Major Problems with Chevrolet Sonic Derived from Complaints & Recalls

Learn about the common problems with a used Chevrolet Sonic to avoid purchasing a bad year of the model.

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Best and Worst Years for Chevrolet Sonic

Explore the chart showing how many complaints have been filed for each year of Chevrolet Sonic.

Model Year	Complaints
2020 Sonic	1
2019 Sonic	1
2018 Sonic	5
2017 Sonic	15
2016 Sonic	26
2015 Sonic	65
2014 Sonic	108
2013 Sonic	170
2012 Sonic	302

Worst 3 Chevrolet Sonic complaints

2013 Chevrolet Sonic AIR BAGS Victims: 5 Mileage: 57700 miles

2015 Chevrolet Sonic AIR BAGS Victims: 3 Mileage: 3191 miles

2015 Chevrolet Sonic AIR BAGS Victims: 3 Mileage: 23816 miles

Browse Chevrolet Sonic complaints by category

Problems with POWER TRAIN, ENGINE and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM are the most frequent issues recorded by the NHTSA from Chevrolet Sonic owners.

Problem Category	Number of Problems
POWER TRAIN i just purchased my 2014 chevy sonic lt hatchback a month ago. first the day i bought it i found...	181 ~ 48916 miles
ENGINE i was driving down a long steep bridge at a cautious speed and reached over to adjust the radio volume....	152 ~ 49949 miles
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM driving in 70mph traffic my wife jostled the key in the ignition while reaching up to adjust windshield wipers. the...	143 ~ 40483 miles
UNKNOWN OR OTHER the driver backed out onto the residential street. the drive aligned the wheels to point straight down the street. the...	109 ~ 51870 miles
AIR BAGS tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. while driving 20 mph the steering wheel seized. the vehicle was taken...	102 ~ 45072 miles
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM gas started leaking from bottom of gas tank. *js...	40 ~ 36556 miles
STEERING tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. while driving at low speeds in inclement weather the brake pedal was...	38 ~ 29280 miles
SERVICE BRAKES tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. while driving at low speeds in inclement weather the brake pedal was...	38 ~ 50886 miles
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL has happened off & on since i bought car october 2014. while at a complete stop car will rock back...	32 ~ 33339 miles
SUSPENSION the driver backed out onto the residential street. the drive aligned the wheels to point straight down the street. the...	30 ~ 23864 miles
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL at a stop light/sign with my foot on the brake the car will start to shake/lunge forward like the car...	23 ~ 36031 miles
VISIBILITY/WIPER i have owned a 2013 chevy sonic for about 6 months now. the other day i went out to drive...	22 ~ 32245 miles
BODY > STRUCTURE 2013 chevy sonic loud vibration noise from engine bay area when vehicle is parked or in the drive position when...	16 ~ 31217 miles
EXTERIOR LIGHTING while driving down the highway going approximately 65mph the dash lights including speedometer turn off and reset. they stay off...	15 ~ 26522 miles
SEATS i understand that nhtsa has mandated forward-leaning head restraints on all late-model vehicles. the head restraint in my 2014 sonic...	9 ~ 30825 miles
WHEELS the driver backed out onto the residential street. the drive aligned the wheels to point straight down the street. the...	9 ~ 14825 miles
SEAT BELTS drivers side seat belt tensioner cable snapped while driving on the freeway....	8 ~ 59350 miles
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING the engine coolant temperature warning light turn on my 2013 chevrolet sonic hatchback as i was pulling up my drive...	7 ~ 5857 miles
STRUCTURE tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that there was a glare on the dashboard in...	5 ~ 2020 miles
SIDEWALL > TIRES new hankook optimo h428 tire on my 2014 sonic developed a bulge on the front driver tire. dealer claims it...	4 ~ 17000 miles
IGNITION > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the ignition key would not release from the...	4 ~ 59733 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE gm part number 95027313 outlet duct connecting the air box to the throttle body has shredded in 30 000 miles...	3 ~ 96400 miles
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. while driving 55 mph the front end of the vehicle began to...	3 ~ 51853 miles
TIRES new hankook optimo h428 tire on my 2014 sonic developed a bulge on the front driver tire. dealer claims it...	3 ~ 22667 miles
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES i have found the switch blade key used by many chevrolet products has a tendency to operate when the key...	3 ~ 43867 miles
DOOR > BODY > STRUCTURE tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet sonic. the contact was unable to unlock the vehicle's doors and became locked...	2 ~ 40650 miles
AIR CONDITIONER > APPLIANCE > EQUIPMENT tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the wiring under the hood had a soy...	2 ~ 8603 miles
WIRING > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the wiring under the hood had a soy...	2 ~ 39551 miles
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN 2012 chevrolet sonic. consumer writes in regards to safety recall concerning the turbine shaft. *tgw the consumer was informed the...	2
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY on or around december 2014 the shift cover would not attach permanently. on or around march 10 2014 the electrical...	2 ~ 40210 miles
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic ls. the contact stated that while sitting on an incline the hill...	2 ~ 463 miles
CATALYTIC CONVERTOR > EMISSION CONTROL > EXHAUST SYSTEM tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet sonic. when the vehicle was started the check engine warning indicator illuminated. the...	1 ~ 96540 miles
WHEEL BEARING > FRONT > SUSPENSION tl* the contact owns a 2017 chevrolet sonic. while driving 15 mph the contact made a left turn and the...	1 ~ 10 miles
INTERIOR/UNDER DASH > WIRING > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2016 chevrolet sonic. consumer writes in regard to defective dashboard wiring. consumer believes it can be a manufacturing defect and	1
RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC. > ELECTRICAL > EQUIPMENT tl* the contact owns a 2015 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the radio would automatically turn on and off...	1 ~ 67600 miles
OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION > SENSOR > AIR BAGS tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the engine made an abnormal noise and the...	1 ~ 80000 miles
PADS > DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS tl* the contact owns a 2015 chevrolet sonic. while attempting to engage the brakes a loud squeaking sound emitted from...	1 ~ 2 miles
PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS > TIRES tl* the contact owns a 2015 chevrolet sonic. the contact experienced a failure with the tpms. the dealer diagnosed that...	1 ~ 1000 miles
FAN/MOTOR > DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM > VISIBILITY i went to adjust the temperature gauge to defog my front windows and i couldn't move the knob. i also...	1 ~ 18900 miles
GLASS, SIDE/REAR > VISIBILITY as i was making a left turn in an intersection at 5:30am my rear glass window burst and all the...	1 ~ 30000 miles
SWITCH > IGNITION > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. when the contact attempted to place the vehicle into park the key...	1 ~ 38000 miles
HORN > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the horn failed to activate. the failure occurred...	1 ~ 45000 miles
COLUMN SHIFT > LEVER AND LINKAGE > AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION tl* the contact owns 2012 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the gear box became stuck on multiple occasions. the...	1
COLUMN > STEERING tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. the contact attempted to notify the dealer and manufacturer about having the...	1 ~ 11000 miles
REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES > VISIBILITY the outside door mirrors are small and have blind spots. i've lost sight of vehicles i know where behind me....	1 ~ 1500 miles
VISIBILITY tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the front passenger side airbag would not identify...	1 ~ 5 miles
WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER > VISIBILITY i turned on windshield wipers & the engine died. this was the first time it had rained after i bought...	1 ~ 100 miles
WINDSHIELD > VISIBILITY tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that he could hear a grinding noise whenever making...	1 ~ 12000 miles

FAQ

What year Chevrolet Sonic is the most reliable?

Speaking of the models produced in the last 9 years, Chevrolet Sonic models of 2020, 2019, 2018 year of manufacture have had the least number of complaints.

What year was a bad year for Chevrolet Sonic?

Chevrolet Sonic models of 2012 and 2013 are probably the years to be avoided like the plague due to a higher than an average number of issues reported.

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