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Chevrolet · Compact Hatchback

2016 Chevrolet Spark

Electric Gas

Subcompact Cars
3 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-10-26

Safety Signal

79 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns 3

Complaints3 crash · 1 fire · 2 injured reported 42

Crash ratingnot rated by NHTSA —

EV rangebest configuration, EPA 82 mi

Fuel economybest combined, EPA 34 mpg

2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

The 2016 Chevrolet Spark is sold in the U.S. as an electric and gas compact hatchback with 3 EPA-rated configurations. Its longest-range version, the Spark EV, is EPA-rated at 82 miles with 119 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 42 complaints, most often about the service brakes.

Chevrolet Spark — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Chevrolet Spark · Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Range	kWh/100mi	Charge (240V)	Annual fuel*
Spark EV	Electric	FWD	105 kW ACPM	128	109	119 MPGe	82 mi	28.3	7 h	$650
Spark	Gas	FWD	1.4L 4-cyl	31	40	34	—	—	—	$1,950
Spark	Gas	FWD	1.4L 4-cyl	30	39	33	—	—	—	$2,050

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 36996, 37095, 37096.

Emissions & certification

Source: EPA emission certificates

Configuration	Smog rating	Emission standard	Where it can be sold new	SmartWay
Spark EV	10 / 10	Bin 1 / ZEV	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	SmartWay Elite
Spark	7 / 10	LEV-III ULEV70 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 70	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	SmartWay

Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.

The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.

Specifications filed with NHTSA

Source: NHTSA vPIC

Dimensions Exterior

Body style	Hatchback/Liftback/Notchback
Doors	4
GVWR class	Class 1: 6,000 lb or less (2,722 kg or less)

Engine Basics

Cylinders	4
Displacement	1.4 L
Engine configuration	In-Line

Fuel Economy

Fuel	Gasoline

Transmission

Automatic

Filed by the manufacturer with NHTSA under the federal vehicle-identification rule and decoded from the VIN pattern — not a manufacturer press kit, so it describes the configurations we could identify rather than every trim (seen: 1LT, 2LT, LS). Figures for the trim you are looking at may differ.

Dimensions & weight

Source: Transport Canada

Length	143.3–146.5 in
Width (body, without mirrors)	63.0–64.2 in
Height	58.3–62.6 in
Wheelbase	93.7–94.1 in
Track, front	54.3–55.5 in
Track, rear	54.3–55.5 in
Curb weight	2,247–2,866 lb
Weight distribution, front/rear	63/37 to 64/36

Measured by Transport Canada for its Canadian Vehicle Specifications database, which covers the North American versions of each model — here 2 configurations: 4-door Hatchback Ls/Lt, EV 4-door Hatchback Ls/Lt. Where a range is shown, those versions differ. Width is the body without mirrors, which is why it can read narrower than a brochure figure. Before we used it we checked it against the US manufacturer press kits we hold (27 Sep 2026): wheelbase agreed within 1% on every vehicle we could compare, length on 98%, and the curb weight fell inside the manufacturer's range on 96%. Source dataset. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Licence.

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Recalls (3)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Air Bags

17287

40,683 vehicles 84% reported repaired built Apr 18, 2013 – Jun 30, 2016 Electric only

Problem General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) softw Risk A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger. Fix GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.

NHTSA campaign 17V437000 reported Jul 10, 2017 General Motors LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

▲high

Air Bags

17199

55,068 vehicles 80% reported repaired built Feb 9, 2015 – May 4, 2017

Problem 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 comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." Risk 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. Fix 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.

Filed with NHTSAOwner letter PDF

NHTSA campaign 17V307000 reported May 9, 2017 General Motors LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

▲high

Air Bags

16007

3,640,162 vehicles 90% reported repaired built Jan 15, 2013 – Jul 25, 2016 Electric only

Problem General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash. Risk A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger. Fix GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.

Filed with NHTSAOwner letter PDF

NHTSA campaign 16V651000 reported Sep 8, 2016 General Motors LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021. On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject mat

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005 · the investigation’s page →

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture open

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 to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf. Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a subst

Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002 · the investigation’s page →

Whether any of this applies to one specific Spark

A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2016 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Chevrolet publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.

NHTSA VIN check →Chevrolet’s own VIN lookup →

Hear about a recall before the letter does

The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2016 Chevrolet Spark, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

42complaints filed

3 involved a crash · 1 a fire · 2 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 6 · 2017: 13 · 2018: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2025: 2

Most-cited components

Service Brakes 20

Unspecified 5

Electrical System 5

Power Train 4

Air Bags 3

Visibility/Wiper 2

In owners' own words

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.

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.

Service Brakes Oct 9, 2023 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11549067

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.

Air Bags at 44,813 miles Oct 20, 2023 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11550953

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, and it required towing.

Electrical System Dec 10, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11704345

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.

Power Train at 85,000 miles Jul 20, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11474938

The windshield wipers stopped operating while driving on a highway in the rain. The car was at highway speed. Extremely dangerous. The mechanic found the wiper motor was defective and pulled too much amperage that it burned internal fuse box relay. Wiper motor and fuse box had to be replaced

Visibility/Wiper at 49,500 miles Dec 15, 2020 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11383516

Steering went out while driving at around 50 MPH. No warning was given by the car's monitoring systems until the event happen and there was no other previous steering issues prior to this event. Error codes did illuminate only after steering was gone and showed a p 68 error code.

Steering at 32,328 miles Jun 8, 2020 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11327712

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Reported by Chevrolet itself: 24 death-or-injury claims on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 28 injured, as claimed, not verified. Every Spark model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.

When owners reported it

Reported at 14k

miles, typically

Half the 33 owner reports with an odometer reading on file fall between 3,000 and 45,000 miles. That is when problems get reported, which is not the same as when they start — and not a failure rate, because nobody knows how many of these cars never had a problem at all.

under 10k 14

10k–20k 4

20k–30k 0

30k–40k 4

40k–50k 4

50k–60k 2

60k–70k 1

70k–80k 0

80k–90k 2

90k–100k 1

100k–150k 1

150k + 0

Median mileage by component

Component	Reports	Median miles	Vs same age
Service Brakes	15	4,600	0.12×

Vs same age is this model year’s median for the system divided by the median of every 2016-model-year complaint about the same system, all makes: under 1× means owners of this car reported it at lower mileage. Here, owners reported earlier than same-age vehicles: service brakes (0.12×). Which systems go early across the whole fleet: the component study.

Odometer readings as filed by owners with NHTSA. Readings under 100 or over 400,000 miles are dropped as data entry rather than history, and a component needs at least 12 readings before a median is shown for it.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Service bulletins & campaigns

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications

Communicationsfiled with NHTSA 1,642

Most recentmanufacturer date 2026-09-26

Kindsas classified by NHTSA 1638 service bulletins, 2 service campaigns, 2 others

Most often about: Equipment, Electrical System, Engine, Power Train, Unknown Or Other.

PIT5698F Service bulletin
2026-09-26 · Unknown Or Other
This PI provides Diagnostics tips on how the LIN bus works and how to diagnosis it.
PIP4902W Service bulletin
2026-09-04 · Unknown Or Other
This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
PIT5099J Service bulletin
2026-07-21 · Unknown Or Other
PI to help diagnose A/C concern
PIT3271Q Service bulletin
2026-04-01 · Unknown Or Other
This preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
PIP6104 Service bulletin
2026-03-09 · Unknown Or Other
This Preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a GDS2 Session Log and upload to a Technical Assistance Case in CX Connect.
PIP4902V Service bulletin
2026-03-09 · Unknown Or Other
This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
PIP4902U Service bulletin
2026-01-08 · Unknown Or Other
This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
PIT5214G Service bulletin
2025-11-20 · Unknown Or Other
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have had multiple repair attempts that are being performed on customer’s vehicles that exhibit vibration conditions without utilizing the support of General Motors Technical Assistance Center. If valid vibration frequency or Road Force Variation data has been collected and a repair attempt does no

A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.

Diagnostic trouble codes on file

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints

Codes documented against this model year in the federal record. A code appearing here does not mean this vehicle will set it — it means the code is part of this nameplate-year's documented history.

Code	What it means	Most often filed under	Where it appears
P050D P050D on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Engine	14 bulletins
B3055 B3055 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Electrical System · Battery →	11 bulletins
B3060 B3060 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Electrical System · Battery →	11 bulletins
B3935 B3935 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Electrical System · Battery →	11 bulletins
P0300 P0300 on Chevrolet →	Misfire detected, but not isolated to one cylinder.	Engine · Ignition coils →	10 bulletins
P0308 P0308 on Chevrolet →	Cylinder 8 is misfiring.	Engine · Ignition coils →	10 bulletins
B101D B101D on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Electrical System · Battery →	8 bulletins
P0442 P0442 on Chevrolet →	A small leak in the evaporative emissions system.	Fuel/Propulsion System · Gas cap →	7 bulletins
P018B P018B on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Fuel/Propulsion System · Fuel pump →	6 bulletins
P2635 P2635 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Fuel/Propulsion System · Fuel pump →	6 bulletins
P0455 P0455 on Chevrolet →	A large leak in the evaporative emissions system — often a fuel cap left off.	Electrical System · Gas cap →	5 bulletins
C0131 C0131 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Service Brakes · Brake pads →	4 bulletins

Generic codes (the second character is 0 or 2) mean the same thing on every vehicle sold in the United States. Manufacturer-specific codes (1 or 3) mean whatever the automaker assigned, and no honest source can define them for you — which is why the ones here carry the evidence instead of a definition. A code is a link when enough separate federal documents name it across the catalogue to be worth a page of its own; the rest are listed here, where the vehicle is the context that makes them mean something.

At the New York inspection station

Source: New York State DMV

New York inspections 11.6%

failed emissions

314 initial inspections of 303 vehicles.

Measure	The 2016 Spark	Every 2016 vehicle	Behind it
Failed the emissions check	11.6%	4.2%	303
Failed the safety inspection	2.5%	2.2%	314
Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit	0.32%	0.27%	314
Miles driven a year	8,227	10,028	odometer at inspection
Average odometer	84,651	103,109	odometer at inspection

New York’s emissions test on these model years is an on-board diagnostics check: it fails a car whose check-engine light is on or whose self-tests have not finished. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2016 vehicle” is every 2016 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).

Spark by model year

all years, side by side →

Year Safety Recalls Complaints

2022 A 0 3 33 mpg 2021 A 0 6 33 mpg 2020 A 0 20 33 mpg 2019 A 1 14 33 mpg 2018 A 0 9 33 mpg 2017 A 1 29 33 mpg 2016 this page C 3 42 82 mi

Common questions about the 2016 Spark

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Does the 2016 Chevrolet Spark have any recalls?

NHTSA has posted 3 recall campaigns for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark. The most serious on file is 17V437000, covering Air Bags. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.

How safe is the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

NHTSA has not published a crash-test rating for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark yet. On the recall record WhichTrim grades it C (79/100), which measures open and severe recalls rather than crash protection.

What is the fuel economy of the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

Across the 3 EPA-rated configurations of the 2016 Chevrolet Spark, the best EPA combined figure is 34 mpg (MPGe on the electrified versions) and the longest EPA range is 82 miles on a charge. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.

What are the dimensions of the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

Transport Canada measured it at 143.3–146.5 in long, 63.0–64.2 in wide (body, without mirrors), 58.3–62.6 in tall, on a 93.7–94.1 in wheelbase. Curb weight: 2,247–2,866 lb depending on configuration. Those are its measurements of the North American versions; every figure is in the table above.

What do owners complain about on the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

Owners have filed 42 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Spark, most often about service brakes, unspecified, electrical system. Of those, 3 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 2 reported injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.

How clean is the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

The EPA smog rating for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark runs 7 to 10 out of 10 across its configurations. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — Bin 1, Federal Tier 3 Bin 70, LEV-III ULEV70, ZEV — which the table above lists per configuration.

Are there service bulletins for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

The manufacturer has filed 1642 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark, most often covering equipment, electrical system, engine. The most recent is dated 2026-09-26. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.

How does the 2016 Chevrolet Spark do at state inspection?

In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2016 Chevrolet Spark failed the emissions check on 11.6% of first inspections — higher than the 4.2% for every 2016 model-year vehicle inspected; and the safety inspection on 2.5% (every 2016 vehicle: 2.2%). The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.

Data	Held	Source	What it covers — or what empty means
Fuel economy & configurations	3 configurations	EPA certification records	Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures.
Emission certificates	3 configurations	EPA emission certificates	Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new.
Recalls	3	NHTSA recall campaigns	A complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags.
Owner complaints	42	NHTSA complaint database	Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Crash ratings	none	NHTSA NCAP	NHTSA has not tested this model year. Cars are selected for testing, so untested is not unsafe.
Service bulletins	1642	NHTSA manufacturer communications	Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall.
Investigations	2	NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation	Open and closed defect investigations, with the agency's own narrative.
Driver-assist crash reports	none	NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01	No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like.
Specifications filed with NHTSA	8 fields	NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns	What the manufacturer filed under the federal VIN rule — a configuration, not the full trim ladder.
Measured dimensions	7 fields	Transport Canada, Canadian Vehicle Specifications	Length, width, height, wheelbase, track and curb weight, measured on the North American versions.
Trims, pricing & equipment	none	Manufacturer press kit	We have not transcribed a press kit for this model year yet. This is our gap, not the manufacturer's — the one row here where an empty cell means we are behind.

Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly.

JSON for this page · API

2016 Chevrolet Spark

Specs & fuel economy

Emissions & certification

Specifications filed with NHTSA

Dimensions Exterior

Engine Basics

Fuel Economy

Transmission

Dimensions & weight

Factory warranty running out?

Recalls (3)

Air Bags

Air Bags

Air Bags

NHTSA defect investigations

Whether any of this applies to one specific Spark

Hear about a recall before the letter does

Parts & accessories for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark

Owner complaints

Most-cited components

In owners' own words

When owners reported it

miles, typically

Median mileage by component

Crash ratings

Service bulletins & campaigns

Diagnostic trouble codes on file

At the New York inspection station

failed emissions

Spark by model year

Common questions about the 2016 Spark

Does the 2016 Chevrolet Spark have any recalls?

How safe is the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

What is the fuel economy of the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

What are the dimensions of the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

What do owners complain about on the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

How clean is the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

Are there service bulletins for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark?

How does the 2016 Chevrolet Spark do at state inspection?

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Where to go next

Sources & method