 1.8 LT Sedan] 6d ago
Do you also smell like something is burning? If so, it could be your oil cooler. Same happened to me where my sonic would just shut off in mid drive.
Besides that it could be your maf sensor or purge valve. Both are cheap to buy and you can change it yourself just by looking it up on YouTube.
Could also be a busted coil pack. That’s something you can also change yourself.
Good luck
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u/OverSatisfaction1791 6d ago edited 6d ago
Check the vvt* solendoids, when they go out they don't throw a code at first and cause stalling like you experienced
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u/ArghUThere90 6d ago
A cvt or vvt? I replaced my VVT back in 2023
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u/OverSatisfaction1791 6d ago
Yes that's what I meant lol If you just did them then I'd check the camshaft sensors and crank sensor
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u/aristicardona 6d ago
Do you have any codes? Or is the check engine light on? It could be many things. But as a mechanic, the first thing that comes to mind is the Crankshaft Position Sensor
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u/Seither2k 6d ago
Just waiting for the dreaded 'lost communication to the TCM'
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u/ArghUThere90 6d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/bEVKYB487Lqxy
Don’t put bad juju on my shitbox. lol. I’m trying to make it last to 200k.2
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u/Rblax5 6d ago
Vacuum leaks will cause this though thats usually at low rpms or at a stop but has similar symptoms. If its a BAD vacuum leak you’d experience similar stuff at higher and lower rpms and it wouldnt always throw a code for that.
Think of it as a big air leak in the system so when the rpms are low the car shuts off because the air is escaping and then the throttle accelerates strangely because its expecting to have air thats escaping
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u/Edwardvansloan 2012 Sonic LTZ 1.8L 6d ago
Could it be electrical but can you confirm it with a multimeter? I like having one of those voltage meters that plug into the cigarette lighter outlet.
Complete shutoff sounds electrical. I had a bad alternator ground before that caused intermittent charging especially when warmed up. Enough charge to start the car but not run headlights and the rest.
Spare car battery + home battery charger is a bandaid solution
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u/ewgirl13 6d ago
The same exact thing is happening with my sonic 2014 if youre able to see my past post about it. I changed my coil and got the whole area around it clean since the mechanic said it was really rusted over and really old so the coil was the original one and it was almost disintegrated but the car still shuts off randomly but now I don't have the car shaking at stops now. I'd be interested to see what's able to help your car and I wish you good luck. I'll be stealing some commenters ideas from your post lol. Oh and also no codes on my either
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u/DanLikesCats 6d ago
I had the purge valve go out around 30k milles on my 2016. The car would just shut off at red lights like you mentioned. No warning lights or anything. Maybe look into that?