Chevrolet Electrical System: Software

Chevrolet is recalling about 317,572 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. Without audible indicators, the driver may leave the key in the ignition, increasing the risk of theft.

Campaign
16V257000
Manufacturer
General Motors LLC
Reported
28 April 2016
Vehicles
317,572
Built between
Jan 2012 – Apr 2016
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
26 May 2016
Repaired
81%
Unrepaired
59,812

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 2012 and April 2016. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2013-2016 Chevrolet SonicBuilt May 2012 to April 2016
  • 2013-2015 Chevrolet SparkBuilt January 2012 to September 2015
  • 2013-2016 Chevrolet TraxBuilt July 2012 to April 2016

Repair progress

59,812 of 317,572 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2017.

81% repaired — 257,746 of 317,572 reported

Owners not reachable
11
Scrapped or exported
3

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax vehicles and 2013-2015 Chevrolet Spark vehicles equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio. The affected radios may fail to provide an audible warning chime when the driver, after turning off the ignition and leaving the key in the cylinder, waits 10 minutes or longer to open the door. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114 "Theft Protection."

What could happen

Without audible indicators, the driver may leave the key in the ignition, increasing the risk of theft.

What gets fixed

GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 2012 to April 2016
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA28 April 2016
  3. Owners notified26 May 2016
  4. Latest repair reportQ3 2017 — 81% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 28 April 2016.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 17130.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
17130
Recalling manufacturer
General Motors LLC
Safety standard
FMVSS 114
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand