2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, IT FAILED TO SHIFT FROM THE PARK POSITION WITHOUT WARNING. THE SHIFTER CABLE WAS REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,000.

I HAVE OWNED A 2006 CORVETTE FOR ABOUT 4 YEARS NOW. THE "SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM" LIGHT COMES ON IN THE DIC. IT USED TO COME ON ONCE IN A WHILE. IT NOW OCCURS EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR. ABOUT 10% OF THE TIME ONE OF THE BRAKES WILL INSTANTANEOUSLY COME ON HARD THEN RELEASES IN ADDITION TO THE "SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM" LIGHT COMING ON. I LIVE IN WISCONSIN SO I DON'T DRIVE IT ALL YEAR, BUT IN THE SUMMER I DRIVE IT EVERY DAY (ITS MY PRIMARY SUMMER VEHICLE). I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON CORPORATE TYPE AIRCRAFT FOR 37+ YEARS SO I AM ACCUSTOMED TO INSPECTING COMPLEX SYSTEMS. I CHECKED UNDER THE STEERING COLUMN AND FOUND AN ORANGE "WEDGE" INSTALLED INTO THE STEERING WHEEL POSITION SENSOR AND NOTICED THE ELECTRICAL LEAD GOING TO THE SENSOR APPEARS TO BE TOO SHORT WITH THE TILT / TELESCOPIC COLUMN ADJUSTED FULL AFT AND UP. I CALLED A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP TO "FIX THE FIX" BUT THEY TOLD ME MY CAR ISN'T COVERED BY RECALL "N100118" BY VIN #. THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY SHOW A RECORD OF A DEALERSHIP WORKING ON THIS SYSTEM BACK IN 2012? I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT THE DEALERSHIP INSTALLED THE ORANGE WEDGE (RECALL # N100118) AT THAT TIME. I CONTACTED THE CHEVROLET OWNERS CENTER AND THEY TOLD ME THE SAME THING, NO COVERAGE DUE TO VIN #. THEY DID DOCUMENT MY COMPLAINT WITH CASE # [XXX]. AT THE END OF LAST SEASON I WAS DRIVING WITH MY WIFE IN THE CAR AT NIGHT, ON A BUSY INTERSTATE, IN A POURING RAIN. I WAS IN THE CENTER LANE WHEN THE STABILITY SYSTEM SLAMMED ON MY LEFT FRONT BRAKE. IT HAPPENED FOR JUST AN INSTANT BUT THAT WAS LONG ENOUGH TO SEND ME PARTIALLY INTO THE LANE TO LEFT OF ME. BECAUSE OF THE RAIN THE CAR LOST TRACTION AND GOT A LITTLE "SQUIRRELLY" DURING RECOVERY. IT WAS A VERY SCARY RIDE THAT COULD EASILY HAVE ENDED UP AS A MULTI-CAR CRASH. I COULD USE SOME ASSISTANCE. PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*CC

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTER STUCK IN PARK. IN THE 2006 MODEL BOTH OF THESE ISSUES WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO BEING "STUCK IN PARK" AND YOU CANNOT CONTROL WHEN OR WHERE. IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH GM AND THEY HAVE FAILED TO ISSUE A RECALL BECAUSE OF THE CARS AGE. IT IS STARTING TO EFFECT NEWER MODELS AND LIKELY THE SAME OR SIMILAR PART. THE SAFETY LOCKING SOLENOID GOES BAD, AND THE PART IS NOT REPLACEABLE ON ITS OWN. YOU HAVE TO BUY AN ENTIRE SHIFTER ASSEMBLY. IT WILL COST UPWARDS OF 700.00 OR MORE. IF YOU FORCE IT INTO GEAR YOU CAN ALSO BREAK THE SHIFTER CABLE AT A HIGHER COST.

AUTOMATIC SHIFTER WILL NOT RETURN TO PARK OR REVERSE POSITION FROM NEUTRAL. ESSENTIALLY VEHICLE IS STUCK IN NEUTRAL. THE FAILURE IS IN THE SHIFTER MECHANISM AND NOT THE LINKAGE OR TRANSMISSION. THERE IS NO WAY TO SAFELY PARK THE VEHICLE IN THIS CONDITION OR RESTART THE CAR ONCE IT HAS BEEN TURNED OFF. ONCE IN THIS BAD STATE, THE VEHICLE REMAINS IN ACCESSORY MODE THEREFORE KILLING THE BATTERY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE DISPLAYED. THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V172000 (STEERING). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

AFTER DRIVING MY CAR FOR A SUFFICIENT LENGTH OF TIME TO GET THE ENGINE HOT (NORMAL DRIVING) AND THEN PARK IT IN THE GARAGE, A VERY STRONG SMELL OF FUEL VAPOR IS EMITTED FROM THE REAR AREA OF THE CAR WHICH FILLS THE GARAGE AND PERMEATES THE HOUSE. THE ODOR ALSO INVADES THE CAR'S INTERIOR CABIN. THIS DANGEROUS CONDITION WAS REPORTED TO THE WATSON CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN TUCSON, AUGUST, 2015, MILEAGE 67289. AFTER LENGTHY INSPECTION AND COMMUNICATION WITH GM, CERTAIN COMPONENTS WERE REPLACED - AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR. THE CAR OPERATED SATISFACTORILY AND I OBSERVED NO MORE FUEL VAPORS UNTIL MARCH 4, 2016, MILEAGE 71448. FOLLOWING A TRIP OF 40 MILES, NORMAL CITY DRIVING, I PARKED THE CAR IN THE GARAGE AND THE SAME VERY STRONG FUEL VAPORS FILLED THE GARAGE. ONCE AGAIN, THE HOUSE WAS PERMEATED WITH THE ODOR, WHICH WE FOUND NECESSARY TO PURGE, AND TO REMOVE THE CAR FROM THE GARAGE UNTIL THE VAPOR DISSIPATED. I CONSIDER THIS TO BE A DANGEROUS SAFETY HAZARD. I'VE ALSO NOTED FROM VARIOUS CORVETTE FORUMS THAT MANY OTHER C6 CORVETTES HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS CONDITION AND IT MAYBE A COMMON PROBLEM. I BELIEVE CARS LIKE MINE SHOULD BE RECALLED FOR AN APPROPRIATE FIX BEFORE AN EXPLOSION OR OTHER UNFORTUNATE EVENT OCCURS. IT WON'T BE AN ACCIDENT!

THERE IS A STRONG SMELL OF GASOLINE COMING FROM THE CAR. IT IS DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT THE SOURCE, BUT I BELIEVE THERE IS A LEAK FROM THE GAS TANK AREA.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS LEAKING FUEL FROM THE FUEL PUMP. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 36,000.

THE CHECK AIRBAG LIGHT RANDOMLY TURNS ON AND OFF. THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE WITH C6 CORVETTES

I WAS INTERNING THE INTERSTATE 15 IN CALIFORNIA AND WAS PICKING UP SPEED TO INTER THE HWY AND MY CORVETTE Z06 STARTING MAKING A KNOCKING SOUND AND LOST POWER AND I TURNED IT OFF AND HAD IT LOOKED AT MY A VERY WELL KNOW AUTOMOTIVE SHOP WHO SPECIALIZES IN GM VEHICLES. THEY TOLD ME IT DROP AN EXHAUST VALVE.