Some Chevy Spark EV owners are still waiting for a replacement battery pack after the original battery pack in their vehicle failed, leaving the owners with a dead car. Some of these owners are currently waiting for a replacement battery under the vehicle’s eight-year / 100,000-mile warranty. Additionally, some owners in the U.S. and Canada have been offered buybacks, while others have eventually received replacement battery packs.
Looking over recent social media posts, some Chevy Spark EV owners report that they are still waiting on GM for a battery replacement for their vehicle, with some weighing a possible buyback option. Some owners report that they have received a rebuilt battery after months of waiting, while others report taking the buyback option instead.
As GM Authority reported in 2022, GM will continue to offer replacement batteries for the Chevy Spark EV, despite reports published earlier in the 2022 calendar year that GM had opted not to replace the vehicle batteries.
“GM continues to work with Spark EV owners, on a case by case basis, to address their vehicle needs at their local authorized Chevrolet dealer,” a Chevy spokesperson said in a written statement to GM Authority. “We remain committed to providing available replacement packs to eligible Spark EV owners, and will continue to work with affected owners on an appropriate resolution.”
According to the 2022 report, the replacement battery packs will be supplied by Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem. Although the 2014 Chevy Spark EV was originally equipped with a 21.3 kWh LFP battery manufactured by A123 Systems, the 2015- and 2016-model-year Spark EV was equipped with a 19 kWh lithium-ion battery manufactured by LG Chem.
The Chevy Spark EV was offered as GM’s very first all-electric passenger vehicle since the EV1, initially debuting in 2012 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The Spark EV is equipped with a single front-mounted electric motor rated at 130 horsepower, with the Gamma II platform found under the skin. A total of 7,371 units were sold.
Do you own a Chevy Spark EV that needs a battery replacement? What’s your experience thus far, and what updates can you report? Tell us in the comments section below, and don’t forget to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy Spark EV news, Chevy news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
We need numbers here. What percentage of vehicles need new batteries and after how many years? How long was average wait for battery? Did owners receive loaner car (doubtful).
I’m currently waiting on a battery replacement for my 2016 Spark and they did give me a loaner. They told me the wait would be 6 months. It’s been 3 weeks so far.
My 2016 LT has been in service/awaiting a new battery for since March 1 … was told a replacement battery was months away … not sure how many .. dealer hasn’t returned my vmail message … would like to find out their experience with actually fulfilling this warranty work on the Spark and how many they’ve done … did not ask for loaner, but I think I will now especially since Owner 55 pulled it off.
Love this car and want it back … only 42k mi … it never gave me issues and I could park ANYWHERE … it went from 12mi left to shutting down 1/4 mi from home one day … wouldn’t take a charge and had to have it towed to dealer
… and just got a loaner no prob from dealership (new Malibu) … feel a lot better that they’re going to do something with my Spark
Awesome, I’m glad you got a loaner.
I’m thinking of getting a Blazer EV or Equinox EV and if this is the way GM treats customers with a battery problem what good is the warranty? I don’t want a $50,000+ paperweight.
I would take the buy back in lieu of battery replacement.
This is how Chevy treats their gas powered vehicles under warranty repairs too.
Been in that situation more than i want to remember.
Based upon the # of loaner fleet the dealership has available, some customers are only given 1 day to 3 day loaners (and remember this is not the only issue that maybe going on that other customers with other chevy vehicles may be having at this same time). Plus, no guarantee of the same size vehicle as a loaner.
I had a 2017 Malibu with alot of electrical and fuel pump warranty covered issues and i was placed in Trucks and SUVs because those were the only ones that the Dealership (loaners come from Dealerships not the Chevy Company – loaners are new vehicles Dealerships add miles to in order to sell them as used with low miles afterwards. i have a daily 180 mile roundtrip commute to work so the courtesy days were not enough as my car was in the dealership more than I owned it.
After the courtesy days are done, and the customer wants to continue to use the loaner, it’s out of pocket for the customer for the remainder of the days and you’re using your own auto insurance to cover for this loaner vehicle too.
No refund that your car is not being used as you pay for the auto insurance on it.
After that experience, never again would I buy a Chevy product.
Good Luck in talking to a Chevy advisor from the Head Quarters, they never follow up and seem like they don’t know anything about owning a vehicle.
Let’s not forget the car may not be worth the buyback value that Chevy might offer to its customers either.
I love my 2016 model, was lucky to find one with only 11K miles 3+ years ago so hopefully will get a few more years out of before it turns into an emergency battery backup for those day or so loss of power we see occasionally, unless some 3rd party either can perform cell replacements or develops a battery pack with newer cells for more range and faster on board charger. If I could get a 150 mile range I’d be good to go for the foreseeable future.
I own a 2015 Chevy Spark 2LT EV with less than 59,000 miles on the odometer, when I bought the car and received it on Dec 5th 2023 I had 52 miles of range out of a possible 82 miles(the gas version
has 2-3 times as much range, I’d love the 21.4kw battery size with LG Chem cells, but GM wanted to scrub 86lbs from the car so the range could have increased to maybe 90 miles, but GM said weight is more important, I do like the car, but with a 2 year pure GM run, no one outside GM will do squat for the Spark EV), thanks to winter temps and a carport the range is down to 44 miles as of January 23rd 2024. Except for 1 time where I had to use DCFC, I charge the car at home with a level 1 charger cable which runs at 116v and the cable selected to be able to be outside and will do either 120v or 240v, asap I am going to get a county permit and hire a licensed electrician to install a 25amp clothes dryer circuit(a Samsung needs 22.5amps) with a passive extension going from the washroom to the car port and I need to get a clothes dryer/ev switcher to switch between the two shared uses, though at first the clothes dryer circuit won’t be shared. In any case the battery is maybe down to 12.4kw from 19.4kw. I don’t have a local Chevy Dealer as GM closed the nearby Barstow CA dealership years ago, the next closest is in Victorville CA some 45 miles from my home and about 32 miles from the far side of Barstow, I would have to be towed there to a dealership that put me on hold and then hung up on me. I would love to finance a refurbished battery, currently I’m paying $233.71 a month for another 72 months on an income of $1,331.81 a month for a car that sold for $8,500.00 w/carfax help, no choice here as the closest public transit is 2-3 miles from my home and I can barely walk maybe 100′. Online a refurbished battery goes from $10,117 to about $10,362 with a $5,000.00 core charge, paypal will finance, but only up to $10,000.00, the rest of the money is your problem.
@VictorB : There is a company called Greentec which offers a Spark EV replacement for $12500 with a refundable $2500 core charge. Not saying that is a great price, but at least it is an option.
I do otherwise like my 2015 Chevy Spark 2LT EV, it has great headroom, being I have long legs my right knee will sometimes hit the hard center console, I still haven’t found a backup camera but I figured out how to use everything else without reading the manual, which I do have. I’. 6’1″ tall and 63.
Darn VictorB, that’s a lot of money to spend on a used spark ev….I believe the car has an 8/12/15 amp charger in it, the 15 being its draw at 220
So far on 120v I’ve not seen 15 and it’s a 20amp 120v circuit, the charging parts cost just under $295 total and I got a friend to help install it, besides I needed transportation and here unless one has a car or know of someone who’ll drive ya, one is screwed.
The 2015-2016 battery weighs 474lbs, the 2014 battery is 560lbs, and I know where the battery disconnect is, add DCFC? It’s add a cable and jack and you’ll have DCFC.
I found 3 Sparks in a boneyard, one was was for $2450 and the panel was working and it supposedly had front end damage too(none seen), a 2014, a 2015, and a 2016. I’ve no idea how bad or how good the battery health is on them and all 3 were on 1 website. One had 1 mile, one had 3 miles, and one was dark. Carfax did get listed as approved by them, just over 7300 Spark EV’s were made, that sucks. It was $8500, others were more and a few were less like a red one with DCFC, mine is Lime Green w/DCFC, Red can fade and I didn’t want that.
I own a 2015 Spark EV with battery issues. I have been at it for almost 2 years now with 2 different dealers (and of coarse my warranty has since expired) and cannot even get a quote from my dealer on a battery replacement. Stiil active, A note to future EV owners: Remember Beta????
Bought our 2015 Spark EV 2LT back in 2016 – a demo unit with 187 miles. Paid $15.5k out the door. Drove it until 33.6k miles, still getting ~90 miles on the GOM reading. Kept it constantly plugged into 110V out when parked, and used DCFC regularly @ 2x per week. Went through 2 sets of front & 1 set of rear tires.
Sold it in April 2022 to Carvana for $14,250, with 8 months left on Battery warranty – Was a great little car.