Sport mode not working

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scrambler

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 14, 2017
Messages
160
I just noticed the Sport mode button on my New "used" Spark EV does not do anything (no Sport showing up on the screen).
I dont really use Sport mode, but I dont like things that dont work :)

All I can think of is that the switch would have gone bad.

I was wondering if anyone had the issue, and if anyone knows how to disassemble the switch to test it.

Thanks
 
nikwax said:
Sport mode is fun, I use it much of the time. Sport mode and L make for a very fun driving experience.
i dont feel a difference between sport and non sport. i just leave it off and drive in l
 
I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe all sport mode does is remap the accelerator pedal so that you get more oomph with less press of the pedal. Floorboard it and there is no difference. It's akin to changing the taper on a potentiometer.
 
emv said:
I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe all sport mode does is remap the accelerator pedal so that you get more oomph with less press of the pedal. Floorboard it and there is no difference. It's akin to changing the taper on a potentiometer.


That's what it does. More fun (for me) and probably less energy efficient.
 
Ever get this figured out?

I test drove a Spark EV with this very same issue, and they said they would get it in to service that night so that I could purchase it. They called me the next day and asked if I was ready to come by and sign paperwork. I asked then if they'd figured out the issue. Salesman told me they weren't able to look at it. I said, funny coincidence, I wasn't able to take a look at the sales paperwork either :)
 
It really is a subjective thing.

How do you really know it's not working?

Full Go Pedal = Full Power. No matter what.

How can you quantify it,what do you do? Measure Go Pedal movement in tenths of an inch vs kW on the power display?
I never use it. When I lend it out I ask if they can tell the difference. Not much.
 
NORTON said:
How do you really know it's not working?

Full Go Pedal = Full Power. No matter what.

Right on both points I believe. Only an owner that uses both modes A LOT, could distinguish with no indicator.

I had my new to me Spark EV at the Chevy dealer yesterday to squeak in some final bumper to bumper warranty work, the rear passenger door wouldn't show as open on the DIC and wouldn't operate the dome light. I determined the pin switch was good, and the wire was connected, I wasn't willing to put forth any more effort with warranty remaining. Dealership technician diagnosis, broken wire. I asked, what do you believe cause this to occur, to which they responded, it broke near the door jam, we don't know. Years ago, when I worked on cars professionally, the only time I saw broken wires was on a couple jeeps and fords in between the door and body.

I was curious if the Sport mode was disabled by a broken wire, leading me to wonder, do we have very weak wires? The Money Pit joke reference aside, I'm curious if there are forces on some harness(es) that are legitimately capable of causing either wire breaks or disconnects at molex connectors. I might go digging one day if I get bored, cause I ain't scured to start disassembling interior panels.
 
Dead thread, I know, but did anyone ever figure this out, by chance?

I've had my Spark EV for nearly 3 years now, and the Sport button just stopped working this week out of the blue. No software or hardware changes, nothing else out of the ordinary. No CEL or trouble codes. The sport button still lights up like usual.

Press the button, Sport does not come up on the DIC and the performance "map" is still set to normal (trust me, my butt dyno can tell).

I haven't tried anything to fix it yet, just checking to see if anyone else has.

Thanks,
Jeff
 
I bough a used spark and the sport mode button never worked.
Not that I need it really, you can floor it when you need it :)
 
Never figured it out, mine still work in both Spark and Bolt. I think it's likely a software or hardware bug. If you have a good relationship with your local dealer and you're still within your 5 year/60k powertrain joke, I mean warranty (sorry, I'm still bitter about my local service center experience), maybe they'll fix it and not try to steal your kidney.

Personally, I only use Sport mode on a rare occasion when I'm fooling around. There's really no novelty and I quickly turn it off. This is coming from someone that drives hard too (979 Hard launches/accelerations in the past 30 days, ha) take that for what it's worth.
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Edit: first image link was bad
 
I went out with the Spark and hit the Sport button. The light came on, but I really couldn't tell much difference. Certainly not like Sport in the Volt.
 
evboy said:
nikwax said:
Sport mode is fun, I use it much of the time. Sport mode and L make for a very fun driving experience.
i dont feel a difference between sport and non sport. i just leave it off and drive in l

I just wanted to point out that always driving in L is not such a good idea as far as energy efficiency goes. The reason is because you are always better off coasting to a stop than regenerating to a stop. The regenerative breaking is not 100% efficient, so when you regen, you are adding it's losses to all the other losses of the vehicle (friction, wind resistance, etc...). Rule of thumb: Only use regen (L) when you can't reasonable/comfortably coast to a stop.

I use regen when in traffic or on city streets. Otherwise i'm always on D and benefit from the car's inertia.
 
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