Airbag, engine and electrical issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2019 Chevy Spark might be a little car, but it is designed to make a big first impression. In fact, the automaker claims that this model is the “center of attention.” While owners tend to agree that the Spark draws a lot of attention, it’s not for any good reasons. Instead, the defective air bags, failing engine and faulty electrical system are causing a lot of commotion.
Air bags have been required in vehicles for many years now. It’s safe to assume that the system should have been perfected after all of this time, but the Spark proves otherwise.
Read this NHTSA complaint. “The vehicle was in motion in a school zone of 35 mph on a street. I had a front end impact, which it rear-ended the car in front of it and the airbags deployed. The airbag by the feet, deployed a piece of metal or plastic and blew through the calf down to the bone. The wound was 4-5 inches in length and required 13 stitches. There was barely any damage to the car and there should not have been a hole blown through the leg. I think the airbags need to be recalled as they are dangerous and can cause serious injury.”
It turns out that Chevy is fully aware of air bag concerns. NHTSA Campaign Number 18V774000 states that the air bags in some vehicles may not deploy at all because the Sensing Diagnostic Module was turned off during manufacturing and never reactivated. Whether the air bags fail to deploy or they rip apart the leg of a driver, this Spark is sure to get plenty of attention as promised.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Air Bags | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Electrical System | |
| Engine | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Power Train | |
| Seat Belts | |
| Structure:body | |
| Vehicle Speed Control:accelerator Pedal |
Even in a small car, such as the Spark, there is plenty of equipment running on the electrical system. When something begins to malfunction, it is felt.
That’s what is illustrated with this Edmunds review. “I have tried really hard to ‘love’ this car, but I just cannot. I’ve had numerous issues with the car since driving off the lot (literally). On my way home from the dealership, my airbag and seatbelt lights kept going on and off while driving down the highway. Took the car into service and found they had to replace the seatbelt buckle and airbag control module for the driver’s seat. Not even a week later, the radio would stay on with the car turned off and the driver’s door opened. In the process of figuring this out, the dealership scratched my dashboard upon removal of the radio. Found that there was an update to OnStar which had caused the issues with the radio. I have squeaking coming from the front suspension when hitting bumps, that is heard with the windows down. The dealership says they aren’t sure where it’s coming from, and it would take them too long to trace the noise down, so they sent me out the door with 2 free oil changes. Not a fix for a brand new car! I’ve also got a terribly loud whine somewhere within the powertrain, and I was verbally told it was the transmission and that they all do it, yet on my paperwork the dealership noted that it was alternator noise under high load. Regardless, it’s unacceptable for a brand new car to have these issues!”
While there are nearly 20 service bulletins related to the electrical system, most of them are discussing what constitutes a warranty claim and what doesn’t. There’s very little valuable information shared between Chevy and the dealerships. Instead, the automaker would want people to believe that everything is running as it should, despite what actual owners are claiming. There have got to be better ways of getting attention than sitting behind the wheel of this defective lemon. Maybe owners should consider changing their hair color instead.
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Finally, a look at the engine reveals a lot of what has already been shown – this Spark is poorly made and doesn’t provide reliable transportation.
Look at this Edmunds review. “The CVT engine is a nightmare and I won’t buy another car with it! The engine stalls for a few seconds if you don’t come to a complete stop. So if you’re turning in a parking lot and have to wait for cars to pass before you can go, you need to come to a complete stop before trying to cross in front of traffic or the car will stall for a few seconds and you may almost end up getting hit because of it. You can’t slow down and then go again, the CVT engine just doesn’t switch from slowing down to accelerating again very quickly. Also, if you have sharp turns that you have to really slow down for the car ends up being very jerky in the turn because again it doesn’t switch from slowing down to accelerating very well.”
In this case, Chevrolet did issue one important engine-related communication. Service bulletin #19NA044 states that the Spark can release black smoke, struggle with a rough idle and have some misfires with a cold start. Apparently, the Spark only runs the way it should after it has warmed up, which seems perfectly logical to Chevy. Maybe that’s why they named it the Spark – because fire needs to be lit in order to make it run.
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Chevrolet pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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My Chevy spark has only 100, 000 miles on it. I took it to a Chevy dealership to get estimates on the price to fix it. I was told there are a lot of problems with the engine and the transmission. I have only had this car for less than a year
I got rear ended while on a red light stop. The bumper slightly cracked. The next day as I started the car on 15mph made a left turn,the passenger side front wheel hit the side walk and the wheel came out. The message text the stabilizer was off. After my insurance repaired it , while. driving passed the tracks the ball joint on the front driver’s side failed and the wheel fell off .The police came and had me towed the car to a near chevy dealer because they said the ball joint failed( because I didn’t hit anything ) and being a new car the warranty should cover the damage. Dealership washes their hands saying they found nothing defective and my insurance won’t cover it because there was no collision…so It may have to come out of pocket costs which I do not have 2800 worth of damages Shouldn’t the dealer cover this under the warranty? I’ve only had the car for 1 yr…The ball joint shouldn’t fail on a new car.
I have a chvy spark that the gas pedal sticks wide open and im being told they cant replacate it so theres nothing to fix and send me on my way . happened 6 times now. First it was throdle body. Then no its the battery o and my favorite one its the transmision and its made to do that. Tell me something do i have to die or kill some one befor. They here me??