2013 Chevrolet Sonic problems
Owners have filed 322 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 19% of complaints. Next are electrical system (18%) and drivetrain & axles (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 322 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 39 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 32 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 239 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 54 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 44 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 36 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 29 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 48 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 11 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 239 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 50,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 72,000 miles (48 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 39 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 32 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Chevrolet Sonic with enough data (230 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet sonic. While pulling out of a parking lot onto the road to get in a turning lane, another vehicle crashed into the front driver's side of the contact's vehicle. The front driver's side wheel fractured and the key was unable to be removed from the ignition. The driver sustained whiplash and minor bruising. The front passenger flew into the front windshield. The gear shifter fractured when the front passenger was impacted by the force of the crash.
We were driving down the road in ohio when a f-150come out of another road and t boned me they had o cut me out of the car my neck was injured and my back still hurts and I have bad headaches now the air bags did not deploy but GM says I was not hit hard enough but I had several airbags in the car and none of them deployed and car was a total loss .I think it is pretty sad when u buy a vehicle for safety then you crash and the company has no care about you they just care about trying to say that nothing was faulty…
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that all the safety features on the instrument panel became inoperable. In addition, the contact mentioned that both turn signals failed to operate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. However, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
My 2013 chevy sonic developed ticking sound shortly after I bought it at 60000 miles. The ticking got worse over time and then check engine light came on. I scanned the codes and multiple four codes were found. P0171, p0496, p1101, and p2270. After doing some research it seemed to be that most cruze, sonic, and trax vehicles all had the same issues. I took it to the dealer for diagnostics and was informed the vehicle needed a new intake manifold, purge valve, pcv hose, and valve cover.