Buyer Research

2016 Chevrolet Spark — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $5,500–$8,500. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 10 Chevrolet Spark years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

A completely new Spark for 2016 — longer, better looking, with a 1.4-litre engine in place of the old 1.2 — and a record with one clear story in it. Just 42 complaints were filed, but 48% of them are the brakes, and they describe the same sequence: a StabiliTrak or Brake Assist warning, then a pedal that goes rock hard and needs both feet. Several owners had the engine's brake vacuum pump replaced and the problem stopped. That is a cheap part and a genuinely dangerous symptom, so it decides this purchase: brake hard from 40 mph twice on the test drive, watch the dash, and walk if the pedal ever stiffens. The rest of the file is small enough that it proves nothing either way.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 42 owner complaints for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark, and 1 recall campaign.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 48% of them are about one thing — the brakes. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

One recall campaign covers this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2016 Chevrolet Spark

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Brake assist quits and the pedal goes hard — usually the engine's vacuum pumpHigh — wallet impact

Twenty owners describe it almost identically: a Service StabiliTrak or Service Brake Assist message, then the power assist disappearing and the pedal needing all of their weight to slow the car, sometimes at highway speed and sometimes downhill. More than one had a mechanic replace the engine brake vacuum pump and never saw it again. Test it properly: with the engine off, pump the pedal until it is hard, hold it down and start the car — the pedal should sink under your foot. If it does not, the assist is not working.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$900 for the brake vacuum pump fitted

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (20).

Passenger airbag module replaced under recall 17V307000, and code 95 faults afterMedium

Recall 17V307000 covers 2016-2017 Sparks: in a crash, deployment of the front passenger bag can injure the neck of an improperly seated, unbelted young child, and dealers replace the module at no cost. Separately, owners report a dashboard code 95 airbag warning that came back after the module was replaced once already, and two of these five filings are crashes where curtain bags did not deploy. Check the airbag light goes out a few seconds after start-up, and get the recall confirmed closed on the VIN.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $400–$1,200 if a code 95 fault needs diagnosis and a module

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (5); 1 NHTSA recall campaign on this model year.

Dash and screen blacking out, stalls, and one car that burnedMedium

Five filings only, so treat this as a thing to check rather than a pattern anyone has proved. One is a 2016 that filled the cabin with smoke at 45 mph and burned to a total loss. The others are the instrument panel and entertainment screen going dark while driving, a car shutting down with no warning lights, and one electric Spark that lost the ability to accelerate. Look behind the dash trim for melted or spliced wiring, especially anything aftermarket, and smell for hot plastic after a long drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$900 for wiring and connector repairs; a fire is a total loss

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (5).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A brake pedal that stays high and hard when you start the engine
✗Service StabiliTrak or Service Brake Assist messages appearing at any point
✗An airbag warning light still lit after start-up
✗Aftermarket wiring spliced behind the dash or under the steering column
✗A burnt-plastic smell in the cabin after the car has been running

Good Signs

✓Recall 17V307000 shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Pedal that drops under your foot when the engine starts
✓A receipt for a replaced brake vacuum pump
✓Two hard stops from 40 mph with a firm, consistent pedal and a clear dash