2016 CHEVROLET SONIC — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 48 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (7 complaints · 14.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 6
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2015 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 7 of 48 owner complaints (14.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 14.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 · 14.6% ENGINE: 7 complaints, 14.6% of reports ENGINE 7 · 14.6% AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 12.5% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 12.5% · 4 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 8.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 8.3% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 6.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 6.3% SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 4.2% · 2 crash reports SUSPENSION: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports SUSPENSION 2 · 4.2% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 2.1% STEERING: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports STEERING 1 · 2.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 14 complaints, 29.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14 · 29.2% · 1 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 14.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 7 14.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 6 12.5% 4 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 4.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 2 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14 29.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 2016; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2016. 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Apr 2016 Jan 2026 Recall campaign 16V257000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V257000 Recall campaign 16V422000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V422000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 2
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 3
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 4
2019-Q1 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 4
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 4
2020-Q4 Owner reports 4
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 3
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 16V257000
Recall campaign 1 16V422000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V257000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    Without audible indicators, the driver may leave the key in the ignition, increasing the risk of theft.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 17130.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V422000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    Without audible indicators, the driver may not fasten their seatbelt, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The recall began on July 22, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 45340.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 48 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources