2005 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Complaints

COMPLAINT RECEIVED VIA E-MAIL. MY 3 DAY OLD CORVETTE SHREDDED ITS SERPENTINE BELT, OVERHEATED, AND LOST ITS STEERING. CAR HAD 300 MILES ON IT. FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN READING ON 'CORVETTE FORUM THIS WAS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT BUT HAS BEEN OCCURRING IN TOO MANY NEW CORVETTES. THIS PROBLEM COULD AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE AS IT NOT ONLY AFFECTED THE COOLING SYSTEM BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY THE STEERING AND BRAKING. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE THE REPAIR OF THIS PROBLEM WAS FAILING ON MANY CARS, AND THEY WERE EXPERIENCING IT FOR THE SECOND AND THIRD TIME. *AK. *AK

(1) PURCHASED CAR 10/23/2004. (2) ON 10/24/2004, LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR, THE CRANK PULLEY "CAME LOOSE" AND THE CAR THREW ITS SERPENTINE BELT (LEARNED AFTER THE INCIDENT) WHILE DRIVING ON A CROWDED INTERSTATE. THE FIRST INDICATION OF A PROBLEM WAS WHEN THE DRIVER INFORMATION CONSOLE (DIC) DISPLAYED A MALFUNCTION WITH THE VEHICLES CHARGING SYSTEM THAT NEEDED SERVICE. VOLTAGE DISPLAYED ON DIC DROPPED QUICKLY IN .1 VOLT INCREMENTS UNTIL ROUGHLY 11 VOLTS WERE DISPLAYED. THEN, THE CAR BECAME INCREASINGLY UNRESPONSIVE TO DRIVER INPUT FOR STEERING AND THROTTLE. BRAKES FELT "MUSHY" BUT CONTINUED TO RESPOND TO DRIVER INPUT. ALTHOUGH THE DASH DISPLAYED A FRIGHTENING NUMBER OF ERROR MESSAGES AND ALARMS, THE OCCUPANTS HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THE VEHICLE. TRYING TO CROSS 5 LANES OF PACKED FREEWAY TRAFFIC TO GET TO A SAFE BREAK DOWN AREA, IN A CAR THAT APPEARS TO HAVE LOST ITS MIND AND IS SPRAYING ANTIFREEZE ALL OVER THE HIGHWAY, COULD HAVE EASILY RESULTED IN INJURY OR DEATH. WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE DID NOT CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. 3) VEHICLE WAS "REPAIRED" AT OURISMAN CHEVROLET IN MARLOW HEIGHTS, MD. CRANK PULLEY, BOLT(S), SERPENTINE BELT, AND UNDERHOOD INSULATION (DAMAGED BY FLYING BELT) WERE REPLACED. A FRICTION WASHER WAS ADDED BEHIND THE CRANK PULLEY ON THE ADVICE OF GM TECH SUPPORT. *CAR BROKE DOWN AGAIN WITH THE SAME PROBLEM ON 13 NOVEMBER. CAR IS NOW AT RADLEY CHEVROLET IN FREDERICKSBURG, VA. GM HAS ORDERED THE MOTOR REPLACED AND THE DEALER IS AWAITING PARTS. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED FAILURE, THERE ARE OTHER LS2 ENGINES BREAKING DOWN BECAUSE OF THIS CRANK PULLEY PROBLEM.*AK