2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Complaints

THIS IS AN AMENDMENT TO YOUR ODI NUMBER 10297619. OUR 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE HAS SUSTAINED SEVERE UNDERCARRAIGE DAMAGE AS WELL AS PASSENGER SIDE BODY DAMAGE AND WHEEL AND TIRE DAMAGE. PASSENGER DOOR WILL NOT OPEN AND DRIVERS DOOR WILL OPEN WHEN MUCH STRENGTH APPLIED TO PULL IT OPEN. THERE WERE A COUPLE OF MINUTES AFTER THE CRASH THAT IT WAS APPARENT THE DOORS WERE NOT GOING TO OPEN WITHOUT SOME KIND OF ASSISTANCE. JUST PRIOR TO THE CRASHWE EXPERIENCED A SMALL FISHING OF OF THE REAR OF THE CAR AT WHICH TIME THE ACCELERATOR WAS DISENGAGED AND THE BRAKES APPLIED HARD. THE STEERING WAS LOCKED IN THE POSITION WE WERE DRIVING IN AT THE TIME WHICH WAS ON A CURVE. THE BRAKES FAILED TO STOP US, AND AT THIS TIME THE RPM WAS RACING UPWARD ON THE CAR WHICH WAS ACCELERATING WHEN NO GAS WAS BEING APPLIED AT ALL. ONE OTHER TIME WHEN WE HAD TO APPLY THE BRAKES QUICKLY, FOR A CHANGING LIGHT, THE RPM RACED WAY UP WHILE WE WERE STOPPED. OUR COMPUTER SAID NOTHING AT THIS TIME WHICH INDICATED TO US THAT THERE WAS NOTHING NOTED ABOUT THE INCIDENT THAT WE COULD SEE. ALSO AIRBAGS FAILED TO OPEN! WITHOUT OUR SEATBELTS, THE 37 INCIDENT AMONG CORVETTES WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST CASUALITY IN THE STEERING LOCK FAILURE. MOST NOTABLY AND CRITICAL OF THE FAILURES IS THE STEERING LOCK FIAILURE NO.1, NO 2 IS BRAKES FAILING TO STOP VEHICLE AND NO. 3 IS AIRBAGS FAILING TO DEPLOY. NO 4 IS THE RPM ACCELERATING WHEN BRAKES ARE TO THE FLOOR. THE VEHICLE IS NOT DRIVEABLE AT THIS TIME AND IS CURRENTLY IN STORAGE UNTIL THERE ARE RESOLUTIONS TO THESE FAILURES. DATE OF CRACH DEC. 11, 2009 ABOUT 9:30 AM. *TR

THERE REALLY WASN'T ANY EVENTS LEADING UP TO OUR ACCIDENT THAT I WAS AWARE OF. I HAVE NOT CONTACTED GENERAL MOTORS AS OF YET,MY INTERNET HAS BEEN DOWN AND WAS ONLY FIXED THIS EVENING AROUND 4:00. BUT BACK TO MY ACCIDENT,MY STEERING LOCKED UP ON ME AND ALL LOST ALL CONTROL OF MY CAR. SORRY I DON'T HAVE MORE INFORMATION. I JUST KNOW MY WIFE AND I ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. THANK YOU! *TR

THE REMOVABLE CLEAR TOP OF MY 2003 CORVETTE HAS A CRACK BEGINNING AT THE RIGHT AND EXTENDING ABOUT 3 INCHES AND THE ENTIRE TOP LOOKS AS IF THE CLEAR MATERIAL IS DISINTEGRATING. THESE ARE CONDITIONS WHICH HAVE OCCURRED WITHOUT ANY KNOWN DIRECT DAMAGE TO THE TOP. *TR

2003 CORVETTE MANUAL TRANS. I HAD THE WORK DONE FOR THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK RECALL PROGRAM #04V060000 BACK IN 2006. ON DEC. 24TH 2009, THE VEHICLE WOULD START BUT NOT MOVE FORWARD. POSSIBLE FUEL SHUT OFF DUE TO HARNESS LOCK FAILURE. WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE GMC DEALER IN WATSONVILLE CALIF. THEY ADVISED ME THAT THIS ITEM WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. MY QUESTION IF THE RECALL ITEM HAS FAILED AGAIN WHY ISN'T THE DEALER OR GM RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACEMENT AT NO COST TO THE CUSTOMER? I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS ONLY FOR THE FIRST 12,000 MILES OR 12 MONTHS. SEEMS ODD THAT THIS PART THAT WAS REPLACED IN 2006 HAS ALREADY FAILED WHEN THE CAR HAS HAD ONLY 7,000 MILES APPROX. PUT ON THE VEHICLE SINCE THE RECALL WORK WAS COMPLETED. THE TOTAL MILES FOR THIS VEHICLE IS ONLY 15,900 MILES. HAS THERE BEEN ANY REPORTS THAT THE REPLACEMENT PART WAS DEFECTIVE AS WELL? *TR

WHILE DRIVING, MY VEHICLE'S WARNING SYSTEM FOR THE ACTIVE HANDLING & ABS SYSTEM ACTIVATES DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT BOTH OF THESE SYSTEMS WOULD DEVELOP A PROBLEM AT THE SAME TIME. UPON RESEARCHING THIS, I DISCOVERED THAT GM REALIZED A FLAW IN THE DESIGNING OF THE WIRING HARNESS THAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE STEERING COLUMN THAT IS RESPONSIBLE. GM HAS DESIGNED A PART TO FIX THIS, BUT AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. IN THESE TYPES OF VEHICLES, THE ACTIVE HANDLING & ABS IS A SAFETY FEATURE, AND I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT WHENEVER THE WARNINGS ARE ACTIVATED THESE SAFETY FUNCTIONS ARE NO LONGER FUNCTIONING AS THE COMPUTER BELIEVES THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THEM WHEN THERE ISN'T. THE WARNINGS DO NOT COME ON AT THE TIME OF START UP, BUT ONLY AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE FOR ABOUT 5 MILES. IF THERE IN FACT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THESE FEATURES, A WARNING WOULD COME ON AT START UP. GM HAS FOUND THAT THE WIRING HARNESS BECOMES STRETCHED FROM CONTINUED USE OF THE TELESCOPING STEERING COLUMN OVER THE YEARS WHICH CAUSES THE FALSE WARNINGS. OTHER DRIVERS HAVE REPORTED POWER STEERING FAILURE AND OTHER PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW THAT COULD CAUSE DRASTIC PROBLEMS IF THE COMPUTER FALSELY DISENGAGES THESE FEATURES, ESPECIALLY THE ABS DURING DRIVING IN THE RAIN OR SNOW. THESE VEHICLES RELY ON THESE SYSTEMS FOR SAFE OPERATIONS. ONCE THE WARNING COMES ON, THERE IS NO WAY TO CHECK TO SEE IF THE ACTIVE HANDLING FEATURE IS ON OR OFF, AS THE COMPUTER WILL NOT ALLOW THE SYSTEM TO BE CHECKED. *TR

ABS TRACKING CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON WITH A FAILURE. IT THEN WENT OUT. THIS HAPPENED A COUPLE MORE TIMES DURING DRIVING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS(CAR NOT DRIVEN THAT MUCH). OCTOBER OF 2008, ABS LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN AND STAYED ON. TOOK CAR IN TO BE SERVICED. WAS TOLD COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS BAD. TRIED TO LOCATE A USED SYSTEM TO SAVE MONEY. WAS INFORMED BY CHEVROLET SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT COULD NOT USE A USED COMPUTER BECAUSE OF A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE COMPUTER. HAD TO HAVE REPLACED AND REPROGRAMMED ABS TRAC CONTROL MODULE FOR $1490.80. WAS TOLD TO HANG ON TO RECEIPT BECAUSE COULD BECOME RECALL. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE SERVICE BRAKE LIGHT ILLUMINATED PERIODICALLY ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. A MECHANIC STATED THAT THE BRAKE PRESSURE MODULATOR VALVE HAD A SHORT, WHICH CAUSED THE BRAKE CONTROL MODULATOR TO FAIL. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 55,200.

A MESSAGE WAS RANDOMLY DISPLAYED SAYING THAT THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM HAD FAILED AND THAT SERVICE WAS NEEDED. WHEN THIS HAPPENED, THE CAR'S COMPUTER WOULD THEN SHUT OFF THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM, BUT WHEN THE IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF AND THEN BACK ON, THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM WOULD BE ACTIVE UNTIL THE NEXT FAILURE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS FAILURE CONSTITUTES A SAFETY PROBLEM. AFTER MANY MONTHS OF THIS (I WASN'T OVERLY CONCERNED SINCE I DON'T DRIVE ERRATICALLY AND RARELY ACTIVATE THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM), I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALER (WEST CHEVROLET, ALCOA, TN) AND WAS TOLD (1) THEY HAVE SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE ON CORVETTES AND (2) IT IS DUE TO THE WIRING HARNESS IN THE STEERING COLUMN BEING TOO SHORT. (THIS CAR HAS A POWER TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL AND MEMORY SEATS SO THAT EVERY TIME THE DRIVER GETS IN AND OUT OF THE CAR, THE STEERING COLUMN AUTOMATICALLY MOVES OUT AND IN, EVIDENTLY TUGGING ON THE WIRING HARNESS EACH TIME.) THE DEALERS TECHNICIAN FOREMAN SAID THAT ONE OF SIGNALS CARRIED BY THE HARNESS IS THE ANGLE OF THE STEERING WHEEL WHICH IS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A YAW-RATE SENSOR TO DETERMINE IF THE CAR IS "SPINNING OUT" AND WHAT CORRECTIVE ACTION IS REQUIRED TO CORRECT THIS. HE ALSO SAID THAT DUE TO THE TOO-SHORT HARNESS, THE INTEGRITY OF THE HARNESS CONNECTOR DEGRADES OVER TIME CAUSING THE INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM. (3) THE DEALER SAID THAT THIS PROBLEM IS FIXED BY EXTENDING THE HARNESS WITH A GM PART WHICH IMPLIES THAT GM KNOWS THAT THEY HAVE A PROBLEM AND HAVE DEVELOPED A PART TO FIX IT. (4) I ASKED THE DEALER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I DID NOT FIX IT. I WAS TOLD THAT EVENTUALLY THE CONNECTOR WOULD COMPLETELY FAIL RESULTING IN A LOSS OF THE POWER STEERING. THIS WOULD THEN BE ANOTHER SAFETY PROBLEM. SO I HAD TO HAVE IT FIXED BUT IT WASN'T CHEAP - $594.68. *TR

2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 16,000 MILES WASHED CAR AND NOTICED A CRACK IN THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL. RESEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND THIS TO BE A HIGHLY REPORTED PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD RECALL THESE WHEELS. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HORN FAILED. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THE AIR BAG AS HAVING A SHORT WHICH CAUSED THE HORN TO STOP OPERATING. THE VEHICLE WAS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE UNKNOWN. *AK THE CONSUMER PROVIDED THE INVOICE FOR REPAIRS. THE CONSUMER STATED THERE HAD TO BE AN ACCIDENT IN ORDER FOR THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY. THE DEALER STATED THE DRIVERS DOOR WILL NOT LOCK, REPAIR WAS PERFORMED. UPDATED 06/08/07 *TR