What 76 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV

Started out from a stop light that changes quickly, vehicle lost all forward power and the cross traffic light changed almost causing me to be hit by a semi truck and trailer luckily he was able to barely get around me while locking up his brakes. When incident occurred I had pushed my accelerator, started moving forward and suddenly the engine revved up to the governor limits and I came to a stop in the middle of the intersection as cars started flying by me. Other vehicles had limited warning as this intersection is in a sweeping blind corner. Very very scary

NHTSA ODI 11432116

Driving through neighborhood and went to turn onto a street when suddenly vehicle revved up to governor limits and would not go forward. Vehicle behind me almost rear ended me because I lost forward motion with no indication like brake lights or any warning. Had to pull vehicle over came to a stop and it would not go. Put vehicle in park and then in drive and it decided to work.

NHTSA ODI 11432119

The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently jerk without warning while shifting gears. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where they were initially unable to duplicate the failure. Upon return of the vehicle, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle back to the same dealer where they were able to duplicate the failure and informed him that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered a 10% discount off the cost of a new transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000. Consumer's case number [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”

NHTSA ODI 11426425

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 CHEVROLET SPARK. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE STATIONARY, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT GEAR. THE CONTACT SLAMMED THE SHIFTER INTO DRIVE AND DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE COULD BE RESTARTED HOWEVER, THE TRANSMISSION WAS INOPERABLE. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VIN WAS NOT UNDER RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 119,000.

NHTSA ODI 11414037

MY RADIO WHICH CONTROLS EVERYTHING REGARDING CHARGING AND BLUETOOTH, IT HAS A TOUCH SCREEN WHICH HAS NOW BECOME COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE. THE ONLY TIME IT WILL EVER LET YOU TOUCH LIKE NORMAL IS IF THE CAR SITS UNDER THE HOT SUMMER SUN. AND EVEN THEN THE SCREEN STARTS TOUCHING RANDOM PARTS OF THE SCREEN MESSING UP SETTINGS . IT HAD ISSUES CALIBRATING EVERY NOW AND THEN WHEN I PURCHASED IT ALSO. THAT WAS IN WINTER.

NHTSA ODI 11377971

WHENEVER I STOP AT A LIGHT AND TRY TO MOVE OFF WHEN THE LIGHT TURN GREEN, I WOULD PRESS THE ACCELERATOR AND THE CAR WOULD NOT RESPOND FOR ABOUT 3 TO 4 MINS SOMETHING WITH THE CVT TRANSMISSION. THIS COULD CAUSE ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD.

NHTSA ODI 11376060

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 CHEVROLET SPARK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND THE IGNITION KEY REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH, THE RADIO REMAINED ACTIVATED WHICH CAUSED THE BATTERY TO BECOME DRAINED. DUE TO THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START-UP IMMEDIATELY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SUTHERLAND CHEVROLET LOCATED AT 1060 N MAIN ST, NICHOLASVILLE, KY 40356, TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE RADIO NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,000.

NHTSA ODI 11341243

RANDOMLY WHILE PARKED ON INCLINE, START THE CAR, PUT IN REVERSE, AND START BACKING DOWN THE DRIVE WAY THE BRAKES WOULD TOTALLY FAIL AND NO AMOUNT OF PRESSING ON THE BRAKES WOULD STOP THE CAR. THE CAR GAVE NO BRAKE FAILURE WARNINGS.

NHTSA ODI 11329876

BRAKE FAILURE AFTER $560 BRAKE REPAIR. WHEN BACKING UP ON AN INCLINE BRAKES BECAME VERY HARD AND FAIL TO STOP THE CAR. HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES WITH NO WARNING LIGHT. DEALER TALKED WITH GM, AND INFORMED ME IT MAY NOT BE FIXABLE. THE BRAKES SHOULD STOP THE CAR EVEN WITH A POWER ASSIST MALFUNCTION. POOR DESIGN. TOO UNSAFE FOR MY FAMILY. TRADED IT IN. HOPE NHTSA INVESTIGATES THE BRAKES ON CHEVY SPARKS. THE TOTAL LOSS OF BRAKES WAS VERIFIED ON FIRST SHOP TRIP BY CHEVY TECH. 1 DAY AFTER REPAIR, TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE AGAIN. THIS TIME IT SET IN THE SHOP FOR A WEEK, AWAITING GM RESPONSE. GM CASE NUMBER 9-6003224546 THIS IS THE SECOND BRAKE FAILURE COMPLAINT FOR THE CAR, BUT I ONLY HAVE THE SERVICE REPORT FOR THE ORIGINAL FAILURE AND REPAIR. DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED WITH THIS COMPLAINT.

NHTSA ODI 11329920

COOLANT RESERVOIR HAS A LEAK AT THE RETURN HOSE, THE TANK ITSELF SEEMS TO HAVE A WEAK SPOT ON THE INLET, I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED BY CHEVY. NOTICE COOLANT GETTING LOW, ADDED COOLANT NEXT DAY IT WAS STILL LOW THEN NOTICED A LEAK WHILE RUNNING

NHTSA ODI 11320732

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 CHEVROLET SPARK M300. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED IN A PARKING SPACE, THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE AND SPONTANEOUSLY ACCELERATED AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH INTO TRAFFIC COLLIDING WITH A VEHICLE. THE CONTACTED STATED THAT THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HER FRONT SEAT PASSENGER WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL BY AMBULANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. . THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11307537

AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY MY CAR LOST ALL POWER IN THE TRANSMISSION, I STEPPED ON THE GAS AND NOTHING HAPPENED BUT THE CAR STILL REVVED. IT'S AS IF IT SLIPPED OUT OF GEAR WHILE GOING 65MPH AND WOULD NOT KICK BACK INTO GEAR. I WAS AFRAID OF GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THE SUDDEN LOSS IN SPEED. I'VE READ THAT 2013-2015 SPARKS ARE KNOWN FOR HAVING BAD TRANSMISSIONS AND I BELIEVE MY PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY A FAULTY TCM.

NHTSA ODI 11297373

MANUAL TRANSMISSION REPEATED FAILURES. THE TRANSMISSION HAS GONE OUT 5 TIMES, BEEN IN SHOP FOR GRAND TOTAL OF 6 MONTHS. 3RD AND 4TH GEAR SYNCHROS HAVE GONE OUT. CABLES ARE POPPING OFF AND NOT ALLOWING TO SHIFT. MAJORITY OF FAILURES HAVE HAPPENED AT HIGHWAY SPEED, POSING A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHERE A UNPOWERED VEHICLE IS TRYING TO EXIT MOVING TRAFFIC.

NHTSA ODI 11286558

MY CAR HAS BEEN SQUEALING AND LURCHING AT SPEEDS OVER 30MPH FOR ABOUT A WEEK AND TODAY THE TRANSMISSION LOST POWER ON THE HIGHWAY.

NHTSA ODI 11281753

NEED AIR BAG FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE

NHTSA ODI 11268784

THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN VERY SLUGGISH SINCE I BOUGHT IT. IT IS NOW UNSAFE TO DRIVE, ESPECIALLY IN THE HEAT. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY INSTANCES WHEN I'M AT A COMPLETE STOP AND THE CAR WON'T GO WHEN I HAVE THE GAS PEDAL FLOORED. I HAVE HAD 3 CLOSE CALLS AT INTERSECTIONS WHEN MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN, WHEN THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AMPLE TIME TO GET THROUGH THE INTERSECTION BASED ON THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MY VEHICLE AND ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I HAVE TAKEN MY VEHICLE TO THE CHEVROLET SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR THIS ISSUE. THEY HAVE DONE DIAGNOSTICS AND SUPPOSEDLY DRIVEN IT, BUT COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. THIS IS A REAL SAFETY CONCERN. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON BUSY CITY STREETS, AT ON-RAMPS GETTING ONTO THE FREEWAY, AT BUSY INTERSECTIONS GOING STRAIGHT AND TURNING BOTH DIRECTIONS, AND ON LOW GRADE HILLS, I HAVE TO FLOOR THE GAS PEDAL TWO OR THREE TIMES BEFORE THE CAR WILL MOVE. THE PROPULSION INCREASES AT A VERY SLOW, UNSAFE RATE OF SPEED.

NHTSA ODI 11257212

GOT A "SERVICE STABLE TRACK" INDICATION AND BRAKES WOULD LOSE ASSISTED POWER RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. (WHICH IS NOT VERY SAFE.) BEFORE THIS I HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH LOOSING ASSISTED BRAKES AFTER STOPPING THAT DEALER REPLACED THE BRAKE BOOSTER JUST AFTER I BOUGHT IT. THIS TIME I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER I BOUGHT IT FROM AND THE COMPUTER WAS THROWING LOTS OF WEIRD CODES. SO THEY TOOK IT TO THE CHEVY DEALER AND THEY DETERMINED THAT THE BOLTS THAT MOUNT THE EBCM TO THE BPMV WERE LOOSE. THEY DECIDED THAT THE BOLTS WEREN'T TIGHTENED ENOUGH FROM A WARRANTY REPAIR ON THE BPMV THAT I DIDN'T REALIZE WAS DONE LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR USED. TECHNICALLY I FEEL LIKE WE DON'T REALLY KNOW FOR SURE IF THE BOLTS WERE TIGHTENED TO THE CORRECT TORQUE IN THE FIRST PLACE OR NOT. I HAVE SEEN A NUMBER OF BRAKE PROBLEMS REPORTED ON THIS MODEL. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE ISSUE COULD CAUSE FALSE CODES TO BE REPORTED BECAUSE THE EBCM IS NOT GROUNDED WELL AND ALSO CAUSES AIR GETTING INTO THE BRAKE SYSTEM. MY CONCERN IS THIS MIGHT NOT BE AN ISOLATED INCIDENT, BUT I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.

NHTSA ODI 11255750

ON 8/6/2019 AROUND FIVE IN THE MORNING AS I WAS LEAVING WORK ON A CITY STREET, MY RIGHT SIGNAL LIGHT JUST CAME ON AND HASN'T CUT OFF YET, NO MATTER WHAT I DO IT WON'T CUT OFF. I CHECKED ALL FUSES AND CHECKED THE WHOLE CAR AND FOUND NOTHING

NHTSA ODI 11253595

WHILE PARKED ALL OF MY VEHICLES WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON AT ONCE. MY CAR WAS STILL RUNNING BUT IT WOULD NOT GO INTO ANY OTHER GEAR. I COULD NOT LOCK MY CAR OR OPERATE ANYTHING IN THE VEHICLE. I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED OVER TWO HOURS TO A DEALERSHIP. THEY REPLACED THE BCM AND RELEARN THESE DETERRENT MODULE. LEFT ME STRANDED OVER SIX HOURS AWAY FROM HOME. I HAD 33,146 MILES ON IT. IT'S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR LATER AND I WENT TO START MY CAR AND IT REPEATED THE SAME THING. I AM STILL UNDER 50,000 MILES ON MY CAR AND THESE ARE JUST THE LAST TWO ISSUES I'VE HAD WITH IT. MY CAR HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE SHOP CONTINUOUSLY SINCE THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. LEAVING ME UNABLE TO GET TO WORK, STRANDED IN 100 DEGREE WEATHER, AND COSTING ME ALMOST WHAT I HAVE PAID FOR THE CAR. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A FAITHFUL CHEVY CUSTOMER BUT NOW I CAN'T TRUST THEM. I'VE INCLUDED WHAT A REGULAR BILL LOOKS LIKE FROM 11/01/2018. MY CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AGAIN YESTERDAY MORNING AND IS CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP WHILE I MISS WORK YET AGAIN. SMH

NHTSA ODI 11244372

TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED TWICE SINCE PURCHASE. BOTH TIMES WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE. THE ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED AT 65K MILES AND NOW IT NEEDS A 3RD TRANSMISSION AFTER ONLY 50K MILES ON THE 2ND TRANSMISSION. VEHICLE HAS 115K MILES CURRENTLY. THIS VEHICLE IS ALL HIGHWAY MILES & BOTH FAILURES WERE WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE.

NHTSA ODI 11240807

'SERVICE AIRBAG LIGHT' COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY. WARNING FLASHES UP ON MY DISPLAY, THEN WILL GO AWAY, THEN SOMETIMES RETURN. VEHICLE CAN BE STATIONARY, OR IN MOTION.

NHTSA ODI 11233670

MY RADIO DASH AND AUDIO INDICATORS BLACKOUT WITHOUT WARNING THIS WEEKEND WHEN I TURNED MY CAR ON. NO BLINKER SOUND, NO RADIO, NO KEYS IN IGNITION WARNING. NOTHING. IT'S THE SAME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 2016 RECALL THAT WAS ISSUED BUT GM WILL NOT FIX IT BECAUSE MY VIN DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE RECALL LIST

NHTSA ODI 11210340

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 ODI 11204223

ON STATIONARY CAR START, SIMULTANEOUSLY RECEIVED A SERVICE AIRBAG WARNING AND SERVICE STABILITRAK WARNING.

NHTSA ODI 11194322

ON 2/11/19 MY CAR STALLED,( SHUT OFF )WHILE MAKING A TURN AT TWO DIFFERENT TIMES . ( MILEAGE 35,582) I TOOK MY CAR TO CHEVROLET ON 3/22/18 FOR THE SAME PROBLEM.(MILEAGE 22,517) MY CAR HAD STALLED (SHUT OFF) AT A LIGHT AND NO LIGHTS HAD COME ON THE DASH INDICATING THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD BY THE TECH NO PROBLEM FOUND.

NHTSA ODI 11176377