child restraint CHEVROLET SONIC 2012 2.G Owner's Guide

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 (3,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Driving and Operating 9-3
.Wait until the vehicle is parked
to retrieve items that have fallen
to the floor.
.Stop or park the vehicle to tend
to children.
.Keep pets in an appropriate
carrier or restraint.
.Avoid stressful conversations
while driving, whether with a
passenger or on a cell phone.
{WARNING
Taking your eyes off the road too
long or too often could cause a
crash resulting in injury or death.
Focus your attention on driving.
Refer to the Infotainment section for
more information on using that
system, including pairing and using
a cell phone.
If equipped, refer to the navigation
manual for information on that
system, including pairing and using
a cell phone.
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always
expect the unexpected.” The first
step in driving defensively is to wear
the safety belt. See Safety Belts on
page 3‑10.
.Assume that other road users
(pedestrians, bicyclists, and
other drivers) are going to be
careless and make mistakes.
Anticipate what they might do
and be ready.
.Allow enough following distance
between you and the driver in
front of you.
.Focus on the task of driving.
Drunk Driving
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a global
tragedy.
{WARNING
Drinking and then driving is very
dangerous. Your reflexes,
perceptions, attentiveness, and
judgment can be affected by even
a small amount of alcohol. You
can have a serious —or even
fatal —collision if you drive after
drinking.
Do not drink and drive or ride with
a driver who has been drinking.
Ride home in a cab; or if you are
with a group, designate a driver
who will not drink.

Black plate (15,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
Driving and Operating 9-15
WARNING (Continued)
.Never stack heavier
things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle so that
some of them are above
the tops of the seats.
.Do not leave an
unsecured child restraint
in the vehicle.
.Secure loose items in the
vehicle.
.Do not leave a seat folded
down unless needed.
Starting and
Operating
New Vehicle Break-In
Notice:The vehicle does not
need an elaborate break-in. But it
will perform better in the long run
if you follow these guidelines:
.Do not drive at any one
constant speed, fast or slow,
for the first 805 km (500 mi).
Do not make full-throttle
starts. Avoid downshifting to
brake or slow the vehicle.
.Avoid making hard stops for
the first 322 km (200 mi) or
so. During this time the new
brake linings are not yet
broken in. Hard stops with
new linings can mean
premature wear and earlier
replacement. Follow this
breaking-in guideline every
time you get new brake
linings. Following break‐in, engine speed
and load can be gradually
increased.
Ignition Positions
The ignition switch has four different
positions.
To shift out of P (Park), the ignition
must be in ON/RUN or ACC/
ACCESSORY and the regular brake
pedal applied.

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-3
Child RestraintsInfants and Young
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47, 3-49
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-83
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . 8-1 Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Clutch, Hydraulic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Code Set Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15 Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . 13-9
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Compressor Kit, Tire Sealant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-60
Connections, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . 14-4
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Coolant Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Engine TemperatureWarning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
Cover Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-4 Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3
Text Telephone (TTY)Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
Customer Information
Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . .13-11
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . 13-9
Danger, Warnings, and
Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-14
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Indicator Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
i-6 INDEX
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
HeaterEngine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Indicator Code Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Owner Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35 Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Instrument Panel
Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
K
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-40
Lamps Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-2
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31 Lamps (cont'd)
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-13
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Liftgate Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Light StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Lighting Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lights
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-16
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-7
Lights (cont'd)Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 5-18
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Reduced Engine Power . . . . . . 5-21
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-10
Service Vehicle Soon . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Speed Sensitive Power
Steering (SSPS) Warning . . . 5-17
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Up-Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Load Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Central Locking System . . . . . . . 2-7
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8 Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-20
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-16
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluidsand Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-13
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-13
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Manual Transmission . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Manual Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Messages
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Mirrors Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13 Mirrors (cont'd)
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46N
Navigation, OnStar®. . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
O
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-12
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-33
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-4

Black plate (10,1)Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual - 2012
i-10 INDEX
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . . 13-7
Sealant Kit, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-60
SeatsAdjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47, 3-49
Security Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Security, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Service Accessories and
Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-16
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1 Service (cont'd)
Publications Ordering
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-11
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-7
Vehicle Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Spare Tire Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speed Sensitive Power Steering (SSPS) Warning
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9 StabiliTrak
OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . 1-3, 9-17
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Storage Load Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Storage Areas Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Storing the Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
System Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1