Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. On the affected vehicles, the brake lamps may intermittently flash without the brakes being applied and the cruise control may disengage. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 9,677. In October 2013, GM informed the agency that it was adding model year 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 8,050 units. Originally, in May 2013, GM recalled 1,627 model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS and model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles. Summary: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala and 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles.Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL.Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-86. The safety recall began on October 3, 2012.
What owners should do: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the BCM and the vehicle's key fobs, free of charge.
If you own a Sonic, listen for an unusual rattling or scraping noise, which could indicate a problem. GM hasn't said when it will notify owners of the recall, but given the severity of the problem, we'd expect it to be very soon. Most of the affected vehicles are believed to be in dealer stock.
The company says that the flaw was discovered at the assembly plant, and it has received no notice of problems, crashes, or fatalities associated with it. GM hasn't indicated the criteria for the Sonic recall, but given the relatively low number of units included, it's probably limited to vehicles that were manufactured at specific times or with special equipment. If that happens, the likelihood of a gas leak would grow exponentially, and leaky gas is, of course, a recipe for fire.
Unfortunately, neither of those elements is designed to support the weight of the fuel tank, meaning that the tank could ultimately separate from the vehicle. If that happens, the fuel tank could end up resting on the exhaust pipe or the fuel tank shield. Apparently, some of those straps were improperly welded, and over time, that could cause the fuel tank to become dislodged. The recall stems from a problem with the straps that hold the Sonic's fuel tank in place. However, according to an email from GM, the recall doesn't cover include every 20 Sonic on the road or in dealerships: just 1,558 vehicles in the U.S.
General Motors has issued a recall for the 20 Chevrolet Sonic.