10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 13,505 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
I do not know what system affects the problem my car is having it stalls in front of oncoming traffic on left turns it's done this to me 3 to 4 times and it scares me. It will start right back up and go but it'll still continuously throughout the day when I slow down or come to a red light. The speed control sensor went out and I replaced it and there seem to be middle or something on that. I've read different reports or seen on YouTube that people have reported the same problem with their cars it is definitely a safety issue had it not started up or had I panicked like I did the first time and almost not get it started but a car could crash into me because my car stalled in front of traffic the problem has not been reproduced for anybody and there has been no report to dealership insurance police anything like that. I have checked periodically to see if there is a recall on it and there hasn't been this is the first time I'm seeing where you can report something like this so I thought I would
- Tucson, AZ, USA
About a month ago my car, while driving, started acting up. My odometer would fluctuate and not give me my speed, my lower tire pressure came on, my check engine light came on, power steering would go in and out, and acceleration would fluctuate. I brought it in to be looked at, after 3 days of hearing nothing I called and they told me something was wrong with the onstar module. After 4 days of having my car back, same problems. Brought it back in, they called an engineer in since they had no idea what was going on and a week later I got my car back. 4 days later I again had to bring it in for the same stuff and after 9 days of playing phone tag then gave it back. I have had my car back for 2 weeks without any problems, today while 35 miles away from home every single light was flashing on the dash board. My odometer didnt work at all and I could only go 30 miles per hour. I stopped my car, shut it off and turned it back on and nothing changed. The newest ordeal is my break light will turn on and beep at me anywhere from 3 seconds to 5 minutes. With it being the holidays and having to work all week I see no point in bringing my car in for nothing to be fixed for a 4th time and being without a car because I'm only 20 for who knows how long when I have a job to get to that's only 5 minutes away. I'm am so beyond irritated and want to throw this car into a trash can.
- Buffalo, MN, USA
After accelerating from a light at 5mph the gear indicator disappeared and the transmission stuck in 2nd gear verified by revs vs. Vehicle speed. Resulted in very slow acceleration and high revs. Cycling the gear shifter did not resolve issue. Would not even shift to neutral. Issue not resolved until cycling ignition. No check engine light, no indicator lamps. No gear selection indicator on display.
- South Lyon, MI, USA
Vehicle won't shift out of first gear. Not only is this very dangerous, but it is ruining the engine and transmission of the vehicle. This occurs about once a month at random times, and could very easily cause an accident. The dealer won't do anything to fix the problem, and has been very rude to my wife. I have been a lifelong Chevy guy, but I think I'm finally done. A Toyota or Honda is sounding really good right now!
- Mason, MI, USA
May have been happening before above date but did not realize it....on dashboard there is no indication of which gear I am in(ie P D N R) and car has no pickup even when peddle to floor...when it does start moving it is very, very, very slow....noticed this several times and when it went in for hood latch recall asked them to check....of course they could not duplicate(recall was not done as to lack of parts) still was occurring occasionally.....went back again for recall latch work(done this time 3-11-15) when leaving check engine light was on...was told it was safe to drive, but I showed them the dashboard was not indicating gear...left it with them they R&R park neutral switch which they stated was filled with water.....this was very dangerous to me, at first I could either turn car off and restart to see indicator on dash or run thru the gears, but right before engine light came on I could do none of this/have read about this numerous times on a site call carcomplaints.com.......thank you
- Cincinnati, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph enagaging the brakes, the vehicle suddenly accelerated causing the vehicle to crash into the side of another vehicle. Also, the contact indicated that during the crash the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was examined by the insurance investigator who indicated that no defect was found with the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 22,000. Updated 09/11/14 updated 12/17/2014
- Orchard Park, NY, USA
My husband was pulling the Chevy Spark into a parking place when four people decided to cross over it. When the brake was applied to allow them to safely pass, the car accelerated instead. The brakes pressed back against his foot he said and car eventually stopped. We were both confused, surprised and afraid! the car was not driven again until I took it out two days later. It happened once more when I was braking at a red light behind a large truck at a very low speed. I pressed the brake harder a second time and then took my foot off the brake. This time the acceleration continued even after my foot was taken off the brake. I shoved the car into park to get it to stop. I sustained a broken toe and fractured ankle from the force of trying to stop the car. A few months before this, when applying the gas, the car would not accelerate at two consecutive red lights. Engine was very slow and car was not able to accelerate to the speed limit and hesitated all the way home. The car has a factory recall on the air conditioner right now as well, which we received from GM. We are terrified to drive this car not knowing if these defects will continue! the car is in the service department and we are in contact with the dealership about a buy back from GM. We bought the Spark August 30, 2013, so it is not even a year old. I have done a search for others who may be having the same or similar issues. There are reports of very similar incidents on sites for complaints for both issues of brake acceleration and the gas pedal hesitation also reports of the Spark engine stopping in traffic. This is very concerning and dangerous. We hope this is taken seriously and investigated.
- Summerville, SC, USA
Chevrolet Spark would no shift out of 1st gear when acelerating on to freeway. The cause is due to defective transmission range sensor dtc error code P0705. Known service bulletin (#pip-5101). This is the 3rd time this has occurred. Extreme life threating problem when a vehicle is merging the freeway and will not acelerate to the speed of freeway traffic!!!!!!!! Chevrolet dealer has not resolved the issue.
- Flint, MI, USA
TL - the contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Spark. The contacts stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently without any warnings. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician stated that the failure was cause by the floor mat. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 10,374.
- Dallas City, IL, USA
While driving on the highway with the cruise control set at 70 mph, the vehicle kept accelerating and slowing down. By watching the tachometer, I could see the rpms go up and down continuously, and feel the vehicle surging forward and slowing again. The vehicle also did this with the cruise control set at 60 mph. While driving on the street and coasting, you can feel the transmission shifting up and down, and the vehicle will suddenly accelerate on it's own, making this a very dangerous situation since if you are not alert, you may be driven into the back of the vehicle in front of you.
- Orlando, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, her size twelve foot got stuck between the accelerator and brake pedals which caused her to crash into the rear of another vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN and mileage were unavailable.
- Plaintation, FL, USA
Buttons on steering wheel that work the cruise control, hands free phone, and radio controls do not light up when lights are on at night. This creates a dangerous situation as the buttons can not be seen in the dark. GM is aware of the situation and has repaired it in models built after October 25 2012, but will not fix it in the models built before then. When I purchased the vehicle in November of 2012, I was not informed of the change before the purchase, leading me to believe that GM and its dealers intentionally mislead me into buying a car that they had already deemed as having an unsafe feature or they would not have changed it.
- Palm Bay, FL, USA
Lack of button illumination lights for the cruise control, hands-free phone control and audio control on the steering wheel for night driving. The lack of illumination lights on these buttons creates potential safety issue when attempting to use the cruise control, phone call or audio functions from the steering wheel at night. This problem seems to be only for 2013 Spark models with production prior to October 2012.
- Milpitas, CA, USA
- Tucson, AZ, USA