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What 41 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Spark EV

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (41)Crash / fire / injury (4)Brakes (20)Airbags (5)Electrical system (4)Transmission & drivetrain (4)Engine (2)Steering (2)Visibility & wipers (2)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (1)Fuel system (1)Lights (1)

1 of 41 complaints match · Electronic Stability Control (esc) · clear filters

Aug 20, 2019Electronic Stability Control (esc)Brakes

2016 CHEVY SPARK EV - 35,233 MILES. DRIVING STRAIGHT ON DOWNHILL CITY STREET. STABILITRAK FAILURE MESSAGE APPEARED, THEN BRAKES STOPPED RESPONDING. STEERED CAR INTO CURB TO FORCE IT TO STOP. BRAKE ALARM SYMBOL DISPLAYED ON SCREEN. CAR TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. DEALERSHIP SAID BRAKE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE WAS FAULTY & NEEDED REPLACEMENT AND REPROGRAMMING. THIS IS 2ND BRAKE RELATED ISSUE. PRIOR ISSUE WAS LESS THAN 1 MONTH AFTER LEASING IN OCT 2016. BRAKES ALSO FAILED COMPLETELY.

NHTSA ODI 11245144

Working with the data? Download all 41 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Chevrolet Spark EV verdict →