Chevrolet Sonic

Where it stands out against its peers

• Power train: more complaints than 96% of 2012 cars — 44% of its 354 complaints, where an ordinary 2012 car has 12%.

Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.

Before you buy one

Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.

• POWER TRAIN — 106 owners reported this
• ENGINE — 24 owners reported this, 3 involving a fire
• AIR BAGS — 20 owners reported this, 11 involving a crash
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — 17 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash
• POWER TRAIN,ENGINE — 12 owners reported this
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — 9 owners reported this
• SUSPENSION — 8 owners reported this
• POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — 7 owners reported this
• SERVICE BRAKES — 6 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash

Crash test

Crash-tested by NHTSA, the American road safety agency.

Specification

Recalls

Filed by the manufacturer with a regulator. A recall is repaired free of charge, whoever owns the car now.

75% of 2018 cars have more recall campaigns than this one, and an ordinary one has 3. More of them means more to check the service record for, not a worse car.

• 11V599000

  A MISSING PAD COULD RESULT IN REDUCED BRAKE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

  GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE FRONT BRAKES FOR A MISSING INNER OR OUTER PAD. IF A BRAKE PAD IS MISSING, DEALERS WILL INSTALL NEW INNER AND OUTER PADS, A NEW BRAKE CALIPER, AND A NEW ROTOR. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 14, 2012

• 12V408000

  A lack of washer fluid could impede the driver's view, increasing the risk of a crash.

  GM will notify owners, and dealers will secure the windshield washer hose to prevent separation, free of charge. The safety recall began on September 7, 2012. Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.

• 12V454000

  If the driver is not aware that the turn signal is not functioning and does not have the light repaired, other drivers may not be alerted that the vehicle is turning, increasing the risk of a crash.

  GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the BCM and the vehicle's key fobs, free of charge. The safety recall began on October 3, 2012. Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.

• 12V522000

  If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal airbag, that airbag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.

  General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel airbag coil, free of charge. The safety recall began on January 11, 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.

• 13V023000

  If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, that air bag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.

  GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel air bag coil, free of charge. The safety recall began on February 13, 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.

• 13V220000

  If the brake lamps flash when the vehicle is not slowing, a following driver may not adjust vehicle speed when the vehicle is in fact braking, and the brake lamps are illuminating as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.

  GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module. The recall began on June 13, 2013. Owner's may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. GM's recall number is 13158.

• 13V464000

  If the front fuel tank strap bracket separates, the increased load may lead to the failure of the other tank support. As a result, the fuel tank may come loose from the vehicle causing a fuel leak. A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, may result in a fire.

  GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front fuel tank strap bracket, and repair it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on November 7, 2013. Owners may contact GM at 1-800-521-7300. GM's recall campaign number is 13296.

• 14V300000

  If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, that air bag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.

  GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel air bag coil, free of charge. The recall began on July 25, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact GM at 1-800-222-1020. Buick owners may contact GM at 1-800-521-7300. Note: This is an expansion of recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023.

8 more campaigns have been filed against this model. A dealer can check by VIN which apply to one car.

Regulator investigations

Opened by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation is a question the regulator asked about a possible defect, not a fault it found — most end without a recall.

• Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

  Engineering analysis, opened September 2021, still open.

• Air Bag Non-deployment

  Recall query, opened May 2013, closed July 2014.

  Became recall 13V023000.

What the maker told its dealers

Service bulletins are the manufacturer's own repair guidance to dealers, filed with NHTSA. A bulletin is not a defect finding; the count rises with how many things a maker writes down, not only with how many go wrong.

Chevrolet filed 542 bulletins about the 2020 Sonic.

• Equipment: 140
• Electrical system: 86
• Engine and engine cooling: 82
• Power train: 32
• Engine: 25
• Wheels: 21
• Equipment adaptive/mobility: 19
• Structure: 10
• Tires: 9
• Visibility: 9
• Other: 109

• PI to help diagnose A/C concern · July 2026
• This preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available. · April 2026
• This Preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a GDS2 Session Log and upload to a Technical Assistance Case in CX Connect. · March 2026
• This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance. · March 2026
• This Preliminary information communicates to the field on how to diagnosis a GPS issue with the Telematic module with no DTC'ss · March 2026
• This PI advised dealer technicians of possible causes of diesel fuel contamination in gasoline powered vehicles and advises of warranty direction. · January 2026
• This Preliminary information communicates to the field on how to diagnosis a GPS issue with the Telematic module with no DTC's · January 2026
• This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance. · January 2026

534 more.

Grouped by NHTSA's top-level system; a bulletin filed under a sub-heading counts toward its system.