Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
284 Service and Maintenance
Additional
Maintenance and Care
Your vehicle is an important
investment and caring for it properly
may help to avoid future costly
repairs. To maintain vehicle
performance, additional
maintenance services may be
required.
It is recommended that your dealer
perform these services—their
trained dealer technicians know
your vehicle best. Your dealer can
also perform a thorough
assessment with a multi-point
inspection to recommend when your
vehicle may need attention.
The following list is intended to
explain the services and conditions
to look for that may indicate
services are required. Battery
The battery supplies power to start
the engine and operate any
additional electrical accessories.
.
To avoid break-down or failure to
start the vehicle, maintain a
battery with full cranking power.
. Trained dealer technicians have
the diagnostic equipment to test
the battery and ensure that the
connections and cables are
corrosion-free.
Belts
. Belts may need replacing if they
squeak or show signs of
cracking or splitting.
. Trained dealer technicians have
access to tools and equipment
to inspect the belts and
recommend adjustment or
replacement when necessary.
. A message may indicate when
scheduled maintenance on the
timing belt and other
components is required. Brakes
Brakes stop the vehicle and are
crucial to safe driving.
.
Signs of brake wear may include
chirping, grinding, or squealing
noises, or difficulty stopping.
. Trained dealer technicians have
access to tools and equipment
to inspect the brakes and
recommend quality parts
engineered for the vehicle.
Fluids
Proper fluid levels and approved
fluids protect the vehicle’s systems
and components. See
Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants 0287 for GM approved
fluids.
. Engine oil and windshield
washer fluid levels should be
checked at every fuel fill.
. Instrument cluster lights may
come on to indicate that fluids
may be low and need to be
filled.
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2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
Service and Maintenance 285
Hoses
Hoses transport fluids and should
be regularly inspected to ensure
that there are no cracks or leaks.
With a multi-point inspection, your
dealer can inspect the hoses and
advise if replacement is needed.
Lamps
Properly working headlamps,
taillamps, and brake lamps are
important to see and be seen on
the road.
.Signs that the headlamps need
attention include dimming, failure
to light, cracking, or damage.
The brake lamps need to be
checked periodically to ensure
that they light when braking.
. With a multi-point inspection,
your dealer can check the lamps
and note any concerns. Shocks and Struts
Shocks and struts help aid in control
for a smoother ride.
.
Signs of wear may include
steering wheel vibration, bounce/
sway while braking, longer
stopping distance, or uneven
tire wear.
. As part of the multi-point
inspection, trained dealer
technicians can visually inspect
the shocks and struts for signs
of leaking, blown seals,
or damage, and can advise
when service is needed.
Tires
Tires need to be properly inflated,
rotated, and balanced. Maintaining
the tires can save money and fuel,
and can reduce the risk of tire
failure. .
Signs that the tires need to be
replaced include three or more
visible treadwear indicators; cord
or fabric showing through the
rubber; cracks or cuts in the
tread or sidewall; or a bulge or
split in the tire.
. Trained dealer technicians can
inspect and recommend the right
tires. Your dealer can also
provide tire/wheel balancing
services to ensure smooth
vehicle operation at all speeds.
Your dealer sells and services
name brand tires.
Vehicle Care
To help keep the vehicle looking like
new, vehicle care products are
available from your dealer. For
information on how to clean and
protect the vehicle’s interior and
exterior, see Interior Care 0271 and
Exterior Care 0266.
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Service and Maintenance 287
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
Fluids and lubricants identified below by name, part number, or specification can be obtained from your dealer.Usage Fluid/Lubricant
Automatic Transmission DEXRON-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid. Chassis Lubrication Chassis Lubricant (GM Part No. 12377985, in Canada 88901242) or lubricant meeting requirements of NLGI #2, Category LB or GC-LB.
Engine Coolant 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and use only DEX-COOL Coolant. SeeCooling System 0213.
Engine Oil Engine oil meeting the dexos1 specification of the proper SAE viscosity grade. ACDelco dexos1 full synthetic is recommended. See Engine Oil
0 208.
Hood Latch Assembly, Secondary Latch, Pivots, Spring Anchor, and Release Pawl Lubriplate Lubricant Aerosol (GM Part No. 89021668, in Canada 89021674)
or lubricant meeting requirements of NLGI #2, Category LB or GC-LB.
Hydraulic Brake DOT 3 Hydraulic Brake Fluid (GM Part No. 19353126, in Canada 19353127).
Key Lock Cylinders and Hood and Door Hinges Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).
Weatherstrip Conditioning Weatherstrip Lubricant (GM Part No. 3634770, in Canada 10953518) or equivalent.
Windshield Washer Automotive windshield washer fluid that meets regional freeze protection requirements.
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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.
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Customer Information 307
.Whether or not the driver and
passenger safety belts were
buckled/fastened;
. How far (if at all) the driver was
depressing the accelerator and/
or brake pedal; and,
. How fast the vehicle was
traveling.
These data can help provide a
better understanding of the
circumstances in which crashes and
injuries occur.
Note
EDR data are recorded by your
vehicle only if a non-trivial crash
situation occurs; no data are
recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal
data (e.g., name, gender, age, and
crash location) are recorded.
However, other parties, such as law
enforcement, could combine the
EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data routinely
acquired during a crash
investigation. To read data recorded by an EDR,
special equipment is required, and
access to the vehicle or the EDR is
needed. In addition to the vehicle
manufacturer, other parties, such as
law enforcement, that have the
special equipment, can read the
information if they have access to
the vehicle or the EDR.
GM will not access these data or
share it with others except: with the
consent of the vehicle owner or,
if the vehicle is leased, with the
consent of the lessee; in response
to an official request by police or
similar government office; as part of
GM's defense of litigation through
the discovery process; or, as
required by law. Data that GM
collects or receives may also be
used for GM research needs or may
be made available to others for
research purposes, where a need is
shown and the data is not tied to a
specific vehicle or vehicle owner.OnStar
If the vehicle is equipped with
OnStar and has an active service
plan, additional data may be
collected and transmitted through
the OnStar system. This includes
information about the vehicle’s
operation; collisions involving the
vehicle; the use of the vehicle and
its features, including infotainment;
and the location and approximate
GPS speed of the vehicle. Refer to
the OnStar Terms and Conditions
and Privacy Statement on the
OnStar website.
See
OnStar Additional Information
0 310.
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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
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318 Index
AudioBluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Automatic Transmission Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Shift Lock Control FunctionCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Auxiliary Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Avoiding Untrusted Media Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
B
Backglass Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
BatteryExterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Battery - North America . . . . 220, 260
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . . . 222
Bluetooth Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140, 141
Bluetooth Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Brake
System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 102
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 170
Bulb Replacement Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Headlamps and Front Turn
Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . . . 227
Taillamps, Turn Signal,
Stoplamps, and Back-up
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
California Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 California
Proposition
65 Warning . . . . . . . . . .203, 220, 260,
Back Cover
Camera Rear Vision (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . 2
Capacities and
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Caution, Danger, and Warning . . . . 2
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . 100
Check Engine Light (Malfunction
Indicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Ignition Transmission Lock . . . 221
Child Restraints Infants and Young Children . . . . . 66
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
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320 Index
Driving (cont'd)Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
E
Electrical Equipment,
Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Electrical System
Engine Compartment FuseBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . 229
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Emergency OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Check Light (MalfunctionIndicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 207
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Engine (cont'd)
Oil Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Reduced Power Light . . . . . . . . . 107
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 180
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . . . 306
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Extender, Seat Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 119
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
F
Filter,Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 121
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . . . .211
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Forward Collision Alert
(FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . 104
Frequency Statement
Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Front Seat Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Front Seats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Economy, Driving for Better . . . 159
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 107
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Top Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197