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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
15 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,848 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 seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2013 Chevrolet Sonic Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #23

Nov 032023

Sonic

  • 112,401 miles

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

Car accident November 3, 2023. A dear ran in front car while traveling 55mps. As the impact took place causing front and of the car to be smashed Air bags in the car did not deployed. Causing head to hit steering wheel.

- Clarksboro, NJ, USA

problem #22

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

problem #21

Oct 072018

Sonic

  • miles
The passenger seat airbag sensor goes out. If someone is in the seat, air bag will not deploy when necessary

- Apple Grove, WV, USA

problem #20

Jan 152015

Sonic 4-cyl

  • miles

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

2013 Chevrolet Sonic. Consumer writes in regard to an accident that caused deployment of airbags which caused the consumer to obtain brain damage. VIN invalid

- Lakeland, FL, USA

problem #19

May 122017

Sonic

  • miles
The contact owned a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. While driving 55 mph, the contact's vehicle was run off the road by another vehicle. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into a pole. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained injuries to the neck and a fractured right rib, which needed medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a junkyard. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN and failure mileage were unknown.

- Dayton, TX, USA

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problem #18

Jul 252018

Sonic

  • 104,940 miles
While I was driving down the road. The whole airbag compartment on the steering with the horn became unattached and fell into my lap causing me to almost wreck.

- Section, AL, USA

problem #17

Apr 122016

Sonic

  • miles

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

Last year on April 12th 2016 I was in a car accident with a csx dump truck her merged onto my side and hit me my door caved in and everything but my airbag did not deploy im okay and so is my car but I had to get my whole driver side fixed and now my child dont work at all and I have a 3yr old that is figuring out how to open the door and im loseing speed and power and my thing that tells me how many miles till the next gas stop is all messed up it just tells me off the wall numbers and I need all of this fixed.

- Crane Hill, AL, USA

problem #16

Nov 082016

Sonic

  • 52,000 miles
Takata recall, my car has been hit in the front end 3 times and the last time was a hard hit, none of the times have I had an airbag come out.

- Nevada, MO, USA

problem #15

Aug 192016

Sonic 4-cyl

  • 57,700 miles
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. An adult passenger in the rear of the vehicle and two children passengers sustained whiplash. Medical attention was received. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a yard. The manufacturer investigated the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 57,700. The vehicle was totaled. Updated 11/16/16.

- Jamestown, TN, USA

problem #14

Jul 122016

Sonic

  • 62,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. While driving at approximately 40 mph, a deer jumped in front of the vehicle. The brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle crashed into the deer. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the hood and bumper needed to be replaced. The technician was unaware why the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #13

Nov 272015

Sonic

  • 60,000 miles

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

I have had my car into the dealer 3 times now within 5 months and they have yet to fix my passenger airbag issue. I took it in on 11/27/2015, 02/26/2016 and again on 03/28/2016. The first 2 times I was told that they would have to order the sensor for it and the last time they told me that they had the sensor but when they called me they told me that the sensor they ordered was wrong and that the sensor I needed was marked as discontinued from GM. The airbag light would stay off even with my fiance sitting in the seat whom weights a little over 200lbs and then it would deside to come on and off as it wanted. Now that I have taken it to the shop and found out that the part is discontinued my main airbag light is on and I have less than 100,000 miles on the car and I have the gmppp plan and the dealership hasn't offered me to call and get a rental, they have acted like this is not a big deal. I have a 13 yr and my fiance and myself whom is pregnant that ride in this car and it's not safe. Not happy at all!!!

- Mount Hope, WV, USA

problem #12

Jan 142016

Sonic

  • 3 miles
The vehicle was moving and I had a strong frontal clash against a retaining wall, the impact damaged all across the front of the car and the air bags did not work. The insurance company declared it a total loss and the Agency where we bought the vehicle is not claimed responsibility for this serious lack in the safety equipment which is worrying for the car lot where it came from my car and the safeguard of the drivers of this type of brand of defective vehicles.

- QuerÉTaro, MÉXico, CA, USA

problem #11

Jan 082016

Sonic

  • 20,546 miles
When my wife rides front passenger seat air bag indicator shows air bag off. Returned vehicle to dealer. Was informed aftermarket seat covers will effect sensor and giver GM bulletin #06-08-50-009H. Subsequently removed seat covers but sensor still not working. Returned to dealership. Was informed sensor was working as designed and problem was my wife's weight (85 lbs). That the sensor was set at industry standard of 95lbs. Contacted GM consumer relations and subsequently informed to return to dealership for repair. Returned to dealership and again informed that the sensor was working as designed and given GM bulletin #12-09-41-002B passenger presence system. Again advised it as a weight issue even though the bulletin stated "the system works by detecting the capacitance of the object on the seat, not the weight". contacted GM consumer relations again and was advised that they could not force the dealership to fix the issue. Never advising if there was even a repair available or acknowledging that the sensor is set at 95 lbs. My wife rides in my Kia and daughter's Chevy traverse with no issues. Just would like a straight answer and wish would have known the weight effect on front passenger seat. I know what my wife's weight was and I would never have purchased this vehicle.

- Surprise, AZ, USA

problem #10

Oct 012015

Sonic

  • 48,000 miles
The contact owned a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the engine revved continuously. The following day, the contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 mph, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries to her head and neck that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #9

Dec 152015

Sonic

  • miles
When a passenger is present, the air bag and seatbelt indicator does not indicate that they are active like they are supposed to.

- Bangor, ME, USA

problem #8

Jun 012013

Sonic

  • 25 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that the air bag sensor failed to recognize that the front passenger seat was occupied. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician stated that the vehicle was operating as designed and stated that the passenger could be under weight. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25.

- Nebo, NC, USA

problem #7

Aug 122014

Sonic

  • 26,000 miles
The car has a detection system in the passenger seat. This should detect if anyone is in that seat. When passenger is detected, the passenger airbags should be activated. For small children (under a certain, not specified weight limit), the airbags on passenger side are not activated. Problem is that the passenger airbags are not even activated when my wife is in that seat. She is born 06/13/1971 and weighs about 130 lb. Obviously, the passenger airbags should be activated when an adult is in that seat that weighs ~ 130 lb. Since this is a serious safety issue, we took the car to Chevrolet dealer (autonation Chevrolet northpoint, 2175 mansell road, alpharetta, ga, 30004, phone 855-478-9750, contact [xxx]). engineer and service manager did all checks and concluded the car is operating as designed. We called Chevrolet owner center (sr. Manager called [xxx], case file nr. [xxx]). they looked into the case and spoke to Chevrolet dealer northpoint. Conclusion is the same; car is working as designed. We spoke to higher manager of sr. Manager [xxx] at Chevrolet's owner center. She also concluded the same. In our opinion, there is a serious safety hazard with the Chevrolet Sonic 2013 as airbags are not activated, even for some adults. Our car will not be fixed by Chevrolet usa or Chevrolet dealer so we are hoping you can address this problem. For further questions, please contact me at below contact details. Thanks in advance, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #6

Feb 122015

Sonic

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. While driving 40 mph, another vehicle crashed into the front driver side of the contact's vehicle. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a telephone pole. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a bruised collar bone and soft tissue bruising, which required medical attention. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing, but the results were unknown. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

problem #5

Sep 152014

Sonic

  • 14,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle was involved in a head on collision. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. There was one injury reported that required medical attention. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000.

- Chantilly, VA, USA

problem #4

Jul 012014

Sonic

  • 22,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a pole. The contact stated that the front driver side air bag failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the back and bruises on her body. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 22,000.

- Johnston, IA, USA

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