CHEVROLET SPARK · model year

2018 CHEVROLET SPARK

11 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018CHEVROLETSPARK carries 11 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and Not Rated/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2018 SPARK is engine with 2 filings, followed by fuel/propulsion system (2) and vehicle speed control (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 57 investigation files overlapping the 2018 SPARK, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

11
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

11 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: Not Rated/5 — Not rated · Front: Not Rated/5 · Side: Not Rated/5 · Rollover: Not Rated/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ENGINE2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL2
SERVICE BRAKES2
POWER TRAIN2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC1

Recent Complaints

20230406SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The contact's husband owns a 2018 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that the brake booster failed while driving at various speeds on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer yearly for the brake booster repair since the initial failure; however, the most recent failure occurred within six months. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

20220901SERVICE BRAKES

This is the third time while driving that my brakes have simply just gone out. It’s usually on the freeway while at high speeds and I’m nearly not able to stop. This is the third time in three years. No lights come on on the dashboard and no warnings happened at all the brakes just simply stopped working. It takes extreme pressure to try to stop and I’m usually told that it’s some part of the vacuum.

20201126POWER TRAIN

AT A COMPLETE STOP.. IT SEEMS LIKE IT DOESN'T WANT ACCELERATE

20200208ENGINE

WHEN I TRY TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP, THE CAR CAN'T DECIDE IF IT WANTS TO MOVE OR NOT AND IT WILL JUST SIT AND REV AND HAS ALMOST CAUSED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS AS I AM PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC

Mileage: 2,000

20200208POWER TRAIN

WHEN I TRY TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP, THE CAR CAN'T DECIDE IF IT WANTS TO MOVE OR NOT AND IT WILL JUST SIT AND REV AND HAS ALMOST CAUSED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS AS I AM PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC

Mileage: 2,000

20200208VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

WHEN I TRY TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP, THE CAR CAN'T DECIDE IF IT WANTS TO MOVE OR NOT AND IT WILL JUST SIT AND REV AND HAS ALMOST CAUSED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS AS I AM PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC

Mileage: 2,000

20190221FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

MY CHEVROLET SPARK CANNOT DECIDE WHAT GEAR IT WANTS TO BE IN, CAUSING DELAYS THAT ARE DANGEROUS WHEN PULLING OUT IN TRAFFIC OR TURNING ACROSS LINES OF TRAFFIC. FOR INSTANCE, I SLOW DOWN TO GET INTO THE CENTER TURNING LANE OF A 5-LANE STREET AND THEN WHEN CLEAR, I ACCELERATE TO MAKE THE TURN. THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT MAKES A SHORT STALL AS IT CAN'T DECIDE IF IT NEEDS TO GET INTO A HIGHER OR LOWER GEAR. IT CLEARLY TAKES A LONG TIME AND GOES UP AND DOWN WHICH PLACES ME UNCOMFORTABLY TOO CLOSE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. OTHER TIMES WHEN I PULL OUT IN TRAFFIC, THE SAME SCENARIO REPEATS. I WONDER IF IT SHIFTS INTO A TOO HIGH A GEAR TOO SOON THEN DOWN SHIFTS ONE GEAR AND THEN UPSHIFTS AS THE CAR STARTS TO ACCELERATE. SEVERAL TIMES A DAY WHEN I SLOW TO ADJUST TO TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND THEN ACCELERATE AFTER SLOWING, THE CAR LAG/STALL HAPPENS AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE GEARS. THE CAR JUST CAN'T DECIDE WHAT IS THE BEST GEAR TO BE IN. I FEEL THAT THIS IS DANGEROUS. IT CERTAINLY MAK

Mileage: 2,000

20190221VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

MY CHEVROLET SPARK CANNOT DECIDE WHAT GEAR IT WANTS TO BE IN, CAUSING DELAYS THAT ARE DANGEROUS WHEN PULLING OUT IN TRAFFIC OR TURNING ACROSS LINES OF TRAFFIC. FOR INSTANCE, I SLOW DOWN TO GET INTO THE CENTER TURNING LANE OF A 5-LANE STREET AND THEN WHEN CLEAR, I ACCELERATE TO MAKE THE TURN. THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT MAKES A SHORT STALL AS IT CAN'T DECIDE IF IT NEEDS TO GET INTO A HIGHER OR LOWER GEAR. IT CLEARLY TAKES A LONG TIME AND GOES UP AND DOWN WHICH PLACES ME UNCOMFORTABLY TOO CLOSE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. OTHER TIMES WHEN I PULL OUT IN TRAFFIC, THE SAME SCENARIO REPEATS. I WONDER IF IT SHIFTS INTO A TOO HIGH A GEAR TOO SOON THEN DOWN SHIFTS ONE GEAR AND THEN UPSHIFTS AS THE CAR STARTS TO ACCELERATE. SEVERAL TIMES A DAY WHEN I SLOW TO ADJUST TO TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND THEN ACCELERATE AFTER SLOWING, THE CAR LAG/STALL HAPPENS AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE GEARS. THE CAR JUST CAN'T DECIDE WHAT IS THE BEST GEAR TO BE IN. I FEEL THAT THIS IS DANGEROUS. IT CERTAINLY MAK

Mileage: 2,000

20190221SERVICE BRAKES

FROM TIME TO TIME WHEN BRAKING, A THUMPING SOUND IS HEARD IN THE REAR DRUM BRAKES OF MY BRAND NEW CHEVY SPARK. I CANNOT DECIDE WHICH ONE THE NOISE IS COMING FROM, OR BOTH. IT WILL GO AWAY AFTER A WHILE. IT OCCURS MORE FREQUENTLY WHEN I NEED TO BRAKE HARD, BUT NOT ALWAYS. AND IT DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY DAY. THE CAR IS NEW. WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER FOR THE VERY FIRST OIL CHANGE, I ASKED THEM TO LOOK INTO IT. THEY KEPT THE CAR 3 DAYS. THEY SAID THEY DROVE IT BUT DID NOT NOTICE ANY NOISE. TO MY SURPRISE, DURING THOSE THREE DAYS, THE DEALERSHIP DID NOT PULL THE WHEEL AND LOOK INSIDE THE DRUM FOR A BROKEN SPRING, WARPING, DELAMINATION OR SOME OTHER COMPONENT DEFECT OR SYSTEM FAILURE. I'VE NEVER HAD A CAR WITH DRUM BRAKES MAKING THIS SOUND.

Mileage: 2,000

20180911ENGINE

THIS IS A PERIODIC OCCURANCE WHEN GOING STARTING AT 0MPH AT ANY POINT DURING A TRIP. NORMALLY THE ENGINE WILL REV SMOOTHLY BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN GOING FROM A COMPLETE STOP TO GETTING TO AT LEAST 30MPH IT FEELS AS IF THE ENGINE IS JUST TAKING IN AIR AND IT JUST REVS UP AND THE CAR STARTS TO ROLL BUT DOESNT ACTUALLY ACCELLERATE PROPERLY AND THIS CAN RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT IF YOU HAVE TO MOVE SUDDENLY TO AVOID BEING HIT. I HAVE THE LT1 MODEL SPECIFICALLY.

Mileage: 2,000

20180911FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

THIS IS A PERIODIC OCCURANCE WHEN GOING STARTING AT 0MPH AT ANY POINT DURING A TRIP. NORMALLY THE ENGINE WILL REV SMOOTHLY BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN GOING FROM A COMPLETE STOP TO GETTING TO AT LEAST 30MPH IT FEELS AS IF THE ENGINE IS JUST TAKING IN AIR AND IT JUST REVS UP AND THE CAR STARTS TO ROLL BUT DOESNT ACTUALLY ACCELLERATE PROPERLY AND THIS CAN RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT IF YOU HAVE TO MOVE SUDDENLY TO AVOID BEING HIT. I HAVE THE LT1 MODEL SPECIFICALLY.

Mileage: 2,000

Compare 2018CHEVROLETSPARK to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 2 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK have?
The 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK has 11 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK?
The 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK received an overall NHTSA safety rating of Not Rated/5, front crash rating of Not Rated/5, side crash rating of Not Rated/5, and rollover rating of Not Rated/5.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK?
The most-complained component for the 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK is ENGINE with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM and VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL.
Is the 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2018 CHEVROLET SPARK has an NHTSA safety rating of Not Rated/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.