2016 Spark EV. May 25, 2017, stopped at light with 35 miles on charge. Within seconds, watched charge drop to 25, then 15, then 8, then 3. "Propulsion Reduced" immediately appeared. And propulsion was dead - no power to steering, wheels, nothing. Pushed out of traffic but difficult without power steering. Dealer has car now and said it might be bad cell...won't be done until next week, making it 2 weeks in shop. This is very dangerous and I'd had to have it happen on the freeway or any moving traffic. Love this car (4,000 miles). Anyone else having this problem? Had this problem?
Update from Jun 18, 2017: After 2 weeks Spark EV returned. Dealer had to replace entire battery pack - one cell of 92 failed causing the complete loss of propulsion. New battery assembly is now "re-learning" and report said it'll take more than a few recharges to regain the range I had for the previous nearly a year. It's now been about a week or so, and I've driven about 200 miles without problem. I at first noticed a lack of zip, but it's back now. Range is noticeably lower, but maybe only 5-10 percent. Very, very rare problem. Can only find a couple of Spark EVs with battery failure. Dealer reported cost of procedure $10,000 - GM paid for under 36K, 3 year lease warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2016 Spark EV. May 25, 2017, stopped at light with 35 miles on charge. Within seconds, watched charge drop to 25, then 15, then 8, then 3. "Propulsion Reduced" immediately appeared. And propulsion was dead - no power to steering, wheels, nothing. Pushed out of traffic but difficult without power steering. Dealer has car now and said it might be bad cell...won't be done until next week, making it 2 weeks in shop. This is very dangerous and I'd had to have it happen on the freeway or any moving traffic. Love this car (4,000 miles). Anyone else having this problem? Had this problem?
Update from Jun 18, 2017: After 2 weeks Spark EV returned. Dealer had to replace entire battery pack - one cell of 92 failed causing the complete loss of propulsion. New battery assembly is now "re-learning" and report said it'll take more than a few recharges to regain the range I had for the previous nearly a year. It's now been about a week or so, and I've driven about 200 miles without problem. I at first noticed a lack of zip, but it's back now. Range is noticeably lower, but maybe only 5-10 percent. Very, very rare problem. Can only find a couple of Spark EVs with battery failure. Dealer reported cost of procedure $10,000 - GM paid for under 36K, 3 year lease warranty.
- sparkshe, Sacramento, US