General Motors LLC: Equipment › Electrical › Radio/Tape Deck/Cd Etc.
General Motors LLC reported this defect to federal regulators on Jun 30, 2015 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 45,785. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Spark vehicles manufactured April 30, 2014, to May 20, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles manufactured June 18, 2014, to June 10, 2015. In the affected vehicles, equipped with the base radio and OnStar, the radio may lock up due to a software issue, causing the display to go blank and all audio functions to cease. Because of this, there may be no warning chimes such as the reminder to buckle the seat belt and the key being left in ignition when the driver goes to exit the vehicle. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208 "Occupant Crash Protection", and 114 "Theft Protection."
The risk
Without audible indicators, the driver may leave the key in the ignition, increasing the risk of theft. If a driver or front passenger does not buckle their seat belt, there would be no chime to remind them to fasten their seat belts. If a driver or passenger does not buckle their seat belt there is an increased risk that they will be injured in a crash.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The recall began on August 11, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15504.
3 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Chevrolet Sonic | 114 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| 2015 Chevrolet Spark | 77 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 2014 Chevrolet Spark | 172 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 15V416000.
Full record for the 2015 Chevrolet Sonic → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →