Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
In Brief 5
In Brief
Instrument Panel
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Initial Drive Information
Initial Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . 8
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Trunk Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Second Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Head Restraint Adjustment . . . . 12
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Passenger Sensing System . . . 12
Mirror Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . . 13
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Exterior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . 15
Climate Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Vehicle Features
Radio(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Portable Audio Devices . . . . . . . . 19
Bluetooth
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . . 20
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . 21
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Performance and Maintenance
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Tire Pressure Monitor . . . . . . . . . . 23
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . 23
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
In Brief 11
Seat Adjustment
Manual Seats
To adjust a manual seat:1. Pull the handle at the front of the seat.
2. Slide the seat to the desired position and release the
handle.
3. Try to move the seat back and forth to be sure it is locked in
place.
See Seat Adjustment 045.
Seat Height Adjuster
If available, move the lever up or
down to manually raise or lower
the seat.
See Seat Adjustment 045.
Reclining Seatbacks
To recline a manual seatback:
1. Lift the lever.
If necessary, move the safety
belt out of the way to access
the lever.
2. Move the seatback to the desired position, and then
release the lever to lock the
seatback in place.
3. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it is locked in
place.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
12 In Brief
To return the seatback to the upright
position:1. Lift the lever fully without applying pressure to the
seatback, and the seatback will
return to the upright position.
2. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it is locked.
See Reclining Seatbacks 046.
Second Row Seats
The rear seatbacks can be folded
down to increase cargo space.
See Rear Seats 048.
Head Restraint
Adjustment
Do not drive until the head restraints
for all occupants are installed and
adjusted properly.
To achieve a comfortable seating
position, change the seatback
recline angle as little as necessary
while keeping the seat and the head
restraint height in the proper
position. See
Head Restraints 043 and Seat
Adjustment 045.
Safety Belts
Refer to the following sections for
important information on how to use
safety belts properly:
.
Safety Belts 050.
. How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly 051.
. Lap-Shoulder Belt 052.
. Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) 074.
Passenger Sensing
System
United States
Canada
The passenger sensing system
turns off the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag and knee
airbag under certain conditions. No
other airbag is affected by the
passenger sensing system. See
Passenger Sensing System 062.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Seats and Restraints 43
Seats and
Restraints
Head Restraints
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Front Seats
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Front Seat Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Rear Seats
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Safety Belts
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Safety Belt Extender . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 55
Safety Belt Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Replacing Safety Belt System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Airbag System
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . . 58
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
How Does an Airbag Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Passenger Sensing System . . . 62
Servicing the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Adding Equipment to the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . 66
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . 67
Replacing Airbag System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Child Restraints
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Infants and Young Children . . . . 69
Child Restraint Systems . . . . . . . 72
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . . 73
Lower Anchors and Tethers forChildren (LATCH System) . . . . 74
Replacing LATCH System Parts After a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Securing Child Restraints (Rear Seat) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Securing Child Restraints (Front Passenger Seat) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Head Restraints
{Warning
With head restraints that are not
installed and adjusted properly,
there is a greater chance that
occupants will suffer a neck/
spinal injury in a crash. Do not
drive until the head restraints for
all occupants are installed and
adjusted properly.
Front Seats
The front seats have adjustable
head restraints in the outboard
seating positions.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Seats and Restraints 45
To lower the head restraint, press
the button, located on the top of the
seatback, and push the head
restraint down. Try to move the
head restraint after the button is
released to make sure that it is
locked in place.
Rear outboard head restraints are
not removable.Front Seats
Seat Adjustment
Manual Seats
{Warning
You can lose control of the
vehicle if you try to adjust a driver
seat while the vehicle is moving.
Adjust the driver seat only when
the vehicle is not moving.
To adjust a manual seat:1. Pull up on the handle at the front of the seat.
2. Slide the seat to the desired position and release the
handle.
3. Try to move the seat back and forth to be sure it is locked in
place.
Seat Height Adjuster
If available, move the lever up or
down to manually raise or lower
the seat.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Seats and Restraints 53
4. If equipped with a shoulder beltheight adjuster, move it to the
height that is right for you. See
“Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster”
in this section for instructions
on use and important safety
information.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull
up on the shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull
stitching on the safety belt
through the latch plate to fully
tighten the lap belt on smaller
occupants.
To unlatch the belt, push the button
on the buckle. The belt should
return to its stowed position.
Always stow the safety belt slowly.
If the safety belt webbing returns
quickly to the stowed position, the
retractor may lock and cannot be
pulled out. If this happens, pull the
safety belt straight out firmly to
unlock the webbing, and then
release it. If the webbing is still
locked in the retractor, see your
dealer. Before a door is closed, be sure the
belt is out of the way. If a door is
slammed against a safety belt,
damage can occur to both the
safety belt and the vehicle.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
The vehicle has a shoulder belt
height adjuster for the driver and
right front passenger seating
positions.
Adjust the height so the shoulder
portion of the belt is on the shoulder
and not falling off of it. The belt
should be close to, but not
contacting, the neck. Improper
shoulder belt height adjustment
could reduce the effectiveness of
the safety belt in a crash. See
How
to Wear Safety Belts Properly 051.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Index 345
Electrical System (cont'd)Instrument Panel Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Emergency OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 223
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Oil Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Reduced Power Light . . . . . . . . . 107
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 197
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17, 192
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . . . 330
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 120
Exterior Lighting Battery
Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126F
Filter,Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 122
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 229
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . 123, 245
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . 104
Frequency Statement Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Front Seat Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Front Seats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 107
Requirements, California . . . . . 214
Fuses Engine Compartment FuseBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . 248
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
G
GaugesFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Warning Lights andIndicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S/Canada-9085902) -
2016 - CRC - 5/27/15
Index 349
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . 208
Rear Window Washer/Wiper . . . . . 92
Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Recommended Fluids andLubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Records Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . 290
Reduced Engine Power Light . . . 107
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Replacement Parts
Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . . . 67
Replacing LATCH System
Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Replacing Safety Belt System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . . . 329
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 Reporting Safety Defects (cont'd)
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Roads Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Roadside Assistance
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Roof Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . . 317
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . . . 55
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . 54
Safety Defects Reporting
Canadian Government . . . . . . . . 329 Safety Defects Reporting (cont'd)
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Satellite Radio Antenna . . . . . . . . . 142
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . . . 324
Sealant Kit, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Heated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Securing Child Restraints . . . . 80, 82
Security OnStar®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Vehicle Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Service Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Climate Control System . . . . . . . 176
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 221
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Maintenance Records . . . . . . . . 313