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Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
202 Vehicle Care
Vehicle Care
General Information
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 203
California Proposition65 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . . 204
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your OwnService Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . 210
Automatic Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . 212
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . . . 216
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Brake Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Battery - North America . . . . . . 220
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 221 Automatic Transmission Shift
Lock Control Function
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Park Brake and P (Park) Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . . . 222
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 222
Windshield Replacement . . . . . 223
Gas Strut(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Headlamp Aiming
Front Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . 225
Bulb Replacement
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Headlamps and Front Turn Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps, and Back-Up
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . 227
Electrical System
Electrical System Overload . . . 228
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . 229
Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Wheels and Tires
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Summer Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . 235
Tire Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Tire Terminology andDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 251
Tire Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Tire Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 259
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Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
228 Vehicle Care
5. Push the replacement bulbstraight into the bulb socket
and turn the bulb socket
clockwise to install it into the
lamp assembly.
6. Turn the lamp assembly into the lamp assembly opening
engaging the clip side first.
7. Push on the lamp side opposite the clip until the lamp assembly
snaps into place.Electrical System
Electrical System
Overload
The vehicle has fuses and circuit
breakers to protect against an
electrical system overload.
When the current electrical load is
too heavy, the circuit breaker opens
and closes, protecting the circuit
until the current load returns to
normal or the problem is fixed. This
greatly reduces the chance of circuit
overload and fire caused by
electrical problems.
Fuses and circuit breakers protect
power devices in the vehicle.
Replace a bad fuse with a new one
of the identical size and rating.
If there is a problem on the road and
a fuse needs to be replaced, the
same amperage fuse can be
borrowed. Choose some feature of
the vehicle that is not needed to use
and replace it as soon as possible.
Headlamp Wiring
An electrical overload may cause
the lamps to go on and off, or in
some cases to remain off. Have the
headlamp wiring checked right away
if the lamps go on and off or
remain off.
Windshield Wipers
If the wiper motor overheats due to
heavy snow or ice, the windshield
wipers will stop until the motor cools
and will then restart.
Although the circuit is protected
from electrical overload, overload
due to heavy snow or ice may
cause wiper linkage damage.
Always clear ice and heavy snow
from the windshield before using the
windshield wipers.
If the overload is caused by an
electrical problem and not snow or
ice, be sure to get it fixed.
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Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-13566834) -
2020 - CRC - 10/4/19
Index 327
Vehicle (cont'd)Speed Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . . . 104
Vehicle Care Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Vehicle Data Recording and
Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Caution and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Lane Departure (LDW) . . . . . . . 196
Warning Light
Forward CollisionAlert (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Warnings
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Wheels Alignment and Tire Balance . . 251
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 When It Is Time for New
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . . . 70
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Windshield
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . 222
Wipers Rear Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92