2012 Chevrolet Sonic: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The newest campaign is 14V417000. NHTSA received the report on 2 Jul 2014. The NHTSA record gives the component Equipment / Electrical. NHTSA has 290 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.
The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.
This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.
Remedy of the newest campaign, 14V417000, in the NHTSA record
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.
Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .
Since the last update
No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks
Recall campaigns
7 campaigns, newest first. 112,157 units in total.
- 14V417000Equipment / Electrical
- 14V315000Power Train / Automatic Transmission
- 14V300000Air Bags
- 13V023000Air Bags
- 12V522000Air Bags
- 12V408000Visibility / Windshield Wiper/Washer
- 11V599000Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / Pads
14V417000Received . 2,990 units.
Equipment / Electrical
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
Exposed wires increase the risk of electrical shock and personal injury if the cord is handled while it is plugged in.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 14257. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
14V315000Received . 21,567 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2012 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles manufactured March 1, 2012, to June 29, 2012, and equipped with a 6 speed automatic transmission and 1.8L four cylinder engine. In the affected vehicles, the transmission turbine shaft may fracture.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the transmission turbine shaft fracture occurs during vehicle operation in first or second gear, the vehicle will not upshift to the third through sixth gears, limiting the vehicle's speed. If the fracture occurs during operation in third through sixth gear, the vehicle will coast until it slows enough to downshift to first or second gear, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the transmission turbine shaft, free of charge. The recall began on August 8, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14234.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 14234. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
14V300000Received . 31,520 units.
Air Bags
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2012 Buick Verano vehicles manufactured December 2, 2011 to July, 16, 2012, Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured December 7, 2011 to July 25, 2012, Chevrolet Sonic vehicles manufactured December 5, 2011 to August 2, 2012, and Chevrolet Camaro vehicles manufactured December 1, 2011 to June 11, 2012. The driver side frontal air bag has a shorting bar which may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, that air bag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel air bag coil, free of charge. The recall began on July 25, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact GM at 1-800-222-1020. Buick owners may contact GM at 1-800-521-7300. Note: This is an expansion of recalls 12V-522 and 13V-023.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12261. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
13V023000Received . 4,167 units.
Air Bags
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2012 Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic, and model year 2012 Buick Verano vehicles. The driver side frontal air bag has a shorting bar which may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, that air bag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel air bag coil, free of charge. The safety recall began on February 13, 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12261. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
12V522000Received . 2,949 units.
Air Bags
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
General Motors is recalling certain model year 2012 Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze, and Chevrolet Sonic vehicles. The driver side frontal air bag has a shorting bar which may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal airbag, that airbag will not deploy, increasing the driver's risk of injury.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel airbag coil, free of charge. The safety recall began on January 11, 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12261. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
12V408000Received . 44,668 units.
Visibility / Windshield Wiper/Washer
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2012 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles manufactured from May 5, 2011, through February 24, 2012. These vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 104, "Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems." The windshield wiper washer hose on these vehicles may separate from the washer fluid reservoir. If this occurs, washer fluid will not be available to the windshield.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A lack of washer fluid could impede the driver's view, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
GM will notify owners, and dealers will secure the windshield washer hose to prevent separation, free of charge. The safety recall began on September 7, 2012. Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.
Report filed by General Motors LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 12176. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
11V599000Received . 4,296 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / Pads
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
General motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2012 chevrolet sonic vehicles manufactured from june 2, 2011, through november 21, 2011. On some of these vehicles, the front brake inner or outer pad may be missing.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A missing pad could result in reduced brake system performance, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Gm will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front brakes for a missing inner or outer pad. If a brake pad is missing, dealers will install new inner and outer pads, a new brake caliper, and a new rotor. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or before january 14, 2012
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.
Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.
Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.
Complaints by component
290 complaints, 430 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.
- 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
- All 2012 vehicles
| Component | 2012 Sonic | All 2012 vehicles | Sonic, all years | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 281.4 | 110.4 | 178.4 | 121 |
| Engine | 160.5 | 127.7 | 145.3 | 69 |
| Electrical System | 107 | 134.9 | 144.2 | 46 |
| Unknown or Other | 79.1 | 60.4 | 101.5 | 34 |
| Air Bags | 69.8 | 113 | 103.6 | 30 |
| Suspension | 41.9 | 17.8 | 31 | 18 |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 34.9 | 39.5 | 38.5 | 15 |
| Steering | 32.6 | 96.7 | 40.6 | 14 |
| Service Brakes | 32.6 | 55.5 | 40.6 | 14 |
| Structure | 25.6 | 43 | 23.5 | 11 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 25.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 24
- Complaints that report a fire
- 5
- Injuries in the complaints
- 16
- Deaths in the complaints
- 1
- Date of the newest complaint
- 16 Apr 2019
These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.
Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.
Investigations
| Number | Type | Subject | Component | Opened | Closed | Campaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EA21002 | Engineering analysis | Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture | Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module | 17 Sep 2021 | Open | |
| RQ13002 | Recall query | Air Bag Non-deployment | Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module | 31 May 2013 | 9 Jul 2014 | 13V023000 |
Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.
Other model years
The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.
A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.
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Official channels
- NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
- NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
- NHTSA page of the 2012 Chevrolet SonicThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2012 Chevrolet Sonic: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/chevrolet/sonic/2012/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .
Sources
- Source
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
- Licence
- US government work, public domain
- Recall file through
- 29 Sep 2026
- Complaint file through
- 15 May 2019
- First complaint in the file
- 1 Jan 1995
- Manufacturer in the recall file
- General Motors LLC
The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.
Questions
- How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic?
- 112,157 units in 7 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the Chevrolet Sonic have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 16 recall campaigns for the Chevrolet Sonic, model years 2011 to 2018. 7 of them name the 2012 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic name most often?
- Power Train: 121 of 430 component mentions, or 281.4 per 1,000. For all 2012 vehicles the figure is 110.4 per 1,000.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic open?
- 1 investigation has no closing date in the NHTSA file, of 2 that name this model year.