Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
204 Vehicle Care
California Perchlorate
Materials Requirements
Certain types of automotive
applications, such as airbag
initiators, seat belt pretensioners,
and lithium batteries contained in
electronic keys, may contain
perchlorate materials. Perchlorate
Material–special handling may
apply. See www.dtsc.ca.gov/
hazardouswaste/perchlorate.
Accessories and
Modifications
Adding non-dealer accessories or
making modifications to the vehicle
can affect vehicle performance and
safety, including such things as
airbags, braking, stability, ride and
handling, emissions systems,
aerodynamics, durability, and
electronic systems like antilock
brakes, traction control, and stability
control. These accessories or
modifications could even cause
malfunction or damage not covered
by the vehicle warranty. Damage to suspension components
caused by modifying vehicle height
outside of factory settings will not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Damage to vehicle components
resulting from modifications or the
installation or use of non-GM
certified parts, including control
module or software modifications, is
not covered under the terms of the
vehicle warranty and may affect
remaining warranty coverage for
affected parts.
GM Accessories are designed to
complement and function with other
systems on the vehicle. See your
dealer to accessorize the vehicle
using genuine GM Accessories
installed by a dealer technician.
Also, see
Adding Equipment to the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle 063.
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your Own
Service Work
{Warning
It can be dangerous to work on
your vehicle if you do not have
the proper knowledge, service
manual, tools, or parts. Always
follow owner ’s manual procedures
and consult the service manual
for your vehicle before doing any
service work.
If doing some of your own service
work, use the proper service
manual. It tells you much more
about how to service the vehicle
than this manual can. To order the
proper service manual, see
Publication Ordering Information
0 303.
This vehicle has an airbag system.
Before attempting to do your own
service work, see Servicing the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle 062.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
Vehicle Care 249
{Warning
Mixing tires of different sizes,
brands, or types may cause
loss of control of the vehicle,
resulting in a crash or other
vehicle damage. Use the
correct size, brand, and type
of tires on all wheels.
{Warning
Using bias-ply tires on the
vehicle may cause the wheel
rim flanges to develop cracks
after many miles of driving.
A tire and/or wheel could fail
suddenly and cause a crash.
Use only radial-ply tires with
the wheels on the vehicle.
If the vehicle tires must be
replaced with a tire that does not
have a TPC Spec number, make
sure they are the same size, load range, speed rating, and
construction (radial) as the
original tires.
Vehicles that have a tire
pressure monitoring system
could give an inaccurate
low-pressure warning if non-TPC
Spec rated tires are installed.
See
Tire Pressure Monitor
System 0242.
The Tire and Loading
Information label indicates the
original equipment tires on the
vehicle. See Vehicle Load Limits
0 166.
Different Size Tires and
Wheels
If wheels or tires are installed that
are a different size than the original
equipment wheels and tires, vehicle
performance, including its braking,
ride and handling characteristics,
stability, and resistance to rollover
may be affected. If the vehicle has
electronic systems such as antilock
brakes, rollover airbags, traction control, electronic stability control,
or All-Wheel Drive, the performance
of these systems can also be
affected.
{Warning
If different sized wheels are used,
there may not be an acceptable
level of performance and safety if
tires not recommended for those
wheels are selected. This
increases the chance of a crash
and serious injury. Only use GM
specific wheel and tire systems
developed for the vehicle, and
have them properly installed by a
GM certified technician.
See Buying New Tires 0248 and
Accessories and Modifications
0 204.
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading
The following information relates
to the system developed by the
United States National Highway
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
Customer Information 303
.Vehicle make, model, and
model year
. Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN)
. Insurance company and policy
number
. General description of the
damage to the other vehicle
Choose a reputable repair facility
that uses quality replacement parts.
See “Collision Parts” earlier in this
section.
If the airbag has inflated, see What
Will You See after an Airbag
Inflates? 057.
Managing the Vehicle Damage
Repair Process
In the event that the vehicle requires
damage repairs, GM recommends
that you take an active role in its
repair. If you have a pre-determined
repair facility of choice, take the
vehicle there, or have it towed there.
Specify to the facility that any
required replacement collision parts
be original equipment parts, either
new Genuine GM parts or recycled original GM parts. Remember,
recycled parts will not be covered by
the GM vehicle warranty.
Insurance pays the bill for the repair,
but you must live with the repair.
Depending on your policy limits,
your insurance company may
initially value the repair using
aftermarket parts. Discuss this with
the repair professional, and insist on
Genuine GM parts. Remember,
if the vehicle is leased, you may be
obligated to have the vehicle
repaired with Genuine GM parts,
even if your insurance coverage
does not pay the full cost.
If another party's insurance
company is paying for the repairs,
you are not obligated to accept a
repair valuation based on that
insurance company's collision policy
repair limits, as you have no
contractual limits with that company.
In such cases, you can have control
of the repair and parts choices as
long as the cost stays within
reasonable limits.
Publication Ordering
Information
Service Manuals
Service manuals have the diagnosis
and repair information on the
engine, transmission, axle,
suspension, brakes, electrical
system, steering system, body, etc.
Customer Literature
Owner
’s manuals are written
specifically for owners and are
intended to provide basic
operational information about the
vehicle. The owner ’s manual
includes the Maintenance Schedule
for all models.
Customer literature publications
available for purchase include
owner ’s manuals, warranty
manuals, infotainment manuals, and
portfolios. Portfolios include an
owner ’s manual, warranty manual,
infotainment manual, if applicable,
and zip lock bag or pouch.
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
306 Customer Information
Vehicle Data
Recording and
Privacy
The vehicle has a number of
computers that record information
about the vehicle’s performance and
how it is driven or used. For
example, the vehicle uses computer
modules to monitor and control
engine and transmission
performance, to monitor the
conditions for airbag deployment
and deploy them in a crash, and,
if equipped, to provide antilock
braking to help the driver control the
vehicle. These modules may store
data to help the dealer technician
service the vehicle or to help GM
improve safety or features. Some
modules may also store data about
how the vehicle is operated, such as
rate of fuel consumption or average
speed. These modules may retain
personal preferences, such as radio
presets, seat positions, and
temperature settings.
Cybersecurity
GM collects information about the
use of your vehicle including
operational and safety related
information. We collect this
information to provide, evaluate,
improve, and troubleshoot our
products and services and to
develop new products and services.
The protection of vehicle electronics
systems and customer data from
unauthorized outside electronic
access or control is important to
GM. GM maintains appropriate
security standards, practices,
guidelines and controls aimed at
defending the vehicle and the
vehicle service ecosystem against
unauthorized electronic access,
detecting possible malicious activity
in related networks, and responding
to suspected cybersecurity incidents
in a timely, coordinated and effective
manner. Security incidents could
impact your safety or compromise
your private data. To minimize
security risks, please do not connect
your vehicle electronic systems to
unauthorized devices or connect
your vehicle to any unknown oruntrusted networks (such as
Bluetooth, WIFI or similar
technology). In the event you
suspect any security incident
impacting your data or the safe
operation of your vehicle, please
stop operating your vehicle and
contact your dealer.
Event Data Recorders
This vehicle is equipped with an
event data recorder (EDR). The
main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near
crash-like situations, such as an air
bag deployment or hitting a road
obstacle, data that will assist in
understanding how a vehicle’s
systems performed. The EDR is
designed to record data related to
vehicle dynamics and safety
systems for a short period of time,
typically 30 seconds or less. The
EDR in this vehicle is designed to
record such data as:
.
How various systems in your
vehicle were operating;
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
Index 317
IndexA
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . 201
Additional Information OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Additional Maintenance and Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Agreements
Trademarks and License . . . . . 151
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . . . 212
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Air Intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Passenger Sensing System . . . . 58
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Airbag System (cont'd)
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . . . 54
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Passenger Status Indicator . . . . . 99
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Alarm Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Antenna Backglass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Multi-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . 183 Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Armrest Front Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
322 Index
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . . . 235
LampsCourtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . 120
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Exterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Malfunction Indicator
(Check Engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Lane Departure Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
LATCH System
Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Lighting (cont'd)
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 102
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Check Engine (Malfunction
Indicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 106
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 106
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . 120
Hood Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Lane Departure Warning . . . . . . 104
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Operate Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Reduced Engine Power . . . . . . 107
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Service Vehicle Soon . . . . . . . . . 102
StabiliTrak OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Lights (cont'd)
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Traction Control System
(TCS)/StabiliTrak . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Ultrasonic Parking Sensor . . . . 104
Warning, Power Steering . . . . . 103
Load Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . 107
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Maintenance and Care Additional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Maintenance Schedule . . . . . . . . . 278
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
Index 323
Maintenance Schedule (cont'd)Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . 100
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Manual Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Media Avoiding Untrusted Devices . . 134
Messages Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Vehicle Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Mirrors Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Monitor System, Tire
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Multi-band Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
N
Navigation Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . 314
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . 170
O
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . 210
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . . . 64
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . . 297
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
OnStar Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
OnStar Emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
OnStar Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
OnStar Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
OnStar System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Operate Pedal Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Operation Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Owner Manual Indicator . . . . . . . . 102
P
Park Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Park Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Brake and P (Park)Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . . . 222
Extended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 179
Ultrasonic Sensor Light . . . . . . . 104
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Passenger Compartment Air
Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . 58
Perchlorate Materials Requirements, California . . . . . . 204
Personalization
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Phone Apple CarPlay andAndroid Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140, 141
Port USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Power Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
324 Index
Power (cont'd)Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Reduced Engine Light . . . . . . . . 107
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 177
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Power Steering Warning Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Pregnancy, Using Seat Belts . . . . 50
Privacy Vehicle Data Recording . . . . . . . 306
Program Courtesy Transportation . . . . . . 300
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Proposition 65 Warning,
California . . . . . . . . . . . .203, 220, 260, Back Cover
Publication Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
R
Radio Frequency Statement . . . . 304
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Radios
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Radios (cont'd)
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . 191
Rear Window Washer/Wiper . . . . . 92
Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Records Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . 263
Reduced Engine Power Light . . . 107
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 16
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Replacement Parts
Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . . . 64
Replacing LATCH System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Replacing Seat Belt System
Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . . . 305
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Restraints
Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Roads
Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Roof Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . . 293
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
S
Safety Defects ReportingCanadian Government . . . . . . . . 305
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304