2017 CHEVROLET SONIC engine

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
Instruments and Controls 127
Messages that require immediateaction cannot be cleared until thataction is performed. Clearingmessages does not correct theproblem.
Engine Oil Messages
:% CHANGE
This message displays when theengine oil needs to be changed.When changing the engine oil, besure to reset the Oil Life System.SeeEngine Oil Life System0222,Engine Oil0220,andMaintenanceSchedule0290.
Tire Messages
LF XX, RF XX, LR XX,
or RR XX
Amessagedisplayswhenthetirepressure is low. It shows thelocation of the low tire and theapproximate pressure of the low tire.
If a tire pressure message appears,stop as soon as you can. Inflate thetires by adding air until the tirepressure is equal to the valuesshown on the Tire and LoadingInformation label. SeeTires0248,Vehicle Load Limits0178,andTirePressure0256.
Vehicle
Personalization
Use the audio system controls toaccess the personalization menusfor customizing vehicle features.
The following are all possiblepersonalization features. Dependingon the vehicle, some may not beavailable.
Radio Audio System Controls
1. Touch the desired feature todisplay a list of availableoptions.
2. Touch to select the desiredfeature setting.
3. PressoBACK on the
faceplate or touch0to return
to the previous menu or exit.
Turn the vehicle to ON/RUN toaccess the Settings menu, thenselect SETTINGS from the HomePage on the infotainment systemdisplay.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
Lighting 135
3:Push the turn signal lever awayfrom you to turn the high beams on.
Push the lever again or pull thelever toward you to return to lowbeams.
This indicator light turns on in theinstrument cluster when thehigh-beam headlamps are on.
Flash-to-Pass
To f l a s h t h e h i g h b e a m s , p u l l t h eturn signal lever all the way towardyou. Then release it.
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL)
DRL can make it easier for others tosee the front of your vehicle duringthe day. Fully functional DRL arerequired on all vehicles first sold inCanada.
The DRL system makes thelow-beam headlamps come on at areduced brightness when thefollowing conditions are met:
.The ignition is in the ON/RUN mode.
.The exterior lamp control isin AUTO.
.The engine is running.
When the DRL are on, only thelow-beam headlamps, at a reducedlevel of brightness, will be on. Thetaillamps, sidemarker, instrumentpanel, and other lamps will notbe on.
The headlamps automaticallychange from DRL to the regularheadlamps depending on thedarkness of the surroundings. Theother lamps that come on with theheadlamps will also come on.
When it is bright enough outside,the headlamps go off and the DRLcome on.
To t u r n t h e D R L l a m p s o f f o r o nagain, turn the exterior lamp control
toOand then release. For vehicles
first sold in Canada, the DRL canonly be turned off when thetransmission is in P (Park).
Automatic Headlamp
System
When it is dark enough outside andthe exterior lamp control is in theautomatic position, the headlampscome on automatically. SeeExteriorLamp Controls0134.
The vehicle has a light sensor ontop of the instrument panel. Makesure it is not covered, or theheadlamps will be on when they arenot needed.
The system may also turn on theheadlamps when driving through aparking garage or tunnel.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
136 Lighting
Lights On with Wipers
If the windshield wipers areactivated in daylight with the engineon, and the exterior lamp control isin AUTO, the headlamps, parkinglamps, and other exterior lampscome on. The transition time for thelamps coming on varies based onwiper speed. When the wipers arenot operating, these lamps turn off.
Move the exterior lamp control toP
or;to disable this feature.
Hazard Warning Flashers
|:Press and momentarily holdthis button to make the front andrear turn signal lamps flash on andoff. This warns others that you arehaving trouble. Press andmomentarily hold again to turn theflashers off.
Turn and Lane-Change
Signals
Move the lever all the way up ordown to signal a turn.
An arrow on the instrument clusterwill flash in the direction of the turnor lane change.
Raise or lower the lever until thearrow starts to flash to signal a lanechange. Hold it there until the lane
change is completed. If the lever isbriefly pressed and released, theturn signal flashes three times.
The lever returns to its neutralposition when it is released.
If after signaling a turn or lanechange the arrow flashes rapidly ordoes not come on, a signal bulbmay be burned out. Replace anyburned out bulbs. If a bulb is notburned out, check the fuse. SeeFuses and Circuit Breakers0242orBulb Replacement0238.
Turn Signal On Chime
If the turn signal is left on for morethan 1.2 km (0.75 mi), a chime willsound at each flash of the turnsignal. To turn the chime off, movethe turn signal lever to the neutralposition.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
Lighting 139
If equipped with Keyless Access,the exterior lamps automatically turnon when a door is opened after theignition is changed to the OFFposition. The dome lamps alsocome on after the ignition ischanged to the OFF position. SeeIgnition Positions (Key Access)0182orIgnition Positions (KeylessAccess)0183.
The exterior lamps turn offimmediately by turning the exteriorlamps control off.
This feature can be changed. SeeVehicle Personalization0127.
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric PowerManagement (EPM) that estimatesthe battery's temperature and stateof charge. It then adjusts the voltagefor best performance and extendedlife of the battery.
When the battery's state of chargeis low, the voltage is raised slightlyto quickly bring the charge back up.When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly toprevent overcharging. If the vehiclehas a voltmeter gauge or a voltagedisplay on the Driver InformationCenter (DIC), you may see thevoltage move up or down. This isnormal. If there is a problem, analert will be displayed.
The battery can be discharged atidle if the electrical loads are veryhigh. This is true for all vehicles.This is because the generator(alternator) may not be spinning fastenough at idle to produce all thepower needed for very highelectrical loads.
Ahighelectricalloadoccurswhenseveral of the following are on, suchas: headlamps, high beams, foglamps, rear window defogger,climate control fan at high speed,heated seats, engine cooling fans,trailer loads, and loads plugged intoaccessory power outlets.
EPM works to prevent excessivedischarge of the battery. It does thisby balancing the generator's outputand the vehicle's electrical needs.It can increase engine idle speed to
generate more power, wheneverneeded. It can temporarily reducethe power demands of someaccessories.
Normally, these actions occur insteps or levels, without beingnoticeable. In rare cases at thehighest levels of corrective action,this action may be noticeable to thedriver.
Battery Power Protection
The battery saver feature isdesigned to protect the vehicle'sbattery.
If some interior lamps are left onand the ignition is turned off, thebattery rundown protection systemautomatically turns the lamp off aftersome time.
Exterior Lighting Battery
Saver
The exterior lamps turn off about10 minutes after the ignition isturned off, if the parking lamps orheadlamps have been manually lefton. This protects against draining

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
164 Infotainment System
Trademarks and
License Agreements
FCC Information
SeeRadio FrequencyStatement0317.
Bluetooth®
The Bluetooth word mark and logosare owned by the Bluetooth®SIG,Inc. and any use of such marks byGeneral Motors is under license.Other trademarks and trade namesare those of their respective owners.
DivX Certified®to play DivX®video,including premium content.
Covered by one or more of thefollowing U.S. patents: 7,295,673;7,460,668; 7,515,710; 7,519,274.
DivX®,DivXCertified®andassociated logos are trademarks ofRovi Corporation or its subsidiariesand are used under license.
“Made for iPod”and“Made foriPhone”mean that an electronicaccessory has been designed toconnect specifically to iPod oriPhone and has been certified bythe developer to meet Appleperformance standards.
iPod and iPhone are trademarks ofApple Computer, Inc., registered inthe U.S. and other countries.
Fees and Taxes: Subscription fee,taxes, one time activation fee, andother fees may apply. Subscriptionfee is consumer only. All fees andprogramming subject to change.Subscriptions subject to CustomerAgreement available atwww.siriusxm.com orwww.siriusxm.ca. SiriusXM®serviceonly available in the 48 contiguousUnited States and Canada.
In Canada: Some deterioration ofservice may occur in extremenorthern latitudes. This is beyondthe control of SiriusXM®SatelliteRadio.
It is prohibited to copy, decompile,disassemble, reverse engineer,hack, manipulate, or otherwisemake available any technology orsoftware incorporated in receiverscompatible with the SiriusXMSatellite Radio System or thatsupport the SiriusXM website, theOnline Service or any of its content.Furthermore, the AMBER voicecompression software included inthis product is protected byintellectual property rights including

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
Driving and Operating 171
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 173Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 174Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 175Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 176Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . 178Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 181Ignition Positions (KeyAccess) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Ignition Positions (KeylessAccess) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 185Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Retained AccessoryPower (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Shifting Into Park (AutomaticTransmission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Shifting out of Park (AutomaticTransmission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Parking over ThingsThat Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190Running the Vehicle WhileParked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 191Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Manual Transmission
Manual Transmission . . . . . . . . . 193
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . 197
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/ElectronicStability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Driver Assistance Systems
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . 201Parking Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Forward Collision Alert (FCA)System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Lane DepartureWarning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207California FuelRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 208Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Trailer Towing
General Towing Information . . . 211
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On ElectricalEquipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
Driving and Operating 173
{Warning
Drinking and then driving is very
dangerous. Your reflexes,
perceptions, attentiveness, and
judgment can be affected by even
asmallamountofalcohol.You
can have a serious—or even
fatal—collision if you drive after
drinking.
Do not drink and drive or ride with
adriverwhohasbeendrinking.
Ride home in a cab; or if you are
with a group, designate a driver
who will not drink.
Control of a Vehicle
Braking, steering, and acceleratingare important factors in helping tocontrol a vehicle while driving.
Braking
Braking action involves perceptiontime and reaction time. Deciding topush the brake pedal is perceptiontime. Actually doing it isreaction time.
Average driver reaction time isabout three-quarters of a second. Inthat time, a vehicle moving at100 km/h (60 mph) travels 20 m(66 ft), which could be a lot ofdistance in an emergency.
Helpful braking tips to keep in mindinclude:
.Keep enough distance betweenyou and the vehicle in frontof you.
.Avoid needless heavy braking.
.Keep pace with traffic.
If the engine ever stops while thevehicle is being driven, brakenormally but do not pump thebrakes. Doing so could make thepedal harder to push down. If theengine stops, there will be somepower brake assist but it will beused when the brake is applied.Once the power assist is used up, itcan take longer to stop and thebrake pedal will be harder to push.
Steering
Electric Power Steering
The vehicle has electric powersteering. It does not have powersteering fluid. Regular maintenanceis not required.
If power steering assist is lost dueto a system malfunction, the vehiclecan be steered, but may requireincreased effort. See your dealer ifthere is a problem.
If the steering wheel is turned until itreaches the end of its travel and isheld against that position for anextended period of time, powersteering assist may be reduced.
If the steering assist is used for anextended period of time, powerassist may be reduced.
Normal use of the power steeringassist should return when thesystem cools down.
See your dealer if there is aproblem.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
176 Driving and Operating
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or throughmountains is different than drivingon flat or rolling terrain. Tips include:
.Keep the vehicle serviced and ingood shape.
.Check all fluid levels and brakes,tires, cooling system, andtransmission.
.Shift to a lower gear when goingdown steep or long hills.
{Warning
Using the brakes to slow the
vehicle on a long downhill slope
can cause brake overheating, can
reduce brake performance, and
could result in a loss of braking.
Shift the transmission to a lower
gear to let the engine assist the
brakes on a steep downhill slope.
{Warning
Coasting downhill in N (Neutral)
or with the ignition off is
dangerous. This can cause
overheating of the brakes and
loss of steering. Always have the
engine running and the vehicle
in gear.
.Drive at speeds that keep thevehicle in its own lane. Do notswing wide or cross thecenter line.
.Be alert on top of hills;something could be in your lane(e.g., stalled car, accident).
.Pay attention to special roadsigns (e.g., falling rocks area,winding roads, long grades,passing or no-passing zones)and take appropriate action.
Winter Driving
Driving on Snow or Ice
Snow or ice between the tires andthe road creates less traction orgrip, so drive carefully. Wet ice canoccur at about 0 °C (32 °F) whenfreezing rain begins to fall. Avoiddriving on wet ice or in freezing rainuntil roads can be treated.
For Slippery Road Driving:
.Accelerate gently. Acceleratingtoo quickly causes the wheels tospin and makes the surfaceunder the tires slick.
.Turn on Traction Control. SeeTr a c t i o n C o n t r o l / E l e c t r o n i cStability Control0197.
.The Antilock Brake System(ABS) improves vehicle stabilityduring hard stops, but thebrakes should be applied soonerthan when on dry pavement.SeeAntilock Brake System(ABS)0195.
.Allow greater following distanceand watch for slippery spots. Icypatches can occur on otherwise