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Chevrolet Sonic

December 31, 2011 by · Comments Off on Chevrolet Sonic 

Chevrolet SonicChevrolet Sonic, The new brake pad recall for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic affects 4,296 vehicles sold in the United States while another 577 were sold in Canada, with all of the vehicles included in this recall built between June 2nd, 2011 and November 21st, 2011 at GM’s Orion Township Assembly Plant just north of Detroit. On these recalled 2012 Sonic hatchbacks and sedans, General Motors believes that the vehicle could be missing either an inner or outer brake pad on the front end.

A 2012 Chevrolet Sonic being driven without a front brake pad will still be able to stop but depending on which pad is missing, there will be varying amounts of decreased braking performance. Over time, the lack of the brake pad will quickly cause massive damage to the other components, beginning with the damage done to the brake rotor by the contact it is making with the caliper cylinder (if the inside pad is missing) or the caliper itself (if the outside pad is missing). Generally, as the car is driven without a brake pad, the outer side of the caliper or the caliper piston will begin to dig through the brake rotors which will rapidly destroy the rotor while also doing damage to the caliper itself. This problem should cause the Sonic to make some pretty unfriendly noises before the owner gets to the point that they will completely lose braking abilities but when this type of problem is left to go unattended, enough damage can be done that it breaks into the fluid areas of the brake caliper. When that happens – the car will vastly lose braking abilities. It also can get to be very expensive to replace these items but luckily, GM has caught the problem and is recalling them right away…thus removing the safety risk and the cost of repairing the problem from the owners.

There is some good news with the new 2012 Chevy Sonic brake pad recall. First, there have been no reported accidents or injuries from this problem and second, out of the 4,873 Sonic models potentially affected in North America, GM believes that only 20 or 30 vehicles may be missing a brake pad. The recall is expected to formally begin on or before January 14th, 2011 at which point GM will ask those owners to return to their friendly neighborhood dealership to have their braking system inspected. In most cases, all of the pads will be there and the owner will be right back on their way but for those few missing the pads – a certified GM mechanic will apply new pads while also replacing any damaged calipers or rotors caused by the lack of a brake pad.

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