Buyer Research

2022 Chevrolet Spark — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $11,500–$15,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

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

Kestrel Take

The last Spark — Chevrolet ended production during 2022 and left the cheapest new car in America without a replacement, which is exactly why clean ones hold their money. The public record is three complaints and no recall campaigns, and three filings tell you nothing about how this year wears; it is an unwritten page, not a clean one. Two of the three are worth a minute of your time anyway: one owner had the bonnet come up while driving, which is the same failure GM recalled twice on the 2013 to 2015 cars, and another had the wipers and stability control play up in the rain. Everything else you should check is inherited from the 2016 through 2021 Sparks, because mechanically this is the same car.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 3 owner complaints for the 2022 Chevrolet Spark, and no recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under the body and structure (1), airbags (1), the lights (1). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

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

Known Issues for the 2022 Chevrolet Spark

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

Bonnet came up while driving — check the secondary catch yourselfMedium

The only structural filing on this year is blunt: the hood came up while driving. No campaign covers the 2022, but GM recalled the 2013 to 2015 Spark twice over secondary hood latches that corroded at the pivot and stuck out of position, replacing the striker and then, when that did not hold, the striker and latch together. One report is not a pattern, and the cause here is unknown — it may simply not have been latched. Check it before you drive: open the bonnet, drop it onto the safety catch, and work that catch with a finger to be sure it springs back.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$450 for a hood latch and striker fitted

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (1).

Wipers and stability control misbehaving in heavy rainMedium

One owner reports the windscreen wipers, the stability control and other electrical systems all acting up while driving through rain. On the earlier cars in this generation, owners describe wipers that stop working when the screen is genuinely wet and a dash that blacks out over bumps, which usually comes down to a switch, a connector or a damp earth rather than anything grand. Test it the easy way: soak the screen at a jet wash or with a bottle of water, run the wipers through every speed including intermittent, and watch the dash for warnings while they run.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$600 for a wiper switch, motor connector or earth repair

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the lights (1), glass, wipers and mirrors (1).

CVT is the one repair that can outvalue this carMedium

Nothing about the transmission appears in the 2022's three filings, and with a record that small that is meaningless either way. The gearbox is the same continuously variable unit Chevrolet fitted from 2014 on, and on the years with a real record behind them owners describe revs rising without the car moving, jerking near 20 to 25 mph and units replaced outright. Pull away from several stops once the car is warm, do a hill start, and ask for a dealer invoice showing the CVT fluid has actually been changed.

Repair cost (estimate): $3,200–$4,800 for a replacement CVT at a dealer, less with a reconditioned unit — about 36% of what this car is typically worth

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A bonnet safety catch that sticks or feels gritty under a finger
✗Wipers that stutter or stop on a genuinely wet screen
✗Warning lights that flicker while the wipers or demister run
✗A flare of revs before the car moves off from a stop
✗Service history that stops years before the current mileage

Good Signs

✓Bonnet catch that springs back crisply when you work it by hand
✓Wipers running cleanly through every speed on a soaked screen
✓A dealer invoice showing the CVT fluid changed
✓A warm test drive with prompt pull-aways and steady power