Omigosh,

What is happening to my baby? From the outside youd swear its brand new. So pretty and loved. But problems are mounting and money is wearing thin I cant keep up. my 1998 standard coupe has some problems and everytime I fix something something else happens. I want to fix them all in one go but if I can avoid the dealership for as many as possible it would be great!

Does anyone have any suggestions? Below are all the problems some minor and I'm sure major. Maybe quick fixes or cheap ways?

Major problems:

1. Left fuel pump is humming and causing the fuel gauge to drop to empty on the highway (not all times). Humming is all the time
dealer cost to repair $900.. I'm sure theres a cheaper way?

2. Horrible knocking sound coming from the left rear tire area. It is the brake and I was told its not something I need to repair. Was told that the whole brake thing is moving just a little causing a horrible sound from the rear left tire area.

Minor problems hopefully

3. Reverse lights not working but the lights are still working for night etc just not reverse. Something simple a fuse replacement hopefully?

4. Left headlight sometimes will not go down. I have read of home repairs but also read of lots of problems after the repairs. Any recommendations?

5. Leather seat on corner is wearing from getting in and out. The mechanics that have worked on my car have done by far the worst damage to slowly open up the tiny hole. any home repair kit recommendations? Seat covers are ugly and wont help i think

6. AC keeps coming on even if it is set to manual. have to turn it off everytime I turn on the heat. Even if the last time I used the heat was at 80 it still turns on and has to be turned off.

7. AC/heat HUD is soo dim that I cant even hardly see it anymore. Simple replacement of something? I know about the dim setting button to the left of the steering wheel. Its set as high as possible. The radio HUD is so much brighter.

8. My keyless entry hasnt been working for a while now. I use the key to unlock my door. I have three keyless entries with three new batteries but no luck.. First started off as inconsistant and now doesnt work at all. Any advice? I'm almost 100 percent sure its not the actual keyless entry buttons. I have also tried to do the reset and reconfigure but its a problem beyond that.


I know i know sorry guys for so many questions but figured I could open up my own little post and get some advice!!! Thank you in advance

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for any advice!

 

I'll start by telling you that I doubt the fuel pump is causing the irratic gas gauge. The mostly likely culprit is cheap gas. Switch to a tier one gas and if it isn't Chevron then get a bottle of Techron and add it to the fuel tank. It may take several cans but I think eventually you'll see an improvement in the gauge problem.

The only other one I will address is a home remedy for the seat is cheaper but definitely uglier than replacing the covers. There are several reasonable alternatives.

I can't say which fuse it is but if I were you I'd begin by checking them all. You should be able to visually see if one is burned out. There are two fuse boxes. 1 underhood and one under the front of the pass side carpet.

The a/c display is a common problem. It has to be replaced. You can often find them on Ebay but I'm not sure I'd do that because you have no idea how long that one will last. I would check prices with Gene at Fred Beans.

Good Luck!

 

thanks! well I guess the dealers want me to think its a huge problem. I do know that the gas gauge dropping is a problem other vette owners have.

My left fuel pump is humming REALLY loud especially on a cold day. People in my car say "whats that?" The dealers say it can go anytime but I'm holding off until it goes lol. But is this just asking for trouble?

 

Just realize you might be stranded someday but that could happen anyway. The fuel pump is not cheap because as I understand they have to drop the rearend to get to the tank that it's in. I think you'll find that the noise is not unusal either, especially on older Vettes. Sounds like yours might be worse than most.

 

Actually most of what you have going on is minor stuff. If you're a little handy with tools you can knock some of this out yourself.

First off, stay away from the stealership. Most of them don't know chit about Corvettes because they don't repair enough of them and/or their techs can't troubleshoot anything. They'll just play hit and miss and charge you by the hour for doing it. You're better off doing it yourself.


Major problems:

1. Left fuel pump is humming and causing the fuel gauge to drop to empty on the highway (not all times). Humming is all the time
dealer cost to repair $900.. I'm sure theres a cheaper way?
This is pretty common on pre-1999 models and I wouldn't worry too much about it. My ex's '98 vert hummed all the time. Not worth spending the money on and fairly involved to replace which I wouldn't do unless it outright failed.
This is why it's sooo expensive to replace as it involves a lot of work...http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1015882

2. Horrible knocking sound coming from the left rear tire area. It is the brake and I was told its not something I need to repair. Was told that the whole brake thing is moving just a little causing a horrible sound from the rear left tire area.
Don't know what to tell you .re this one. You need to be a lot more specific about describing what this sound is. "Horrible sound" doesn't say much. Never heard of anyone having a knocking noise in that area. What is a "whole brake thing" and who told you that??

Minor problems hopefully

3. Reverse lights not working but the lights are still working for night etc just not reverse. Something simple a fuse replacement hopefully?
If it's not the fuse it's probably the switch on the tranny. Another common problem. The switch is located up high on the tranny on the passenger side. You'll need to raise the car to get to it for replacement.

4. Left headlight sometimes will not go down. I have read of home repairs but also read of lots of problems after the repairs. Any recommendations?
Read up on this thread. It's actually a fairly easy fix and not worth having a stealership repair. Your problem sounds like the chitty nylon gear has failed but not the motor. Replace it with a brass one (this is a pretty common problem)
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...r+making+noise

Here's another very good headlight/electrical repair thread you can get familiar with to get a little more insight on the issue. In fact this thread covers a multitude of common problems including the fuel pump
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=984927

And one more...http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/index.htm

5. Leather seat on corner is wearing from getting in and out. The mechanics that have worked on my car have done by far the worst damage to slowly open up the tiny hole. any home repair kit recommendations? Seat covers are ugly and wont help i think
Not much you can do as far as repairing the holes without it looking like crap. You apparently don't like seat covers but have you checked out something like the Wet Okoles?? Most Vette aftermarket companies sell them (Mid-America, Eckler's etc).
Here's a link...http://wetokole.net/Merchant2/mercha...Code=VETTESPEC
OR you can buy new leather skins and replace the whole cover. You could buy the new skins and have a local upholstery place do it or do it yourself. Here's a how-to to do the repair yourself and yeah, it's a little bit involved.
http://www.vetteessentials.com/instr...r_removal.html

6. AC keeps coming on even if it is set to manual. have to turn it off everytime I turn on the heat. Even if the last time I used the heat was at 80 it still turns on and has to be turned off.
This is probably just your method of operating it. The owner's manual pretty much covers it but many have trouble using the dual zone A/C. I leave mine in manual and select the vent position via the "mode" button. You can easily switch the A/C off by pressing the A/C button...however, if you're using the defroster the A/C will come on whether you like it or not in order to provide "dry" air to the windshield.

7. AC/heat HUD is soo dim that I cant even hardly see it anymore. Simple replacement of something? I know about the dim setting button to the left of the steering wheel. Its set as high as possible. The radio HUD is so much brighter.
The radio and dual zone display are not related and the displays are not tied together except through the dash light adjustment **** you speak of. Failure of the dual zone display is VERY common. You have four choices for the most part.
1. Put up with it. Generally a suck option
2. Install a new one for around $350 Here's a thread with part numbers...http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...7&forum_id=103
3. Pull it out and have it repaired. Here's a link to "MANDIGITAL" who does this and has gotten very good reviews on his work. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...2Fc&forum_id=1
4. Fix it yourself. Here's a link on how to do that but you should be good with a soldering iron http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...7&page=2&pp=20

Since the dim display is due to failure or loosening of the solder points, sometimes just sometimes, you can get some of the display back by rapping on the display a few times with your knuckle or whatever. It worked for me and restored the display enough to see until I had it repaired.

8. My keyless entry hasnt been working for a while now. I use the key to unlock my door. I have three keyless entries with three new batteries but no luck.. First started off as inconsistant and now doesnt work at all. Any advice? I'm almost 100 percent sure its not the actual keyless entry buttons. I have also tried to do the reset and reconfigure but its a problem beyond that.
Are these the steps you tried? If so and nothing worked then you'll need more help than I can offer. Maybe someone else has an idea.

Remote Entry Key FOB Instructions
Transmitter Programming Procedure One

1. Close all vehicle doors
2. Insert key into ignition lock cylinder
3. Press and hold the door unlock switch
a. While holding the door lock switch in the unlock position, cycle the ignition ON, OFF, ON, and OFF.
4. Release the door unlock switch. The doors will lock and unlock to confirm the program mode.

Transmitter Programming Procedure Two

1. Close all vehicle doors
2. Insert key into ignition lock cylinder
3. Press and hold both the LOCK button and the UNLOCK button simultaneously on one transmitter
a. After a delay of approximately 15 seconds, the doors will lock and unlock to confirm the programming of that transmitter.
4. Repeat the previous steps to program up to 4 transmitters.

• Turn the ignition switch to the RUN position in order to exit the keyless entry transmitter mode.
• Operate the transmitter functions in order to verify correct system operation.

Transmitter Programming Procedure Three

1. Turn the ignition switch on
2. Clear Driver Information Center (DIC) options until a blank screen is displayed
3. Hold the reset button until the FOB training is displayed
4. Press reset button again
5. Driver Information Center will display step by step instructions

You didn't mention having the two MOST common problems (yet) and those are the failure of the column lock and the failure of the oil pressure sensor. It won't be a question of "if" but rather "when"!! Get a CLB from Corvettes of Houston or Thunder Racing. There's a How-To for the oil pressure sensor in the C5 Tech Tips area.

Good Luck

 

Could not have said it better than the previous poster
a 97 or 98 vette's fuel pump will hum , mine does
it may sound louder to you because the pump is right behind the driver seat , and I doubt that this relates to the gauge falling off .
As far as your problems with the FOBs , If you have been following the FOB programming to a tee , I still think the prolem would be with the FOBs and not the car , very common problem , I have 3 myself , and only one that works , one is dead , and one if i program into the car , it will lock and unlock the doors constantly without touching any buttons , and unrelated to any passive feature either , so I've killed this one as well . Get yourself a new FOB from the dealer and program it into the car , it will fix your problem

 

Boy do I feel lucky....my 98 behaves like a champ.....

This forum is super. The advice/help offered is superb. up to the first aid responders in this thread.

 

Try this with your key fobs... it worked like a charm on my two "broken" fobs.

Pry the fobs open, remove the battery and remove the circuit board from the rubber housing. Take a cotton cloth and rub down the battery, battery contacts, two places on the circuit board where the contacts touch. Then bend the metal contact clips in the plastic housing up slightly to make a tighter fit for the battery when replaced.

Replace the battery and put everything back together the way you found it. And, if you're lucky like me both fobs can be resynched by holding the lock and unlock buttons for 8 seconds.
After this both fobs should work like new.

 

CAJUN99 THANKS!

SOLVED OR SEMI SOLVED:

AC/HEAT HUD: well funny enough i just tapped my ac/heat display and sure enough the silly little light got brighter. I did prior to that spend about an hour trying to get the plastic consol off so I could do the soldering trick but failed to even get the plastic consol off. Frustrated and upset i hit it with my knuckle and the light got brighter. I'm sure one da ill have to get in there and the big mystery of taking the plastic consol off will have to be revealed! (i did take the screws off all spots but couldnt get it off,, didnt want to put too much force in fear I would break something).

LEFT LIGHT PROBLEM; Im going to order the part and then work on that in time,, now that I know how to do it I'm more relaxed!!

LEATHER SEAT HOLE: still contemplating on this one. The taking the seat off brings up a possible scenario that I will take it off and not be able to put it back the same way it was after repair. I'M TOO SCARED!

LEFT FUEL PUMP: i guess ill just deal with the humming and fix it when it breaks. that way the new part will have more life on it verses me fixing it right now. Thx for the advice!

KEYLESS ENTRY: well i live right next to our cities largest antenna the CN tower. For some reason my keyless entry doesnt work in and around downtown that well but when im out of the city it works like a charm.. soo wierd. a dealership told me it is probably the cn tower..

UNSOLVED:

KNOCKING NOISE. well I drove around and noticed the knocking sound was definately coming from the brake. When i pressed and released the break it would make to my best analogy a knocking/crunch sound .. wow i suck i'm sorry guys lol. Someone said that it might be the brake slightly moving when i press on it. Excuse the laymen talk I'm very new to cars (fixing and repairing). So I dont know what to do with this and i'm scared of the "stealerships"

AC KEEPS COMING ON: i triple check that the defroster or window settings were off and manual was on. The air only goes to feet and face options. I even make sure the heat is up to 70 so the ac wont kick in (wouldnt if its on manual anyways) but it keeps doing it.. I just have to press it to turn it off.. guess more a pain then anything.. oh well..

FORGOT TO SAY THIS PROBLEM:
when i start my car randomly it will say pull key and wait 10 seconds. Now this happens about 25 percent of the time. I just pull the key wait 10 seconds and it starts fine. What is this problem about? I read a thread about it but the tech talk I didnt understand. any advice?

THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE AND CAJUN!

 

Quote, "FORGOT TO SAY THIS PROBLEM:
when i start my car randomly it will say pull key and wait 10 seconds. Now this happens about 25 percent of the time. I just pull the key wait 10 seconds and it starts fine. What is this problem about? I read a thread about it but the tech talk I didnt understand. any advice?"

This is the dreaded column lock. GM now removes it under warrenty for manual C5s. You should have gotten a recall on it. Take it in to the Dealer. It will let you sitting.

 

I'm glad some of that was useful for you.

Here's a pretty good link from Forum member Patches on a shifter install. Follow his steps and pics for the removal of the console plastics as these are the steps you'll have to do to remove the A/C head unit if you decide to have it repaired. Once you get the plastics off the head unit easily unbolts and comes right out.
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/pat...rInstall.shtml

As far as the "pull key wait 10 seconds" issue...it's probably one of two things.
Clean the pellets on your keys...sometimes when they get dirty the car has a difficult time reading the pellet. Also kind of get in the habit of letting the gauges sweep before cranking the car. Occaisonally if you just stick the key in and quickly turn it on the car can get "confused".

The other BIG problem that could be lurking soon with that error message is that your column lock is close to failing. There is tons of info on the Forum about this HUGE problem. Don't let it bite you...and don't let the stealership do the recall fix if you have a six-speed because it will NOT cure the issue. You'd be ok letting them do the recall fix if you have an automatic since they remove the lock plate.

Best thing you can do is get a Column Lock Bypass (CLB) from Corvettes of Houston or Thunder Racing. The CLB will eliminate this problem entirely and you won't find yourself stuck somewhere needing a flatbed tow to the stealership for repairs.

 

[QUOTE=mhdi22]Boy do I feel lucky....my 98 behaves like a champ.....

This forum is super. The advice/help offered is superb. up to the first aid responders in this thread.




I have the extended warranty on my 98 but cant find a reason to use it
(funny,poster did not mention his emergency brake dont work) . Yeah
I gotta fix that!

 

but i already did the recall lol and still does this. Heard maybe due to an aging battery?

 

thanks! well i did the recall AND i got a special letter from GM about if there were anymore problems they would cover the cost. IF ANY OF YOU HAVE NOT RECIEVED THIS LETTER LET ME KNOW I CAN EMAIL IT TO YOU.

It says : as the owner of a 1998 model year chev your satisfaction is important,,, blah blah,,,
the letter is intended to make you aware that some 1998 vettes may have a condition where the steering column lock fails to unlock the steering column when the vehicle is started. This sterring lock condition will cause a message to appear in the DIC display telling you to pull the key and wait 10 seconds. It will aslo shut off the fuel supply if you attempt to drive the vehicle while the steering column is locked.

THIS IS NOT A RECALL: do not take your vehicle to your chev dealer as a result of this letter unless you believe that your vehicle has the condition as decribed:

what we have done: gm is providing owners with additional protection in the event that the steering column fails to unlock when the vehicle is started. if this condition occcurs on your 98 vette, the condition will be reparied for you at NO CHARGE until feb 2008

What you should do: must be done by gm dealer ,, keep this letter,, blah blah

if you have any questions or need any assistance call GM customer service at 1800-630-2438..



WELLLLL i did this and gm stealership got their money im sure but didnt solve the problem. I dont like the fact the dealership is taking advantage of this situation but thats life. What bothers me most is that I wasted my time leaving my car there and having to get a rental while they did JACK ALL to my car... any suggestions?

 

Sounds like this could possibly be a warped rotor....

 

Great post Cajun - one of the most informative and helpful posts I've seen.

 

Good luck man; almost looks like you got a lemon vette - rare as they may be.........Everything in my Vette works perfectly, unless of course my parking brake......it doesn't work very well, been doing research on it, looks like it's either gonna be an easy adjustment; or I guess I may have to adjust the rear calipers? Not sure just yet..........It just started not working properly about a month ago. So now I have to leave it in gear & park it & turn it off everytime I need to get out real quick to do anything. If not, I notice it moving even though the e-brake is engaged, & the car is running of course, so I can't keep it in neutral to get out for a minute to do anything w/out worring about it slowly creeping downhill.........no biggie, but it is kind of a PITA.