
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
106 Instruments and Controls
Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning
Light
This light comes on briefly while
starting the vehicle.
If it does not, have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. If the
system is working normally the
indicator light goes off.
Caution
The engine coolant temperature
warning light indicates that the
vehicle has overheated. Driving
with this light on can damage the
engine and it may not be covered
by the vehicle warranty. See
Engine Overheating0236. The engine coolant temperature
warning light comes on when the
engine has overheated.
If this happens, pull over and turn
off the engine as soon as possible.
See
Engine Overheating 0236.
Tire Pressure Light
For vehicles with the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS), this light
comes on briefly when the engine is
started. It provides information
about tire pressures and the TPMS.
When the Light Is On Steady
This indicates that one or more of
the tires are significantly
underinflated. Stop as soon as possible, and
inflate the tires to the pressure value
shown on the Tire and Loading
Information label. See
Tire Pressure
0 261.
When the Light Flashes First and
Then Is On Steady
If the light flashes for about a minute
and then stays on, there may be a
problem with the TPMS. If the
problem is not corrected, the light
will come on at every ignition cycle.
See Tire Pressure Monitor
Operation 0263.Engine Oil Pressure Light
Caution
Lack of proper engine oil
maintenance can damage the
engine. Driving with the engine oil
low can also damage the engine.
The repairs would not be covered
by the vehicle warranty. Check
the oil level as soon as possible.
Add oil if required, but if the oil
(Continued)

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Instruments and Controls 107
Caution (Continued)
level is within the operating range
and the oil pressure is still low,
have the vehicle serviced. Always
follow the maintenance schedule
for changing engine oil.
This light should come on briefly as
the engine is started. If it does not
come on, have the vehicle serviced
by your dealer.
If the light comes on and stays on, it
means that oil is not flowing through
the engine properly. The vehicle
could be low on oil and might have
some other system problem. See
your dealer.
Low Fuel Warning Light
This light comes on for a few
seconds when the ignition is turned
on as a check to indicate it is
working. If it does not come on,
have it fixed.
This light comes on when the
vehicle is low on fuel.
The low fuel warning light comes on
when there are approximately 6.0 L
(1.7 gal) of fuel remaining in
the tank.
To turn the light off, add fuel to the
fuel tank. SeeFilling the Tank
0 215.
Immobilizer Light
The immobilizer light should come
on briefly as the engine is started.
If it does not come on, have the
vehicle serviced by your dealer.
If the system is working normally,
the indicator light turns off.
If the light stays on and the engine
does not start, there could be a
problem with the immobilizer
system. See Immobilizer Operation
0 37.
Reduced Engine Power
Light

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
108 Instruments and Controls
The reduced engine power light
should come on briefly as the
engine is started. If it does not come
on, have the vehicle serviced by
your dealer.
This light, along with the malfunction
indicator lamp, displays when a
noticeable reduction in the vehicle's
performance occurs.
The vehicle can be driven at a
reduced speed when the reduced
engine power light is on but
acceleration and speed might be
reduced. If this light stays on, see
your dealer as soon as possible for
diagnosis and repair.
High-Beam On Light
This light comes on when the
high-beam headlamps are in use.
SeeHeadlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer 0121.
Daytime Running Lamps
(DRL) Indicator Light
This light turns on whenever the
Daytime Running Lamps are in use.
See Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
0 121.
Front Fog Lamp Light
For vehicles with fog lamps, this
light comes on when the fog lamps
are on.
The light goes out when the fog
lamps are turned off. See Fog
Lamps 0123 for more information.
Lamps On Reminder
This light comes on when the
exterior lamps are in use. See
Exterior Lamp Controls 0120.
Cruise Control Light
For vehicles with cruise control, the
cruise control light is white when the
cruise control is on and ready, and
turns green when the cruise control
is set and active.
The light turns off when the cruise
control is turned off. See Cruise
Control 0206.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
110 Instruments and Controls
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:
. Units
. Language
. Tire Learn
. Remaining Oil Life
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 0262 andTire Pressure
Monitor Operation 0263.
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
:% CHANGE message will
appear on the display. The oil
should be changed as soon as
possible. See Engine Oil0226. In
addition to the engine oil life system
monitoring the oil life, additional
maintenance is recommended in the
Maintenance Schedule. See
Maintenance Schedule 0302.
Remember, the oil life display must
be reset after each oil change. It will
not reset itself. Also, be careful not
to reset the oil life display
accidentally at any time other than
when the oil has just been changed.
It cannot be reset accurately until
the next oil change. To reset the
engine oil life system, press the
SET/CLR button while the oil life
display is active. See Engine Oil
Life System 0228.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Instruments and Controls 111
Vehicle Messages
DIC messages display when the
status of the vehicle has changed
and action may be needed to
correct the condition. Multiple
messages appear one after another.
Press any of the DIC buttons on the
turn signal lever to acknowledge
and clear them from the display.
More urgent messages cannot be
cleared from the DIC display. All
messages should be taken
seriously. Clearing messages will
not correct the problem.
Vehicle messages appear as code
numbers.
25 :Left Front Turn Signal Failure
26 : Left Rear Turn Signal Failure
27 : Right Front Turn Signal Failure
28 : Right Rear Turn Signal Failure
49 : Lane Departure Warning
Unavailable
52 : Change Timing Belt
77 : Service Front Camera System
84 : Engine Power Is Reduced 89 :
Service Vehicle SoonEngine Oil Messages
:
% CHANGE
This message displays when the
engine oil needs to be changed.
When changing the engine oil, be
sure to reset the Oil Life System.
See Engine Oil Life System 0228,
Engine Oil 0226, and Maintenance
Schedule 0302.
Tire Messages
LF XX, RF XX, LR XX,
or RR XX
A message displays when the tire
pressure is low. It shows the
location of the low tire and the
approximate pressure of the low tire.
If a tire pressure message appears,
stop as soon as you can. Inflate the
tires by adding air until the tire
pressure is equal to the values
shown on the Tire and Loading
Information label. See Tires0254,
Vehicle Load Limits 0187, and Tire
Pressure 0261.
Trip Computer
The trip computer is located in the
Driver Information Center (DIC).
It provides the driver with driving
information such as average speed,
fuel range, average fuel economy,
and a timer.
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(Band): Turn the band
to scroll through the menu
items.
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.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Lighting 121
Headlamp High/
Low-Beam Changer
3(Headlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer) : Push the turn signal
lever away from you to turn the high
beams on.
Push the lever again or pull the
lever toward you to return to low
beams.
This indicator light turns on in the
instrument cluster when the
high-beam headlamps are on.
Flash-to-Pass
To flash the high beams, pull the
turn signal lever all the way toward
you. Then release it.
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL)
DRL can make it easier for others to
see the front of your vehicle during
the day. Fully functional DRL are
required on all vehicles first sold in
Canada.
This indicator light turns on in the
instrument cluster when the DRL
are on.
A light sensor on top of the
instrument panel makes the DRL
work, so be sure it is not covered. The DRL system makes the
low-beam headlamps come on at a
reduced brightness when the
following conditions are met:
.
The ignition is in the ON/
RUN mode.
. The exterior lamp control is
in AUTO.
. The engine is running.
When the DRL are on, only the
low-beam headlamps, at a reduced
level of brightness, will be on. The
taillamps, sidemarker, instrument
panel, and other lamps will not
be on.
The headlamps automatically
change from DRL to the regular
headlamps depending on the
darkness of the surroundings. The
other lamps that come on with the
headlamps will also come on.
When it is bright enough outside,
the headlamps go off and the DRL
come on.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
122 Lighting
To turn the DRL lamps off or on
again, turn the exterior lamp control
to
Oand then release. For vehicles
first sold in Canada, the DRL lamps
cannot be turned off.
Automatic Headlamp
System
When it is dark enough outside and
the exterior lamp control is in the
automatic position, the headlamps
come on automatically. See Exterior
Lamp Controls 0120.
The vehicle has a light sensor on
top of the instrument panel. Make
sure it is not covered, or the
headlamps will be on when they are
not needed. The system may also turn on the
headlamps when driving through a
parking garage or tunnel.
Lights On with Wipers
If the windshield wipers are
activated in daylight with the engine
on, and the exterior lamp control is
in AUTO, the headlamps, parking
lamps, and other exterior lamps
come on. The transition time for the
lamps coming on varies based on
wiper speed. When the wipers are
not operating, these lamps turn off.
Move the exterior lamp control to
P
or;to disable this feature.
Hazard Warning Flashers
|(Hazard Warning Flasher) :
Press and momentarily hold this
button to make the front and rear
turn signal lamps flash on and off.
This warns others that you are
having trouble. Press and
momentarily hold again to turn the
flashers off.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Lighting 125
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting
Some exterior lamps and interior
lamps turn on briefly at night, or in
areas with limited lighting, when
K
is pressed on the Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) transmitter. When a
door is opened, the interior lamps
come on if the dome lamp control is
in the Door position. They stay on
for about 20 seconds. When all of
the doors have been closed or the
ignition is turned to ON/RUN, they
gradually fade out.
This feature can be changed. See
“Vehicle Locator Lights”under
Vehicle Personalization 0113.
Exit Lighting
Some exterior lamps and interior
lamps come on at night, or in areas
with limited lighting, when the key is
removed from the ignition. The
dome lamp comes on after the
ignition is changed to the OFF
position. The exterior lamps and dome lamp remain on for a set
amount of time, then automatically
turn off.
The exterior lamps turn off
immediately by turning the exterior
lamp control off.
This feature can be changed. See
Vehicle Personalization
0113.
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric Power
Management (EPM) that estimates
the battery's temperature and state
of charge. It then adjusts the voltage
for best performance and extended
life of the battery.
When the battery's state of charge
is low, the voltage is raised slightly
to quickly bring the charge back up.
When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly to
prevent overcharging. If the vehicle
has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC), you may see the voltage move up or down. This is
normal. If there is a problem, an
alert will be displayed.
The battery can be discharged at
idle if the electrical loads are very
high. This is true for all vehicles.
This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning fast
enough at idle to produce all the
power needed for very high
electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when
several of the following are on, such
as: headlamps, high beams, fog
lamps, rear window defogger,
climate control fan at high speed,
heated seats, engine cooling fans,
trailer loads, and loads plugged into
accessory power outlets.
EPM works to prevent excessive
discharge of the battery. It does this
by balancing the generator's output
and the vehicle's electrical needs.
It can increase engine idle speed to
generate more power, whenever
needed. It can temporarily reduce
the power demands of some
accessories.