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how many people actually like their spark ?


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I have nothing bad to say about mine, either. The fuel efficiency and ~$20 to fill up, are worth it, alone. I do wish I had the automatic headlights, that the 2014+ models have. I'd do it again.

Only owned our 14 Spark for one month and 1,000 miles later we are still as happy with it as when we bought it. I tell folks, "it's the funnest go cart I've ever driven".

I like my 2013. Put 23,000 miles on it so far. My wife Drives/ Zooms!!!, the heck out of it. Only problem was AC, fixed by Dealer. Would buy it again. Paid 10k brand new. Fun car.

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im in a 2014 LT2 cvt rental and it drives freakin sweet! i like this little car before but if mine drove like this one i'd never want to drive anything else (ok not completely true, but it would be more than my daily commuter) I don't know why the rental does what is does with 30k more miles on it.. but I have hopes that mine "breaks in" the same way..

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UPDATE: Well, this is truly a "love-hate" relationship. After 22,000 miles of driving, I am considering trading it in. Why? Well, it does meet my expectations regarding mileage and comfort. I love the attached armrest for the driver; great positioning for my arm after I had shoulder surgery. It starts right up and gets me where I'm going... the basic requirement for any vehicle. And it still looks very cute and unique. BUT, the nagging issues are driving me batty. The periodic hesitation from a stop or after slowing down, RPM's shooting up when the car doesn't move any faster (really odd... in a regular tranny, I'd say it was slipping), the a/c is weak... too weak for Florida, and the once-cute bunny hopping in parking lots at slow or drifting speeds has worn thin. Now there is a problem with "cupped tires" and "may need an alignment, not covered under warranty." Tires show uneven wear and front end noise. Two Chevy dealers and both said same thing. As for the other issues, was told that the "car is operating as is customary for that vehicle."

I've read other posters here who have experienced similar hesitation problems and a/c issues (had the recall; it did not help much). So at least I don't feel so "crazy." But on the way home, stopped at a local Ford dealer and drove a new C-Max. OMG... it is absolutely awesome and with mileage at or above the Spark, I'm considering trading towards end of year. I know... like comparing apples to oranges... but really, it's roomier, rides wonderful like a large sedan, handles very well, totally quiet and comfortable... very impressed. Yes, it costs a lot more than the Spark, but I also saw a new Spark at the Chevy dealer with a sticker of nearly $18,000. You can get a base C-Max for not much more, especially if you are looking at spreading it out over 6 or 7 years financing.

So the love affair with the Spark has truly fizzled and driving the C-Max has ignited a new passion for something a little more upscale and performance oriented yet with great MPG. But for now... I will hold onto my Spark and see how it goes now that spring (and hotter temps) is approaching.

Trade it in! You'll wonder why you waited so long. I am so glad I got rid of mine, after one year, eight months.

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Actually, we are looking at trading, but will take one whale of a $$$ hit. My BF also has a 2014 Spark, but with only 10,000 miles and now some similar "quirks" are appearing, like some lurching at low speeds (coasting through parking lot, etc.), and fluctuation in a/c temp. He said he doesn't have a lot of hesitation, but drives very conservatively and usually doesn't have the need to accelerate quickly, such as pulling out into traffic. It is his second vehicle and just used around town.

We are looking to possibly trade both Sparks for one "good" car. But finances are tight and a $30,000 car is not a possibility, plus he is upside down on his and I only have a few thousand $$ of equity in mine. So looking at Scion Xb (roomy, reliable, but lousy MPG), Honda Fit (have to try one yet), and of course a Toyota Prius II. He is ex-military so we can get a good deal through USAA pre-negotiated rates. No more GM's though as I have lost all confidence in the service departments around here.

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Actually, we are looking at trading, but will take one whale of a $$$ hit. My BF also has a 2014 Spark, but with only 10,000 miles and now some similar "quirks" are appearing, like some lurching at low speeds (coasting through parking lot, etc.), and fluctuation in a/c temp. He said he doesn't have a lot of hesitation, but drives very conservatively and usually doesn't have the need to accelerate quickly, such as pulling out into traffic. It is his second vehicle and just used around town.

We are looking to possibly trade both Sparks for one "good" car. But finances are tight and a $30,000 car is not a possibility, plus he is upside down on his and I only have a few thousand $$ of equity in mine. So looking at Scion Xb (roomy, reliable, but lousy MPG), Honda Fit (have to try one yet), and of course a Toyota Prius II. He is ex-military so we can get a good deal through USAA pre-negotiated rates. No more GM's though as I have lost all confidence in the service departments around here.

Yup! With all the issues you have had and the constant misinformation from the dealers, expensive bearing issue etc..Sounds like your car was not very well built and taking a $$ loss now might be a good idea rather than the long fight with GM only to have more issues down the road. I have noticed from this forum and other resources that the quality control was not very good at the plant where they are built. Some have zero issues after 50Kmi and other have issues right off the lot. I was one of the lucky ones where I have had no issues after almost 50Kmi of very hard driving on the 2013 4speed auto. Better to have one good car than 2 bad ones. Of the 3 you mentioned, I think as far as reliable and good quality control is the Honda Fit. The C-Max is also a darn swell car with a bit of room.

If you want to save money you may want to give the GM Customer Service one final shot at fixing it all to your satisfaction or using my previously posted ideas on how to approach the dealer directly. I find it kinda sad that young people have to finance their modest transportation for so long but the USAA rates are pretty good these days and you can use any cash on hand to invest at the same or higher return than the USAA rates. Good luck and I'm sure that members are interested in your progress on what ever decision you two make.

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im in a 2014 LT2 cvt rental and it drives freakin sweet! i like this little car before but if mine drove like this one i'd never want to drive anything else (ok not completely true, but it would be more than my daily commuter) I don't know why the rental does what is does with 30k more miles on it.. but I have hopes that mine "breaks in" the same way..

Interesting as rentals are usually driven hard from day one. I bought my 2013 4sp auto new and drove it hard from day one. As a result, it seems to have a bit more power than normal, but uses a bit more gas. Driving a new car fast and hard causes the rings & valves to seat properly more quickly and I have done the same with all my other new cars in the past with the same result..more power less gas mileage and with the Spark almost at 50Kmi has zero issues and in spite of driving it fast and hard uses virtually no oil between the 5Kmi oil changes and oil is still fairly clean. Used synthetic for the first 10Kmi and now use a good quality conventional oil.

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Just got a follow up call from the second Chevy dealer that looked at the car and agreed with the 1st dealership that the problem was a cupped tire. I told him what Goodyear said and that I'm taking it back to the 1st dealership since it is closer. He didn't know what to say other than to wish me luck and hope I get this "resolved to (my) satisfaction." Hmmm... more to come.

In the meantime, as I'm recovering from a stay in the hospital, I've had time to think and watch Youtube videos. Really like what I'm seeing on the 2015 VW Golfs! The XB is a nice car, but MPG is just too low for my 2,000 miles per month avg. The Fit is possible, though to be honest I'm usually not comfortable in the low seating of most Honda cars. The C-Max was a very impressive car to drive, but the cost is rather steep if you want/need the back up camera. Pushing price in upper $20k - 30k range. I'm looking forward to driving the Golf (most seem to avg. around 30 mpg, and living in flat, but hot, Florida, should be able to reach that), but also looking at the Prius and Prius C. I also have two elderly parents (80's and 90's) and they cannot get into a low seat. Nor can they climb up into a high seat (i.e. van). They can get in and out of the Spark o.k., though my father struggles sometimes with getting enough room to maneuver out of the backseat. For the first time I rode in the backseat of my BF's Spark and yes, getting in and out was a bit of a pain. So... first... will see what happens Monday with the Chevy dealer. I also listed the other intermittent issues besides the bearings (hesitation, a/c, etc.). Willing to be they say they cannot reproduce the problem (other than wheel noise).... any takers?!

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5 weeks old...2015 1LT. Still can't stay out of it. :) 40+ MPG. CVT tranny is great all except fake shift points GM added. I really don't understand why people seem to HATE this transmission. People will brag about how SMOOTH a regular automatic shifts but want to feel fake shifts in the CVT. :sad: Anyway, I really like my Spark so far.

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They aren't fake shift points. The Spark uses a Jatco CVT7 which is a CVT with a multi speed gearbox on the end of it. The computer chooses what gear to use through the range of the CVT. This can cause some weird gear changes that take some getting used too.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

I tell folks, "it's the funnest go cart I've ever driven".attachicon.gif2014 Chevy Spark 001s.jpg

We recently took delivery of a big Range Rover Sport ordered back in May and although we really like the comfortable, quiet, fast and smooth ride it is not nearly as much fun to drive as the Spark and you certainly can't zip around traffic and tight spots in the big SUV. Parking the Spark is much easier than the Range Rover and having to do a U-turn on a narrow road or parking lot, the Spark out performs the SUV. Although the quality of the materials and assembly is superior on the Rover, that is to be expected on a vehicle costing 5x the price of a Spark but although the Spark lacks in quality components, the engineering of the Spark is quite good and a great little car when assembled properly to the GM specs with GM spec 3rd party parts. Unfortunately the assembly and parts vary greatly between one car and the next since the specs that GM wrote up were not always adhered to and is the reason some have had problem issues that others have not. I think the complex VVT engine has a great design with the only weak point being the 3rd party sensors, which the engine is heavily dependent on, are not consistent in quality and reliability but for a little over $10K you get a lot of features usually found on more expensive cars.

With over 50Kmi on our 2013-auto there have been no issues other than the PCV recall that was done before failure. Car is driven hard and fast and burns no noticeable oil and I only change it with any 5w20 conventional oil that meets GF-5 when the oil life monitor reaches less than 10% (usually around 7Kmi). It's comfy enough for a long trip and can cruise at 80mph all day long, but its best feature is its small size when zipping around town or tight turns in confined areas. Just a more fun driving experience than the big, quiet over powered Range Rover Sport. Of course on a long road trip..say Miami to Boston, I would prefer the Rover because of the very quiet, smooth, power for passing and roominess but is a 'yawn' car to drive compared to the Spark.

I believe I have one that got lucky and was properly assembled with fairly good 3rd party parts...other than the rear brake assembly which had zero rust prevention with some parts not even painted..I had to resolve that when still new by applying some tire shine type spray that prevented any rust build up. Did the same on the front calipers, rear drums and engine surfaces that are made of aluminum that seems to oxidize very easily.

As we always need a second, small as possible, car I would probably buy another Spark, specially now that the 2016 model looks more like a car than a box...I value the Spark at a under $15K vehicle and would not pay more than that. I think a same year low mileage daily rental would probably be the best deal...Nuff said..

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Going on two years, great little car.

It is a great little car just don't care for some issues. Some have them some don't.

No one that I have seen has said they don't like the Spark, the complaints are about the problems with the car, and GM/Chevy's failure to fix or at least address them.

We already know that GM is willing to lie about problems with their vehicles, and they should be the first company to take owners concerns seriously to show that they can be trusted.

After all, how can you trust a company that kept telling owners there was nothing wrong with their cars, or that the car was "operating as designed", and then issue recalls for the very things that the customers complained about?

This is a perfect example.

I love my spark and have said it before. Just can't stand the way GM has handled the issues. My service department has been one of the main issues but being a well rated and big dealer for many years you would think they would have their act together.

Well as of now all my issues are taken care of. While in my loaner I was missing my spark even despite the issues and driving a newer 2014 spark. This goes to show that I really like it, well mine at least, lol. I have 15500 miles on mine and it will be three years old in January.

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I love my spark and have said it before. Just can't stand the way GM has handled the issues. My service department has been one of the main issues but being a well rated and big dealer for many years you would think they would have their act together.

Well as of now all my issues are taken care of. While in my loaner I was missing my spark even despite the issues and driving a newer 2014 spark. This goes to show that I really like it, well mine at least, lol. I have 15500 miles on mine and it will be three years old in January.

I would suggest that now that your Spark is nearing end of basic warranty with only the drivetrain 5yr left, you may want to find a good and flexible mechanic/garage that will work with you. Not that easy to find but once you do you can stick with them as I did with my Cuban brothers run shop. I would put you on to them but it is 50mi from you and often they are swamped and you need to leave the car a day or so for some work. Because they have only 5 people working with 4 lifts and no room for expansion they now have a waiting list to become a regular client because they are good, give one year warranty on all work, are very flexible for custom work and now mostly work on higher end cars to maximize profit from the small operation. They have been doing my cars since the '80's when they first opened and helped me restore a '69 Hemi roadrunner way back & have even come out to work ($$$) on my boat engine...not cheap either, but I can ask if they can take a friend of mine on if you like...They will do anything you can dream of and will even find unusual parts. If they they don't recommend a certain custom job..they will say so..they have no set prices and just charge $100 per hr plus parts. Not suitable for oil changes or wheel rotation unless you have some other work to be done at the same time...

Edited by Retired old Gearhead
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I used to be in mech/auto body. After warranty I will fix it myself. I normally do it in warranty to just so I know it's done right, but the wife gave me crap if I started doing it to this car too. She said it's not my job to fix their problem. Lol

If there is something I cannot tackle I do have a local garage that I used when I was in the business. Thank you though.

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  • 3 weeks later...

At first the only reason why I bought the car was to drive back and forth from my house to my work . A 110 mile commute 3 to 4 times a week and to use the least amount of gas, with a cheap car with the benefits of having a warranty. I knew it was an odd car to buy all of my friends have big v8 cars and truck but always complain on how much the spend on gas a week. But now it's been 2 years since I got the car and I love it I have 3 other vehicles and the spark is my main one for everything from going to work to cursing on a Saturday to even taking it to some good roads and just drive it fast. Over all I really like the car and I'm glad I bought it

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Although I have very few complaints about our 2013 Spark after 58Kmi and everything works as it should, I was at my mechanics' shop the last week for an oil change and front brakes & have him check the underside etc. He called me over and showed me the flaky rust on the exhaust pipe elbow that goes over the axle bar and connects the main exhaust pipe to the muffler. He banged on it a bit to see how solid it was and right away the rust flakes came off and exposed a small hole/fracture..so it was ready to go. The rest of the tubing all the way back was OK but still rusty..I asked him to replace all the piping with stainless. A stainless kit was not available for the Spark, but with the pipe bending equipment they have they could order the correct piping and bend to fit and weld the connector/hanger stuff on there..not cheap but I told him to go ahead as the stainless would last the life of the car. These guys are do a lot of custom work as well and know how to improvise. Been dealing with them since the '80's. I asked him if he could re-set the speed limiter a little higher. One of his techs connected a program device to the OBD and that way was able to reprogram the ECU. I can easily hit 110 mph and still under the red line rpm before the limiter prevents the car from going any faster. Really helps for high speed passing but I don't like to keep that speed for very long and don't cruise at higher than 95mph that the well balanced 205/50/15 'H' rated tires can handle.

I think the Spark gets better as some of the weaker components get replaced in time with high quality stuff. My front rotors were slightly warped as well and I could really feel that when applying the brakes at high speed. I asked the mechanic to check the plugs and do a compression check. Plugs were good and clean and compression even across all 4 cylinders.

Now the car has the new stainless exhaust tubing..front to back, slightly bigger diameter and new front brakes. They used to be cheap and good, but because they became quite popular with people wanting custom mods and with no space to expand..they are now expensive and good and have a waiting list if you are not a regular customer...So, ya..I like my Spark and find it easy to park & fun to drive.

Edited by Retired old Gearhead
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Although I have very few complaints about our 2013 Spark after 58Kmi and everything works as it should, I was at my mechanics' shop the last week for an oil change and front brakes & have him check the underside etc. He called me over and showed me the flaky rust on the exhaust pipe elbow that goes over the axle bar and connects the main exhaust pipe to the muffler. He banged on it a bit to see how solid it was and right away the rust flakes came off and exposed a small hole/fracture..so it was ready to go. The rest of the tubing all the way back was OK but still rusty..I asked him to replace all the piping with stainless. A stainless kit was not available for the Spark, but with the pipe bending equipment they have they could order the correct piping and bend to fit and weld the connector/hanger stuff on there..not cheap but I told him to go ahead as the stainless would last the life of the car. These guys are do a lot of custom work as well and know how to improvise. Been dealing with them since the '80's. I asked him if he could re-set the speed limiter a little higher. One of his techs connected a program device to the OBD and that way was able to reprogram the ECU. I can easily hit 110 mph and still under the red line rpm before the limiter prevents the car from going any faster. Really helps for high speed passing but I don't like to keep that speed for very long and don't cruise at higher than 95mph that the well balanced 205/50/15 'H' rated tires can handle.

I think the Spark gets better as some of the weaker components get replaced in time with high quality stuff. My front rotors were slightly warped as well and I could really feel that when applying the brakes at high speed. I asked the mechanic to check the plugs and do a compression check. Plugs were good and clean and compression even across all 4 cylinders.

Now the car has the new stainless exhaust tubing..front to back, slightly bigger diameter and new front brakes. They used to be cheap and good, but because they became quite popular with people wanting custom mods and with no space to expand..they are now expensive and good and have a waiting list if you are not a regular customer...So, ya..I like my Spark and find it easy to park & fun to drive.

We're glad you've grown to love your Spark despite the few repairs you've had. We always love to hear our customer's feedback and appreciate your comments. If you have any questions or concerns moving forward please know that we're here to help! We're just a private message away.
Amber N.
Chevrolet Customer Care
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  • 6 months later...

Love my Spark LS. 2014 and have 99,000 miles on it already. I'm currently having some transmission problems but this car is cute, fun to drive, fits just about anywhere andgreat milege. I drove from Michigan to Montana, a 2000 mile trip one way at $3.00 a gal and only spent $135. In fuel. Love the car and hope they fix the trans. No sorry I bought it at all though.

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Love my Spark LS. 2014 and have 99,000 miles on it already. I'm currently having some transmission problems but this car is cute, fun to drive, fits just about anywhere andgreat milege. I drove from Michigan to Montana, a 2000 mile trip one way at $3.00 a gal and only spent $135. In fuel. Love the car and hope they fix the trans. No sorry I bought it at all though.

Wow..that's a lot of driving...99Kmi and no issues is a good testimonial about the reliability of the engine and electrical stuff that keeps it going. Good luck with the tranny issue...

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  • 3 weeks later...

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