2019 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Complaints

ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS I HAVE HAD CRACKED WHEEL RIMS ON MY 2019 CORVETTE. BOTH TIMES I WAS DRIVING AT 65MPH AND A VIBRATION OCCURRED AND ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR. I WENT DIRECTLY TO THE CHEVY DEALERSHIP AND BOTH TIMES THEY TOLD ME THERE IS NO DEFECT ON THE RIMS AND THEY REFUSED TO REPLACE THEM. SOMEONE WILL BE SERIOUSLY INJURED AND POSSIBLY DIE. CHEVY NEEDS TO REPLACE THESE FAULTY RIMS.UNACCEPTABLE!!! I'M HOPING NTSB WILL ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY HURT.

I FIRST NOTICED SOMETHING WAS OFF WITH MY 2019 CORVETTE GRAND SPORT WHEN IT BEGAN TO VIBRATE, SHIMMY, AND SHUTTER WHEN I WOULD DRIVE ABOVE 30 MPH. LATER THAT SAME DAY MY CAR BEGAN TO HAVE A SLOW LEAK IN THE REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRE, I FIGURED I CAUGHT A NAIL OR SOMETHING FROM THE ROAD. I INSPECTED THE TREAD AREA OF THE TIRE AND DID NOT SEE ANY VISIBLE MARKINGS THAT COULD CAUSE A LEAK. I INSPECTED MY WHEELS WITHIN THE INSIDE WHEEL WELL AND NOTICED A CRACK IN THE BACK DRIVER SIDE RIM. I TOOK MY CAR TO A NEARBY GENERAL MOTORS DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR A REAR RIM. MY CAR IS BARELY DRIVEN, RELATIVELY NEW, WITH LOW MILES AND I DID NOT RECALL HITTING ANYTHING IN THE ROAD NOR HAVE ANY ROAD/CURB RASH TO ANY OF MY WHEELS. RECENTLY, I SEARCHED ONLINE AND SAW AN ARTICLE POSTED IN A CORVETTE FORUM THAT CORVETTE Z06 AND GRAND SPORT OWNERS FILED A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST GENERAL MOTORS FOR DEFECTIVE WHEELS THAT ARE PRONE TO DEFORM AND CRACK, WITHOUT ANY IMPACT DAMAGE. LIKE OTHER CORVETTE OWNERS I WAS TOLD THAT I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE RIM AND HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER FACTORY RIM OR PURCHASE A SET OF COMPARABLE AFTERMARKET RIMS AT ~$6K. THESE RIMS ARE A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN AS THEY COULD PUNCTURE THE TIRES, CAUSE ADDITIONAL AIR LEAKS, AND POSSIBLE TIRE BLOWOUTS. GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO REPLACE THESE DEFECTIVE RIMS AS THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR CUSTOMERS IN HUGE RISK OF POSSIBLE INJURY OR DEATH TO THE OWNERS AS WELL AS OTHER MOTORISTS ON THE ROAD.

AT 9212 MILES, MY LOW TIRE PRESSURE INDICATOR CAME ON. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO NORTHWEST TIRE, BISMARCK, ND. THEY REMOVED THE WHEEL AND FOUND THAT THE RIM WAS CRACKED. THE VEHICLE IS STILL UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY, ON 9-29-2020, I TOOK IT TO THE KUPPER CHEVROLET, MANDAN ND. THEY INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, FOUND NO DAMAGE. OTHER THAN THE CRACKED WHEEL. THEY CALLED GENERAL MOTORS FOR A WARRANTY REPAIR, WHICH GM DECLINED.

VIBRATION STARTED A FEW MONTHS AGO THAT FELT LIKE WHEELS OUT OF BALANCE. HAD READ ABOUT ISSUES WITH BENT AND/OR CRACKED WHEELS ON GRAND SPORTS. BROUGHT CAR TO THE DEALER, AND ALSO A TIRE COMPANY. BOTH DETERMINED 3 OF 4 WHEELS WERE VISIBLY BENT WHEN ROTATED ON THE BALANCING MACHINE (I COULD SEE IT AS WELL). THE FOURTH WAS NOT PERFECT, BUT BETTER. THE CAR IS USED ON REGULAR ROADS, NEVER ON A TRACK, AND AT MOST HAS ONLY ENCOUNTERED ROUGH ROAD PATCHES. CAR ONLY HAS 4,500 MILES ON IT.

ROUTINE INSPECTION DURING SERVICE REVEALED THAT THE LEFT REAR WHEEL HAD DEVELOPED A CRACK AT THE BEAD ON THE INBOARD EDGE. NO OTHER DAMAGE OR DEFECT WAS NOTED ON THE WHEEL AT THAT TIME. THE WHEELS WERE REMOVED FROM SERVICE AND REPLACED WITH AFTERMARKET FOR SAFETY.

RIGHT REAR WHEEL CRACKED IN TWO PLACES. NOTICED AIR LEAK IN AUGUST 2020. OCCURRED DURING NORMAL DRIVING. NO RECOLLECTION OF ANY IMPACT SUFFICIENT TO CRACK WHEEL. INSPECTION REVEALED CRACKS ACROSS INNER RIM OF WHEEL. REPLACED ALL FOUR WHEELS AS PRECAUTION SINCE ISSUE APPARENTLY PREVALENT ACROSS ENTIRE C7 CORVETTE MODEL LINE.

THE NEWER C& CORVETTES, ESPECIALLY THE Z06 AND GRAND SPORT MODELS ARE EXTREMELY SUSCEPTIBLE TO CRACKED RIMS. I RECENTLY HAD TO PAY $170 TO HAVE A RIM A CRACKED AND LEAKING RIM WELDED TO FIX NUMEROUS CRACKS. THIS REPAIR WAS UNSUCCESSFUL AND THE LEAKING HAS BEGUN AGAIN. WHEN MOTORTREND MAGAZINE CONDUCTED AN EXTENDED TEST OF THE C7 CORVETTE GRAND SPORT CORVETTE, IT HAD NO LESS THAN SIX SEPARATE RIM PROBLEM INCLUDING EITHER BENT OR CRACKING PROBLEMS. THE CRACKED RIMS REQUIRED VERY EXPENSIVE REPLACEMENTS, NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THERE IS AN EXISTING CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ABOUT THIS CONTINUING PROBLEM. THIS PROBLEM OCCURS ON BOTH CITY STREET AND ON HIGHWAYS WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTIONS AND COULD BE DISASTROUS IF THE RIM WERE TO TOTALLY FRACTURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. HERE IS A LINK TO A COMMENT ABOUT THIS PROBLEMS. HTTPS://WWW.CORVETTEBLOGGER.COM/2019/05/10/ANOTHER-LAWSUIT-FILED-AGAINST-GM-OVER-CRACKED-CORVETTE-WHEELS/

3 BENT WHEELS AFTER 9500 MILES, 2 REAR AND PASSENGER FRONT TERRIBLE SHAKING AND INSTABILITY UNSAFE TO DRIVE MUST REPLACE WITH AFTER MARKET WHEELS

REPAIRED RIGHT REAR TIRE FOR A NAIL AND DISCOUNT TIRE INFORMED ME OF A CRACKED TIRE RIM. I TOOK CAR TO A AUTHORIZED CHEVROLET DEALER. THEY SAID MY 2019 GRAND SPORT CORVETTE WITH 9300 MILES WARRANTY DID NOT COVER THE RIM. I WAS LOSING TIRE PRESSURE AND THAT'S WHEN I WAS TOLD OF THE CRACKED RIM. AT MY EXPENSE I'M REPLACING THE RIM $985.10

NOTICED A RHYTHMIC VIBRATION AND WENT TO CHEVROLET DEALER TO INVESTIGATE. OEM REAR WHEELS HAVE WARPED OUT OF ROUND. CHEVROLET MECHANIC DID NOT FIND PHYSICAL DAMAGE BUT COULD SEE THAT THEY DID NOT SPIN IN A CIRCULAR MANNER. GM WILL NOT HONOR THE BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY. THIS CAR HAS 6,700 MILES ON IT AND HAS NOT BEEN ABUSED IN ANY MANNER. A VEHICLES WHEELS MUST BE ABLE TO SUPPORT NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS WITHOUT WARPING, BREAKING OR LEADING TO CATASTROPHIC FAILURE