2014 Chevrolet SONIC - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2014 Chevrolet Sonic receives an excellent overall safety rating of 5 out of 5. This rating is consistent across various crash tests, including front crash and side crash ratings. The car also comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances stability and helps prevent accidents. However, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the Chevrolet Sonic has had 138 complaints reported and 4 recalls issued. While the high number of complaints may raise some concerns, the fact that the car has undergone recalls shows that the manufacturer takes safety seriously and is proactive in addressing any issues that may arise. Overall, the Chevrolet Sonic offers top-notch safety features and performance, making it a reliable choice for consumers looking for a safe and secure driving experience.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

138

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

5/5

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Safety Features

2014 Chevrolet Sonic 4 DR FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2014 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

2014 Chevrolet Sonic 4 DR FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2014 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 2014 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 2014 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 2014 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 2014 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:
"passenger airbag not active even though an average sized (160 pound) adult is sitting there.this is very very dangerous.apparently a pressure sensitive monitor in the passenger seat is not working correctly.i have read many many complaints about this on the chevrolet sonic on this website.this started out as a sporadic problem,but now is constant."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2023-01-02
Complaint:
"the contact owned a 2014 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds approaching a parking lot and slowing down to turn, the vehicle behind was speeding and crashed into the rear of the vehicle. the vehicle then flew forward and crashed into a pole. no airbags deployed. the passenger in the driver's side rear seat sustained whiplash to the neck. the contact and her daughter sustained minor injuries to the right hip, right knee, and right shoulder. a police report was filed. the passenger in the driver's side rear seat was treated via ambulance and the contact and her daughter received medical attention from a chiropractor. the police towed the vehicle to a lot where it was deemed a total loss. the dealer was contacted and informed the contact that no recalls were under the vin. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and started an investigation. the failure mileage was approximate 88,000"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2022-04-07
Complaint:
"the passenger air bag will not indicate when there is a passenger in the vehicle. this is sporadic and only works when it wants to. in the event of an accident the airbag may not deploy if there is a passenger in the seat."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-01-03
Complaint:
"takata recall the air bag light comes on and off. when the light is on i call on star and they say its a defect in deploy diagnostic code b0081 and when i take it in the light is off. i dont want to get in an accident and then the air bag not deploy"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-10-02
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the air bag warning indicator intermittently illuminated. the contact was concerned that the air bag might deploy. the contact took the vehicle to felix chevrolet (located at 3330 s figueroa st, los angeles, ca 90007, (213) 290-1925) where it was diagnosed that the passenger side air bag internal sensor had a shortage and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 9-5085721017. the approximate failure mileage was 37,365."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2021-01-01
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet sonic. the contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to gary russ chevrolet (1420 bypass 72 ne, greenwood, sc 29649, (864) 229-2521) where it was diagnosed that the connector needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was notified and referred the contact to the local dealer. the failure mileage was 90,000."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-01-01
Complaint:
"the passenger "airbag off" remains illuminated if you have a 100lb or 250lb person in the seat. every so often, when a 200+lb person sit in the passenger seat, the light will extinguish indicating that the airbag is activated. then if that 200+lb person adjust position while in the seat , the "airbag off" light will illuminate again. i read many sonic owner complaints from 2012-2016 model years with the same issue. i called 2 local chevy dealers and the service advisors said they were not aware of any "airbag off" light issues at all but i could stop by so they diagnose a known problem for $140. from all the forums i've read, not one, i repeat not one of these airbag light off issues has been resolved even after taking the car to the dealer. an attorney website dedicated to sonic airbag issues has many testimonials from owners and statistics showing at least 10 injuries and 1 death resulting from these airbag issues. these are not takata airbags by the way. i sincerely hope that nhtsa looks into this issue before there are any more injuries or deaths. *tr"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-06-12
Complaint:
"the passenger airbag will not turn on when there is a passenger in the seat. this is a sporadic problem and does not always happen. it will also illuminate both the on and off lights at the same time. this is a safety issue because if in an accident the passenger airbag may not deploy if the sensor is not working to detect a passenger."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-01-10
Complaint:
"takata recall i was involved in an accident where i hit a stationary suv from the back, i was traveling 30-35 mph per the police report through a large city intersection. my sonic was hit hard on the whole front left (driver side) the car was totaled and was reported to have a lot of left frame damage. during this accident my airbags did not deploy. no ambulance was called but i was taken to the va to receive treatment for my back pain from the accident. i have been informed that based on the hard hit and the amazing of damage my air bags should have deployed for my safety. the reason the airbags did not deploy is unknown to me."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-11-08
Complaint:
"passenger airbag on/off light is almost always off with the passenger seat occupied whether its someone that weighs 100lbs up to 225lbs. this happens while stationary and while driving. rarely, with a heavier occupant of 200lbs or more, the airbag on/off light will say on. but most of the time, with any occupant, the airbag on/off remains off."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-04-02

Recalls for the 2014 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 2013-2014 buick encore all-wheel-drive vehicles manufactured august 23, 2012, to september 9, 2013; verano vehicles manufactured august 8, 2012, to june 20, 2013; chevrolet cruze vehicles manufactured august 7, 2012, to august 16, 2013, and 2012-2014 chevrolet sonic vehicles manufactured may 10, 2011, to august 16, 2012 equipped with a calix oil pan/block heater. in cold temperatures, the insulation on the engine block heater cord can become damaged, allowing the wires to be exposed."
Consequence:
Exposed wires increase the risk of electrical shock and personal injury if the cord is handled while it is plugged in.
Remedy:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the engine oil pan/block heater cord with a new cord that is rated for temperatures of minus 40 degree Celsius. The recall began in August 2014. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14257.

Component(s) Involved: EQUIPMENT > ELECTRICAL
Date of incident: 2014-07-02

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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