Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
158 Driving and Operating
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Driving for Better FuelEconomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 163
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 163
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . 165
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 170
Ignition Positions (Keyless Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Ignition Positions (Key Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Parking over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Extended Parking (Keyless Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Running the Vehicle WhileParked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 180
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . 184
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . 190
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . 191
Park Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Forward Collision Alert (FCA)System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Fuel
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . 198
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 198
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Trailer Towing
General Towing
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On ElectricalEquipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
198 Driving and Operating
Recommended Fuel
Use regular unleaded gasoline
meeting ASTM specification
D4814 with a posted octane rating
of 87—(R+M)/2 —or higher. Do
not use gasoline with a posted
octane rating of less than 87, as this
may cause engine knock and will
lower fuel economy.
Do not use any fuel labeled E85 or
FlexFuel. Do not use gasoline with
ethanol levels greater than 15% by
volume.
Prohibited Fuels
Caution
Do not use fuels with any of the
following conditions; doing so
may damage the vehicle and void
its warranty:
. For vehicles that are not
FlexFuel, fuel labeled
greater than 15% ethanol by
volume, such as mid-level
ethanol blends (16–50%
ethanol), E85, or FlexFuel.
. Fuel with any amount of
methanol, methylal,
ferrocene, and aniline.
These fuels can corrode
metal fuel system parts or
damage plastic and rubber
parts.
. Fuel containing metals such
as methylcyclopentadienyl
manganese tricarbonyl
(MMT), which can damage
the emissions control
system and spark plugs.
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
.Fuel with a posted octane
rating of less than the
recommended fuel. Using
this fuel will lower fuel
economy and performance,
and may decrease the life of
the emissions catalyst.
Fuels in Foreign
Countries
The U.S., Canada, and Mexico post
fuel octane ratings in anti-knock
index (AKI). For fuel not to use in a
foreign country, see Prohibited
Fuels 0198.
Fuel Additives
TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is
highly recommended for use with
your vehicle. If your country does
not have TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline, add ACDelco Fuel
System Treatment Plus−Gasoline to
the vehicle’ s gasoline fuel tank at
every oil change or 15 000 km
Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
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