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2016 Chevrolet Spark

ElectricGas
Subcompact Cars
3 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
C
Safety Signal
76 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
RecallsNHTSA campaigns3
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA42
Crash ratingNHTSA overall—
EV rangebest configuration, EPA82 mi
Fuel economybest combined, EPA34 mpg
2022202120202019201820172016

The 2016 Chevrolet Spark is sold in the U.S. as a electric and gas compact car with 3 EPA-rated configurations. Its longest-range version, the Spark EV, is EPA-rated at 82 miles with 119 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 42 complaints, most often about the service brakes.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombRangekWh/100miCharge (240V)Annual fuel*
Spark EVElectricFWD105 kW ACPM128109119 MPGe82 mi28.37 h$650
SparkGasFWD1.4L 4-cyl314034———$1,850
SparkGasFWD1.4L 4-cyl303933———$1,900

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 36996, 37095, 37096.

Factory warranty running out?

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Recalls (3)

Source: NHTSA recall database
▲high

Air Bags

17287
40,683 vehiclesElectric only
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) softwRiskA failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
NHTSA campaign 17V437000reported Jul 10, 2017General Motors LLC
▲high

Air Bags

17199
55,068 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Chevrolet Spark vehicles. In the event of a crash, if a young child is seated improperly and not wearing a seat belt while in the front passenger seat, deployment of the front passenger air bag may injure the occupant's neck. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."RiskIn the event of a crash with a frontal air bag deployment, an unbelted child in the front passenger seat has an increased risk of injury.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag module, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2017. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 17199.
NHTSA campaign 17V307000reported May 9, 2017General Motors LLC
▲high

Air Bags

16007
3,640,162 vehiclesElectric only
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.RiskA failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
NHTSA campaign 16V651000reported Sep 8, 2016General Motors LLC

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

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 matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture open

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 or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa

Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
42complaints filed

3 involved a crash · 1 a fire · 2 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 6 · 2017: 13 · 2018: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2025: 2

Most-cited components

Service Brakes20
Unspecified5
Electrical System5
Power Train4
Air Bags3
Visibility/Wiper2

What owners describe

“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, and it required towin…”Dec 10, 2025 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report
“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 deployed approximately…”Oct 20, 2023 · Air Bags · NHTSA owner report
“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 Chevrolet dealership …”Oct 9, 2023 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Other Spark model years

A

2022 Chevrolet Spark

0 recalls · 3 complaints

A

2021 Chevrolet Spark

0 recalls · 6 complaints

A

2020 Chevrolet Spark

0 recalls · 19 complaints

A

2019 Chevrolet Spark

1 recalls · 14 complaints

A

2018 Chevrolet Spark

0 recalls · 9 complaints

A

2017 Chevrolet Spark

1 recalls · 29 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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