2012 CHEVROLET SONIC ABS

Black plate (28,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
9-28 Driving and Operating
If driving safely on a wet road and it
becomes necessary to slam on the
brakes and continue braking to
avoid a sudden obstacle, a
computer senses that the wheels
are slowing down. If one of the
wheels is about to stop rolling, the
computer will separately work the
brakes at each wheel.
ABS can change the brake pressure
to each wheel, as required, faster
than any driver could. This can help
the driver steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
As the brakes are applied, the
computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls
braking pressure accordingly.
Remember: ABS does not change
the time needed to get a foot up to
the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. If you get tooclose to the vehicle in front of you,
there will not be enough time to
apply the brakes if that vehicle
suddenly slows or stops. Always
leave enough room up ahead to
stop, even with ABS.
Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold
the brake pedal down firmly and let
ABS work. You might hear the ABS
pump or motor operating and feel
the brake pedal pulsate, but this is
normal.
Braking in Emergencies
ABS allows the driver to steer and
brake at the same time. In many
emergencies, steering can help
more than even the very best
braking.
Parking Brake
To set the parking brake, hold the
brake pedal down and pull up on the
parking brake lever. If the ignition is
on, the brake system warning light
will come on. See
Brake System
Warning Light on page 5‑16.

Black plate (27,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-27
Park Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check
{WARNING
When you are doing this check,
the vehicle could begin to move.
You or others could be injured
and property could be damaged.
Make sure there is room in front
of the vehicle in case it begins to
roll. Be ready to apply the regular
brake at once should the vehicle
begin to move.
Park on a fairly steep hill, with the
vehicle facing downhill. Keeping
your foot on the regular brake, set
the parking brake.
.To check the parking brake's
holding ability: With the engine
running and the transmission in
N (Neutral), slowly remove foot
pressure from the regular brake
pedal. Do this until the vehicle is
held by the parking brake only.
.To check the P (Park)
mechanism's holding
ability: With the engine running,
shift to P (Park). Then release
the parking brake followed by
the regular brake.
Contact your dealer if service is
required.
Wiper Blade Replacement
Front Wiper Blade
Replacement
Windshield wiper blades should be
inspected for wear or cracking. See
the Maintenance Schedule on
page 11‑3 for more information.
Replacement blades come in
different types and are removed
in different ways. For proper
windshield wiper blade length
and type, see Maintenance
Replacement Parts on page 11‑15. Notice:
Allowing the wiper blade
arm to touch the windshield when
no wiper blade is installed could
damage the windshield. Any
damage that occurs would not be
covered by your warranty. Do not
allow the wiper blade arm to
touch the windshield.
To replace the windshield wiper
blade:
1. Pull the windshield wiper
assembly away from the
windshield.
2. Squeeze the tabs on each sideof the wiper blade assembly and
slide the assembly off the end of
the wiper arm.

Black plate (28,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
10-28 Vehicle Care
3. Install the new blade onto thearm and make sure the tabs are
fully set in the locked position.
4. Repeat the steps for the other wiper.
Rear Wiper Blade Replacement
1. Pull the wiper arm a shortdistance away from the
glass (A).
2. Pull the blade out from the arm (B).
It may require extra effort to
remove the old blade.
3. Once the blade pin disengages
from the wiper arm, remove the
wiper blade by sliding the pin out
of the guide hole.
4. Reverse the steps to install the new blade.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Additional Information,
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-14
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Air Intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Airbag Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24 Airbag System (cont'd)
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-21
Airbags Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-12
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Servicing Airbag-EquippedVehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Alarm System Anti-theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Antenna Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Anti-theft
Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16 Appearance Care
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-83
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Audio System Fixed Mast Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-2
Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . 9-23
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Shift Lock ControlFunction Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
i-6 INDEX
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
HeaterEngine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Indicator Code Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Owner Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35 Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Instrument Panel
Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
K
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-40
Lamps Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-2
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31 Lamps (cont'd)
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-13
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Liftgate Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Light StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Lighting Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lights
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-16
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22