MBPdx
Member
Hi,
I have a 2014 Spark EV with only 12,790 miles on it that I leased brand new. I have about 8 months left on the lease.
I was driving my Spark EV to the dealer for them to fix the non-functioning heat, the airbag pretensioner recall, and failure to fast-charge (again!). I was traveling straight at about 25 MPH on a residential street. When the car in front of me stopped I tried to stop but the brake pedal went to the floor and the car failed to stop. In an instant I checked to be sure I wasn't pressing the accelerator, then pushed with all my might even harder on the brake pedal. The car eventually stopped but only after coming within an inch of the car in front of me.
My car sounded a warning "ding," and the dash illuminated the Service Light, the Stabilitrak Light, and the Parking Brake light, and the message in the middle of the display said "Service Stabilitrak Module." See attached image for what was displayed.
I put the car into Low and moved it into the parking strip. It was still incredibly difficult to stop. I power cycled the car and within 5 seconds of starting up the same error was displayed and the brake pedal was nearly useless. I called the dealer and they told me to call Chevy Roadside assistance. They had me wait 90 minutes in the cold with a car with no heat for the tow truck to arrive.
I was only a few blocks from where I would have been getting on the freeway. If this had happened on the freeway then it is probable that serious injury or death would have resulted.
I have had other brake issues with this car before. Last year the electronic parking brake was failing to release on only one wheel, which would become evident at highway speeds when the car would start shaking violently and one rear wheel would get very hot. It took 3-4 visits for the dealer to repair it, mostly because they didn't believe me the first few visits even though they said they could see the color change on one of the rotors. They only believed me after I started having issues with DCFC'ing not working. When they finally looked into that they discovered the fast charge module was dependent on the parking brake module and they weren't working together properly.
I called Chevrolet to get them to buy out my lease. They said the dealer has to do that. I called the dealer and he said GM has to do that, but that if I sent him an e-mail he'd forward it to them.
Anyone have any luck getting their lease bought out? My next step is a consumer protection lawyer. I am kicking myself for not invoking our state's lemon law with the parking brake issue last year, since the law is only good for 2 years after purchase.
Thanks!
I have a 2014 Spark EV with only 12,790 miles on it that I leased brand new. I have about 8 months left on the lease.
I was driving my Spark EV to the dealer for them to fix the non-functioning heat, the airbag pretensioner recall, and failure to fast-charge (again!). I was traveling straight at about 25 MPH on a residential street. When the car in front of me stopped I tried to stop but the brake pedal went to the floor and the car failed to stop. In an instant I checked to be sure I wasn't pressing the accelerator, then pushed with all my might even harder on the brake pedal. The car eventually stopped but only after coming within an inch of the car in front of me.
My car sounded a warning "ding," and the dash illuminated the Service Light, the Stabilitrak Light, and the Parking Brake light, and the message in the middle of the display said "Service Stabilitrak Module." See attached image for what was displayed.
I put the car into Low and moved it into the parking strip. It was still incredibly difficult to stop. I power cycled the car and within 5 seconds of starting up the same error was displayed and the brake pedal was nearly useless. I called the dealer and they told me to call Chevy Roadside assistance. They had me wait 90 minutes in the cold with a car with no heat for the tow truck to arrive.
I was only a few blocks from where I would have been getting on the freeway. If this had happened on the freeway then it is probable that serious injury or death would have resulted.
I have had other brake issues with this car before. Last year the electronic parking brake was failing to release on only one wheel, which would become evident at highway speeds when the car would start shaking violently and one rear wheel would get very hot. It took 3-4 visits for the dealer to repair it, mostly because they didn't believe me the first few visits even though they said they could see the color change on one of the rotors. They only believed me after I started having issues with DCFC'ing not working. When they finally looked into that they discovered the fast charge module was dependent on the parking brake module and they weren't working together properly.
I called Chevrolet to get them to buy out my lease. They said the dealer has to do that. I called the dealer and he said GM has to do that, but that if I sent him an e-mail he'd forward it to them.
Anyone have any luck getting their lease bought out? My next step is a consumer protection lawyer. I am kicking myself for not invoking our state's lemon law with the parking brake issue last year, since the law is only good for 2 years after purchase.
Thanks!