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Total NHTSA Complaints
29
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Powertrain & Transmission
9 reports (31%)
Crash Incident Reports
5
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
4
0 fire • 4 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 29 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Chevrolet Spark. Powertrain & Transmission issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 9 complaints (31% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 5 filings cite a crash, 4 report one or more injuries.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 29 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Powertrain & Transmission accounts for 31% of submissions (9 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Brakes & Traction Control (8), Air Bags & Restraints (6).
  • • Crash Incidents: 5 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 0 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 4 injury filings • 0 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2017 Chevrolet Spark

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Powertrain & Transmission
9
31%
Brakes & Traction Control
8
27.6%
Air Bags & Restraints
6
20.7%
Electrical System
5
17.2%
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
4
13.8%
#1 31% SHARE

Powertrain & Transmission

9 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash
#2 27.6% SHARE

Brakes & Traction Control

8 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 3 Crash 🩹 4 Injury
#3 20.7% SHARE

Air Bags & Restraints

6 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 2 Crash 🩹 5 Injury
⚠️ 1 Associated Recall Campaign
#4 17.2% SHARE

Electrical System

5 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
Federal Oversight

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

ODI Action #DP22005 CLOSED Defect Petition (DP)
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07
Subject / Subsystem
Pedestrian alert sounds
Affected Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM
Recall Linkage
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 rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Chevrolet Spark

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Brakes & Traction Control ODI #11753620
Filed: 07/29/2026
Defect Report

"My transmission has been acting up like other stated where it will rev the motor high and then jerk and shift hard. There are no recalls for it when there are known issues with the transmission for the 2017. I was driving down the road and went to stop and my brakes were very hard and almost had to..."

Visibility, Wipers & Glass ODI #11747404
Filed: 06/30/2026
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked or while driving at various speeds, the A/C was blowing out hot air. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed, and the air conditioning hose was leaking and the condenser..."

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11676086
Filed: 07/25/2025
Defect Report

"When the car reaches a certain speed (50 mph plus) it jerks and jolts. The engine light is on and a P-code is present. Each mechanic says something different."

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11608093
Filed: 08/12/2024
Defect Report

"I feel that there are issues with the transmissions on the 2017 Chevy spark. I noticed that there have been complaints in years such as 2014 and 2019. I find that my 2017 exhibits exact same transmission issues as years that came before or after. Lots of indecision with the car about whether to..."

Brakes & Traction Control ODI #11520650
Filed: 05/05/2023
⚠️ Crash Cited

"vehicle brakes went out suddenly after hearing a loud POP sound...brakes wouldn't respond and pedal hard, ran off road and could only glide to a roll stop and not really then...fortunately a repair shop adjacent so drove their and rolled stop. initial look shop advised vacuum pump needs to be..."

Multi-Year Trend

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 42 3 3 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Chevrolet Spark Current Page 29 5 1 Current
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 →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Chevrolet Spark

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 21 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 4 2 0 1 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 3 1 0 2 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 3 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,WHEELS 1 1 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2017 Chevrolet Spark

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2017 Chevrolet Spark

What are the most common reported problems with the 2017 Chevrolet Spark?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2017 Chevrolet Spark is Powertrain & Transmission, appearing in 9 records (31% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Brakes & Traction Control (8) and Air Bags & Restraints (6).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2017 Chevrolet Spark a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 29 consumer defect complaints and 1 safety recall campaign for the 2017 Chevrolet Spark.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2017 Chevrolet Spark?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2017 Chevrolet Spark, 5 filings cite a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 4 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs

Has NHTSA formally investigated defects on the 2017 Chevrolet Spark?

NHTSA ODI records list 1 formal defect investigation involving the 2017 Chevrolet Spark (all closed).

Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Registry
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.