AutoUtility currently tracks 42 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 20 complaints (47.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 2 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 42 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (20 reports • 47.6% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (5), Air Bags & Restraints (5)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 2 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Chevrolet Spark
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Brakes & Traction Control
Electrical System
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #17V437000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
- Campaign #17V307000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- Campaign #16V651000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Powertrain & Transmission
Fuel & Propulsion System
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Chevrolet Spark
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Reduced Braking / Brake Pedal to Floor
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Chevrolet Spark
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"While driving in early 2025, my 2016 Chevrolet Spark EV suddenly lost all ability to accelerate. The vehicle remained powered on but would not respond to the accelerator, and I was unable to fully shut it off. This created a safety hazard because I could not properly control or secure the vehicle,..."
"I am the owner of a 2016 Spark EV, and the driver was my family member. The vehicle was charged and had a remaining driving range of 51 miles when the vehicle suddenly shut down on a major city road without any prior warning or symptoms of a problem. The vehicle did not restart immediately, and..."
"The contact owned a 2016 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was T-bone crashed into on the driver's side by a second vehicle. During the crash, the driver-side curtain air bags did not immediately deploy. The contact indicated that the air bag..."
"I was driving downhill with the car in L on a highway and brakes failed. I could not engage the brakes at all but somehow the car slowed to a stop and I managed to pull into a parking spot and park. Two lights came on: Service Intellitrak and Service Brake Assist. The car has been inspected by the..."
"The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the transmission was slipping, and the cruise control was not operating correctly. Additionally, the RPM was elevated with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and..."
Complaint History for Chevrolet Spark
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2022)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Chevrolet Spark | 83 | 4 | 7 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Chevrolet Spark Current Page | 42 | 3 | 3 | Current |
| 2017 Chevrolet Spark | 29 | 5 | 1 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Chevrolet Spark | 9 | 0 | 0 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Chevrolet Spark | 14 | 4 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Chevrolet Spark | 19 | 6 | 0 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Chevrolet Spark | 6 | 2 | 0 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Chevrolet Spark | 3 | 1 | 0 | View 2022 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Chevrolet Spark
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 16 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious...
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.