2017 Chevrolet Sonic

Typical pattern

3.4% of complaints about the 2017 Chevrolet Sonic came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2017 vehicle — around the middle of the 203 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 4.1 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine (19 complaints), typically at 5.8 yr or about 54,136 miles.

Complaints: 59
Median age at failure: 4.1 yr
Median mileage: 42,000 n=31
Crash / fire / tow: 18.6% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Engine 48,500 mi 2.8 yr in service

CAME TO A STOP AT A CONTROLLED SIGNAL LIGHT AND MY CAR DIED AND REFUSED TO START. I HAD TO GET HELP TO PUSH MY CAR OUT OF THE TRAFFIC. AFTER SEVERAL TRIES AND 30 MINUTES LATER THE CAR STARTED. AT LEAST 40 OTHER PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED THIS SAME ISSUE TO CAR COMPLAINTS.COM AND LEMON LAWS.COM

Engine 50,000 mi 3.3 yr in service

CAR HAS GONE THROUGH 4 VALVE COVERS IN 5 MOTHS. ITS A KNOWN PROBLEM AND GM HAS AND WILL NOT EXTEND WARRANTY.

Engine 65,000 mi 3.4 yr in service crash / fire / tow

I WAS HIT HEAD ON AND THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY IT COULD HAVE BEEN WAY WORSE THAN IT WAS BUT IT SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED AND MY ENGINE IS JUNK. HAVING ISSUES WITH IT AND ITS LESS THAN 70000 MILES

Other Sonic model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2017 Chevrolet Sonic

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other Sonic model years

How to read this