I attended a steak fry for Forum members in St Charles, IL Saturday night (great job Bigfish!). I met a member who had 2 1965's and was looking to purchase a C4 vert for his wife to drive.
He was concerned because everything is controlled electronically and by computer chips. He knows how to work on the older cars but is worried that he will not be able to fix a C4.
The problem is that the Corvette mags have these troubleshooting columns every month that makes it look like C4s are constantly having serious malfunctions that baffle the owners and professional mechanics.
I tried to explain to him that reading these articles presents a scewed view of our cars. The many owners who do not have any problems are never heard from in these mags.
So - who owns a C4 with absolutely no problems? What year and how many miles?
Mine is an 87 vert. I only have 2 issues. The turn signal sometimes will not cancel after a turn and the electronic AC display doesn't always work (the AC works fine). I caused the turn signal problem myself when I did something wrong installing a new ignition switch. I have tried cleaning the connectors on the AC control with no luck. I did find last weekend that Jason at Vette2Vette can have mine fixed/rebuilt for $150.

 

89 Coupe, 124k miles. Everything except the rear hatch worked fine. Door locks finally got a bit sticky, no big deal. I don't think these cars are all that troublesome; The problem ones seem to be the cars that have passed throuh a zillion hands and have had the wiring hacked into already.

 

i have 71k miles on mine.

only 2 things that aren't up to snuff:
- faulty rear defog timer relay.....cost me $10 and will replace it momentarily.

- faulty ltpws sensor.....will most likely rid myself of these and pull the 2 DIC bulbs associated with this utterly useless system.

 

95 95k....bad vats so the pke doesnt work

85 64k....cruise doesnr work

 

95 95k, bad vats so the pke doesnt work.....

85 64k cruise doesnt work

 

1995 Torch Red Convertible - 53K miles - everything works fine and trouble free.

 

abs light on, haven't got around to tracing the problem (sensors, module, etc?) 58,880 miles.

 

90 52k or therabouts havent looked lately, for fear of the jinx factor, right now everything is working. Bought the car w/broke ant. and old rubber, needed a couple of weatherstrips. Right now I still have to buy a couple of other things so as to complete the upper end exhaust ***.thats probably were the fun will begin

 

I only have one problem and that is the INF SYSTEM light.

I have completed the procedure and reset but this did not clear it up so off to the dealer it goes. Other than that it has 143,000 and still running strong.

 

'88 Vert everything except the brakes work fine....

Seems that my right foot just can't seem to find the brake pedal.... it's too occupied witht he accelerator and my CPU doesn't seem to be able to manage the confilict or override it...

 

94K miles on mine and everything works good. Everything worked when I bought the car though it needed some TLC. Sometimes I wish I had an older car that was easier to work on and had less parts, but I really like the car that I have.

 

1985: 74K miles...

lets see:

Code 43, need to recharge A/C, seat pumps run but don't inflate, and the gas gauge is stuck on half tank...

other then that... It's good.

I'm not sure if thats a lot to fix, or just a little, but it's a helluva lot better then it was, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel methinks.

 

for the most part he is right. as much as computers have aided and helped cars, (and the world) perform much better, they just plain suck. not just corvettes, but all new cars suffer from this. it is just the way of the world.

just can't fix things with a wrench, hammer, and screwdriver anymore.

 

Eerything works! I always fix it when it breaks.

Knock-on-wood.......

 

Everything but the seatbelt light works fine on my 90.

One of these days, I'll trace the schematic and find out where the open circuit is, but I'm pretty sure its nothing chip related.

 

i have a 95 red on red and have no problems except the sys is on due to the aftermarket radio.

 

I have had a couple issues with mine, but everything has been minor. I bought a Haynes manual for mine (which is a damn good door stop I might add) and I've seen a Helms manual (which I should have bought and will very soon).

I'd venture to say that the drive train and structural integrity of our cars are top notch, but the technology is so innovative that there will be some glitches that develop over time. With the proper manuals and willingness to learn, there isn't anything that can't be overcome with ease.

 

92 vert w/79k everything works fine.(i am the 3rd owner)
SAVE THE WAVE

 

Everything but the PKE on my '96 with 65k. The LTPWS light was flashing on and off but I pulled the damn bulb because it was annoying me. The manual says the light will come on and off in stop and go traffic and can be shut off by a dealer but I figured pulling the bulb was cheaper. I was checking bulbs anyway when I looked to see if the PKE bulb was good.

 

Too long to list, but I've probably paid for my '89 at least twice. The big ticket item was 6 grand for custom paint - quite a bit was replaced under warranty (3 or 4 ECMS, maybe a MAF or two and all the leather). Car is perfect except for the occassional LTPWS light - somewhat flaky on the '89 and a really bad case of alternator whine from the right front speaker, but I never listen to the radio anyway. Car has 58K.

PS - real easy to work on - get a scanner and a shop manual and if you don't have a clue about computer controlled engines, consider taking a course through adult ed - principles across all car lines are pretty much the same with the newer providing better diagnostics.