2013 Chevrolet SONIC - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2013 Chevrolet Sonic 4 DR FWD has an impressive overall safety rating of 5 out of 5. This car excels in all aspects of crash safety including front crash, side crash, and rollover ratings. It is equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances the vehicle's handling and reduces the risk of skidding. However, it does not feature forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

Despite its stellar safety ratings, it is worth noting that there have been 207 complaints reported for this model and 6 recalls issued. These numbers indicate that while the Chevrolet Sonic is a safe vehicle, owners should stay informed about any potential issues and ensure all recalls are addressed promptly.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

207

Recall Count

6

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

5/5

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Safety Features

2013 Chevrolet Sonic 4 DR FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2013 Chevrolet Sonic 4 DR FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2013 Chevrolet Sonic 4 DR FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2013 Chevrolet Sonic 4 DR FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2012 Score 2013 Score 2020 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2012 Score 2013 Score 2020 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear 5 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating 5 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2012 Score 2013 Score 2020 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating 5 5 5

Complaints for the 2013 Chevrolet SONIC

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2025-06-01

Complaint:
"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)."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2022-01-07

Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2023-04-09

Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2021-06-01

Complaint:
"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 $80.00, 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."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2014-09-09

Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2021-03-07

Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2019-01-09

Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2019-05-08

Complaint:
"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"
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2019-08-08

Complaint:
"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"
Components Involved: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of incident: 2019-10-04

Recalls for the 2013 Chevrolet SONIC

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2013 cadillac ats and model year 2013 cadillac xts; model year 2014 chevrolet impala; and 2013 chevrolet sonic vehicles. originally, in may 2013, gm recalled 1,627 model year 2013 cadillac ats and model year 2013 cadillac xts; and model year 2014 chevrolet impala vehicles. in october 2013, gm informed the agency that it was adding model year 2013 chevrolet sonic vehicles to this campaign , representing an additional 8,050 units. the total number of vehicles being recalled is now 9,677. on the affected vehicles, the brake lamps may intermittently flash without the brakes being applied and the cruise control may disengage. thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.""
Consequence:
If the brake lamps flash when the vehicle is not slowing, a following driver may not adjust vehicle speed when the vehicle is in fact braking, and the brake lamps are illuminating as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module. The recall began on June 13, 2013. Owner's may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. GM's recall number is 13158.

Component(s) Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2013-05-24

Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2013 chevrolet sonic vehicles manufactured from may 29, 2012, through august 29, 2012. when a turn signal lamp fails to operate, the body control module (bcm) in these vehicles does not detect this condition and will not indicate the condition to the driver. thus, these vehicles fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.""
Consequence:
If the driver is not aware that the turn signal is not functioning and does not have the light repaired, other drivers may not be alerted that the vehicle is turning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the BCM and the vehicle's key fobs, free of charge. The safety recall began on October 3, 2012. Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.

Component(s) Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2012-09-17

CHEVROLET Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

CHEVROLET ranks 2 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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