Where do we all live? Sparks are dispersing.

[StEVen]

Living in Texas (where it might get very hot) I would suggest not filling your Spark (to full) every time you plug it in. By now you should have figured out about how many miles of range show on the guess-o-meter when full. So, just figure out 'about' how many miles of range you are comfortable with when leaving home, and fill up to that, not more than about 80% full. Yeah, it involves thinking about it, and a small bit of mental calc ("gee, it's showing 35 miles, and it normally shows 100 when full, so I want to add about 45 miles, and that's about 3 hours on the level-2 EVSE - I'll come out and unplug in 3 hours."). It becomes 2nd nature and really easy to do after about a week.

Keeping the range of the battery between 30-80% *in general* should help prolong the life of the battery. You shouldn't worry about it too much (say, if you fill to full "by accident"), but if your "default" mode (when it is easy) is to baby the battery, then your battery might just baby you over the years.

Some people say it isn't necessary, but my reasoning is that if an extra 15 or 45 seconds of thinking or planning or doing when parking the car *might* prolong the battery health, then it is worth doing even if it has no effect at all. Well, so long as you don't fixate on it - just try and do it most of the time.

Thanks for the tips. I only use the level 2 when I need to charge quickly so mostly 8 or 12 amps at 120v. I don't drive much so its only getting charged every 3 or 4 days. I'm hoping this will help with my battery longevity. Working nights also helps with keeping it out of the direct heat during the hot summer months. Here is hoping.

 

[SparkieV]

Right outside Ithaca, NY!

 

[TheGriffinSpark]

New owner of a 2015 here! I think I'm the only one in Southeast Virginia... Got it via Carvana from somewhere in California. Loving it so far!

 

[Largo16]

Seattle, Wa
2015 DCFC Spark w/ 22,000.

 

[Engineear]

Mesa AZ
2015 DCFC 14500 miles.
New plate will read...slvrhmr. Silver hammer that Maxwell used.

 

[user 1908]

Las Vegas, Nevada. I did like most people, shopped California dealerships with the intention of trucking it back to Sin City.

The most interesting part of the search? Finding a dealership willing to arrange transport as part of the deal! I had one dealer literally tell me on the phone, “We don’t have any relationships with transport companies.” REALLY? Then how do you get cars to your lot??

Ultimately I found a 2016 CPO cerfified from the GMCertified.com website, and a dealership in Tracy, CA willing to ship. As it’s my first EV, I wanted the extra assurance of warranty coverage for the vehicle, especially the battery. Very happy with the car so far. Much more fun to drive than my wife’s Pathfinder! Best yet, I work at casinos, and many of them have free chargers! I bet I’ve paid less than $5.00 in power so far, which would have been something like $60 in gas in the other car!

 

[NORTON]

...Best yet, I work at casinos, and many of them have free chargers! I bet I’ve paid less than $5.00 in power so far, which would have been something like $60 in gas in the other car!

Once you get used to the car, you may get to where you only charge for free.
In a way it's better to leave the car overnight with <50% SOC, (if it doesn't need TMS).

I do that about 9 months a year bc I give the car love and TMS during the winter months. You get a little taste of that, rarely.

I top up once a day at work on a free public L2, which is now seeing some Model 3 action lately,,, the cheap bastd's...
If I go far on a weekend I'll hit a DCFC sometimes.

 

[Tingull]

Just bought a 2015 DCFC and absolutely love it! I’m in Chattanooga, TN. Looking forward to learning more about EVs in general.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Just bought a 2015 DCFC and absolutely love it! I’m in Chattanooga, TN. Looking forward to learning more about EVs in general.

Welcome to the EV "gang". The Spark EV is a great car to learn with. But be careful. You may get so attached to the car that you may never let it go! :lol:

 

[randa1724]

Eau Claire, Wi here. 2016 1lt with dcfc. Came from Milwaukie, Oregon. Dealer had three to choose from. Mine has 13,600 miles. Only had it for a week but love it.

 

[user 1908]

Las Vegas here. Bought mine through GMs certified pre owned website. Shipped here from Stockton CA area.

Been so happy with it I became a board member of our local EV car club, LVEVA. I’ve talked up EVs so much I’ve helped sell at least two, one of them is another Spark!

 

[drsurd]

Philadelphia PA.

I've only seen two other Spark EVs in the wild around here...must be a few more though...
2014 LT 2 with DCFC. Most miles in a day 550. 45,000 miles total...AVG 5mi/kWh lifetime on board.

 

[ElDobro]

Perth Amboy, NJ here.

When I was considering replacing my Prius PiP with a Volt, I saw the Spark EV page on the Chevy site and thought it was interesting that GM brought back a BEV. I traded in the PiP for a Volt and forgot all about the Spark. I had a 2002 Buick Century just sitting there all the time, so when I got a good offer for it from a neighbor that needed a car, I sold it.

Driving down the Garden State Parkway one day, I saw a red Spark and the thing that caught my eye was that the charge port door was wide open. Aha, now a Spark EV would make a great second car for me, so I started watching videos from owners on YouTube. A few of the owners mentioned buying them from Carvana, so that was my next step.

I went to the Carvana site and collected a few VINs and took them to the Chevy dealer I bought the Volt from, so they could run the histories. I narrowed it down to one and placed the order. The only glitch that happened was that Carvana wanted to charge me sales tax. After sending them a few links showing the car's exempt status, the tax was removed and the deal was done. As a matter of fact, Carvana recently emailed me saying that they overcharged $13.92 on the registration and are mailing me a check.

Now that I split up the driving between rhe Volt and Spark, my electric bill has dropped. Another plus.

 

[jabe]

just bought a 2016 DCFC spark from California that found temp home at chevy dealer in Montreal, Que. 33,000 km on it... 100 km on the GOM. Car was in mint condition..spotless/scratchless!! Bought it and drove 575 km to its new home here in Oakville, On. Trip took 16 hours not including sleeping time. learned a lot about the cars energy management during trip. Average temp was around freezing..so no heater since DCFC stations were sparse for most of the trip. My marriage survived unscathed
Loving the car. Hope I can get 5 years out of the car. Other car is a model 3 so we are now all electric household!
car is our tool around town car. I use it for short commute to work.
looking for maintenance tips and sharing the joys of owning electric. if Spark EV had 200 km GOM range it would be a killer car!!

 

[SparkE]

Living in the frigid north, I would recommend leaving it plugged in overnight during the cold months so that the batteries don't drop below 0 C (cold months, are those Aug-May up in Ontario?).

 

[jabe]

Living in the frigid north, I would recommend leaving it plugged in overnight during the cold months so that the batteries don't drop below 0 C (cold months, are those Aug-May up in Ontario?).

in lower half of ontario..think Buffalo weather but less snow
thanks for tip...going to try to not do full charge unless i need to once i figure out daily usage

 

[NORTON]

...thanks for tip...going to try to not do full charge unless i need to once i figure out daily usage

But this time of year you NEED to keep the battery warm and ready to go.
Leaving it plugged in may not be a bad thing.

This time of year my car gets topped to 100% twice a day. I want the battery warm and ready for my morning commute,,
so I have to plug in overnight.... I don't like paying for the electrons anymore than anybody else, but I don't want to torture a freezing cold battery.

Plus, Cell Balancing only happens after a full charge. You have to leave it plugged in for that function to work.

The possible bad thing is: having it at Full Charge, unplugging it and leaving it in Tucson summer weather.
Even then it still might be hard to prove where the battery degradation comes from.

 

[ASCIBlue]

I'm debating between a 2014 or 15/16 due to the main battery and I'm in Boise Idaho. I know of a dude in OR who is buying Sparks at a ridiculous rate and is willing to ship seemingly as far out as CO.

 

[SparkE]

Living in the frigid north, I would recommend leaving it plugged in overnight during the cold months so that the batteries don't drop below 0 C (cold months, are those Aug-May up in Ontario?).

in lower half of ontario..think Buffalo weather but less snow
thanks for tip...going to try to not do full charge unless i need to once i figure out daily usage

I was recommending the opposite : during the winter, leave it plugged in overnight so that the battery warmer will keep the battery ... warmer.

 

[jabe]

going to leave it plugged in and in the garage and set to charge at departure time. so battery is warm when i leave.. never charge my model 3 full so was going to set departure time an hour after i actually leave so battery is warm just not at 100% when i leave.. thoughts?