
Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
Introduction iii
The names, logos, emblems,
slogans, vehicle model names, and
vehicle body designs appearing in
this manual including, but not limited
to, GM, the GM logo, CHEVROLET,
the CHEVROLET Emblem, and
SONIC are trademarks and/or
service marks of General Motors
LLC, its subsidiaries, affiliates,
or licensors.
This manual describes features that
may or may not be on your specific
vehicle either because they are
options that you did not purchase or
due to changes subsequent to the
printing of this owner manual.
Please refer to the purchase
documentation relating to yourspecific vehicle to confirm each of
the features found on your vehicle.
For vehicles first sold in Canada,
substitute the name
“General
Motors of Canada Limited” for
Chevrolet Motor Division wherever it
appears in this manual.
Keep this manual in the vehicle for
quick reference.
Canadian Vehicle Owners
Propriétaires Canadiens
A French language manual can be
obtained from your dealer, at
www.helminc.com, or from:
On peut obtenir un exemplaire de
ce guide en français auprès du
concessionnaire ou à l'adresse
savant:
Helm, Incorporated
Attention: Customer Service
47911 Halyard Drive
Plymouth, MI 48170
Using this Manual
To quickly locate information about
the vehicle, use the Index in the
back of the manual. It is an
alphabetical list of what is in the
manual and the page number where
it can be found.
Danger, Warnings, and
Cautions
Warning messages found on vehicle
labels and in this manual describe
hazards and what to do to avoid or
reduce them.
Danger indicates a hazard with a
high level of risk which will result in
serious injury or death.
Warning orCaution indicates a
hazard that could result in injury or
death.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 22788379 B Second Printing©2012 General Motors LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Black plate (22,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
5-22 Instruments and Controls
Information Displays
Driver Information
Center (DIC)
The DIC displays information about
your vehicle. It also displays
warning messages if a system
problem is detected. SeeVehicle
Messages on page 5‑25. All
messages appear in the DIC display
in the instrument cluster.
DIC Operation and Displays
The DIC has different displays
which can be accessed by using the
DIC buttons on the turn signal lever
on the left side of the steering
wheel. The DIC displays trip, fuel,
and warning messages if a system
problem is detected. DIC Buttons
1.
SET/CLR: Press to set or clear
the menu item displayed. This is
not used to reset the trip
odometer. To reset the trip
odometer, use the reset button
on the tachometer in the
instrument cluster.
2.
w x(Thumbwheel): Use to
scroll through the items in
each menu.
3. MENU: Press to display the DIC
menus. This button is also used
to return to or exit the last
screen displayed on the DIC.
DIC Menu Items
Press MENU to view the DIC
menus. Some items display in the
upper display area, some in the
lower display area, and others use
both the upper and lower display
areas. Use
w xto scroll through
the menu items. Not all items are
available on every vehicle. The
following is a list of all possible
menu items:
.Average Speed
.Timer
.Average Fuel Economy
.Fuel Range
.Units
.Language
.Tire Learn
.Remaining Oil Life

Black plate (24,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
5-24 Instruments and Controls
To reset the average fuel economy,
press and hold the SET/CLR button
while the average fuel economy is
displayed.
Fuel Range
Metric Shown, English Similar
This displays the approximate
distance the vehicle can be driven
without refueling. The fuel range
estimate is based on an average of
the vehicle's fuel economy over
recent driving history and the
amount of fuel remaining in the
fuel tank. Units
This menu is not available while the
vehicle is moving. Press SET/CLR
while the unit display is active and
move
w xto change units when
UNIT SET is displayed. Press SET/
CLR to confirm the setting. You will
have to select 1, 2, or 3 for the unit
display. 1 is Imperial units, 2 is US
units, and 3 is metric units. This will
change the displays on the cluster
and DIC to the type of
measurements you select.
Language
This menu is not available while the
vehicle is moving. Press SET/CLR
while the language display is active
and move
w xto change the
language of the displays when
LANG SET is displayed. You will
have to select 1 or 2 for the
language display. 1 is Alphabet and
2 is Arabic Numeral. Press SET/
CLR to confirm the setting. Tire Learn
This menu is not available while the
vehicle is moving. This display
allows for matching of the TPMS
sensors. See
Tire Pressure Monitor
System on page 10‑48 andTire
Pressure Monitor Operation on
page 10‑49.
Remaining Oil Life
This menu is not available while the
vehicle is moving. This display
shows an estimate of the oil's
remaining useful life. If 99
:% is
displayed, that means 99% of the
current oil life remains.
When the remaining oil life is low,
the Code 82 message will appear
on the display. The oil should be
changed as soon as possible. See
Engine Oil on page 10‑9. In addition
to the engine oil life system
monitoring the oil life, additional
maintenance is recommended in the
Maintenance Schedule. See
Maintenance Schedule on
page 11‑2.

Black plate (26,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
5-26 Instruments and Controls
Vehicle
Personalization
Personalization Menu (Radio
Without Touchscreen)
The audio system controls are used
to access the personalization
menus for customizing vehicle
features.
CONFIG (Configuration):Press to
access the Configuration
Settings menu.
MENU/TUNE: Turn to scroll
through the menus. Press to enter
the menus and select the menu
items.
/BACK: Press to exit or move
backward in a menu.
Entering the Personalization
Menus
1. Press CONFIG to access the Configuration Settings menu.
2. Turn the MENU/TUNE knob to highlight Vehicle Settings. 3. Press MENU/TUNE to select the
Vehicle Settings menu.
The following list of menu items may
be available:
.Comfort and Convenience
.Climate and Air Quality
.Language
.Lighting
.Power Door Locks
.Remote Lock, Unlock, Start
.Return to Factory Settings
Turn the MENU/TUNE knob to
highlight the menu. Press MENU/
TUNE to select it. Each of the
menus is detailed in the following
information.
Comfort and Convenience
Select the Comfort and
Convenience menu and the
following will be displayed:
.Chime Volume
.Auto Wipe in Reverse Gear Chime Volume
This allows selection of the chime
volume level.
Press MENU/TUNE when Chime
Volume is highlighted. Turn the
MENU/TUNE knob to select Normal
or High. Press MENU/TUNE to
confirm and go back to the
last menu.
Auto Wipe in Reverse Gear
When on and the vehicle on, this
feature will turn the rear wipers on
when the vehicle is placed in
R (Reverse) when the front wipers
are on.
Press MENU/TUNE when Auto
Wipe in Reverse Gear is
highlighted. Turn the MENU/TUNE
knob to select On or Off. Press
MENU/TUNE to confirm and go
back to the last menu.
Language
Select the Language menu and the
following will be displayed:
.English

Black plate (27,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
Instruments and Controls 5-27
.French
.Spanish
Turn the MENU/TUNE knob to
select the language. Press MENU/
TUNE to confirm and go back to the
last menu.
Exterior Lighting
Select the Lighting menu and the
following will be displayed:
.Exterior Vehicle Locator Lights
.Exit Lighting
Exterior Vehicle Locator Lights
This allows selection of whether the
exterior lamps will turn on when
unlocking the vehicle.
Press MENU/TUNE when Exterior
Vehicle Locator Lights is
highlighted. Turn the MENU/TUNE
knob to select On or Off. Press
MENU/TUNE to confirm and go
back to the last menu. Exit Lighting
Press MENU/TUNE when Exit
Lighting is highlighted. Turn the
MENU/TUNE knob to select Off,
30 Seconds, 1 Minute, or 2 Minutes.
Press MENU/TUNE to confirm and
go back to the last menu.
Power Door Locks
Select Power Door Locks and the
following will be displayed:
.Auto Door Unlock
.Unlock Door Anti Lock Out
.Delayed Door Lock
Auto Door Unlock
This allows selection of which of the
doors will automatically unlock when
the vehicle is shifted into P (Park) or
the key is removed.
Press MENU/TUNE when Auto
Door Unlock is highlighted. Turn the
MENU/TUNE knob to select All
Doors, Driver Door, or Off. Press
MENU/TUNE to confirm and go
back to the last menu. Unlock Door Anti Lock Out
When on, this feature will keep the
driver door from locking when the
door is open. If off is selected, the
Unlock Door Anti Lock Out menu
will be available and the door will
lock as programmed through
this menu.
Press MENU/TUNE when Unlock
Door Anti Lock Out is highlighted.
Turn the MENU/TUNE knob to
select On or Off. Press MENU/
TUNE to confirm and go back to the
last menu.
Delayed Door Lock
When on, this feature will delay the
locking of the doors until
five seconds after the last door is
closed. Three chimes will signal that
delayed locking is in use. Pressing
either
QorKon the RKE
transmitter twice will override the
delayed locking feature and
immediately lock all of the doors.

Black plate (29,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
Instruments and Controls 5-29
4:Press to exit, or return to the
previous screen or menu.
To access the menu:
1. Press
D.
2. Press Settings.
The following list of menu items may
be available:
.Time & Date Settings
.Radio Settings
.Connection Settings
.Vehicle Settings
.Language
.Text Scroll
.Touch Beep Sound
.Max Startup Volume
.System Version
.DivX®VOD
Press the menu item to select it.
Each of the menus is detailed in the
following information. Settings menus and functions may
vary depending on vehicle option.
Time & Date Settings
Select to change the settings:
.Set Time Format: Select 12h
or 24h.
.Set Date Format: PressSorT
to select the date display.
.Set Time & Date: Select, then
press
yorzto adjust the
value.
.Automatic Clock Sync: Select to
display the real or user time on
the radio. Select On or Off.
Radio Settings
Select and the following may be
displayed:
.Auto Volume
.Radio Tune Bar
.Radio Text
.XM Categories
.Radio Factory Settings Auto Volume
This feature adjusts the radio
volume to compensate for road and
wind noise as the vehicle speeds up
or slows down, so that the volume
level is consistent.
Press
SorTto select Off, Low,
Medium, or High. Press
4.
Radio Tune Bar
Select to display the radio station
tune bar.
Select On or Off. Press
4.
Radio Text
Select to display the radio broadcast
information.
Select On or Off. Press
4.
XM Categories
Select to set the selection of XM
categories. Press
4.

Black plate (32,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
5-32 Instruments and Controls
second time. When set to All Doors,
all of the doors will unlock at the first
press of
K. Press4.
Vehicle Factory Settings
Select to return all of the vehicle
personalization to the default
settings. Select Yes or No.
Press
4.
Language
Select and the following may be
displayed:
.English
.French
.Spanish
Select the language desired.
Press
4.
Text Scroll
When on, if there is long text
displayed on the audio screen, the
text is scrolled. When off, the text is
scrolled once and displayed in
truncated form. Select On or Off. Press
4.
Touch Beep Volume
When on, a beep will be heard
when pressing the screen. When
off, the beep is canceled.
Select On or Off. Press
4.
Max Startup Volume
This allows the startup volume of
the infotainment system to be set.
Press
SorTto select the desired
volume between 9-21. Press
4.
System Version
Press to view the version of the
infotainment system. Press
4.
DivX VOD
Press DivX VOD.
.DIVX VIDEO: DivX is a digital
video format created by DivX,
LLC, a subsidiary of Rovi
Corporation. This is an official
DivX Certified
®device that plays DivX video. See divx.com for
more information and software
tools on how to convert files into
DivX videos.
.DIVX VIDEO-ON DEMAND: This
DivX Certified device must be
registered in order to play
purchased DivX
Video-on-Demand (VOD)
movies. To obtain a registration
code, locate the DivX VOD
section in the device setup
menu. See vod.divx.com for
more information on how to
complete the registration.
Press
4.

Black plate (53,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd PrintReady - 10/11/12
Infotainment System 7-53
.OFF: Returns to normal
playback.
Playing a File Randomly
Press
uduring playback.
.NO: Plays all files randomly.
.OFF: Returns to normal
playback.
Viewing Information on the
Currently Playing File
Press the title during playback to
display information about the current
file playing.
.The information displayed
includes the title, file name,
folder name, and artist/album
saved with the song.
.Incorrect information cannot be
modified or corrected on the
infotainment system.
.The information for songs
expressed in special symbols or
in unavailable languages may be
displayed as “
u.” Using the USB Music Menu
.Press MENU during playback.
.Press the play mode.
Tone Settings
1. Press
R.
2. Press tone settings. The Tone Settings menu is displayed. See
“Tone Settings” under“Radio
Controls with Touchscreen” in
Operation on page 7‑8.
iPod/iPhone Player
This feature is limited to models
supporting the iPod/iPhone
connection. Playing Music Files
.Connect the iPod/iPhone to the
USB port.
.Play will start from the previously
played point after the system
has finished reading the USB
device.
.If a non-readable USB device is
connected, an error message
displays and the system will
switch to the previous audio
function.
If the iPod/iPhone is already
connected:
1. Press
D.
2. Press
eaudio.
3. Press Source
R.
4. Press iPod.
To stop the device and select
another media source, press
Source
R, then select the other
source.