Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
54 Seats and Restraints
The adjuster can be moved up by
pushing the slide/trim up. To move
the adjuster down, press the release
button and move it down.
After the adjuster is set to the
desired position, try to move it down
without pressing the release button
to make sure it has locked into
position.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for front outboard
occupants. Although the safety belt
pretensioners cannot be seen, they
are part of the safety belt assembly.
They can help tighten the safetybelts during the early stages of a
moderate to severe frontal, near
frontal, or rear crash if the threshold
conditions for pretensioner
activation are met. Safety belt
pretensioners can also help tighten
the safety belts in a side crash or a
rollover event.
Pretensioners work only once. If the
pretensioners activate in a crash,
the pretensioners and probably
other new parts of the vehicle's
safety belt system will need to be
replaced. See
Replacing Safety Belt
System Parts after a Crash 055.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort
Guides
Rear safety belt comfort guides may
provide added safety belt comfort
for older children who have
outgrown booster seats and for
some adults. When installed on a
shoulder belt, the comfort guide
positions the belt away from the
neck and head. Comfort guides are available
through your dealer for the rear
outboard seating positions.
Instructions are included with the
guide.
Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone,
including pregnant women. Like all
occupants, they are more likely to
be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
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70 Seats and Restraints
{Warning
Children can be seriously injured
or strangled if a shoulder belt is
wrapped around their neck. The
shoulder belt can tighten but
cannot be loosened if it is locked.
The shoulder belt locks when it is
pulled all the way out of the
retractor. It unlocks when the
shoulder belt is allowed to go all
the way back into the retractor,
but it cannot do this if it is
wrapped around a child’s neck.
If the shoulder belt is locked and
tightened around a child’s neck,
the only way to loosen the belt is
to cut it.
Never leave children unattended
in a vehicle and never allow
children to play with the safety
belts.Every time infants and young
children ride in vehicles, they should
have the protection provided by
appropriate child restraints. Neither
the vehicle's safety belt system nor
its airbag system is designed
for them.
Children who are not restrained
properly can strike other people,
or can be thrown out of the vehicle.
{Warning
Never hold an infant or a child
while riding in a vehicle. Due to
crash forces, an infant or a child
will become so heavy it is not
possible to hold it during a crash.
For example, in a crash at only
40 km/h (25 mph), a 5.5 kg (12 lb)
infant will suddenly become a
110 kg (240 lb) force on a person's
arms. An infant should be
secured in an appropriate
restraint.{Warning
Children who are up against,
or very close to, any airbag when
it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front
outboard seat. Secure a
rear-facing child restraint in a rear
seat. It is also better to secure a
forward-facing child restraint in a
rear seat. If you must secure a
forward-facing child restraint in
the front outboard seat, always
move the front passenger seat as
far back as it will go.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
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78 Seats and Restraints
Warning (Continued)
following the instructions that
came with the child restraint and
the instructions in this manual.
{Warning
To reduce the risk of serious or
fatal injuries during a crash, do
not attach more than one child
restraint to a single anchor.
Attaching more than one child
restraint to a single anchor could
cause the anchor or attachment
to come loose or even break
during a crash. A child or others
could be injured.
{Warning
Children can be seriously injured
or strangled if a shoulder belt is
wrapped around their neck. The
shoulder belt can tighten but
cannot be loosened if it is locked.
The shoulder belt locks when it is
pulled all the way out of the
retractor. It unlocks when the
shoulder belt is allowed to go all
the way back into the retractor,
but it cannot do this if it is
wrapped around a child’s neck.
If the shoulder belt is locked and
tightened around a child’s neck,
the only way to loosen the belt is
to cut it.
Buckle any unused safety belts
behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull
the shoulder belt all the way out
of the retractor to set the lock,
and tighten the belt behind the
child restraint after the child
restraint has been installed.
Caution
Do not let the LATCH
attachments rub against the
vehicle’s safety belts. This may
damage these parts. If necessary,
move buckled safety belts to
avoid rubbing the LATCH
attachments.
Do not fold the empty rear seat
with a safety belt buckled. This
could damage the safety belt or
the seat. Unbuckle and return the
safety belt to its stowed position,
before folding the seat.
If you need to secure more than one
child restraint in the rear seat, see
Where to Put the Restraint 073.
This system is designed to make
the installation of child restraints
easier. When using lower anchors,
do not use the vehicle's safety belts.
Instead, use the vehicle's anchors
and child restraint attachments to
secure the restraints. Some
restraints also use another vehicle
anchor to secure a top tether.
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Seats and Restraints 81
install the child restraint using
LATCH. If a child restraint is secured
in the vehicle using a safety belt
and it uses a top tether, seeLower
Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH System) 074 for top tether
anchor locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor
if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be anchored, or if
the instructions that come with the
child restraint say that the top strap
must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have
a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
If the child restraint or vehicle seat
position does not have the LATCH
system, you will be using the safety
belt to secure the child restraint in
this position. Be sure to follow the
instructions that came with the child
restraint. Secure the child in the
child restraint when and as the
instructions say. If more than one child restraint
needs to be installed in the rear
seat, be sure to read
Where to Put
the Restraint 073.
1. Put the child restraint on the seat.
2. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions
of the vehicle safety belt
through or around the restraint.
The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
3. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks. Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety
belt could be quickly unbuckled
if necessary.
4. Pull the shoulder belt all the
way out of the retractor to set
the lock. When the retractor
lock is set, the belt can be
tightened but not pulled out of
the retractor.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
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82 Seats and Restraints
5. To tighten the belt, push downon the child restraint, pull the
shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the
belt, and feed the shoulder belt
back into the retractor. When
installing a forward-facing child
restraint, it may be helpful to
use your knee to push down on
the child restraint as you
tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 4 and 5. 6. If the child restraint has a top
tether, follow the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions
regarding the use of the top
tether. See Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) 074 for more
information.
7. Before placing a child in the child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To
check, grasp the child restraint
at the safety belt path and
attempt to move it side to side
and back and forth. When the
child restraint is properly
installed, there should be no
more than 2.5 cm (1 in) of
movement.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.
If the top tether is attached to a top
tether anchor, disconnect it.
Securing Child Restraints
(Front Passenger Seat)
This vehicle has airbags. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint 073.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system which is
designed to turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag under certain
conditions. See Passenger Sensing
System 062 and Passenger Airbag
Status Indicator 099 for more
information on this, including
important safety information.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great,
if the airbag deploys.
{Warning
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag inflates.
(Continued)
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
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84 Seats and Restraints
Tilt the latch plate to adjust the
belt if needed.
4. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety
belt could be quickly unbuckled
if necessary.
5. Pull the shoulder belt all theway out of the retractor to set
the lock. When the retractor
lock is set, the belt can be
tightened but not pulled out of
the retractor.
6. To tighten the belt, push down
on the child restraint, pull the
shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the
belt, and feed the shoulder belt
back into the retractor. When
installing a forward-facing child
restraint, it may be helpful to
use your knee to push down on
the child restraint as you
tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 5 and 6.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Index 343
AutomaticDoor Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Automatic Transmission Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Shift Lock Control Function
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
B
Battery
Exterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Battery - North America . . . . 240, 287
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . . . 242
Bluetooth Overview . . . . . . . . . . . 146, 147, 153
Bluetooth Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 102
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Brakes (cont'd)
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 190
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123, 245
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Headlamps, Front TurnSignal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . . . 246
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps, and Back-up
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
California Proposition
65 Warning . . . . . . . . . .220, 240, 287
Camera
Rear Vision (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . 2
Capacities and
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Caution, Danger, and Warning . . . . 2
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . 100
Check
Ignition Transmission Lock . . . 241
Malfunction IndicatorEngine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Child Restraints Infants and Young Children . . . . . 69
Lower Anchors and Tethersfor Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80, 82
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
346 Index
General InformationService and Maintenance . . . . . 301
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Hands-Free Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 122
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Headlamps
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) Indicator Light . . . . . . . . 108
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 108
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . 121
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 108
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Heater
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 176
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . 185
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . . 203
Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Indicator Owner Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Vehicle Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Infants and Young Children,
Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Instrument Panel Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
J
Jump Starting - North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
K
Keyless EntryRemote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . 27
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . . . 256
Lamps Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . 121
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Exterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 100
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Lane Departure Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104