taki44

Do the c5's have as many problems as the c4's. Thanks

Vetteman Jack

The C5 has a number of common problems that have popped up over the years - rocking seats, column lock, rear differential seals, electrical gremlins and headlight motors just to name a few. That is not to say though that every C5 has these issues - some may never have any of them.

Overall, IMO, the C5 is a pretty reliable platform and a great bang for the buck, as well as a positive upgrade over the C4 in many areas. As 8VETTE7 mentioned, check out the stickies at the top of the page, including the one on Buying a C5. Lots of good info there.

CQRT

Nope- huge improvement over all-- space, ride, handling and power.

radar502

Older Corvettes have problems any year not so much the C2-3-4 or five they all have a fair amount the C-5 a newer ride will have less just because they are newer.. Once you replace the old worn out parts on any of the years they will run and work like new .. I rebuild older Corvettes and they run like new .they all seem to have something going wrong at times ever the new ones it's the miles and the age. The C-5s seem to be a better built but just the same have there own problems..

IMXCITD

as some have stated...the C5 does have its share of problems....but overall a great platform and alot of value for the $$$.

radar502

I gave $23,000 for my Z-16 with under 40,000 miles a lot of Corvette for the money problem little stuff it goes and goes as it's gets more miles I am sure it will need something replaced right now just get in and have fun.. You won't be sorry if buy a low miles C-5 or even a high miles C-5 I know people that have over 100,000 on there's with no prop just drive them .. The C-4 are good rides but are getting older so will need work just cause the age low miles or not rubber and Ele. just over time eats away at them ..

73Corvette

Like the C4, the suspension on the C5 used transverse composite leaf springs on both the front (above left) and rear (right) suspension. The C5 however featured an all new design; none of the suspension parts were carried over from the C4. The system was fully independent and used unequal length A-arms at all four corners, a common race car configuration. Both front and rear suspensions featured anti-sway bars.





The C5 Corvette's floor is constructed using two layers of an aircraft type composite material wrapped around a balsa wood core. The balsa wood helps filter out noise and vibration, and makes the floor 10 times stiffer than the use of composites alone. Numerous "high tech" synthetic fillers were tried, but none matched the stiffness, light weight and damping performance of natural balsa wood.
The chassis side rails were shaped through a process called hydroforming, as opposed to the multiple stampings and welding of the C4 Corvette. The new design was part of the reason why the designers were able to lower the door sill by about four inches. Using seamless tubular steel contributed to the strength of the chassis.





Of the many innovations of the C5, the rear transaxle was at the top of the list. With a transaxle design, the transmission and the differential are located in a combined case at the rear axle. This was the same layout used in the Porsche 944 and Ferrari Daytona. The goal was improved balance; with the weight shifted more to the rear a better front / rear weight distribution was possible. In the case of the C5, weight distribution was 51% front / 49% rear which is close to ideal and an excellent statistic for a front engine car. Another advantage of the rear transaxle was more space in the cockpit area, which resolved a complaint from C4 owners who felt that the footwell areas was too small. Note the torque tube in front of the transaxle and to the right in the above photo. It mechanically coupled the engine to the transaxle which improved handling response, delivering that wonderful and often elusive "sports car feel".