wtam

Well, its official. GM did a buy back on my 2013 Z06.

To summarize,
9/22/13, 4 miles
Purchased one of the last 2013 Z06's from Tim Boone at Boardwalk Chevrolet. Great experience.

5/28/14, 2175 miles
Car spun rod bearings. Complete crate engine replacement which included basically everything that touched oil.

8/12/14, 2522 miles
Replaced passenger side carpet (for shrinking issue) and driver seat track (excess movement)

10/14/14, 2861 miles
Trans overheated. Replace complete transmission.

11/24/14, 3094 miles
Car spun rod bearings (again). Complete crate engine replacement which included basically everything that touched oil (again).

3/20/15, 3372 miles
Dropped off car at dealer for last time for GM buy back.

It is bitter sweet. I have wanted to Z06 for a long time now and driving that car home from Boardwalk Chevrolet was a dream come true. You still can't beat the performance for the money WHEN the car is running.

I have to give a couple of shout outs:
Service Manager, James Ryan from Felix Chevrolet in Downtown LA:
Never gave me any trouble with repairs. Just got the work done and I couldn't tell any of the times that major surgery was done on the car. Every clip, wire and clamp was put that exactly the way it was from the factory.

Amanda Simcox from GM Customer Quality / Repurchase Coordinator:
She was on top of it once the repurchase was approved. After i got her the documentation she needed, she had the repurchase letter to me within one day and made the process extremely fast and smooth.

Shame on GM / Chevrolet for not thoroughly testing this new bearing material before release into the production and also for giving me a second motor knowing it had the exact same issue.

Only because of the above 2 people, I would consider purchasing another GM/Chevrolet product in the future. For now, I just need a break from all this and see how the C7 Z06 handles the heat of the summer LA months.

Good luck to all you guys!

AZDANZ06

Sorry to hear about your issues, good luck with your C7 Z06.

2019 ZR1

I just had Chrysler buy back my 2014 Grand Cherokee SRT on Monday. It was a pain in the a$$ and took over 4 months but well worth the wait. I got all the money back that I put down and all the payments I made with interest. My wife and I just bought a 2015 Platinum Escalade. Of course my wife told me we should of got another Escalade in the first place. Lol Sorry you got a bad Z06 but now you can get a C7 Z06.

Dirty Howie

Same protocol for motors lost to head issues ...........


DH

capevettes

Sorry you had to endure all that. I can relate. I bought one of the first C6's released to the public back in 2004. It was a 2005 Z51, 6 speed. It was a problem car from day one. After many headaches and much persistence, GM bought the car back. It is a real headache to go through one of these buybacks. After that poor experience I bought an 06 Z06 and have had zero issues. In time, you will be back.

stefuel

Do ya still got snow on the ground down on the cape?
Just starting to see patches of grass in Marshfield.

reasonable suspicion

What problems did you have with the jeep? I'm planning on getting one if they put the hellcat in it.

capevettes

There are some patches of grass starting to show, but there is still plenty of snow around. The melt is on

AZDANZ06

Makes me glad to live in Arizona

stefuel

Well it's raining cat's and dogs here in eastern MA right now and at 50 degrees out the snow will be gone in no time

b4i4getit

GM is using the new bearing material in the LT1 and LT4 engines as well. So we may be seeing some rod bearing problems from these cars as well.

lucxy

When did GM stat using the new bearing metrial in the LS7? I spun a bearing in my 2009 Z09 and GM put new motor built in 2012. Put over 35K mile since and no problems yet. Does my motor have the new bearing material or older?

MyLS1Hauls

Believe it was MY 2011. I think there is more to the late model engines failing, than just the bearing material. If everything is working correctly, the bearings never touch the crankshaft journals. If it is touching, then there is more than likely a tolerance/clearance issue (or lack of oil flow). Have to wonder if there was poor machining, on the failed engines. Most of the failures have been covered under warranty, so unfortunately nobody can measure the components. Also, I believe they are using these new bearings in lots of engines. The LS7 and LT1 aren't the only engines they make, that go to Europe. It was the EU that required the removal of the lead, from the old style.

Vito.A

I remember reading that some of the initial batches of unleaded bearings had quality control issues from the vendor. Of course that has now been fixed.

Two engines with spun bearings it two to many!