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Has anybody have any good things about this car?


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I love my 2015.  I run a lawncare company and tow my lightweight trailer with my mower and riding mower on there.  It gets the job done fine and I'm saving money on gas compared to all the other guys running pick-ups.  On the weekends, I take it to the track and she is a fun little car to whip around...reminds me a lot of my old miata on the track.

 

So far, I haven't had any issues with the CVT transmission other than the way it's programmed.  Wish there was someone out there that tuned them to run the way I'd like it to.

 

 

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Do you mean to get it going at times?  Sometimes I do have to stomp on the gas in order to match speeds to merge when coming off a yield.  It's an underpowered engine, so there isn't much power there to tap into.  Especially with the air conditioning on.  Lol.  I turn it off when I have to get fast quick.

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Every car forum I'm on has negative comments . It's the nature of a forum , the Spark has few complaints about it as a car , it's mostly dealer service or inability to solve an issue . I also have a Salsa 2LT , only a 2013 model and have no regrets buying it . I'm currently considering a 2016 leftover or a 2017 . Although it's not the only car I'm considering , it has nothing to do with not loving my Spark . There's several cars I like that have closer more convenient dealers for servicing  .  The Spark in my opinion has to be one of the great bargains . I have owned most of the other micro  cars  and the Spark is far and away the best one I have owned . 

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13 hours ago, fatherofsalsa15spark2lt said:

yes that's good information but I was talking a about driving the car where the RPM's don't go down

 

15 hours ago, fatherofsalsa15spark2lt said:

Thanks  for the feedback

The high revving RPM get me is that normal

 

OK...The whole idea of a CVT tranny is to keep the rpms within a short but steady range at a certain longer band of torque and the CVT runs thru a range of gears to speed up or slow down the car...saves on gas..now that is the CVT theory. In order for that to work, the engine needs to have enough torque at a broad and low rpms...this is the case with the 2016 engine..designed to work with a CVT. The 2015 and earlier engines were not designed with the CVT in mind...they depend on a higher rpm to get torque and the manual or the 4sp auto tranny on the 2013 work well with that kind of engine. If your engine is randomly revving high rpms it is a CVT problem of not finding the right gear or slipping out of gear...sounds like yours needs the CVT recall for a reprogram at the very least. As far as a mistake to buy this car..probably, as it is a hit or miss in getting one with a proper CVT tranny, but even so the engine has such a short power band that is beyond me why they would ever put it in the units with the 1.25L engine..sounds like an experiment that failed with a very high volume of complaints and now that they have the correct engine in the 2016 to work with a CVT, the CVT itself still has problems but easier to correct...that's my take on this whole CVT thing.

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Thanks for the feedback

The reprograming has already (At 10mi according to work history I was given) been done I with the High RPM I am speaking 3k to35k holding in that range. when taking off on the highway giving it the gas the rpms hit at 4k and if you let off the gas a second the rpm's drop to 3k this going about 70 mph when I was driving it. one person said you almost have to drive it like a go-cart. this is my experience so far with this car so far. thanks for all of the feedback  

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16 hours ago, sparkfanatic said:

Every car forum I'm on has negative comments . It's the nature of a forum , the Spark has few complaints about it as a car , it's mostly dealer service or inability to solve an issue . I also have a Salsa 2LT , only a 2013 model and have no regrets buying it . I'm currently considering a 2016 leftover or a 2017 . Although it's not the only car I'm considering , it has nothing to do with not loving my Spark . There's several cars I like that have closer more convenient dealers for servicing  .  The Spark in my opinion has to be one of the great bargains . I have owned most of the other micro  cars  and the Spark is far and away the best one I have owned . 

Thanks for the good feedback.

How many miles do you have on you car?

How does this car do on the High way  any feedback would be great.

 

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I'm getting close to 50K mile mark . It runs just fine on the highway , comfortable and handles well . It's not bothered by trucks or blown around as people might assume . It's been very reliable , starts with a flick of the key in any weather ,doesn't matter if it's below zero or 110 . I can drive off immediately after starting with no hesitation or stutter . I have had  several recalls and all have been done quickly while I had my oil changed , so not a big inconvenience . I have had only 2 problems . One was a pedal position sensor that shorted out , putting the car in low power mode . The car never left me stranded , I drove it back home though at reduced top speed ( 25-30 mph ) and called Onstar the next morning and let them tow it to the dealer . After it was fixed the dealer sent someone to come and get me at my house so I could pick up the car . That repair was under warranty or I would have just did it myself as its a quick fix . The other issue was s leak on the coolant surge tank which wasn't covered so did it myself . Again a 10 minute repair . If I did both repairs myself , it would have only cost less than $60 in parts . You may want to refer to some of member gearheads posts about his pizza drivers as to the Sparks durability . I think he said one of them was close to 180K miles with no issues .

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My 2013 4speed auto tranny now has close to 100Kmi of very hard use and lots of high RPM driving and using synthetic oil...no mods and no real problems I can think of. Like 'sparkfanatic' above...car starts with flick of the key still uses no oil and still same power and gas mileage. The only real difference between the 2013 and the '14 and '15's is the CVT option. At first I didn't have a lot of confidence in the complex small engine lasting past 100Kmi, but then our pizza guy told us the high mileage he has without issues and my regular mechanic chimed in with his thoughts on the little engine and said it was a proven good design in other engines and from what he has seen so far..he thinks they are rock solid at high rpms and of course the manual and traditional 4sp auto tranny are widely used in almost all vehicles and basically have the same design, but different sizing depending on vehicle but time proven and usually outlast the body in the 'rust-belt' areas. So, ya...to me this car has been a bargain and is more fun to drive than our high HP Rover at 1/9th the price. It seems it's only the CVT that is behind most of the complaints.

*Oh ya...One complaint I do have is that the upper/inner caliper nut that has a rubber telescoping sleeve that holds the caliper slider pin is made from a softer metal than SAE-3 spec bolt & tends to rust badly and my mechanic had a hard time removing it when doing the front brakes and had to replace it with a new SAE-3 nut. SAE-3 is the USA etc standard for vehicle fasteners etc and nuts and bolts that meet this spec have 3 raised bars with the #3 stamped on the outside bolt head.

Edited by Retired old Gearhead
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Nice clean, safe car! Sporty looking with the red accents on the interior and and as a younger person, I'm sure she loves the tech with the screen and safe hands free phone via bluetooth or USB...she's a lucky girl to have her dad buy her an almost new car! These little units handle very well, easy to park and with 10 airbags, well..you get my drift.

BTW...I have flown into the Memorial Airport once, just after the SW runway expansion...great little town..we stayed at the Marriot..very friendly place!

Edited by Retired old Gearhead
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Thank you Gearhead

I read a lot of your post about this car and it has brought me up to speed.

Overall I know this should be a good starter car for her. The change to full synthetic oil will happen this week. Will you feel a difference once you make the change in the feel or sound of the car? Question Should I get her a spare tire and jack for the car? It comes with the gel and pump. I just use to having a spare with your car. Type of jack also the location where to place it?   

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I bought a full size spare steel rim and tire from discount tire online  . Also bought the proper jack from harbor freight . There are donut tire kits out there on eBay if u prefer that or you could order one through Chevy as the 2016 comes with a spare and uses same size as the previous generation . I also keep a permanent tire repair kit in the car . I don't depend on the inflator kit that comes with the car as that won't repair a large hole . There are also adapter pads to fit the pinch welds that the spark and most cars use . This makes it easy and safe to use hydraulic jacks ect that are not made for pinch welds . You can buy those on Amazon .

Edited by sparkfanatic
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20 hours ago, fatherofsalsa15spark2lt said:

Thank you Gearhead

I read a lot of your post about this car and it has brought me up to speed.

Overall I know this should be a good starter car for her. The change to full synthetic oil will happen this week. Will you feel a difference once you make the change in the feel or sound of the car? Question Should I get her a spare tire and jack for the car? It comes with the gel and pump. I just use to having a spare with your car. Type of jack also the location where to place it?   

Synthetic oil will give better gas mileage and better engine protection combined with longer mileage between changes. Don't know how comfortable she is with changing a tire and "sparkfanatic" above gives some very good tips on securing a spare. Even if she is not comfortable with changing a tire, it's a good idea to have one as well as a 'roadside assistance' plan...whether it be GM, AAA or some cell phone plans have this as an option..I use the cell plan and for $5 a month I get very fast service and they will change a flat...but only if you have the wheel...so, ya, a wheel and jack and a solid roadside plan can be a huge benefit for that as well as any other issues..even keys locked in the car. Not sure where to place the jack, but as 'sparkfanatic' mentioned, you can get adapters and pads to place between the jack and the car.

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  • 4 months later...

We will never buy another Chevy product. My mother owns a 2013 chevy spark. It had 27k miles on it when bought. Put about 10k more miles on it, and it started drinking oil like crazy. I get  notice in the mail from chevy telling me that the car has a recall on it, just for the very thing we was starting to have issues with. It ran fine, just used oil. I call and get a time set up to take car to dealer to have the issue taken care of. They was supposed to change the PCV valve, and reprogram the computer, along with reprogramming the radio, different issue I think. The dealer did not want to do it, because they said car had a salvage title. (Hit in the fender, all that was replaced was the fender). Called chevy back, they agreed to take care of it anyway, and OK'ed it. Dealer called said it was ready. Got there, no paperwork or anything, thought it was kinda weird, but took it anyway. Come to find out, all they did was reprogram the radio. Now I have a broken engine, yes it is because it was not repaired the first time. I call chevrolet, tell them it is now broken, and the repair was not done the first time. They agree to do the repair, take it in, they replace the PCV and replace one spark plug. Of course, it did not fix it. Call chevrolet, they will not let me talk to the same person anymore, they have some guy call me back that is very rude, and talks over me every time I attempt to say anything. They are now backing out, and now claiming it is because it has the salvage title. I guess a bent fender will cause it start using oil at 37k miles, and then at 40k the engine will blowup. And yes, I always keep it full of oil. We all know from previous owners that is not the case. Chevy is just using it as an excuse to not take of a problem that has plagued countless spark owners, especially 2013 models. I have been a GM man all my life. But now I don't think I will ever consider another. Junk car, they know it, finding ways to not take care of it. Maybe I will talk to a lawyer, and see what can be done, maybe a class action suit? who knows?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello im new to the forum but I have a 2013 spark 1lt auto just went over 101,000 miles and has never ever missed a beat. It is the non cvt tranny but the motor and tranny are perfect ac ice cold smooth on the highway . It is one of the most amazing small cars you can get for your money in my opinion. You have not made a bad deciscion . you have made a great investment.  Congradulations

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 1/6/2017 at 10:44 PM, Mike68 said:

We will never buy another Chevy product. My mother owns a 2013 chevy spark. It had 27k miles on it when bought. Put about 10k more miles on it, and it started drinking oil like crazy. I get  notice in the mail from chevy telling me that the car has a recall on it, just for the very thing we was starting to have issues with. It ran fine, just used oil. I call and get a time set up to take car to dealer to have the issue taken care of. They was supposed to change the PCV valve, and reprogram the computer, along with reprogramming the radio, different issue I think. The dealer did not want to do it, because they said car had a salvage title. (Hit in the fender, all that was replaced was the fender). Called chevy back, they agreed to take care of it anyway, and OK'ed it. Dealer called said it was ready. Got there, no paperwork or anything, thought it was kinda weird, but took it anyway. Come to find out, all they did was reprogram the radio. Now I have a broken engine, yes it is because it was not repaired the first time. I call chevrolet, tell them it is now broken, and the repair was not done the first time. They agree to do the repair, take it in, they replace the PCV and replace one spark plug. Of course, it did not fix it. Call chevrolet, they will not let me talk to the same person anymore, they have some guy call me back that is very rude, and talks over me every time I attempt to say anything. They are now backing out, and now claiming it is because it has the salvage title. I guess a bent fender will cause it start using oil at 37k miles, and then at 40k the engine will blowup. And yes, I always keep it full of oil. We all know from previous owners that is not the case. Chevy is just using it as an excuse to not take of a problem that has plagued countless spark owners, especially 2013 models. I have been a GM man all my life. But now I don't think I will ever consider another. Junk car, they know it, finding ways to not take care of it. Maybe I will talk to a lawyer, and see what can be done, maybe a class action suit? who knows?

Always do some research before buying a car, used or new. PCV issue was on every spark forum and review for the last 3 years. If you knew about this common issue..why did you not verify it was up to date on recalls by checking the VIN and going to the GM website, punch in the VIN and it will show done or not...Anyways..easy job..$14 part under the valve cover forward drivers side..unscrew the old and replace with new. But by now it may have damaged some components may need a new MAS...but worth a try.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/6/2017 at 9:44 PM, Mike68 said:

We will never buy another Chevy product. My mother owns a 2013 chevy spark. It had 27k miles on it when bought. Put about 10k more miles on it, and it started drinking oil like crazy. I get  notice in the mail from chevy telling me that the car has a recall on it, just for the very thing we was starting to have issues with. It ran fine, just used oil. I call and get a time set up to take car to dealer to have the issue taken care of. They was supposed to change the PCV valve, and reprogram the computer, along with reprogramming the radio, different issue I think. The dealer did not want to do it, because they said car had a salvage title. (Hit in the fender, all that was replaced was the fender). Called chevy back, they agreed to take care of it anyway, and OK'ed it. Dealer called said it was ready. Got there, no paperwork or anything, thought it was kinda weird, but took it anyway. Come to find out, all they did was reprogram the radio. Now I have a broken engine, yes it is because it was not repaired the first time. I call chevrolet, tell them it is now broken, and the repair was not done the first time. They agree to do the repair, take it in, they replace the PCV and replace one spark plug. Of course, it did not fix it. Call chevrolet, they will not let me talk to the same person anymore, they have some guy call me back that is very rude, and talks over me every time I attempt to say anything. They are now backing out, and now claiming it is because it has the salvage title. I guess a bent fender will cause it start using oil at 37k miles, and then at 40k the engine will blowup. And yes, I always keep it full of oil. We all know from previous owners that is not the case. Chevy is just using it as an excuse to not take of a problem that has plagued countless spark owners, especially 2013 models. I have been a GM man all my life. But now I don't think I will ever consider another. Junk car, they know it, finding ways to not take care of it. Maybe I will talk to a lawyer, and see what can be done, maybe a class action suit? who knows?

I just saw this and wanted to comment. You bought a car with a salvage title. It doesn't matter what kind of damage you deem it to have. It has a salvage title. That's on you. How is GM to know what all was wrong with it? Are they just supposed to take your word on it? That is part of the risk of buying something like that. This is on you. Not them. And like Gearhead said above. You should have checked to see what recall were needed when you bought it and had them done right away. 

 

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On 2/16/2017 at 10:44 PM, Retired old Gearhead said:

Always do some research before buying a car, used or new. PCV issue was on every spark forum and review for the last 3 years. If you knew about this common issue..why did you not verify it was up to date on recalls by checking the VIN and going to the GM website, punch in the VIN and it will show done or not...Anyways..easy job..$14 part under the valve cover forward drivers side..unscrew the old and replace with new. But by now it may have damaged some components may need a new MAS...but worth a try.

"If you knew about this common issue..why did you not verify it was up to date on recalls by checking the VIN and going to the GM website, punch in the VIN and it will show done or not" Well Mr gearhead, I did not find out till after, kinda a dumb assumption, If anyone knew what pieces of crap cars these are before, nobody would buy them. And if you had read my post better, I DID TAKE TO GET THE RECALL DONE.  They said they did it, but did not. That is why they did not give me paperwork showing work done. I assumed they did, so much for trusting chevrolet dealerships at their word. If anyone wants to know who not to trust, it is  Glen Sain Chevrolet in Paragould Arkansas. Central Chevrolet, in Jonesboro ar confirmed the work had not been done. But it was too late. Engine Damage. 

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11 hours ago, Ray Dockrey said:

I just saw this and wanted to comment. You bought a car with a salvage title. It doesn't matter what kind of damage you deem it to have. It has a salvage title. That's on you. How is GM to know what all was wrong with it? Are they just supposed to take your word on it? That is part of the risk of buying something like that. This is on you. Not them. And like Gearhead said above. You should have checked to see what recall were needed when you bought it and had them done right away. 

 

Now to MR Ray. For your information, Chevrolet said they would take care of the recall even though it had a salvage title. And also for your information, I did not have to check if it had a recall, chevrolet sent me a recall notice. But the dealership I took it to, said they did the work, and did not. I was having no issues with the car. I thought the issues was taken care of, so I did not worry about it. Put another 10k miles on it and now I have a bad engine.  So no, it is not on me. Please don't assume you know anything about my situation, when you obviously don't. Cant stand an self righteous know it all. You obviously cant comprehend either, seeing how this is all in my post. SMH. 

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Issue is not about having the recall done after you bought the car...should have been done long before you got the car or immediately after since the PCV failure usually occurred around the 20-30Kmi. point. By the time you got possession, it was only a few miles away from the failure point or already starting to fail. Had you done the research you could have found this issue and had it (PCV recall) done before the engine started drinking all that oil (the common PCV failure symptom)...Just in the nick of time, but all would be good. Many Sparks that had the PCV unit fail before the replacement was done via the recall usually ended up with irreversible damage to the engine and many had entire engines replaced under warranty...that's the short version of the  PCV recall issue. Although you would not have known this without research prior to purchase shows the importance of research prior to buying a vehicle...specially used... I do sympathize with your situation... A hard lesson though... 'Nuff said...

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