Chevrolet Sonic - Problems, Statistics, and Analysis

Chevrolet Sonic owners have reported a total of 1,408 problems for their cars built in the 10 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the Chevrolet Sonic. The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic cars have the most problems reported (511 problems).

Table 1. Total number of problems by model year for Chevrolet Sonic

Model Year	Number of Problems
2020 Sonic	15
2019 Sonic	10
2018 Sonic	23
2017 Sonic	55
2016 Sonic	70
2015 Sonic	170
2014 Sonic	229
2013 Sonic	324
2012 Sonic	511
2011 Sonic	1

🔍 Common problems of Chevrolet Sonic

The following chart shows the 24 most common problems for Chevrolet Sonic cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's engine and engine cooling (249 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's electrical system (218 problems).

Table 2. Common problems of Chevrolet Sonic

Problem Category	Number of Problems
Engine And Engine Cooling	249
Electrical System	218
Power Train	216
Equipment	208
Air Bag	123
Other Fuel System	72
Steering	51
Service Brakes	40
Electronic Stability Control	38
Suspension	34

Vehicle Speed Control	30
Visibility	29
Structure	25
Exterior Lighting	20
Seat Belt	13
Wheel	13
Seats	12
Tire	5
Latches/locks/linkage	4
Traction Control System	3
Gasoline Fuel System	2
Unknown Or Other	1
Parking Brake	1
Lane Departure	1

📉 Compare Reliability Across Model Years Using PPMY Index

It would not be fair to compare the Chevrolet Sonic of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Sonic model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.

PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,

where P = total problems reported during the life of a Chevrolet Sonic model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).

The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Use PPMY Index to Compare Reliability Across Sonic Model Years

Sonic Model Year	Problems	Sales [1]	Vehicle Age	PPMY Index
2020	15	15,917	6	0.16
2019	10	13,035	7	0.11
2018	23	20,267	8	0.14
2017	55	44,728	9	0.14
2016	70	43,427	10	0.16
2015	170	76,741	11	0.20
2014	229	83,217	12	0.23
2013	324	94,250	13	0.26
2012	511	83,979	14	0.43

📊 Number of Problems Reported During the First Year

Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the Chevrolet Sonic is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.

Table 4. Number of problems in vehicle's; first service year

Model Year	Problems Reported
2020 Sonic	3
2019 Sonic	1
2018 Sonic	3
2017 Sonic	2
2016 Sonic	6
2015 Sonic	16
2014 Sonic	29
2013 Sonic	26
2012 Sonic	62

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