Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,987 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2013 Chevrolet Sonic miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2013 Chevrolet Sonic:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2013 Chevrolet Sonic Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #43

Jan 302023

Sonic

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car was taken to a mechanic. The diagnosis is that the 16186 Catalytic Converter Internal Damage. This forces the car to keep stalling. Upon further research, certain models had this recall. I called GM and they said my car is not one of the ones that had the recall how ever it has the same failure that the other recalls do.

- West Menlo Park, CA, USA

problem #42

Jul 012022

Sonic 4-cyl

  • miles
I purchased a 2013 Chevy Sonic in October 2021.it has been in the repair shop twice since then. They replaced a sensor that it probably didn-€™t need. Now they tell me that it needs a new catalytic converter.. I have a warranty on this car. Please help ! [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #41

Feb 042022

Sonic

  • miles
My car is a lemon, brought from Arizona and they sold me a car that has a rusted chassis so if repairs are needed I will have to spend more money to get fixed because things are very fragile because everything is rusted and then I-€™m lease the car for a price a car isn-€™t worth for.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #40

Sep 282021

Sonic

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On Tuesday, September 27 at 10:25 AM, I was driving to pickup medication for my dog. I was less than 5 miles away from my home. As I pulled up to park, I slowed down and turned into the nearest parking stall. As I set the automatic shifter to Park, the car came out of park and shifted gears into Drive; mounting the curb. I hit the brake but the car continued to move forward. When I went to pull on my Emergency brake, the car hit the side of the building. As soon as I hit the building, I was able to regain control of the car and turn the ignition off. Gratefully, no one was hurt.

- Oxnard, CA, USA

problem #39

Jun 042021

Sonic

  • miles
At around 45,600 miles the Odometer and Trip Meter on my 2013 Sonic stopped displaying numbers and instead shows just 3 dashes. Disconnecting the car's battery for 30 mins, reconnecting, and starting the car displays the mileage for a few seconds and then returns to the ---. Same happens when pulling the fuse for the gauge cluster; the mileage is displayed for a few seconds and then returns to the ---. Attempting to reset the Trip Meter results in the normal 'beep' but numbers are not displayed. Brought the car to the dealership and since the vehicle is out of warranty they want a nonrefundable deposit of $700 just to diagnose, parts and labor would be an additional bill on top of that. Ridiculous. Since this is likely a computer issue it's beyond the scope of work that can be performed by my trusted local garage and as a result I have not had the issued corrected. This should be a GM recall.

- Bellevue, NE, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #38

Jan 062021

Sonic

  • miles
The button in the shift stick get stuck and doesn't come back, key gets stuck and I struggle to get them out of the ignition. This is happening since October 2020 from now. One day the button got stuck and was hard to make it come back that I considered leaving my car with the keys in the ignition, but I worked so hard to get it unstuck for a good time and I succeeded. The bad thing it that I doesn't look to improve. It happes every time the vehicle is parked and I'm about to leave it.

- Chicago Heights, IL, USA

problem #37

Sep 052020

Sonic

  • 116,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My power steering keeps going out, I have to tap on the battery post connectors and the power steering starts working again. Sometimes a warning light comes on, sometimes not. My daughter was driving going around a bend in the road when the power steering went out, almost lost control. My odometer quit working, I took it to a shop and was told it's a common problem. Why is this not on recall if a Chevrolet mechanic is telling me it's a common problem...very expensive and unnecessary and should be on recall if it's that common.

- Hanford, CA, USA

problem #36

Aug 082014

Sonic

  • 6,000 miles
My Sonic had the same issue as NHTSA recall no. : 19E-064, manufacturer recall no. : N192223230. Except, it happened when I reached to use the wipers rather than hitting the key fob with my leg. I reached to use the wipers and my arm hit the key fob, knocking it into the next position, turning off the engine. It could have just as easily moved over one more and locked the steering. The recall was done on the camaro's, so why wasn't it done on any other vehicle using the same key fob and ignition replacement" was it because the camaro's price is 4 times the price of a Sonic? are camaro drivers more valuable than Sonic drivers" there is a class action lawsuit including the camaro recall, but not the Sonic. Https://www.gmignitionswitcheconomicsettlement.com/ I reported this back in 2014, and never heard a word about it.

- Gardner, MA, USA

problem #35

Sep 092014

Sonic

  • 4,000 miles
I own a 2013 Chevy Sonic. The key fob is huge. In fact, there have been times when I attempt to use my wiper controls and I have accidentally hit that key fob and turned the car off. Luckily, I was not moving at the time, but because of this problem it's extremely possible and likely that the same could happen while driving and possibly be knocked all the way over where it would not only turn the car off, but also lock the steering. I went to a dealer and heard a rumor the same problem exists for the camaro's and GM created keys with the electronics in them to use in place of the key fob's. they are about 2 inches shorter. Why this was not done for any vehicle by GM that uses the same key fob's and ignitions, I don't understand. I personally got the dealer to make me a set of these keys to see if they would work in my Sonic. It cost me $80, but for the safety value I paid for them. I think this should be a recall/repair or a class action suit because it scared me when it happened, and I worry it will happen to others who haven't had if happen, but are unaware of the possibility.

- Gardner, MA, USA

problem #34

Jul 152020

Sonic

  • 53,222 miles
Stationary. The key locks in the ignition because the gear shift button on the front of the shift does not release. You have to release the button by pressing your finger or an object to release the button to release the key fob. This is frustrating, annoying and a hazard.. the manufacturer should be accountable for this malfunction. One does not buy a car new or used and expect to deal with this faulty mechanism. According to a GM/Chevrolet dealer, the entire gear shift must be replaced. I believe GM was and is fully aware of this malfunction and neglected to resolve the problem.

- Old Forge, PA, USA

problem #33

Jul 102020

Sonic 4-cyl

  • 86,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Code 84 while driving on regular road at normal speed. Car goes into power reduction mode. It's difficult to accelerate and the "see mechanic" symbol on the dash. Took it to midas, had the pedal assembly replaced and electrical wires greased. Next week same thing, replaced pedal assembly again. Same thing happened again today. Driving in nice weather going under 45mph. Stabilitrack light comes on and power reduction turns on. Turn car off, sit a minute, turn back on, check engine light and power reduction off. Will happen again. Every day for the last 3 weeks after about a year ago having pedal assembly replaced. Code 84 came on again today, took to the mechanic, they say everything is running fine with the diagnostic reading. Not sure why the power reduction comes on. I have tried driving with traction control off, tc off and stabilitrack off. New tires, new brakes, new windshield (replaced when I bought the car in case there was an internal leak. No water intrusion was found by the mechanics. I cannot drive the car safely on the busy road I work on. Car will go into power reduction at random even when on the highway, causing the car to lose ability to accelerate fast enough to not get hit. Always while driving. Sometimes the check engine light stays on and sometimes it's not on at all. Intermittent power reduction. Mechanics say could be an electrical issue but couldn't find the source of the problem. This has been happening on and off for over a year and no solution has been found. All regular maintenance is scheduled in a timely fashion. Unknown cause of safety issue

- Carol Stream, IL, USA

problem #32

Mar 122019

Sonic 4-cyl

  • 105,000 miles
Was unable to get key out of ignition due to the gear shift button being stuck in.

- Montville, CT, USA

problem #31

Feb 182020

Sonic

  • 42,550 miles
I bought my van Chrysler pacifica back on July 30 2018 after couple months after I stater noticing sliding door driver side when trying to close it either by key fob inside button nor door was not closing any once need it to try 3 or 4 times to close all the way then radio turning off I called a web called pacifica cares then I was reach by them I was told to provide a email phone number time and date of appointment name and address of the dealership then Y was reach by one case manager I share with her the issues we agreed on the appointment at the date and time which was yesterday 2/26/2020 8 am she said she called them explained to them what was going to happen at the date and time so I got to the dealership and none had a clue about my reason so I explained to service person he said you can't generalized and said the isn't no issues whatsoever which pacificas I called case manager but she wasn't reachable because she's in other state so I was told by advisor at the service that she never talk to him after two hrs I was reach by my case manager and then explained to me that I need it to pay the diagnostic to be able to move forward in the case which it cost 140$ I told her that I was never told that I need it to cover that out of my packet before they can make any decision at this point I'm very disappointed and upset because I was never told that I need it to pay for this diagnosis if I can get any help will appreciate

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #30

Dec 312019

Sonic

  • 131,000 miles
I was driving to work and was coming up to an intersection I had to turn at. I pushed the break pedal, but it was really stiff and didn't do much. My car slid across the road into a wooden electric pole because it would not stop. My car is totaled and now I have to figure out some way to get a different vehicle.

- Leroy, MI, USA

problem #29

Sep 012019

Sonic

  • miles
I am unable to remove the ignition key. When the car is in park with the ignition turned off, the key will not release. It use to happen occasionally but now for the past 2 weeks, it has happened every time I have put the car in park and tried to take the key out.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #28

Aug 052019

Sonic

  • 131,000 miles
The button on the shifter sticks in. So you can't release the key from the ignition after turning the vehicle off. It also sticks in while in gear (drive) making the shifter unable to ' lock' in gear and easily bumped out of gear while driving.

- Waterville, MN, USA

problem #27

Aug 082019

Sonic

  • 125,000 miles
Button on shifter sticking can't take keys out of ignition when in park and button stays in while driving so if the shifter is bumped it will shift out of gear.. causing a major safety issue! I looked online and this seems to be a regular problem with chev Sonic owners

- Waterville, MN, USA

problem #26

Apr 102019

Sonic

  • 115,000 miles
The gear shift button got stuck and I couldn't push it in to switch gears. The vehicle would not get out of park. It started when I stopped at my mailbox, and put it in park so my daughter could get out and check the mail. When I went to put it in drive it wouldn't shift. Finally after sitting there about 5 min it moved. After that it would only do it occassionally. Now its getting stuck (pushed in) more and you can switch gears without pushing anything. If someone hits it then we are wrecking. This has been going on with these cars because I have researched this and this is their product of cheap!! luckily nothing has happened yet while driving

- Sulphur Springs, TX, USA

problem #25

Jun 272019

Sonic

  • 97,000 miles
When the key is in the ignition it does not chime when the door is open. It will only chime with the door open if it is turned to accessory.

- Leetonia, OH, USA

problem #24

Jun 132019

Sonic

  • 97,000 miles
While someone is sitting in the passenger seat, it does not always show "on" on the display for the airbag. At least once it has displayed both "on" and "off" at the same time and did not recognize if the seatbelts was latched or not.

- Leetonia, OH, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

Not what you are looking for?