Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2014 Chevrolet Spark owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Spark M300. The contact stated that the air bag and the seat belts warning lights were illuminated, and a message stating that the air bags would not deploy in the event of a crash was displayed. The contact stated while at a complete stop at the traffic light, the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. The vehicle was pushed to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer by roadside assistance, who purchased a new battery for the vehicle from the dealer; however, the dealer informed the contact that Roadside assistance could not install the battery because it would interfere with the business operations. The dealer advised the contact that she would need to pay the battery installation and diagnostic testing fee. The contact declined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. …
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph, the instrument panel stopped functioning. The contact was unable to see the odometer, speedometer, and fuel gauge. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to a dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
On or about May 31, 2021 the car alarm began to randomly go off on the vehicle. I took the car to the local dealership on July 20, 2021 and was advised that "hood latch ajar signal showing hood open randomly" was causing alarm to go off. On Aug 21, the part arrived and the hood latch was replaced. Immediately upon leaving the dealership, the radio went blank. I lost all audible sounds and alerts in the car including: seat belt alerts, key in ignition alert, blinker alert, OnStar, and radio power. I returned to the dealership with the vehicle on Sept 21, 2021 and the car was again repaired. I was advised that "relay and battery saver relayed" was replaced. Additionally, the service tech called GM TAC and was advised that "due to the issue being intermit. most likely cause is fuse block overloading circuit and shorting relays. …
The GM bulletin N19227110 indicates that they are aware of over 10% of Chevrolet Spark models from the years 2014-2015 experiencing transmission problems. Although this bulletin expired last year, it is important to note that they do not provide coverage for vehicles purchased used with fewer than 120,000 miles. This situation poses a significant danger, as the transmission may potentially be contaminated with dirt and debris, leading to unexpected jerking or complete failure, and in some cases, vehicles have caught fire. Furthermore, unless the vehicle is taken to a GM service center, the issue may remain undetected. According to my research, this problem is similar to the one that Nissan faced with their CVT transmissions, which were subject to a recall for the same reason.
Si my cars been having issues for about a couple of weeks now with speed and it's been driving rough, it hadn't given me any check engine lights so I went to a mechanic he changed the throttle body thinking that was the issue however the issue persisted and even got worse. I've noticed it doesn't seem to go into gear when I'm driving then when it finally does it looses power, it's also really high on the rpm's and when it's in park it'll seem like it wants to turn off.
Purchased vehicle in 2014 brand new. The radio screen said check antenna when on xm (we had a free trial but it wouldn't work) so we took it to dealership for diagnosis, where they said there was a chafed wire behind radio. They repaired but radio still didn't work correctly, and so they replaced the entire radio, this was in 2015. Now it's 2019, and sometimes the car won't start, the signal chimes won't make sounds and the radio will not turn on, random lights come on in the dash - including a failure light about the airbags, and a brake light went out at the same time. We had the key chime recall completed, but this issue occurred anyway. We replaced the key fob batteries, the car would still not start randomly. We took it in to the dealer again and they said the issue was most likely due to a loose battery cable - it was repaired. …
On 17 sep 2018 while going 60 MPH on I-65, the vehicle started beeping, the check engine light started flashing, the doors started locking and unlocking on their own, the fuel gauge went from half a tank to empty and the vehicle started to lose power. Pressing the gas would not make the car go faster; my car slowed to 40 MPH and stayed at that speed for two minutes and then lost power completely. I had to cut over to the side of the road to prevent myself from getting into a serious accident (an idle car on an eight lane interstate would not have been a good time), turned the vehicle off and then waited 5 minutes. I turned the vehicle back on, and it ran for an additional five minutes before having the same symptoms. Repeat one more time and I was able to make it home safely. …
Went to store a couple miles from home, came out of store and car would not start. Thinking maybe the battery was at fault I tried jumping the battery and still nothing so turned the ignition off and took keys and got ride home. Then upon returning to store to pick up items purchased the car was running without the keys and the ignition was in the off position. I had the woman come out of the store to see this. And it also freaked me out on how this could happen. Then I called vic koenig in carbondale, illinois where I purchased the car, and at first they said it wasn`t covered under warranty because it had 39,000 and warranty ran out at 36,000 and that they never heard of that where a car just starts up without the ignition turned on. …
Car accelerates on its own when braking which is highly dangerous in traffic as car jumps forward when it does this. Continuously runs at over 4000rpm. Car stalls when accelerating making pulling out into traffic or coming off an exit ramp quite difficult and will rev on its own while driving. Continuous engine noise as if car is being redlined. Car also has difficulty going in reverse. Emergency brake does not hold properly. Car will roll backward when in drive and on a small incline. Electrical issues with car where stereo will spontaneously change stations and the dash lights will flicker. Have made complaints to GM continuously and had in dealership more than 11 times for repair of issue. Car was bought in feb 2015, first taken in to dealership for issue in feb 2015. It is now feb 2016 and GM refusing to address issue. …
I recently purchased a 2014 Chevy Spark with 49,000 miles. Within a week of using the vehicle the radio, chimes and warnings stopped working. I was driving and touched the rear window defroster. The radio went off and would not turn back on. I thought maybe a fuse had blown so I checked all related fuses. Then I did some research on line. I found numerous articles and recalls for this very same issue. I am the third owner of this Spark. The first owner had a recall service performed on the Spark that was related to the radio. Just a week before I purchase the Spark the second owner had the radio "repaired" at a Chevy dealership. Chevrolet at this point does not recognize that the problem is recall related because the recall service was performed once.
Related recalls
Electrical system › Software
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax, and 2013-2015 Spark vehicles equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio. The affected radios may fail to provide an audible warning chime when the driver fails to fasten their seatbelt or if the driver leaves the key in the ignition.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The recall began on July 22, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 45340.
Electrical system › Software
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax vehicles and 2013-2015 Chevrolet Spark vehicles equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio. The affected radios may fail to provide an audible warning chime when the driver, after turning off the ignition and leaving the key in the…
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Electrical complaints in other Spark years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2014 Chevrolet Spark?
NHTSA has 39 complaints about the electrical system of the 2014 Chevrolet Spark, 23% of the model year's 172 complaints. The component named most often is instrument panel › fuel gauge (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2014 Chevrolet Spark electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 16V-422 (software, Jun 10, 2016); NHTSA recall 16V-257 (software, Apr 28, 2016). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2014 Chevrolet Spark electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 49,000 miles, and 29% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.