2016 Chevrolet Sonic: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 48 complaints about the 2016 Chevrolet Sonic and NHTSA has issued 2 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is engine, named in 13 of them.

48
Complaints
2
Recalls
8
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
6
Injuries
179.2
Severity index

Severity index 179.2 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 179.2p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2016 Chevrolet Sonic sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 140 2016 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2016 Chevrolet Sonic ranks 6 of 140 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 96% of its model-year peers. See the full 2016 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 13 complaints (27.1%)13 27%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 11 complaints (22.9%)11 23%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 8 complaints (16.7%)8 17%Air BagsAir Bags: 8 complaints (16.7%)8 17%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 5 complaints (10.4%)5 10%Electronic Stability Co…Electronic Stability Control (Esc): 3 complaints (6.2%)3 6%Power TrainPower Train: 3 complaints (6.2%)3 6%SuspensionSuspension: 3 complaints (6.2%)3 6%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE1327.1%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1122.9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER816.7%
AIR BAGS816.7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM510.4%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)36.2%
POWER TRAIN36.2%
SUSPENSION36.2%

Complaints filed per year

06122016: 22017: 62018: 82019: 92020: 122021: 42022: 12023: 22024: 12025: 12026: 2 (partial year)161718192012212223242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20162
20176
20188
20199
202012
20214
20221
20232
20241
20251
2026 (year to date)2
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
16V42200010/06/2016ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWAREGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax, and 2013-2015 Spark vehicles equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio. The affected radios may fail to provide an audible warning chime when the driver fails to fasten their seatbelt or
16V25700028/04/2016EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC.General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax vehicles and 2013-2015 Chevrolet Spark vehicles equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio. The affected radios may fail to provide an audible warning chime when the driver, after turning
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.