Hatchback, electric, built in South Korea. Owner complaints on file from Jan 14, 2017 to Apr 28, 2019.
Owner complaints about this model year, by the year they were filed with NHTSA.
Owner complaints by component. Hover or focus a bar for the crash, fire, injury or death count.
Check a specific vehicle by VIN on NHTSA's site: a campaign may cover only part of a model year's production.
| Campaign | Filed | Subject | Component | Vehicles | Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22V-640 | Aug 25, 2022 | Secondary hood latch may corrode at the latch pivot, preventing the hood latch from properly engaging | Latches and locks | 120,688 | Part replacement |
| 17V-437 | Jul 10, 2017 | While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy… | Airbags | 40,683 | Software update |
| 16V-651 | Sep 8, 2016 | In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test | Airbags | 3,640,162 | Software update |
The full text of every complaint filed with NHTSA about this model year, newest first. Complaints are filed by owners and are not verified by NHTSA; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
7 complaints on file, page 1 of 1.
CONTEXT: IT WAS A WET EVENING HERE IN PORTLAND, OR (8:15PM PDT, APRIL 13TH) AND I WAS GETTING NEW TIRES THE FOLLOWING WEEK, SO I DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE LONGEVITY OF THE TIRES. ALSO, WHAT I EXPERIENCED WAS SOMETHING I READ ONLINE BEFORE BUYING THE SPARK. I MADE A LEGAL U-TURN TO GET TO THE ENTRANCE OF FRED MEYER (A KROGER STORE) AND HIT THE ACCELERATOR HARD ENOUGH (~60% THROTTLE) TO SPIN THE TIRES AND THE TRACTION CONTROL ACTIVATED. I THEN SAW THE SEMI-HIDDEN ENTRANCE AND HIT THE BRAKES HARD MAKE A RIGHTHAND TURN INTO FRED MEYER. THE BRAKES ENGAGED (W/ ABS) THEN DISENGAGED AFTER ~.3 SECONDS. IT FELT LIKE THE MOTOR WAS REGEN'ING SLIGHTLY BUT THE MECHANICAL BRAKES WERE NOT ENGAGED. I STARTED TO PUMP THE BRAKES. ABOUT 4 PUMPS AND ~60 FEET LATER, THE BRAKES ENGAGED. I DID NOT MAKE MY TURN AND NO ONE GOT HURT. HERE'S A NOTE I RECEIVED FROM A LADY ON A CHEVY SPARK EV FACEBOOK GROUP: MY HUSBAND (AND AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER) EXPLAINS HOW THIS IS PISS-POOR SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING ON GM'S PART. THIS ALL HAS TO DO WITH WHAT THE SYSTEM DOES WHEN PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL IF SOMETHING LIKE THE ABS MODULE OR OTHER HARDWARE ISN'T FUNCTIONING. WHAT HE EXPLAINS IS HAPPENING IS INSTEAD OF ALLOWING THE NORMAL BRAKING SYSTEM TO CONTINUE TO MODULATE AND FUNCTION, IT JUST SHUTS DOWN. NISSAN EVEN HAD ISSUES WITH BRAKING GOING INTO SOMETHING KNOWN AS 'ICE MODE' AND FAILING. (NOT WIDELY KNOWN OUTSIDE OF THE INDUSTRY) HE ALSO COMPARED THIS TO THE BOEING PLANE CRASH SOFTWARE ISSUE THERE (IN THAT CASE THE SOFTWARE KEPT THINKING THERE WAS ABOUT TO BE A STALL AND WOULD NOSE DIVE TO AVOID IT WHICH IN ITSELF ULTIMATELY CAUSING A CRASH). ESSENTIALLY ALL SPARK EVS HAVE THIS SAME POTENTIAL BUT ONLY SOME SEEM TO BE AFFECTED (ALL DEPENDS ON IF A COMPONENT IN THE SYSTEM FAILS OR NOT--- THAT'S WHEN THE TROUBLE STARTS BECAUSE WHOEVER DID THAT SOFTWARE CODING AND TESTING DID A CRAP JOB OF IT).
NHTSA complaint 11204223ON STATIONARY CAR START, SIMULTANEOUSLY RECEIVED A SERVICE AIRBAG WARNING AND SERVICE STABILITRAK WARNING.
NHTSA complaint 11194322WHILE DRIVING NORMALLY, THE "SERVICE STABILITRAC" WARNING APPEARS FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY A "SERVICE BRAKE ASSIST" WARNING. THEN THE BRAKE PEDAL REQUIRES EXTREME EFFORT TO SLOW OR STOP THE CAR. THE REGENERATIVE BRAKING IS ALSO DISABLED. AFTER STOPPING THE CAR, THE CAR CAN BE TURNED OFF AND THEN BACK ON WHEREUPON THE BRAKES WILL BE WORKING NORMALLY. THE WARNINGS AND LOSS OF BRAKING ASSIST MAY STAY AWAY FOR A PERIOD OF 1 MINUTE OR UP TO 1 WEEK OR MORE. IT APPEARS TO BE VERY RANDOM. FORTUNATELY, NONE OF THE OCCURRENCES HAVE RESULTED IN A CRASH, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN SCARED DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS PART (THE DEALER BLAMES THE BPMV AND IS NOW PUTTING THE FOURTH ONE ON MY CAR) HAS BEEN AT THE DEALER. THE SECOND ONE WAS APPARENTLY LEAKING WHEN INSTALLED. THIS WORK WAS PERFORMED AT MOMENTUM CHEVROLET IN SAN JOSE, CA. THE PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN THE CAR IS IN MOTION, TYPICALLY AT 20-50 MPH, AS THAT IS WHAT MOST OF MY DRIVING CONSISTS OF. THERE IS A FORUM THREAD ON THIS SUBJECT AT CHEVY SPARK EV FORUM. OTHER DRIVERS HAVE DESCRIBED MULTIPLE EVENTS IDENTICAL TO MINE. [XXX] PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*CC
NHTSA complaint 11076657COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE WITH MY 17 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER DRIVING. SHE NEEDED TO SWERVE INTO A CURVE TO SLOW DOWN BEFORE APPROACHING BUSY INTERSECTION. WE KNOW OF AT LEAST 4 OTHER IDENTICAL ISSUES WITH BRAKE FAILURE AT OUR DEALERSHIP ALONE WITH ONE OWNER HAVING BRAKE FAILURE 3 SEPARATE TIMES ON THE SAME 2015 CHEVY SPARK. THEY REPLACED HER 2015 WITH A 2016 AND HAD THE SAME BRAKE FAILURE IN HER NEW CAR. *TR
NHTSA complaint 10947950TWO WARNINGS FLASHED: "SERVICE STABILITRAC" FOLLOWED BY "SERVICE BRAKE ASSIST." IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS THERE WAS A COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE WHILE IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET. LUCKILY WE WERE ON A SLIGHT INCLINE AND THERE WASN'T MUCH TRAFFIC SO WE WERE ABLE TO SAFELY NAVIGATE THE CAR INTO A PARKING LOT AND STOP BY HITTING A CURB. OTHERWISE, I DON'T WANT TO SPECULATE ON WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED.
NHTSA complaint 10945277THERE WAS A "SERVICE STABILTRAC" WARNING FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY A "SERVICE BRAKE ASSIST" WARNING MESSAGE. IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS THERE WAS A TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE WHILE IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY (APPROX. 50-60 MPH).
NHTSA complaint 10945276THERE WAS A "SERVICE BRAKE ASSIST" WARNING THAT FLASHED AND IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS THERE WAS A BRAKE FAILURE WHILE IN MOTION. THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND WE WERE UNABLE TO STOP ON A CITY STREET.
NHTSA complaint 10945275Technical service bulletins and other notices the manufacturer sent to dealers. A bulletin is not a recall; the 60 most recent are listed.