2017 Chevrolet Spark Powertrain (other) Problems

My transmission has been acting up like other stated where it will rev the motor high and then jerk and shift hard. There are no recalls for it when there are known issues with the transmission for the 2017. I was driving down the road and went to stop and my brakes were very hard and almost had to stand on them to stop, almost hit a couple cars, very dangerous situation. This has happened twice to my 2017 spark and both time it was due to vacuum pump. I have taken my car to a mechanic for these issues and the mechanics have also told me they have seen both of these issues with the 2017 spark and that a recall needs done.

NHTSA ID

11753620

Incident

Jun 18, 2025

When the car reaches a certain speed (50 mph plus) it jerks and jolts. The engine light is on and a P-code is present. Each mechanic says something different.

NHTSA ID

11676086

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

I feel that there are issues with the transmissions on the 2017 Chevy spark. I noticed that there have been complaints in years such as 2014 and 2019. I find that my 2017 exhibits exact same transmission issues as years that came before or after. Lots of indecision with the car about whether to upshift or downshift. Sometimes violent jerking back and forth. Normally. Especially bad between 4th and 5th and 5th and 6th in the upper gears. But in the lower gears more recently it has become more pronounced. This has been going on for quite some time and is getting worse. The car is not that old. First. Noticed it when the car was at 40,000, mi. It is now recently went past 100 and the problem at sometimes is horrible. It does feel unsafe to a high degree. It is a sealed system so there is no way to do routine maintenance, which is unfortunate. I am a person who is usually up on routine maintenance and with a sealed system such as this transmission made by Daewoo in Korea, there's no way to ensure fluid levels are correct and changed in intervals. I feel like reporting just because it should be checked out. I do not know if this is an issue with other people who have spark 2019, but I wanted to send this out because the car's transmission has aged horribly over a short period of time. If I knew then what I know now I would have never owned the spark. Otherwise a great car. This is my only complaint but a big one.

NHTSA ID

11608093

Incident

Aug 12, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that on various occasions, and while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle shuddered while accelerating. The contact stated that the failure persisted while driving above 50 MPH. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. An independent mechanic arrived at the residence and diagnosed the vehicle and retrieved fault codes for the transmission pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11516782

Incident

Apr 1, 2019

Mileage

120,000 mi

Took the Car to Emissions wouldn’t pass because the check engine wouldn’t illuminate they gave me a recall paper related to the check engine light not illuminating MFR#N192268880/ Took car to Gateway Chevrolet at 9901 W Papago Freeway Avondale AZ, 85323 to get the recall done which the my did and now the car is not shifting properly and it engine revs up and does not accelerate almost got in accident when making a turn because of this problem the car running good prior to the recall

NHTSA ID

11515699

Incident

Apr 5, 2023

AT RAILWAY PARKING LOT, FIRST CAR BLOCKED WHEN BACKING OUT OF SPACE. AFTER 3 TRIES, ABLE TO MOVE ON, EXITING LOT AND ABOUT TO TURN RIGHT INTO STREET, CAR SWERVED HARD RIGHT BY ITSELF AND LOUDLY HIT CURB. PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL AND TIRE TOTALLY DAMAGED. I HAD TO GET IT TOWED TO COLLISION SHOP. IT IS STILL AT THE SHOP WHERE AM TOLD REPAIR AT MINIMUM WILL COST OVER $ 1400.00! I FOUND 2 RECALLS EMAILS THAT SAME NIGHT AND TRUL Y BELIEVE THE CAR MALFUNCTIONED. AM JUST THANKFUL NO ONE WAS INVOLVED BUT ME. COULD HAVE BEEN DRAMATIC IF CAR WAS ON THE ROAD AND MALFUNCTION MADE ME HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE INSTEAD OF A CURB. HAVE HAD TO RENT A CAR, AND COST IS MOUNTING. FOUND THRU ONLINE RESEARCH THAT OTHER SPARK OWNERS HAD SAME PROBLEM. THIS COULD CAUSE FATAL ACCIDENT. EVEN WHEN FIXED, I WILL BE PETRIFIED TO DRIVE THIS CAR AGAIN WITH FEAR OF RECURRENCE OF SAME PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11366149

Incident

Oct 16, 2020

Mileage

5,400 mi

THE FOLLOWING HAS NOW HAPPENED ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS WHEN DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY: WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (50 -55 MPH) AND HITTING A BUMP THAT JOLTS THE CAR (NOT NECESSARILLY A HUGE BUMP), THE ENTIRE ENGINE AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CUTS OFF AND SHUTS DOWN. THIS HAPPENS ONLY ON THE HIGHWAY AND HAS NOT HAPPENED ON STREET DRIVING YET. THE CAR POWER TURNS OFF AND THIS CAN BE VERY DISORIENTING TO AN UNSKILLED DRIVER. IT REQUIRES THAT I PUT MY CAR IN NEUTRAL (MY CAR IS A STICK SHIFT), TURN OFF THE IGNITION AND THEN TURN IT ON AND RESTART IT, WHILE MOVING AT 55MPH AT NIGHT ON A WET HIGHWAY. THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED IT WAS AT NIGHT AND RAINING. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES OVER THE PAST 6 MONTHS.

NHTSA ID

11364356

Incident

Oct 12, 2020

Mileage

40,000 mi

THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THE CHEVY SPARK TO REPROGRAM THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, HOWEVER THAT DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE REPROGRAMMED , BECAUSE ALL THAT DID WAS LEAVE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. THEY HAVE FAULT CONTROL MODULES. MY CAR IS 3 YEARS OLD AND NOTHING BUT ISSUES FIXING THIS. THE DEALERSHIPS SAY THAT THEY FIXED THE RECALL BY REPROGRAMMING IT, BUT THE LIGHT STAYS ON, THE RPMS DROP SUDDENLY AND CAUSE THE CAR TO JERK WHEN YOU TRY TO GIVE IT GAS. THIS NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO FURTHER. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THUS CAR TO ANYONE I KNOW, MUCH LESS NOW I'M TRYING TO GET RID OF IT BECAUSE OF THE TRANSMISSION ISSUE

NHTSA ID

11354902

Incident

Aug 24, 2020

WE PURCHASED A 2017 CHEVY SPARK WITH 40,000 MILES ON IT AND WITHIN THE FIRST TWO WEEKS THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE FOR ABOUT 2 SECONDS AND THEN WILL LEAP FORWARD. WHEN YOU COME TO A COMPLETE STOP THE ENGINE WILL REV UP AND NOT GO FORWARD FOR ABOUT 2-3 SECONDS. THIS BECOMES VERY UN SAFE SINCE YOU CAN NOT DEPEND ON THIS VEHICLE TO GO FORWARD WHEN NEEDED. I HAVE TAKEN IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THERE WAS AN SOFTWARE UPLOAD TO THE TRANSMISSION THAT SHOULD HELP. IT DID NOT HELP AND I HAVE RESEARCHED THAT THIS IS PRETTY COMMON WITH THESE CVT TRANSMISSIONS. I WILL TAKE IT IN AGAIN THIS WEEK FOR THEM TO POSSIBLY CHANGE OUT TRANSMISSION. THE COMPLAINTS THAT ARE ON THIS VEHICLE ARE THE SAME HAVING TO DO WITH ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. GM NEEDS TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE AS A RECALL TO HELP SAVE LIVES.

NHTSA ID

11187376

Incident

Jan 27, 2019

Mileage

40,000 mi