Warning Lights?

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cmoreman

Member
Joined
May 31, 2016
Messages
5
My Chevy Spark EV 2016 is just 3 weeks old, but already I've had to take it in for servicing as the ABS Service light came on and my brakes stopped working! The service crew updated software and things ran well again...for a couple of days. Then the Service ABS light came on again. Thing is, I turned the car off and turned it back on and the brakes worked and the light didn't come on. Instead, the Service Vehicle light came on. Drove without problem. Every time since then, though, and this was about 3 days ago, the car turns on with no warning lights. What is going on? Do I need to take this thing in for servicing or what? Is this a common problem with Sparks? EVs?
 
cmoreman said:
My Chevy Spark EV 2016 is just 3 weeks old, but already I've had to take it in for servicing as the ABS Service light came on and my brakes stopped working! The service crew updated software and things ran well again...for a couple of days. Then the Service ABS light came on again. Thing is, I turned the car off and turned it back on and the brakes worked and the light didn't come on. Instead, the Service Vehicle light came on. Drove without problem. Every time since then, though, and this was about 3 days ago, the car turns on with no warning lights. What is going on? Do I need to take this thing in for servicing or what? Is this a common problem with Sparks? EVs?



would you be asking any of these questions about another car?
 
I suppose I would...but maybe because of the computerization in this vehicle, things may be different? Still not sure if the thing needs servicing or what...no lights have come back on over the last few days...
 
This might be a case of 'Glitch Happens'.

Some things get it, intermittently.

Some things have very hardened SW and hopefully it never happens, like aircraft.

A 'Hard Reboot' may be in order. Disconnect the negative battery cable. Go get a drink. Reconnect. Hope for the best. What have you got to lose?
 
interesting comment. we bought one this afternoon and on the way home the brakes stopped working. warning light came on etc. is this common? whats been the outcome for you at this point?
 
I never found out why it was happening...it simply stopped happening. My only guess is that it might have been the result of having driven through some bad mud which may have gotten up in the brakes, but that doesn't seem like something that should happen. Maybe it is something that happens when the cars are very new?
 
fryingsocks said:
interesting comment. we bought one this afternoon and on the way home the brakes stopped working. warning light came on etc. is this common? whats been the outcome for you at this point?
I would try what Norton suggests. If that does not work then you need to take it back to the dealer and demand they fix it or give you another vehicle. cmoreman is having the same problem too. Perhaps both of you should work together to get Chevy's attention.
 
Wait a minute..... you say "Brakes Stopped Working" ....wth??? Over ???

What, how, when, was there a crash involved??? How did you bring the car to a stop???

This is a serious statement.

Let's hear the full story!
 
In my case, the ABS warning light came on and then to get any braking at all I had to place all my weight on the brake pedal and even then I still coasted to a stop. I could drive slowly, so long as I held down the brake when I went down the hill, but definitely not safe at all.

At the dealership, they reset the computer and then it worked. Except that it happened again a couple of days later. That time, I turned the car off and back on again and it worked, and the problem has not recurred since.

Very strange and still no response as to why/how this happened.
 
Hello All, first post ever here, just joined the forum. I bought my 2016 Spark EV 2 and 1/2 weeks ago and it is now being serviced. The car had 165 miles on it when the service light came on early this week. This may be a new record here? :eek:

When the light came on I called OnStar so they could retrieve the code, they said everything was in order (all green check-marks) according to their computer. During the call, the light turned off. OnStar called my dealer service department and I scheduled a visit since the vehicle is so new. Getting there the guy says that with the light off he could not do anything for me. I told him: why did you have me drive 20 miles to come here then?!!! :evil:

I told him to look at it anyway. 2 hours later my service adviser comes and says that it was good that I brought the car in because it was acting funky and it could have locked me out or something similar... They did not know what was wrong because there were a lot of codes popping up. They gave me a loaner (not an electric or hybrid :roll: ) and it has now been two days. I called today and they told me they checked the powertrain control module but could not see what was wrong. They were going to call GM and try to figure it out.

I'm not sure what to do. Did I get a lemon? I mean, when would I even imagine that I would have a migraine over a brand new car with 165 miles? Is this a common issue with these 2016 models?
 
My Chevy Spark EV 2016 is just 3 weeks old, but already I've had to take it in for servicing as the ABS Service light came on and my brakes stopped working! The service crew updated software and things ran well again...for a couple of days. Then the Service ABS light came on again. Thing is, I turned the car off and turned it back on and the brakes worked and the light didn't come on. Instead, the Service Vehicle light came on. Drove without problem. Every time since then, though, and this was about 3 days ago, the car turns on with no warning lights. What is going on? Do I need to take this thing in for servicing or what? Is this a common problem with Sparks? EVs?

To cmoreman, the exact same thing happened to me in a 2016 Spark EV at about 5,000 miles on the odometer. The general warning light would come on, then the StabiliTrak light would come on, and then finally, and sometimes minutes later, the brake light. When the brake light came on, the brake boost (vacuum assist in an ICE car) fails and the pedal gets very stiff. Yes, the brake still "works", but without the boost, a much larger force is required to stop the car. Some might not be able to apply enough force and even a very strong person loses the ability to gently modulate the brakes to control the deceleration. It's a bad scene, but not necessarily terminal.

Another related issue with the Spark is the electronic emergency brake. It's an all-or-nothing thing now, so tripping it while moving fast will lock up the back wheels and possibly spin the car out or otherwise brake the car uncontrollably. I miss the old hand brake.

And, because this was clearly an electronic/electromechanical problem, when the car was stopped and turned off, and then restarted, the problem would disappear. The car would then drive again perfectly normally...until the whole cycle would happen again. The problem was intermittent enough and seemingly randomly-triggered that it became hard to diagnose. One possible trigger could be water or moisture as the car behaved fine all summer and the fall rains (I'm in the Pacific Northwest) and generally wet road conditions occurred about when the problem started.

GM is now replacing my ABS module and who knows what else. I have no idea yet what the result will be, but I hope they got wind of this earlier problem, solved it, and now are doing the right thing in my case. Anyway, it seems like it's not an uncommon problem, despite confusing two dealerships for weeks thus far in my saga.
 
Chatterbais said:
My Chevy Spark EV 2016 is just 3 weeks old, but already I've had to take it in for servicing as the ABS Service light came on and my brakes stopped working! The service crew updated software and things ran well again...for a couple of days. Then the Service ABS light came on again. Thing is, I turned the car off and turned it back on and the brakes worked and the light didn't come on. Instead, the Service Vehicle light came on. Drove without problem. Every time since then, though, and this was about 3 days ago, the car turns on with no warning lights. What is going on? Do I need to take this thing in for servicing or what? Is this a common problem with Sparks? EVs?

To cmoreman, the exact same thing happened to me in a 2016 Spark EV at about 5,000 miles on the odometer. The general warning light would come on, then the StabiliTrak light would come on, and then finally, and sometimes minutes later, the brake light. When the brake light came on, the brake boost (vacuum assist in an ICE car) fails and the pedal gets very stiff. Yes, the brake still "works", but without the boost, a much larger force is required to stop the car. Some might not be able to apply enough force and even a very strong person loses the ability to gently modulate the brakes to control the deceleration. It's a bad scene, but not necessarily terminal.

Another related issue with the Spark is the electronic emergency brake. It's an all-or-nothing thing now, so tripping it while moving fast will lock up the back wheels and possibly spin the car out or otherwise brake the car uncontrollably. I miss the old hand brake.

And, because this was clearly an electronic/electromechanical problem, when the car was stopped and turned off, and then restarted, the problem would disappear. The car would then drive again perfectly normally...until the whole cycle would happen again. The problem was intermittent enough and seemingly randomly-triggered that it became hard to diagnose. One possible trigger could be water or moisture as the car behaved fine all summer and the fall rains (I'm in the Pacific Northwest) and generally wet road conditions occurred about when the problem started.

GM is now replacing my ABS module and who knows what else. I have no idea yet what the result will be, but I hope they got wind of this earlier problem, solved it, and now are doing the right thing in my case. Anyway, it seems like it's not an uncommon problem, despite confusing two dealerships for weeks thus far in my saga.

Even though it's relatively new, my bet would be a bad 12V battery, or an add-on (aftermarket HID headlights, alarm, radar detector, cigarette-lighter USB charger, etc). Do you have anything that's not factory connected to the car in any way? The electrical systems on these cars are very sensitive. A couple people on the Volt forum have had aftermarket HID headlights cause an issue that resulted in loss of power brakes.
 
MY issue has not returned since I posted. I adopted the theory that mud under the wheel flaps may have caused the problem. Both times it happened, I had driven through some thick mud which did spray up and stick under there. I have since avoided doing anything like that and have not had any recurrence. If/when it happens again, it will test my theory!
 
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