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I am doing this short write-up to help the non-mechanics in the group, like me. Maybe call this a confidence booster more than instructions. I didn’t find these tips anywhere, and if I had to figure them out, I imagine others might also. Feel free to correct any errors I may have made. My front...

I suppose this could be a million and one things, plus I'm no mechanic, but I'd like to get some ideas before bringing it to the dealer. The car 2014 Sonic hatchback, owned since new, 1.4T, 6 speed manual, 89000 miles. Almost always use non-ethanol gas from the same station. In fact the...

DISCLAIMER: I have no financial interest in promoting this cargo mat. I recently bought it and am reviewing. I finally found a cargo mat for my 2014 hatchback. I won't say it's perfect (what is?) but it's pretty good and should meet my needs. It's rubber-like with a honeycomb texture. The...

This may be painfully simple to those of you used to doing mods on your cars. But hopefully there are a few reading who are, like me, a little less adept at such repairs but still interested in fixing things yourself where practical. So I had my hatch open and was sorting my stuff after a...

So it was time for an oil change. I checked the price of oil and filters at a couple of local auto part stores and found oil is $30 for 5 quarts, a filter $12. The local Chevy dealer was having a special for $39.95 so that sounded like a better deal. So on Tuesday I used my iPhone Chevy app...

I track my gas mileage using Excel. I typically get 39-41. My dash computer has been reading 42. With the recent cold snap my gas mileage appears to have plummeted into the mid 30s. I estimate based on the miles remaining in tank option on the dash computer. The first half of my previous...

What are people doing to cartop a canoe? I had a nice setup to cartop a canoe on my old Chevy Metro but the same approach won't adapt direct to the Sonic. The center strap looks easy enough, just open the back doors and wrap around the roof with canoe. The rear is easy enough as I have a...

I had a receiver installed on my Sonic for a bike rack. So far so good. Now I am thinking of getting a small utility trailer. I don't plan to use it regularly or for heavy loads, but the occasional transporting a lawn mower or bulky light items or something. Maybe even rig it to haul a...

Even though I see it all the time, I wasn’t thrilled with how a bicycle blocked taillights. It seems unsafe. I recognize the blocking of license plate is illegal but a detective friend of mine said cops can’t be bothered to stop people for that. I guess criminals don’t have bike racks...

My alarm went off. First, I usually have the backs seats folded down and some stuff in the back. In this case it was a small cooler lunchbox, a small backpack/daypack, and some papers. I had some to a stop sign, stopped, then I turned a corner to merge with traffic so kind of quick but nothing...

So after some pondering I decided to go cheap, at least for now. If it doesn't hold out I can always redo it later. By cheap I mean I bought a $10 roll of vinyl chrome on ebay. I also bought a hobby knife at Harbor Freight so have less than $20 invested. It's not perfect but I think it isn't...

I've searched but somehow missed this. I 've read that to remove an emblem (bowtie, LT, etc.) one can use fishing line in a sawing motion. So if I do this and make whatever modifications, how do I put the embem back? Is there enough adhesive to just press it back on? Is there a particular...

What are people doing for cargo area mats? I saw an old thread where some people cut there own from foam mats. The Maxpider looks interesting but I would like to actually see one installed before purchasing. Has anyone got one they can post a photo of? I see OEM mats that cover the back...

hello all. After 20 years of driving Metros (94 Geo Metro purchased new, totaled in 2005, 1999 Chevy Metro purchased used in 05 with 58K miles finally died with over 200K) I am driving a 2014 Chevy Sonic hatchback with the 1.4T and six speed manual transmission. So far the only mods I have had...