2013 Chevrolet Spark LS 1.2L from North America
Summary:
It's a TRAP!
Faults:
A/C blows warm at idle or in traffic.
A/C system replaced twice and still leaked Freon.
Headlights.
Oil leaked into the spark plugs - causing half stalls around town and at highway speeds.
Valve cover gasket.
Had to replace the motor due to the car using 1/2 qt of oil every 200-300 miles.
Rear door handle faded and fell apart.
Dash started to shake and rattle.
New engine entered safe mode with less than 1500 miles on it.
Driver's side seat fabric started to bunch up and became loose.
LCD in radio display started leaking, causing an ugly appearance.
Exhaust had to be replaced due to sagging metal.
A piece of the vehicle flew off at highway speeds; Chevy was unable to determine what it was.
Front and rear windshield washer fluid pumps failed (in the middle of winter).
Wipers lasted only 4-5 months before falling apart like string cheese.
Front passenger side seat belt started locking and making a horrible click noise.
General Comments:
I've never had a new car with so many issues in my LIFE. When the car was out of the shop, it ran GREAT and got me 40+ MPG, however I was in a rental more than I was in the car.
The tires wore exceptionally well on the vehicle.
The car is good to get up to speed in town, but on the highway it feels lethargic and MPG drops to low 30s to high 25s at 70+ MPH (if you can keep it there).
The speakers for the radio get washed out by road noise and you had to keep it up 3/4 the way just to hear the music; I ended up listening to talk radio most of the time because at least that sounded good.
The seats were comfortable on long trips.
I loved the appearance of this car on the outside; the inside, while clean felt very cheap, and the interior scratched quite easily.
OnStar was great, however it would only unlock the hatch with the remote app.
Hated taking curves at highway speeds with it; always felt like I was going to roll over (started getting really washy after hitting 15k miles).
Headlights were super bright; many times I would be flashed to turn them down while they were on low beam.
Textured dash is hard to keep clean and lint/hair/dust free, always making me feel the need to wipe the dash almost daily.
This car should be sold at 9995 brand new with the quality issues. Search the internet and the forums, many have the motor issues, interior quality issues and AC issues.
I was a GM guy until this car; I've now switched companies.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 3rd March, 2014
15th Jul 2014, 02:17
Just to clarify: The washers went out at approx. outside temperature of 40 degrees, and the fluid was definitely not frozen.
3rd Apr 2021, 21:08
So, you said the dash would shake and rattle, and on curves it felt it like it would roll?
You must have got the Bill Haley edition...;)
5th Apr 2021, 17:20
Not to dismiss your testimony, but there are so many things it's almost hard to believe. Sounds like the car was used in a Dakar rally or something. I see you went from Cadillac Eldorado to a Spark, that is quite a change size wise. I wish the US would find the inspiration to step up their game in the car industry. I am convinced they can build good cars, maybe they can hire some Japanese and German engineers to gather some of the foreign car building culture?
8th Jun 2014, 06:54
A/C fix is out, some motors had the 1.2 rings, not 1.25 (small batch).
Your washer fluid froze and the fuse blew to save the wiper motors.
I'm sorry you, I and every 2013 owner had to wait so long for the A/C fix, and it's a huge bump to get one of the bad motors, but this is a great little car.