Another Spark EV Died on the Freeway

[Curyousgee]

I thought tow service was included with the OnStar package?

It is, OnStar rep was clueless, 45 mile tow limit for road side assistance is free , so lesson learned is use he hell out of the 45 mile and get the car as close as possible to a dealer near your house if you are broken down far away

 

[oregonsparky]

The implication that it NEEDED a new battery is problematic because it paints a bad picture to neophytes. It probably didn't. However, if they CHOSE to install a new battery in the interest of expedience, that's great.

It just paints a bad picture - two failures in a short period of time - probably more that aren't reported here. That's a fairly high failure rate on a car that has very few on the road (being only sold in oregon and california).

I have one on order - now nervous. If I see one more "it died going down the freeway" here - sorry, but I am "out"...

jeff

Well just a look around the internet to see if there were any more reported failures. Found one here :

http://chevysparkforum.com/topic/2498-chevy-spark-ev-died/

Post is from october, 2014. So that makes three spark ev's with battery pack failure with same/similar symptoms. At that point, there were very few on the road. Again, statistically paints a picture of high failure rate.

This issue should also be reported to California Air Resources Board or whoever is tallying "zero emissions car credits" for the manufacturers - if the vehicle cannot stay reliably running down the road -then they definitely should not get their zero emissions vehicle credit for the car they sold.

jeff

 

[oregonsparky]

I thought tow service was included with the OnStar package?

It is, OnStar rep was clueless, 45 mile tow limit for road side assistance is free , so lesson learned is use he hell out of the 45 mile and get the car as close as possible to a dealer near your house if you are broken down far away

This isn't correct. I just looked on chevy website since I am curious and am now on the fence about getting a spark ev. I see that towing is to nearest chevrolet dealership. They will not tow it to some parking lot 45 miles away. No way - not gonna happen...

If you want to have some insurance coverage for trip interruption like this - then you can get AAA Premier coverage that provides Trip Interruption Travel Insurance. I had a car accident while I was 500 miles from home and wished I had it. It will pay for expenses due to delay - weather, accident, theft - food lodging, etc. Getting you back home, etc.


You can also use your AAA insurance for the tow instead of using the chevy roadside assistance warranty coverage. With AAA premier, you get a 200 mile tow once per year - standard AAA coverage gets you a 100 mile tow.

Bottom line is if you want more flexibility in where your car gets towed - get AAA...

And as a sidenote - you could combine the two insurance coverages for a given "event". For example, use AAA for tow to your home and then use chevrolet roadside coverage to tow you from home to the dealership closest to your home.

Jeff

 

[GeekEV]

The implication that it NEEDED a new battery is problematic because it paints a bad picture to neophytes. It probably didn't. However, if they CHOSE to install a new battery in the interest of expedience, that's great.

Not getting what you would do differently. The dealer ran diagnostics and the battery pack is being replaced. The battery is a FRU, not field serviceable. It's also unlikely that there are many available software engineers at the dealer service department to recode software/firmware bits on the fly. If they replace the battery and the car is back on the road, then that was the right thing to do. If it doesn't, then it's not.

I'm not saying I'd do anything differently. Having done dozens of local EV car shows and interacting with the general public, I can tell you that "the battery" is their biggest fear and the single item they worry about most. While what they did is the correct and expedient thing to do, the truth is that with it likely COULD have been repaired with only minor parts swapped. But because the cars aren't common, their failure modes aren't well known, and dealers aren't yet well versed in them, it is a common strategy to "replace and analyze". If someone told you their car had "the engine" replaced, you'd think it was a major failure when maybe all that was needed was a new fuel injector. No big deal, parts fail. Replacing "the battery" sounds just as bad as replacing "the engine" when maybe all it really need was a new capacitor or a loose contactor. I'm just saying that making the quick replacement makes things sound worse than it probably was. And that's not what an already leery public needs to hear. Of course, neither is being out of commission for a month while they tear the battery down and try to figure it out.

 

[Curyousgee]

This isn't correct. I just looked on chevy website since I am curious and am now on the fence about getting a spark ev. I see that towing is to nearest chevrolet dealership. They will not tow it to some parking lot 45 miles away. No way - not gonna happen...

If you want to have some insurance coverage for trip interruption like this - then you can get AAA Premier coverage that provides Trip Interruption Travel Insurance. I had a car accident while I was 500 miles from home and wished I had it. It will pay for expenses due to delay - weather, accident, theft - food lodging, etc. Getting you back home, etc.


You can also use your AAA insurance for the tow instead of using the chevy roadside assistance warranty coverage. With AAA premier, you get a 200 mile tow once per year - standard AAA coverage gets you a 100 mile tow.

Bottom line is if you want more flexibility in where your car gets towed - get AAA...

And as a sidenote - you could combine the two insurance coverages for a given "event". For example, use AAA for tow to your home and then use chevrolet roadside coverage to tow you from home to the dealership closest to your home.

Jeff

Yup, I did used my AAA instead after being quoted $200 for onstar roadside "that might be reimburseable" and a "2-3 hour window because I was in a remote location." Bottom line is i get a different answer each time. Closest dealership was 9 miles away and AAA got there in 30 min vs the 2-3 hour time window quote for Onstar.

Tow to closest dealer is the consistent one, 2nd rep said 20 miles, called back next day and asked about tow limits and was told 45 miles, answer changes dending on who you talk to is my experience. Onstar will give one answer , roadside another, and volt team specialist another. Will see if the vehicle reunite will work when the car is done and report back. I think a lot of the reps are not familiar with the different protocols for ICE vs EV.

Great info on the AAA premier membership/insurance, i only have Basic membership service and have used it twice in 6 years. For the 100 mile tow is that limit to 4 times a year like the basic roadside side assistance is?

 

[nikwax]

The implication that it NEEDED a new battery is problematic because it paints a bad picture to neophytes. It probably didn't. However, if they CHOSE to install a new battery in the interest of expedience, that's great.

Not getting what you would do differently. The dealer ran diagnostics and the battery pack is being replaced. The battery is a FRU, not field serviceable. It's also unlikely that there are many available software engineers at the dealer service department to recode software/firmware bits on the fly. If they replace the battery and the car is back on the road, then that was the right thing to do. If it doesn't, then it's not.

I'm not saying I'd do anything differently. Having done dozens of local EV car shows and interacting with the general public, I can tell you that "the battery" is their biggest fear and the single item they worry about most. While what they did is the correct and expedient thing to do, the truth is that with it likely COULD have been repaired with only minor parts swapped. But because the cars aren't common, their failure modes aren't well known, and dealers aren't yet well versed in them, it is a common strategy to "replace and analyze". If someone told you their car had "the engine" replaced, you'd think it was a major failure when maybe all that was needed was a new fuel injector. No big deal, parts fail. Replacing "the battery" sounds just as bad as replacing "the engine" when maybe all it really need was a new capacitor or a loose contractor. I'm just saying that making the quick replacement makes things sound worse than it probably was. And that's not what an already leery public needs to hear. Of course, neither is being out of commission for a month while they tear the battery down and try to figure it out.

Gotcha.


Hopefully when service personnel get more time with EVs the diagnostics will become more sophisticated.


For perspective: the transmission on my Volvo costs nearly as much as a Spark, and it's a sealed unit FRU, not field serviceable. Modern manufacturing is dictating larger units in some cases.

 

[sprockkets]

Seems that each spark who died on the hwy has very low mileage, lower than 1000. I suspect that after 1000k or so, you are good to go.

 

[NomadMac]

Seems that each spark who died on the hwy has very low mileage, lower than 1000. I suspect that after 1000k or so, you are good to go.

Good to go after a million miles? That's optimistic!

 

[gman]

Seems that each spark who died on the hwy has very low mileage, lower than 1000. I suspect that after 1000k or so, you are good to go.

I sure hope you are right, coz I am sitting at 999 miles right now

 

[Curyousgee]

Not a real update, but today i got a text alert saying the car was fully charged. I checked the stats and the battery is full like before, but the range is now 87 miles vs 2 miles. Noticed they also took it for a 3 mile spin. So looks like i might get the call tomorrow after i filled the rental gas tank to full , i need to burn a tank of gas before i return it, just how i picked it up, empty.

 

[Curyousgee]

Spark fixed, picked up today, but it was not washed, grease prints still on the bumper from the tow hook cap. Also missing tow hook cap removal tool.

Battery replaced

 

[KingUltra]

Did they transfer the car to a closer dealer?

 

[Curyousgee]

No gave up that fight, drove out about 2 hours to get it in traffic

 

[Curyousgee]

Update for far so good, Spark working fine, couple of weeks ago i thought the battery was going bad again, car started making wierd chirping sounds when charging, and it wasnt the cooling system sound i normally hear, then for the next few days, i keep getting the charge interupted error when reaching full charge, which was the same error i kept getting prior to the battery change. But after a week it went away. I still hear that wierd chirping sound but its doesnt keep going on and on like it did when the error happened

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Update for far so good, Spark working fine, couple of weeks ago i thought the battery was going bad again, car started making wierd chirping sounds when charging, and it wasnt the cooling system sound i normally hear, then for the next few days, i keep getting the charge interupted error when reaching full charge, which was the same error i kept getting prior to the battery change. But after a week it went away. I still hear that wierd chirping sound but its doesnt keep going on and on like it did when the error happened

I would be interested to know if other Spark EV drivers - 2014 or 2015 - encounter DCFC charging errors at NRG eVgo Combo stations. I have had three different NRG eVgo Combo stations repeatedly give me an "isolation error" and then disconnect. At one of these stations I could not get it to charge my vehicle even after multiple restarts, At another I was able to get it to work after 5 or 6 restarts. At other NRG eVgo Combo stations I do not have any problems at all.

Yesterday, at one of these three problem NRG eVgo combo stations I charged twice. The first time I encountered an "isolation error", disconnected and reconnected, and charged w/o any more problems. Later in the day I charged at this same station and while I did not encounter any errors while charging, I did have the "charge interrupted" error at the end of a full charge.

For comparison, I have a local new NRG eVgo Combo station and I have never had a problem connecting or charging over the10+ times I have used it including recently.

I am beginning to believe these errors may be due to wear and tear on the NRG eVgo Combo station CCS connectors. As an added note, I did, just after I leased my Spark 2015 EV 2LT, modify the charging connector per the previously mentioned technical bulletin.

 

[Curyousgee]

I am getting errors on those free level 2 chargers at public buildings, it started again this week, then it gets full or close to full i get the charge interupted message on the dash and nav screen.


When I use ChargePoints DCFC fast charge last weekend, did it 3 times, and did not get the error. So far only getting errors on the level two when close to full. Have not tried EVgo chargers.

 

[NORTON]

I've never had an issue using free L2's and DCFC around town. In fact that's all I have ever used since I bought it.

I have some data about DCFC charging and didn't feel it needed a thread, so here goes:

Time to gain 10 range indicated at a DCFC.

Door open to get out and plug in - to - door closed after unplugging.

5:34 minutes

I sat there with the car powered on to listen to the radio. Indicated charge rate 43-47 kW.

Then there was a stopped train at a crossing on my commute.
I had to detour ~ 2.5 miles down a gravel road to get around it.
Ended up at the charger near work with 6 miles range! A record for me. Next time I'll measure time to gain 20 mile range at a DCFC. I didn't enjoy cutting it that close...