2014 Chevrolet Sonic problems
Owners have filed 231 complaints with NHTSA about the 2014 Chevrolet Sonic. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 21% of complaints. Next are engine (16%) and air bags (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 231 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 18 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 168 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 | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 30 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 29 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 22 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 168 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 50,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 50,000 miles (34 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 18 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2014 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Chevrolet Sonic with enough data (185 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
The road I was driving on is 55 MPH on bear in. As I began to break nothing happened. A 90 corner was in front of me. 55th ave. I pushed as hard as I could on the breaks. It was smooth.. Traction control was on. No breaking unit went into affect. It was smooth all the way into a tree head on. Zero skid marks! I was conscious the entire time closed on eyes right before impact. Air bags did work. The engine started on fire 3x. They had to use the jaws of life to remove the vehicle from the tree.
The contact owned a 2014 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds approaching a parking lot and slowing down to turn, the vehicle behind was speeding and crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle then flew forward and crashed into a pole. No airbags deployed. The passenger in the driver's side rear seat sustained whiplash to the neck. The contact and her daughter sustained minor injuries to the right hip, right knee, and right shoulder. A police report was filed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that the air bag indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer (john bowman chevrolet inc, 6750 dixie highway, clarkston, michigan 48346) diagnosed that the clock spring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and opened case number: # [xxx]. The contact was referred to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 67,000.
I purchased this vehicle used in 2016 from a car dealership. A couple of months ago my key would not come out of the ignition and I had to wait a few mins then try again. Next time it did that it took 30 mins to remove the key until finally the last time it would not come out period and I had no choice but to leave the vehicle and have it towed to the shop. I had to replace a part of the shifter. There was a metal piece right under the shifter knob that failed.