2014 Chevrolet Sonic
Complaints about this year name key far more often than the model's other years — 20% of them, about 10× the usual rate of 2.1%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 149 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 37 |
| Involving a crash | 11 |
| Involving a fire | 3 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 29 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- broken — 6% of this year's complaints, against 1.1% across the model's other years (5.5×). Owners wrote it as: broken, pieces.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- lights — 15% of complaints, 7× usual
- called — 13% of complaints, 6× usual
- gear — 13% of complaints, 6× usual
What owners wrote
GEAR SHIFT BUTTON STICKING. CAN BE BARELY TOUCHED TO MOVE OUT OF PARK AND UNABKE TO REMOVE KEY!!!
THE GEAR SHIFT BUTTON IS STICKING, WHICH IS POSING A HAZARD. THE CAR DOES NOT COMPLETE THE SHIFT OR RELEASE THE KEY UNTIL AFTER THE BUTTON UNSTICKS. IT HAPPENED WHEN I TRIED TO PARK AND IT HAPPENS WHEN I'M SHIFTING BETWEEN REVERSE AND DRIVE. ITS NOT A ONE TIME…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 14V417000 EQUIPMENT
- 14V543000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V257000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 13V464000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chevrolet Sonic was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2014 Chevrolet Sonic? What happened to yours?
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