Of the 4 Sonic model years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the most about the 2012 (1.29) and the fewest about the 2014 (0.46), per 1,000 sold in the first three years.
Median across these years: 0.48 per 1,000 sold in the first three years. A model year well above its own nameplate’s median is the signal worth acting on.
Each model year with a verified denominator. Follow a year for what owners reported about it.
| Model year | Per 1,000 | Complaints | Most-reported part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.29 | 105 | Power Train 30% |
| 2013 | 0.79 | 66 | Electrical System 18% |
| 2015 | 0.48 | 38 | Electrical System 20% |
| 2014 | 0.46 | 41 | Electrical System 21% |
| 2017 | 0.30 | 13 | Engine 32% |
| 2016 | 0.27 | 16 | Engine 19% |
2012 (1.29), 2013 (0.79). Figures are complaints per 1,000 sold.
2014 (0.46), 2015 (0.48). A year with too few complaints to rank is left out: few reports is not the same as a good year.
Safety complaints owners filed with NHTSA in each model year’s first three years on the road, divided by how many were sold, so a year that sold twice as many cars is not penalised for it.
Too few owners filed complaints about them to rank them. Few reports is not the same as a good year, so those years are left out of best and worst.