The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated an abnormal, rotten egg like smell began to emit from the fuel pump. The fuel gauge began to show false fuel readings and the fuel pump was replaced by an independent mechanic. The contact then stated that the check engine light appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic where the OBD II sensor gave a code for P0461(Fuel Level Sensor "A" Circuit Range/Performance). The contact had the fuel pump and exhaust system replaced. Despite the repair, the contact stated that the fuel gauge continued to show false fuel reading.The vehicle was taken to a dealer where they informed the contact that they discovered evidence that rodents had chewed on the electrical wiring which caused the fuel gauge failure. Despite the diagnostic that the contact received, she had yet to find a mechanic that could discovered the faulty wire to repair the defect. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Chevrolet Spark check engine light comes on
54 of the 505 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Spark describe check engine light, most of them for the 2014 model year.
- owner complaints
- 54
- worst model year
- 2014
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,583
- typical mileage
- 54,000
By model year
Often reported together
Won't shift 8Loss of power 8Misfire 5Hesitation 5Knocking 5Transmission failure 4Jerking 4Stalling 3
Trouble codes mentioned
P2138 1P0965 1P0871 1P0700 1P0461 1P0324 1
What owners say
Vehicle: 2015 Chevrolet Spark, odometer <79,000 miles Component that failed: Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) – pulley damage causing complete loss of propulsion.What happened: While driving, the vehicle suddenly lost all motive power with no ability to accelerate. The transmission would not engage in any gear and the car became inoperable in traffic. This is the exact failure described in GM Special Coverage Bulletin N192271110 (pulley damage in 2014–2015 Spark CVT). Safety risk: Complete and unexpected loss of propulsion created an immediate safety hazard. The vehicle could not accelerate from a stop or maintain speed, placing my 15-year-old son and other motorists at risk of rear-end collision or stranding in active traffic lanes.Dealer confirmation: RK Chevrolet in Virginia Beach, VA has inspected the vehicle and confirmed the failure matches N192271110 – full transmission replacement required (quote $6,637.19). Vehicle remains at the dealership and is available for inspection.Warning lamps/symptoms: Check-engine light and reduced-power message appeared at time of failure. No prior warnings before the sudden loss of power event. Failure occurred approximately October 2025 – only four months after GM’s 10-year/120,000-mile Special Coverage N192271110 expired on 06/11/2025.The failed transmission is still in the vehicle and available for inspection upon request.
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.
Transmission issue. During heavy traffic at stop lights car wouldn't shift into drive to move forward. Was stuck in the middle of the road with a passenger. Engine light came on but it's not an engine problem. Car was smoking under the hood. I burned my hand when popping the hood. When the car cooled the engine light went out and car would shift gears and it's drivable again. This has happened 3 times. Mechanic pulled up at P0700 Code on computer. It's the CVT transmission but not sure which part. I can't get the car to the dealership to inspect transmission. It won't drive that far.
Car is hesitating alot from a stop and has locked up. Engine light came on. Had it diagnosed and the codes came up Transmission control module (Tcm). Cant find the part and the ine i did find was 800. It's only 6 years old and should not have Transmission problems and be locking up on me.
UNKNOWN—My car’s been doing this thing where it feels like the wheels "stick" for a second every so often while driving, but yesterday it was the worst it's been, doing it every few seconds. I thought maybe my gearshift was stuck between gears or something so I tried to make sure it was in Drive, but it slipped into Neutral for a second, & after that, my check engine light came on & my car started taking forever to get up to speed after coming to a stop—like, I was flooring it & it was crawling. It started doing this while I was in an intersection turn lane, & my car was moving so slow I had to wait for a protected turn & I still barely made it out of the intersection in time. My code reader said it was a transmission issue & there’s a recall on other Sparks for the transmission. I had my car towed to my apartment but I haven’t been able to find anybody to come inspect or work on it yet. I sent a message to my local Chevy dealer so they could check whether it’s under recall, but I haven’t heard back from them yet. Prior to this, there hadn’t been any warning light or indicators.
Without warning, vehicle loses power and ability to accelerate is greatly reduced. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (aka "check engine light"), the Reduced Engine Power light, and the Traction Control System/Stabilitrak light all illuminate at the same time and are not flashing. Using a diagnostic tool from a local auto parts store, code P2138 is reported as follows: Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor Switch 'D/E' Voltage Correlation, and Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) Sensors 1-2 Not Plausible. Incident has occured multiple times since owning the vehicle (approx. 13 months). This creates a safety issue because the poor acceleration limits the vehicles ability to maintain speed, especially on highways at higher speeds and ascending hills.
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.
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
The gas guage meter failed to work and didn't show where the gas was and so this is dangerous because if you are driving and you were on the freeway and the car stopped because of gas, this could cause an accident and you could be hurt or killed. This part should be a recall on the car because I never should had to fix this for the lifetime of the car at all or at least after 100,000 miles, which it only had 39,000 and I had to end up paying for the ECM and having to reprogram it, which cost me over $1,000, which being disabled, I had to borrow money from a friend to do this. I paid $220 to have the Chevy Dealer tell me that was the problem and have paperwork to prove this. There was also an engine light that came, when this happened.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Chevrolet Spark check engine light
Why does the check engine light come on in the Chevrolet Spark?
Owners who report it most often also describe stuck in gear or won't shift, sudden loss of power and misfire or rough idle, and the codes they mention most are P2138, P0965 and P0871.
Which Chevrolet Spark years have check engine light problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2014 (24 complaints), 2013 (15 complaints) and 2015 (7 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix check engine light on the Chevrolet Spark?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,583 (median of 6 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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