Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Chevrolet Spark - part 1

This report concerns a known cvt defect and subsequent tcm failure that left the vehicle unsafe and inoperable. The vehicle suffered internal cvt failure consistent with gm special coverage n192271110. After the first transmission failed in may 2024 (and the second time October 5 2025), the tcm failed again shortly after the second failure—consistent with gm preliminary information bulletin pip5525a. Critical safety details: both failures occurred while driving on highways with heavy traffic, where speed limits were 75 mph. On each occasion, the vehicle lost power and became unable to accelerate safely, presenting a serious safety risk to me and other drivers. Gm is refusing coverage despite widely documented cases and their own bulletins describing this exact failure chain.

See all problems of the 2015 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

Vehicle began slipping out of gear between 1st & 2nd, then started losing power at 74,760 miles. Extended service coverage has been issued for model for cvt transmission pulley system, however only covers 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Mine apparently timed out in February, so they are trying to make me get a new transmission which basically totals out the car I spent a fortune on to buy & in repairs at under 75,000 miles. This is unacceptable.

Transmission issues.

See all problems of the 2014 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

I lease a car through carvana, and they informed me that the car was safe and properly inspected. In the first 2 weeks, I took the Chevrolet to a certified dealership for a routine inspection. I was informed that the vehicle has severe mechanical and electrical issues. The enginee needs to be completed replace they found shred metal pieces in the engine oil. The car also needs a completely new steering and alignment system. It also needs a new heating system. The total cost is 7500, which is close to the current value of the car. I have informed carvan and silver rock third party insurance. They failed to inspect the vehicle and follow dot safety requirements. This car shouldn't be available or purchased. This car requires several weeks of repair and puts me at risk for driving. I could have easily ended in deadly accident because of the condition of the vehicle. This company has committed gross deglience and promotes a car that is unsafe with false advertising and promises. Carvana is liability however they refuse to follow proper safety guidelines and take responsibility for the issue they created. I am paid for a vehicle I can't legally drive. There gross deglience put all customers at risk; if they were honest about there inspection this issue would never occur. Please help me expose this corrupt company. We the people deserve better. This company needs to be held accountable with an fcc and dot audit.

See all problems of the 2021 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

I lease a car through carvana, and they informed me that the car was safe and properly inspected. In the first 2 weeks, I took the Chevrolet to a certified dealership for a routine inspection. I was informed that the vehicle has severe mechanical and electrical issues. The engine needs to be replaced entirely because they found shredded metal pieces in the engine oil. The car also requires an entirely new steering and alignment system. It also needs a new heating system. The total cost is 7700, which is close to the current value of the car. I have informed the caravan and silver rock third-party insurance. They failed to inspect the vehicle and follow dot safety requirements. This car should not be available for purchase. This car requires several weeks of repair, which puts me at risk of driving. I could have easily ended up in a deadly accident because of the condition of the vehicle. This company has committed gross negligence while falsely promoting a car as safe. During this initial review of the car, carvan informed us that it has never been in an accident, has not been resold with parts, and does not show wear and tear on the vehicle. I have documentation outlining the extended warranty coverage, purchase agreement, and diagnosis and analysis done by the Chevrolet dealership. This company is committing consumer fraud and putting its customers at risk. This company is still charging monthly for a car that is legally unsafe to drive.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 38,000. The VIN was not available.

See all problems of the 2020 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

Transmission issue. During heavy traffic at stop lights car wouldn't shift into drive to move forward. Was stuck in the middle of the road with a passenger. Engine light came on but it's not an engine problem. Car was smoking under the hood. I burned my hand when popping the hood. When the car cooled the engine light went out and car would shift gears and it's drivable again. This has happened 3 times. Mechanic pulled up at p0700 code on computer. It's the cvt transmission but not sure which part. I can't get the car to the dealership to inspect transmission. It won't drive that far.

Vehicle stalls when started, after vehicle is up to temp the rpm’s fluctuate and vehicle misfires. I was driving down the road when all of a sudden the car went into limp mode I couldn’t do anything and me and my son almost got run off the road but after a few minutes of pressing the gas pedal it finally started to move. Dealership is unable to fix problem because they can’t even figure out what it is $7000. 00 later and no one can figure out the problem. This is a lemon and chevy should be recalling all chevy Spark before someone gets hurt.

See all problems of the 2013 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. An unknown message was displayed. The vehicle was able to restart, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the O2 sensor was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The mechanic performed an oil change however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 99,848.

Without warning, vehicle loses power and ability to accelerate is greatly reduced. The malfunction indicator lamp (aka "check engine light"), the reduced engine power light, and the traction control system/stabilitrak light all illuminate at the same time and are not flashing. Using a diagnostic tool from a local auto parts store, code p2138 is reported as follows: throttle/pedal position sensor switch 'd/e' voltage correlation, and accelerator pedal position (app) sensors 1-2 not plausible. Incident has occured multiple times since owning the vehicle (approx. 13 months). This creates a safety issue because the poor acceleration limits the vehicles ability to maintain speed, especially on highways at higher speeds and ascending hills.

The gm bulletin n19227110 indicates that they are aware of over 10% of Chevrolet Spark models from the years 2014-2015 experiencing transmission problems. Although this bulletin expired last year, it is important to note that they do not provide coverage for vehicles purchased used with fewer than 120,000 miles. This situation poses a significant danger, as the transmission may potentially be contaminated with dirt and debris, leading to unexpected jerking or complete failure, and in some cases, vehicles have caught fire. Furthermore, unless the vehicle is taken to a gm service center, the issue may remain undetected. According to my research, this problem is similar to the one that Nissan faced with their cvt transmissions, which were subject to a recall for the same reason.

The transmission has gone bad and the car has low mileage. I took it to a chevy dealership and they couldn't find the problem now it is completely broken and I can't drive it. I was told there is a recall on the 2015 chevy Spark transmission.

10/5/2021 I had the coolant expansion tank replaced because it was leaking. Its leaking again 2023 same place. (picture below in now same place as before).

I'm coming to a stop or slowing down the car shuts off. Even when making a turn in front of another car across traffic my car has turned off in the middle of crossing the street and I almost got hit twice now. This affects the cruise control coming on as well the speedometer fluctuates back and forth the whole time I'm driving. This happens every day and at most times when I'm coming to a stop or coming out of a stop. I just have to test the gas before I make a turn in front of oncoming traffic to cross the road to make sure that I have power and then I go as fast as I can across so that hopefully I'll gain enough speed so that the car doesn't shut off again. So usually it's every time I come to a red light which is at least at the very least from my work to home is four lights and at every light it will do it. Oftentimes I cross traffic and it will do it. I just had to be very careful.

The gas guage meter failed to work and didn't show where the gas was and so this is dangerous because if you are driving and you were on the freeway and the car stopped because of gas, this could cause an accident and you could be hurt or killed. This part should be a recall on the car because I never should had to fix this for the lifetime of the car at all or at least after 100,000 miles, which it only had 39,000 and I had to end up paying for the ecm and having to reprogram it, which cost me over $1,000, which being disabled, I had to borrow money from a friend to do this. I paid $220 to have the chevy dealer tell me that was the problem and have paperwork to prove this. There was also an engine light that came, when this happened.

When taking off, sometimes the vehicle does not want to excellerate. It seems like the transmission is slipping or not switching gears-it makes a loud clicking gear sound. The vehicle also revs up really loud. It also sometimes feels like the vehicle sulks back when lifting your foot off the gas peddle when accelerating, more than it should. These mishaps make it nearly impossible to excellerate and is dangerous when excellerating onto the highway.

Si my cars been having issues for about a couple of weeks now with speed and it’s been driving rough, it hadn’t given me any check engine lights so I went to a mechanic he changed the throttle body thinking that was the issue however the issue persisted and even got worse. I’ve noticed it doesn’t seem to go into gear when I’m driving then when it finally does it looses power, it’s also really high on the rpm’s and when it’s in park it’ll seem like it wants to turn off.

I have been having issues with my car getting stuck in gear or not wanting to switch gears, as well as sometimes when I try to go and I'm pushing the gas pedal it's like it doesn't move or try to drive then there is a loud knock and it revs all the way up and still doesn't really move then there is another loud knock and it takes off slowly and over revs and sputters and drives very odd, like it's struggling to go and keeps trying to switch gears. The check engine light keeps going on and off and every once in a while my traction light comes on as well. I took it to auto zone and this is the codes they received,"powertrain trouble code description: pressure control solenoid "b" control circuit range/performance powertrain secondary trouble codes: p0965, p070. " I have no idea how to afford to fix it and when doing research online about it alot of Spark owners have had this issue and no recall has been placed. It is very dangerous and I can't even drive on the highway because my car simply won't go. I got stuck at a green light trying to go and almost got hit by a semi because my car simply wouldn't move. I am scared for my life to drive this car and this is an issue that needs to be addressed because I am still paying off this car, barely had it a couple years and maybe half of my loan time and can't even drive it. I am livid and will not put my life in danger because y'all won't issue a recall for a serious problem with this car. I have to be able to get to work and I can't with a car that is constantly trying to kill me. Please help!.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that after the vehicle was idle at a red light, while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle stalled. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle several times before the vehicle restarted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who was unable to identify the cause of the failure. The contact then took the vehicle to another dealer who stated that the battery might have failed. The battery and battery cables were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,719.

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.

The following has now happened on 3 separate occasions when driving on a highway: when driving at highway speeds (50 -55 mph) and hitting a bump that jolts the car (not necessarilly a huge bump), the entire engine and electrical system cuts off and shuts down. This happens only on the highway and has not happened on street driving yet. The car power turns off and this can be very disorienting to an unskilled driver. It requires that I put my car in neutral (my car is a stick shift), turn off the ignition and then turn it on and restart it, while moving at 55mph at night on a wet highway. The last time this happened it was at night and raining. This has happened 3 times over the past 6 months.

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

Transmission won't shift into 25 mph won't acelrate idles rough loud. Stahling.

When excellerating (between 5-30mph), the vehicle studders to gain power/speed-it almost feels like there's a delay in the execution when trying to excellerate. The vehicle will then lunge forward, then sulk back as if the engine has temporarily lost power. The lunge, sulk back and studder are progressively worsening, to the point that the plunge and sulk are occurring at more varying speed changes more and more frequently (accelerating or lifting off the gas peddle to slow down).

Unavailable to buy part dorman 916-806, cannot pass safety inspection and register car.

Got the car in January of 2019. Under 18,000 miles and I was driving on the highway saw smoke and took it to Chevrolet they said the brakes needed to be repaired with boosters and other parts.

See all problems of the 2019 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

There were two incidents involving the same problem. While driving the vehicle on the highway and then on a main road the brakes locked and I had to use the emergency brake to bring the vehicle to complete stop. My mechanic replaced the engine brake vacuum pump after both incidents. The pump was broken in pieces on both occasions leading to metal parts falling into the engine during repair and needing to be retrieved to prevent engine damage.

See all problems of the 2016 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that on various occasions and while driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle shuddered when accelerating. The contact stated that the failure persisted when driving over 50 mph and that the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact had an independent mechanic go to her residence, and after using a diagnostic reader, failure codes were retrieved for the transmission pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

As I was idling up behind the car in front of me at a 4-way stop, and braking gently, my engine puttered out and turned off. I was able to restart the car after putting it in park and turning the ignition off then back on.

This is a periodic occurance when going starting at 0mph at any point during a trip. Normally the engine will rev smoothly but there are times when going from a complete stop to getting to at least 30mph it feels as if the engine is just taking in air and it just revs up and the car starts to roll but doesnt actually accellerate properly and this can result in an accident if you have to move suddenly to avoid being hit. I have the lt1 model specifically.

See all problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Spark 🔎.

When I try to accelerate from a stop, the car can't decide if it wants to move or not and it will just sit and rev and has almost caused several accidents as I am pulling out into traffic.

I called a dealership multiple times for a year stating that my transmission seemed to be slipping. They told me it wasn't possibly the transmission. However, I was just driving, stopped at a light, went to accelerate to go through the light, I heard click click and the engine revved, but the car did not move. I popped it in to low, tried again, nothing. Went to neutral, then to reverse, tried again, nothing.

2014 chevy Spark motor lost compression in two cylinders @ 60k miles, whitmore Chevrolet in west point, va. Took approx. 5. 5 weeks to replace the cylinder head, with no loaner car available to me. Service manager yelled at me for stopping when I would stop by to inquire about the cars status, same when I would call. Neither the calls or visits were even daily, he was horrible to deal with. In the meantime I contacted gm about this & they did essentially nothing other than state that dealers are independantly owned & they gave me 15 months of onstar. . . I would rather have a car the functioned as designed. Fast forward approx. 2 months & the ac stopped working. Tried contacting whimore about the failed ac system, service group either hangs up on me or simply do not call back. Contacted another chevy dealer & was told that I either go back to whitmore or pay to have the ac fixed at their dealership. After buying gm since 1987 I guess I will be looking into other manufacturers very, very soon as I now need 3 new vehicles.

Engine remains running after ignition is turned off when parked after driving more than 20 miles on the highway. Daughter reports this has occurred several times in the past six month. The engine is growling when driving indicating some type of failure of components. This occurred on our street at approximately 10 mph. .

Car motor will not shut off when key is not in the ignition and ignition is in the off position. Car is still drive-able, it will switch gears and is able to be driven. Motor continues to run. Had to shut down car by taking out a fuse under the hood. Car is able to restart using key. A week later car motor will turn off, but the inside chime is going off, leaving car parked! I read other reports on the exact same issue.

Car will start to jerk when accelerating and loose power and not shift. Engine light flashes and sometimes traction control light stays on as well during this. If you shut off engine wait for few minutes then start it's ok. Happens when ever. Just happened yesterday and today.