2016 Chevrolet Sonic problems
Owners have filed 69 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Sonic. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 22% of complaints. Next are electrical system (16%) and air bags (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 69 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 48,000 miles 45 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 | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 45 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 48,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 6 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Chevrolet Sonic with enough data (60 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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 owned a 2016 chevrolet sonic. While driving and making a right turn, another vehicle crashed into the rear of the contact's vehicle. The side curtain air bag failed to deploy. The driver and front passenger sustained head, neck, and back injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened case number: 900227. The approximate failure mileage was 58,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 chevrolet sonic. While pulling into a parking spot, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle drove over a concrete median and through bushes before coming to a complete stop. The contact sustained a thumb injury that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to auffenberg chevrolet buick GMC (830 valley creek dr, farmington, mo 63640), but the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired.
Tl* the contact owned a 2016 chevrolet sonic. While attempting to turn onto a neighborhood street in the rain, the vehicle hydroplaned and began to slide. The contact crashed into the front end of another vehicle that was idling at a stop sign. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The hood and front driver's side of the vehicle were damaged. The vehicle was towed to a collision shop by the contact's insurance company.
While traveling south on interstate 95 in the right lane in the area of mile marker 7 in south carolina a piece of foreign debus was ran over by the car in from of me. The large piece of metal bounced of the road and hit the front bumper grill and air conditioning condenser ( 24 inch piece of metal it appeared to be something that would hold a semi track spare tire in place) the car I was behind didn't stop to ensure my safety however they did brake and continue on their journey.
My car was bought in oct of 2015. It did not come with a rear camera back up system, however the center display (radio & controls panel) started displaying an error message about this back up system. At the same time the phone & radio controls located on the steering wheel also stopped working. When blue toothing a phone (have tried with more than one type) it often disconnects & when it does connect, it doesn't fully connect.