Tony1M

For the moment completely putting aside whether it makes economic sense to do so, one possibility for Canadians wanting a C5 is to import one from Japan (that was originally exported from the US into Japan) that was manufactured at least 15 years (to the day) prior to the date it reaches the Canadian port of entry (usually Vancouver, BC).

Add to the above the requirement that my wife and I want to buy a C5 that has the EBCM which can possibly be repaired if it malfunctions.

These two requirements, as of today -- November 25, 2014 -- almost certainly prevent us from importing (but not necessarily from buying) a C5 that is presently in Japan.

To clarify the date situation further, in order for us to import a 2001 C5 that rolled off the assembly line on say January 1, 2001, that vehicle could not arrive in Vancouver before January 1, 2016.

But the production of the 2001 C5s began well before Jan 1, 2001. I am ignorant when it comes to when a particular model year's production begins, but I think it could have begun perhaps as early as mid-2000, and of course this means that we could import an early-2001-production C5 perhaps as early as mid-2015 -- which is not much after when our present winter will finally bite the (snow) dust in this part of the Great White North.

(The process of searching, buying, arranging transportation, importation and, again, transportation to here from Vancouver can take quite some time. In order to have an imported vehicle arriving at our garage on say June 1, we would probably have to purchase it in April or even March. And therefore, our search would have to begin not that far down the road from now.)

You see where I'm going here. I'm thinking that the EBCM situation may be a similar situation to the FFS system -- the latter with its installation beginning at a certain 2003-production-year VIN, which, depending on your source of information, was either in Oct or Nov of 2002.

My one and only question is bone simple. Just exactly WHEN (what date) did GM start installing the EBCM module that can at least maybe be repaired?

Thanks.

Tony1M

Thanks.

Let me if I understand what you're saying correctly. The very first model-year 2001 vehicle (whose VIN has as its last five digits 00001) that rolled off the line had/has the re-designed EBCM, and the very last 2000-model-year vehicle that rolled off the line right before it did/does not, correct? (That is, not even one model-year 2000 C5 had/has the re-designed EBCM, while ALL model-year 2001 vehicles do.)

Do you happen to know the month in 2000 that model-year 2001 production started? (Again, the reason this is important for importation into Canada is that the at-least-15-year-old rule applies from the vehicle's actual date of manufacture.)

Thanks again. 8VETTE7.

Tony1M

Perfect! Thanks!

We'll be looking out for those late June and July '01 VINs.

Tony1M

You know, that website with the production numbers is very, very interesting. For example, I thought that the first 2001 VIN, 00045, mentioned on the 2001 production page was a bit strange. I would have thought it would be 00001. So I took at look at the 2000 production page and, lo and behold, there is a comment on March 3 that reads as follows:
"Production for the press introduction 2001 C5's began today. They will be introduced in Mid-May."

Then on March 11:
"4th Saturday of 2000 C5 Production. Due to the large number of 2001 C5 Press Corvettes being built for magazine writers. This Extra Saturday of Production was required"

Then, finally, on March 17, the comment that explains exactly why the VIN at the beginning of the official 2001 production run on June 23 was 00045, rather than 00001:
"During the two week plant tour embargo, there were 44 model year 2001 C5's built for the first week in May Press Introduction Event. Our best guess is about 24 were "The Most Rumored One".

What makes this interesting to me is that around 1,500 model-year-2000 vehicles were produced during the March 3 to March 17 period in which the '01 "press" vehilces were produced. I don't know if these '01 vehicles rolled off the same assembly line as the '00s, but, regardless, what would be interesting to know is whether the '00s and '01s had the same EBCMs installed or not. I'm guessing probably not, but if the '00s and '01s did in fact roll off the same assembly line, getting the right EBCM into the right vehicle could have been just a bit complicated to accomplish.

Other interesting links on that site are to the 2000 and 2001 "Production RPO Final" pages. For example, one of the items on the 2000 page is "JL4 ACTIVE BRAKE CONTROL". Apparently, 67% of '00s had that option installed, whereas 100% of 2001s had the "JL4 ACTIVE BRAKE CONTROL" option installed.

If one assumes that all 2000 vehicles have ABS, what would be interesting to know is whether those that have the JL4 option have the same EBCM as those that do not, and, if not, were those JL4 EBCMs the same ones that were installed in all the '01s and onward to later years. If they were/are the same, this would mean that any 2000 that has the JL4 option has the newer EBCM design that just maybe could be repaired, as opposed to 2000s that do not have the JL4 option which have EBCMs that, up to this point anyway, cannot be repaired.

Obviously, what would be most interesting to know is whether any owner of a 2000 that has the JL4 option in their vehicle has had their EBCM fail and been successfully repaired.

lionelhutz

In 1998-2000, C5's had an optional AH or JL4 selection. The EBTCM was the same mechanically to the ABS+TC only EBTCM and mounted on the same pump. Just the internal electronics were different to include the AH programming.

In 2001 the EBCM always had AH, so technically the JL4 was no longer an option. The new module mounted on a newly designed pump. The whole package is much different than the earlier version.

No matter how many times you try to reason it's possible, the newer design of EBCM only came on 2001 and newer C5's and the new and old designs are no compatible.

Buy an earlier C5 without AH if you end up going that route. They don't seem to fail as often.

Tony1M

I understand what you're saying, but, regardless, I'd like to know if any owners of 2000s that have VINs of say 22713 or greater (production on or after March 6, 2000 onward to end of 2000 production) and also have the JL4 option, have either had their EBCMs successfully repaired, or had the EBCM removed and it was determined with certainty that the EBCM was of the type that could not be repaired/resoldered, etc.

If I understand these things correctly, because "Active Handling" was an option in model year 2000, any 2000 that has that option should have a "JL4" code on the equipment list on the inside of the glove compartment door like the following does (some VIN numbers removed to protect the innocent).

Tony1M

I didn't see your comment before submitting my last one, so thanks for bursting my bubble of hope about late 2000s.

If we do go the import route, it'll have to be an '01 built as early as possible in 2000.