Spark EV Update 6 years later
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- Опубліковано 11 лис 2023
- The 2016 chevy spark ev has been a decent car over the past few years. Electric cars rock. Just like all cars they can have their problems. Mine recently had a big issue with the ECM which made it unable to be driven for almost two months. With that and some other things, I have made this update video. The degradation is within acceptable limits to me. 60 miles is what is showing now that its getting near freezing weather. The biggest problems I have had have been the ECM issue but moreso the public DC Fast charging infrastructure, outside of tesla, is just bad. It's unreliable (again tesla chargers are nearly always reliable). Enjoy the video let me know what you think and stick around for the ECM repair video I have that almost done. -johnny
Weber auto video I suggested: • There is no such thing...
My original Spark EV review: • Spark EV Review - Boug...
Will put the ECM video link here when it is published: - Авто та транспорт
I called Electricity America in 2019 and demanded to speak to a supervisor, in regards to Spark EV compatibility on EA Efacec manufactured chargers. Probably because I had hundreds of charges, they let me take to someone fairly high up, and I told him there was nothing he could say to convince me that there wasn't an issue with this particular hardware and this particular vehicle, and that I expected them to address it. Three weeks later, without them reaching back out to say they had addressed it, for shits and giggles, I plugged in at my local EA station and it worked. Within the next few months, they started pulling that particular station type out of the ground, due to Efacec's apparently inability to remedy throttling of power to vehicles that actually pulled substantial power (pretty much just etron at the time).
Additionally, Spark suffers not only from a too wide/poorly designed, latch/top tab (Bolt does too, maybe to a slightly lesser degree), but also, apparently the pin alignment with some DCFC stations (ABB being consistent) is crap, and I've experienced only being able to initiate a charge, while applying EXTREME upward pressure on the connector handle.
All that being said, thank you for your reviews and follow up!! It's a wonderful little car, but sad it's future looks a bit rough due to part scarcity.
Tks for sharing man, your spark vids rock!
Wow, you were the one that sold me into getting one. Had it for a year and a half but sold it during the shortage because I was getting a great trade in, but I do miss the little bugger. That thing was nimble and could park just about anywhere.
Glad I could help. Yeah there was a period of time if I'm not mistaken that this one I have was valued at 16000 or something crazy. I'm glad to see the prices come down for people to be able to afford it moreso however they are starting to be eclipsed by much better used EVs with far more range.
@@TRYtoHELPyouis yours still going strong? Wanting to buy a 2014 with 41k miles..
We got our Spark EV in the fall of 2018. Your video helped us understand what we were getting into before the purchase. Thanks for that. I've had a very similar experience with it. People in bigger vehicles feel free to drive more aggressively compared to when I'm in my truck. Luckily, we only have to charge at home so still haven't had to deal with the charging infrastructure. The only other thing we do is trickle charge the 12v battery every few weeks with an AGM charger which I saw recommended on the forums when I was doing reading before the purchase. Apparently the degradation of the 12v battery has caused significant issues for others.
Very cool 👍 tks for sharing. Glad I was able to help back then. I think my 12v I replaced was fine. It tested at OK 60% per my battery tester. But I replaced it in hopes it would fix other issues. It was still within it's service life as far as I could tell, perhaps not tho. I was just looking at battery maintainers today for the RV engine battery and was thinking bout the spark too... I may consider it further. Tks again
Ayyy, my favorite car reviewer is back!
❤️
I agree with cars being aggressive around a small car even if I'm driving with traffic, even if my speed doesn't drop going up a steep hill they will still try and pass. I have larger EVs and then I don't see the same behavior. So your description is right on. It's real.
Right? It's weird. The hill thing. If it's a steep hill coming up and you have cruise control on, the spark EV takes it like nothing and people often appear to struggle to pass. Talking near speed limit speeds 😂. On the downhill doing heavy regen, I get it, people don't like to slow down however they usually don't struggle to pass in those situations. Hill or not the crazy zipping left and right sometimes really excessive speeding and then I see them at the next light in my little 🤡 car, heh... Not the same in the larger cars :/
Welcome back! Can we get an update on your Leaf also? Thanks
Thanks! Hmmm, update on the situation with the leaf? Maybe... Its about a 20 hour drive away 😂
Thank you so much for your videos. I was on the fence about getting an EV, but now I know for sure that I am not getting one because there is just way too much wrong with them and the infrastructure is a joke.
I'll stick with my wonderful Honda CRV that has never let me down.
i guess, your welcome? EVs today are amazing if you can charge at home. If you own a tesla, the infrastructure, in the US at least, is pretty darn good. All other EVs, tho... Yeah, they rely on you being able to charge at home.
Was thinking about picking one of these up for simply running around town and to/from work. Looking at a 2015 that's listed for approximately $8500. Thoughts?
This one’s miles are low if you have charging at home or at work that would be good but other than that going out of your way for less than 100 miles Is going to get old real quick, I have the bolt euv which is about 275 miles a charge.
Thanks for the video, I'm thinking of getting a 2014 spark. Would you still recommend it even if it has 79k miles on it? I'm hoping to talk them down below $5000 dollars.
The ECM in my 2015 Volt failed, thankfully that was covered by warranty and was a quick fix for the dealer.
Do you still have the Leaf?
Thats great when its covered under warranty. They do not make them to last it seems. Leaf is still in the family but I dont have it any longer. Yeah, the ECM would have cost me 1280 bucks (i think on top of the 170 they charged for diagnosis), so after the dealer said they had to change the ECM before they could finish diagnosing, boom, good enough for me to just do it myself. long story, gonna put it in the next video (which is almost done)
@@TRYtoHELPyou Apparently they don't make them to last, I was thankful for the warranty. I did pay $1k out of pocket for a coolant pump when the heat stopped working though. I have a Hyundai Kona EV now, I've never liked the idea of extended warranties but I bought one for this car. Seems like I have bad luck with cars and I don't have the resources to DIY much.
I saw a used 2016 spark 1LT for $5,500 with 58,000 miles. Clean title and 2 owners. Is that a good deal?
Any used car is a gamble, choosing a spark EV makes it a bit more amplified because they made so few. If I was looking for a car and 5500 was top of my budget, I would probably be looking for an older used Prius about half that price. But, if you have 5500 dollars to spend on a car that may cause you problems sooner than later, yes it's a good deal. Seriously tho, look at used Chevy bolts. They had a recall and you can look up the vin to see if the battery was replaced yet, those are truly the good deals. Tesla for if you want to take actual road trips.
There’s a service bulletin for DC charging issues. It’s a simple fix where they file-down part of your charge port. You can even do it yourself. Have you done this? If not, it might fix your problem with charging at certain DC stations.
Thanks for that, yes I did it. Talking bout this? Bulletin No.: PI1382A - nhtsa static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10138002-9999.pdf
I'm fairly certain it's a comms issue and some machines are just thinking my car is saying to stop the carge when it isn't because it works fine at other places...
Hey buddy nice vid ..I'm thinking about getting a hybrid ev ...so runs totally on electric for 40 miles then gas if need be ..any thoughts on them?
whazaaaapp!!! I think you will appreciate it if you are able to charge at home and have never had a plug-in car. It will be the first step before getting a fully electric EV, you will probably want to get an EV for the next car after that is what I'm saying. My opinion is that the chrysler pacifica plug in hybrid is the best choice. Hyundia ionic plug in hybrid may be the most efficent, the Volt is decent but nobody is really super happy with them, they are decent. The toyota prius prime is kinda a joke with regards to its EV range. Cadillac made the ELR, you should look for those used on autotrader, there may be sweet deals out there for that rare car. If you can comfortably afford an EV AND*** can charge at home then you will love it. Teslas are best for road trips, dont get anything older than 2018 if you go tesla and want to do long distance. um... yeah. good luck with the search
@TRYtoHELPyou thanks for the info, buddy 👍
They completely dropped the ball taking care of customers. I heard if the battery depletes, they just don’t care. Because it was a short term car. Not Cool. Some people dumped them real fast.
Right, I'd be careful on what you hear vs. what is real. I am pretty sure they are fulfilling their warranty obligations but likely through buybacks if they are out of parts. Now, I have heard some lame buyback claims (2k USD). Not sure what's real tho. When we all get online and vent negativity what is real or the whole truth is not always what is shared.
@@TRYtoHELPyou I heard if you do not take the buy back, which wasn’t terrible (a few years back, at least) that a battery is $14,000?! If they can supply one. Nissan is offering replacement batteries out of warranty on Leafs for under $3000, or around there? Cars will fall out of warranty, they should always supply parts. Reasonably, too. Messed up.
🍀 "Promo sm"
Does Chevy give you the option to replace traction battery or are the like go pay 40k for equinox EV after axing the bolt and bolt EUV
Can't buy an exuinox EV right now, can you? Bolt is gonna be around for a while still, they are retooling. I know they announced being done then doing it then done again but.... Look at their official publications I say. Traction battery for this car is effectively impossible to buy/replace new if I understand the status correctly. So.... You can see some people online referring to warranty but backs when Chevy can't fix it... Anywhere from 2k to 9 k is what I have seen. What I know? My car is still usable, relatively fun to drive and inexpensive to keep operating.
"Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra has said the current Bolt will be phased out of production at the end of this year. She said GM expects to introduce a revised Bolt with lower-cost batteries, but has not said when or where the new model will be launched." www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/gm-uaw-agreement-expected-include-more-affordable-bolt-euv-2023-11-06/
@@TRYtoHELPyou I'm hoping they are not just paying lip service and they do make the bolt under 25k because I can't afford and even if I could I wouldn't pay 40k for equinox EV honestly, I'm looking at a used Tesla model 3 with an LFP battery or the Ford mustang Mach E with an LFP battery as I like the fact that you can charge to 100% without degrading the battery and while they don't have as long as range as the NMC batteries LFP lasts longer and it doesn't degrade and after my debacle with the Nissan leaf and literally charging it to 100% and only have in 10 mi of range when I brought it to Arizona I'll never buy another EV without a BMS system and not being LFP
Yeah man, you have some ok info probably mixed up with some incomplete info (as we all do). The leaf very much had a BMS, but yeah they degraded like crazy and likely because of the thermal management, to include letting itself charge in sub freezing temps without warming up the battery, which is a huge nono. I know it barely shows (only in comments on the channel) but in 2018 my wife and I bought a used tesla model S from tesla, we still have the car. Charge it to 90% every day, it is showing 211 miles epa range at that state of charge. We are on its original battery and took it from 60k miles to 150k... Its beat but still doing ok. LFP is definitely good for longevity but I think tesla has the charging down well for all of their batteries and daily charging. If you care to do road trips I strongly suggest tesla given the CCS networks are poor in comparison.
I’ve never paid more than $10,000 for a car my whole 50 years. I’d find a good used Leaf. I see 2030 models under $15000 with no mines on them.