Owners have filed 844 complaints on the Chevrolet Sonic, covering 2012–2020. The system named most often is Power Train (198 reports). Worst years by volume: 2012, 2013, 2014; cleanest: 2019, 2020, 2018. 81 reports describe a crash, 16 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 4.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Sonic
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 844 Sonic complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 198 Read
The button on the sifter handle has broken and gets stuck in allowing the shift handle to move freely. This has caused my vehicle to shift into neutral while driving. It has also allowed my vehicle to shift into reverse on its own while sitting in the parked position. This issue has been going on in a lot of the sonic…
On march 12, 2014 around 8:00 p.m I had an accident with my vehicle at my home. My car is a manual transmission so when I went to turn it on, only half of my body was in the vehicle to turn it on. Before turning it on I did notice the e-brake engaged and the car was in first gear. I proceeded to turn it on knowing…
I was going up hill approaching a parking space in the garage where I work. I went to turn into the parking space and my turbo engine sped up and slammed me into the garage wall. The air bags were deployed. There was a malfunction on this chevy sonic. If I had parked on the top floor, I would probably have been killed…
Electrical System 163 Read
The contact owns a 2015 chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that while the driver was driving at 50 mph, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle and the vehicle engulfed in flames. The driver sustained fatal injuries and died on the scene. A police report was filed. The fire department was able to…
While driving to work within the city limits my daughter had an accident a few days ago involving a rear end collision with a four wheel drive pickup. She didn't notice the cars in front had stopped suddenly and hit the truck in front of her. The problem with this is that her front proximity signal didn't sound off…
I had taken the key out of the ignition and it was very hot about the end of july. On friday august 11, I noticed a pause in the car starting the a sound of a knock leaving work. I arrived home around 6:00 p.m. Parked in my drive way for the day. I was awaken saturday morning by my neighbor be made my car was on fire.…
Air Bags 93 Read
The contact owned a 2017 chevrolet sonic. While driving out of a parking lot at approximately 20 mph, the vehicle crashed into a pole without warning. All the air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The driver sustained chemical burns from the air bags that required medical attention. The vehicle was towed by…
Was driving about 30 mph , air conditioning was on recirculate I blacked out and totaled the car . Hospital ran a carbon monoxide test and it was high ,was the cause of blackout. Now have memory problems and severe back pain
I was hit head on and the air bag did not deploy it could have been way worse than it was but it should have deployed and my engine is junk. Having issues with it and its less than 70000 miles
Engine 89 Read
The contact's daughter owned a 2017 chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at 25 mph, a fellow motorist had honked at her as she noticed flames forming from underneath the radio inside her vehicle. The contact's daughter initially attempted to extinguish the fire with a cup of water…
The contact owned a 2014 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that while his spouse was driving approximately 35 MPH she noticed smoke being emitted from under the hood. The contact stated his spouse saw no warning light being illuminated. The spouse pulled off to the side of the road and exited the vehicle safely when…
The contact owns a 2013 chevrolet sonic. While driving unknown speeds, the contact smelled burning oil and smoke. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil cap seal was torn. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that the failure was not covered under the power train…
Steering 45 Read
The contact owns a 2015 chevrolet sonic. While driving 20 mph, the steering wheel locked and the vehicle crashed into a ditch. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact stated that the power steering indicator illuminated before the crash occurred. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle…
The contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. While driving 20 mph, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. However, the failure recurred and the vehicle was taken multiple times to the dealer. The technician was unable…
The button on my gear shifter was stuck for a few months and then it broke resulting in me crashing into a parked car because I lost control
Suspension 27 Read
Cars computer/programming is remotely controlled ,brakes tranmission lights suspension do notb perform as intended by manufacturer.hacking involved while driving stationary freeways/city streets
The driver backed out onto the residential street. The drive aligned the wheels to point straight down the street. The driver shifted into drive and pressed pressed the accelerator. The car rapidly accelerated and swerved to the left. It grazed the bumper of a packed car and came to rest on a tree. Upon leaving the…
All ten (10) airbags failed to deploy when my car was struck by a driver attempting to pass me on the left as I was turning left. That driver was speeding, crossed the double-yellow line to pass, did not have insurance nor a driver's license. My driver's door took the initial impact strike and was deeply creased as…
Service Brakes 19 Read
The contact owns a 2016 chevrolet sonic. While pulling into a parking spot, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle drove over a concrete median and through bushes before coming to a complete stop. The contact sustained a thumb injury that required medical attention. A police…
The brakes on this vehicle is defective. The ABS brakes do not work correctly and the brake peddle also has issues. The brakes has caused two accidents thus far. The dealership has tried to remedy the situation several times with repairs at no avail. The vehicle brakes failed to work and caused two rear end accidents
The contact owned a 2015 chevrolet sonic. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact fell asleep and crashed into an embankment. The contact stated that the side air bags deployed, but the front air bags did not deploy. The driver sustained minor injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed.…
Engine And Engine Cooling 15 Read
2016 chevrolet sonic. Consumer writes in regards to significant rodent damage to engine compartment insulation causes a minor fire
The contact owned a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously sustained undercarriage damage while driving at 20 MPH and hitting a pothole. The undercarriage was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. A coolant…
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated the RPMs rose abnormally high. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an AutoZone where it was scanned and diagnosed that the turbo charger had failed and needed to be replaced. The diagnostic scan…
Sonic years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2019 | Electrical System,engine,fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 14 | 3 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 10 | 3 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 18 | 4 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 25 | 4 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 422 |
| Average complaints per series | 2 |
| Worst single series | 17 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.2 years |
A model average of 2 hides a worst series at 17. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Sonic?
By complaint volume, 2012, 2013, 2014 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Sonic years are the cleanest?
2019, 2020, 2018 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Sonic have?
844 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2012–2020. Of those, 81 describe a crash and 16 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.