The Chevy Spark has been an affordable and cute little hatch ever since it started its life as the Daewoo Matiz. Despite some of its shortcomings, the car’s reliability department has impressed its owners, and the complaints it faced only make up a small fraction of its sales number. The 2019 Chevrolet Spark carries on with only 8 complaints and a single recall officially with the NHTSA. The issues faced by the car are not repetitive and most of the problems were regarding its safety systems. The Spark comes with a base price tag of $13,220 and rivals the Honda Fit, the Kia Rio, and the Ford Fiesta hatchbacks.
Chevrolet Spark user complaints and problems
Safety problems
- Airbags failure: A few owners complained about airbag failure during a crash. The reports stated that despite the vehicles being involved in front-end collisions, the airbags failed to deploy causing injuries. In one case, the knee airbag on the driver’s side was deployed but injured the driver quite a bit. A piece of plastic or metal cut through the calf muscles of the owner’s leg to the bones, causing a serious injury.
- Faulty brakes: Two reports regarding the brakes of the 2019 Chevy Spark were recorded by the NHTSA. In one report the owner said that after owning the vehicle for months, the brakes started to make a loud noise while engaging and apply lesser braking force than normal as well. The owner visited the dealership three times but the issue still persisted. In another case, while the owner was driving the vehicle down the highway, there was smoke coming out from underneath the vehicle. Upon further inspection at the dealership, the complete braking system including the brake boosters required a replacement.
Electrical problems
- Faulty car alarm: A single complaint was registered regarding the mentioned problem. The owner said on the report that the alarm of the vehicle went off even though no one was present near the vehicle.
Miscellaneous problems
- Accelerator pedal getting stuck: One owner complained about this issue. In the report, it was mentioned that while accelerating, the accelerator pedal stuck in the pressed position resulting in uncontrollable acceleration.
2019 Chevrolet Spark recalls
|
S.No. |
Recall Date |
NHTSA Campaign ID |
Issues noticed |
Additional remarks |
Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
November 1, 2018 |
18V774000 |
Air Bags may not Deploy Due to Incorrect Setting |
If the airbags do not deploy in the event of a crash, it can increase the risk of injury. |
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the SDM module to the correct mode, free of charge. The recall began on November 6, 2018. |
Should you buy a used Chevrolet Spark?
Need a small car to run your errands and take quick trips around the city? The Chevy Spark turns out to be a preferable option with an affordable price tag. It gets an impressive list of optional safety techs at an affordable price tag, compact dimensions, and excellent fuel economy figures. The car also has a fairly clean record in terms of run-ins with issues in the recent past and going with a used example would be a safe decision.
