The 2016 Chevrolet Spark has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 55,068 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 36 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS17V3070002017-05-0955,068 affected
Defect
General 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…
Consequence
In 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.
Remedy
GM 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.
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES
10
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
5
1fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
5
POWER TRAIN
3
AIR BAGS
2
1crashes1injuries
ENGINE
2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
2
STEERING
2
VISIBILITY/WIPER
2
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
1
Total complaints36
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“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…”
“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…”
“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,…”
“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 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 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…”
“Both brake assist and stabilitrack go out in conjunction with failure lights (no fore-warning). The vehicle was repaired by a chevrolet dealership with qualified ev tech. Within two weeks that same brake system failures occurred. The issue greatly increases the force needed to press the brake…”
“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…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
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…
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
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…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.