CHEVROLET SONIC 2012 2.G Owners Manual

Black plate (47,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-47
New parts and repairs may be
necessary even if the LATCH
system was not being used at the
time of the crash.
Securing Child Restraints
(Rear Seat Position)
When securing a child restraint in a
rear seating position, study the
instructions that came with the child
restraint to make sure it is
compatible with this vehicle.
If the child restraint has the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑41 for how and
where to install the child restraint
using LATCH. If a child restraint is
secured in the vehicle using a
safety belt and it uses a top tether,
see Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on
page 3‑41 for top tether anchor
locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor
if a national or local law requires that the top tether be anchored, or if
the instructions that come with the
child restraint say that the top strap
must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have
a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
If the child restraint does not have
the LATCH system, you will be
using the safety belt to secure the
child restraint in this position.
Be sure to follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint
when and as the instructions say.
If more than one child restraint
needs to be installed in the rear
seat, be sure to read
Where to Put
the Restraint on page 3‑39.
1. Put the child restraint on
the seat.
2. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of
the vehicle safety belt through or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show
you how.
3. Push the latch plate into the
buckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.

Black plate (48,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
3-48 Seats and Restraints
4. Pull the shoulder belt all the wayout of the retractor to set the
lock. When the retractor lock is
set, the belt can be tightened but
not pulled out of the retractor.5. To tighten the belt, push downon the child restraint, pull the
shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the belt,
and feed the shoulder belt back
into the retractor. When installing
a forward-facing child restraint, it
may be helpful to use your knee
to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 4 and 5. 6. If the child restraint has a top
tether, follow the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions
regarding the use of the top
tether. See Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑41 for more
information.
7. Before placing a child in the child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To check,
grasp the child restraint at the
safety belt path and attempt to
move it side to side and back
and forth. When the child
restraint is properly installed,
there should be no more than
2.5 cm (1 in) of movement.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.
If the top tether is attached to a top
tether anchor, disconnect it.

Black plate (49,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-49
Securing Child Restraints
(Right Front Seat
Position)
This vehicle has airbags. A rear seat
is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint on
page 3‑39.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system which is
designed to turn off the right front
passenger frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag
(if equipped) under certain
conditions. See andPassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on
page 5‑12 for more information on
this, including important safety
information.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great,
if the airbag deploys.
{WARNING
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is
because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating
airbag. A child in a forward-facing
child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates and the
passenger seat is in a forward
position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right
front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is
turned off.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
Secure rear-facing child restraints
in a rear seat, even if the airbag
is off. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
SeePassenger Sensing System
on page 3‑26 for additional
information.
If the child restraint has the LATCH
system, see Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑41 for how to
install your child restraint using
LATCH. If a child restraint is secured
using a safety belt and it uses a top
tether, see Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑41 for top tether
anchor locations.

Black plate (50,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
3-50 Seats and Restraints
Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor
if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be anchored, or if
the instructions that come with the
child restraint say that the top strap
must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have
a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
You will be using the lap-shoulder
belt to secure the child restraint in
this position. Follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint.
1. Move the seat as far back as itwill go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint.
When the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right
front passenger frontal airbag,
the off indicator on the
passenger airbag status
indicator should light and stay lit
when you start the vehicle. See
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 5‑12. 2. Put the child restraint on
the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of
the vehicle's safety belt through
or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show
you how.
Tilt the latch plate to adjust the
belt if needed.
4. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.

Black plate (51,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-51
5. Pull the shoulder belt all the wayout of the retractor to set the
lock. When the retractor lock is
set, the belt can be tightened but
not pulled out of the retractor.6. To tighten the belt, push downon the child restraint, pull the
shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the belt,
and feed the shoulder belt back
into the retractor. When installing
a forward-facing child restraint, it
may be helpful to use your knee
to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 5 and 6. 7. Before placing a child in the
child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To check,
grasp the child restraint at the
safety belt path and attempt to
move it side to side and back
and forth. When the child
restraint is properly installed,
there should be no more than
2.5 cm (1 in) of movement.
If the airbag or airbags are off, the
off indicator in the passenger airbag
status indicator will come on and
stay on when the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed
and the off symbol is not lit, see “If
the On Indicator Is Lit for a Child
Restraint” underPassenger Sensing
System on page 3‑26 for more
information.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle's safety belt
and let it go back all the way.

Black plate (52,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
3-52 Seats and Restraints
2NOTES

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Storage 4-1
Storage
Storage Compartments
Instrument Panel Storage . . . . . 4-1
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Luggage/Load Locations
Load Compartment(Hatchback) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Additional Storage Features
Cargo Cover (Hatchback) . . . . . 4-2
Storage
Compartments
Instrument Panel Storage
Lift up on the lever to open.
Glove Box
Lift up on the glove box lever to
open it.
Luggage/Load
Locations
Load Compartment
(Hatchback)
The load compartment cover can be
used to conceal objects under it or
removed and placed on the bottom
of the load compartment to carry
larger loads.
To remove the load compartment
cover:
1. Lift up on the load compartment
cover and pull out.
2. Store the load compartment cover on the bottom of the load
compartment.

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
4-2 Storage
To install the load compartment
cover:
1. Align the front sides of the loadcompartment cover into the slots
on both sides at the front of the
load compartment.
2. Lower the load compartment cover onto the lip around the
load compartment.Additional Storage
Features
Cargo Cover (Hatchback)
The cargo cover can be use to
cover items in the rear of the
vehicle.
To remove the cargo cover:
1. Remove both of the cords fromthe hooks at the top of the
liftgate.
2. Push up on the underside of the cargo cover at both pens at the
front sides of the cargo cover. To install the cargo cover:
1. Align the clips on the underside
of the cargo cover over the pens
on both sides of the cargo area
and push down.
2. Reconnect both of the cords to the hooks at the top of the
liftgate.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Instruments and Controls 5-1
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 5-2
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 5-2
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . 5-3
Rear Window Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9 Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . 5-10
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . 5-11
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Charging System Light . . . . . . 5-12
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Service Vehicle Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Owner Manual Indicator . . . . . 5-15
Code Set Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Up-Shift Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Speed Sensitive Power Steering (SSPS) Warning
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
StabiliTrak
®OFF Light . . . . . . . 5-18
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . 5-18 Engine Coolant Temperature
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 5-19
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . 5-20
Immobilizer Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Reduced Engine Power Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) Indicator Light . . . . . . . 5-21
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . 5-21
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . 5-27

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
5-2 Instruments and Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel
Adjustment
To adjust the steering wheel:
1. Pull the lever down.
2. Move the steering wheel up,down, forward, and backward.
3. Pull the lever up to lock the steering wheel in place.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while driving.
Steering Wheel Controls
Some audio steering wheel controls
could differ depending on the
vehicle options. Some audio
controls can be adjusted at the
steering wheel.
b/g(Push to Talk): For vehicles
with Bluetooth or OnStar, press to
interact with those systems. See
Bluetooth (Overview) on page 7‑19
or Bluetooth (Infotainment Controls)
on page 7‑21 orBluetooth (Voice Recognition) on page 14‑1
or
OnStar Overview on page 14‑1 for
more information.
$/i(Mute/End Call): Press to
reject an incoming call, or end a
current call. Press to silence the
vehicle speakers while using the
infotainment system. Press again to
turn the sound on.
For vehicles with OnStar or
Bluetooth systems, press to reject
an incoming call, or end a
current call.
_SRC^(Source): Press to select
an audio source.
Toggle up or down to select the next
or previous favorite radio station or
CD/MP3 track.
+
x− (Volume): Press + or−to
increase or decrease the volume.
Horn
Pressaon the steering wheel pad
to sound the horn.