Just read this - RIP
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,275
Likes: 6
From: Lake Oswego, Near Portland Oregon
Sounds like a potential malfunction of the Active Handling system to me. Just imagine having a rear brake apply itself for no good reason ....pulling you right over into whatever roadside obstruction happens to be in the way. The fact that the guy was pulled over to the side of the road a few minutes before clues me into the potential that some system was malfunctioning and he was trying to get it to reset. We will likely be seeing more and more of these mystery crashes as the mounting clip that holds the accelerometer for Yaw, Pitch, and Roll fatigues and the sensor tips. Once this happens the active handling goes nuts. Unlike ABS systems that let off brakes to prevent wheel lockup, Active Handling works by allowing a computer to APPLY brakes to one side or the other. It does NOT require that you be applying the brakes yourself, it doed it all on its own. I will NEVER have a C5 with Active Handling installed. Working in technology, I know too darn much about systems failure and dont want an electronic failure mode in a car to set up a potential for killing me. It is also possible that the steering column locked up. This is another BIG problem in all C5s, resulting in several aftermarket products designed to reduce the risk of the column locking all its own at some ransom time. After several recalls dealing with software instructions, and even a wire harness plug0in similar to the aftermarket products, GM and the Feds have finally come up with a recall that totally removes the lockplate, so that no matter what the locking servo does or does not do, it is IMPOSSIBLE for that steering column to lock. If you don't have the recall, please PM me with a functional email adddress and I will send you a PDF attachment of the Officail GM instructions for performing the recall service. You can bring ot to any GM dealer and they must do the repair/modification at no cost to you. They have done a lousy job of contacting C5 owners of this recall....I have been a registered owner for over 2 years, and a customer of the parts department at a local Chevy dealer, and even though I am in the system, I never got the notice, None of the C5 owners in our Corvette club got the notice either, even the GM employees!
Remember, the same guys that brought us the column lock that the Federal Government has now mandaded a removal of, are the guys that brought us Active Handling. They can't get a friggen simple column lock servo to work, how in the heck can they expect an automated brake activation system to work perfectly forever????.....
This poor guy is dead,
and his car is splattered, 
so there is likely no way to determine if the Active Handling activated or not [ if it is installed in the vehicle ] , , if the Active Handling G sensor mount had failed [ again, if the sysem is fitted] , or the steering column locked up........Time for a really good forensic engineer to get involved. If I was GM, I would do a recall and remove every active handling system ever installed. This kind of wreck is likely to start showing up more and more often as our cars get older and things go haywire, especially the things that take over control of brakes and steering.
I love these cars......The C5 is a great package, good looks, great handling, power, etc, but it comes with a few weak points, actually potential disaster points. We must not stick our hreads in the sand about the weak points, but rather seek information and data about system failures, and eventually hold GM resposible for making sure our cars remain safe.
Of course, some crashes are driver error, or driver intent, and are not a reflection of any system failure. What concerns me are the system failures that can or do reslult in loss of safety.
I am half expecting that one of these days. some GM lawyers will come calling to shut me up over what I have to say about these defective systems, They might even ask the various forum adminisrators to cut my access. If this ever does happen, I'l try to let you know somehow. They HAVE visited people for posting certain photos of non-public unreleased prototypes that were taken from GM websites, and made life pretty miserable for the offender, But that involved clear cut violation of copyright law. I would hope that discussion of technical flaws would fall under Federal Protection as a First Ammendemnt Right to free speech. I mean no slander, just awareness and knowledge of potential technical flaws that may cause severe damage, and the seeking of solutions or remedies to those flaws.
Drive safe!
Remember, the same guys that brought us the column lock that the Federal Government has now mandaded a removal of, are the guys that brought us Active Handling. They can't get a friggen simple column lock servo to work, how in the heck can they expect an automated brake activation system to work perfectly forever????.....
This poor guy is dead,
and his car is splattered, so there is likely no way to determine if the Active Handling activated or not [ if it is installed in the vehicle ] , , if the Active Handling G sensor mount had failed [ again, if the sysem is fitted] , or the steering column locked up........Time for a really good forensic engineer to get involved. If I was GM, I would do a recall and remove every active handling system ever installed. This kind of wreck is likely to start showing up more and more often as our cars get older and things go haywire, especially the things that take over control of brakes and steering. I love these cars......The C5 is a great package, good looks, great handling, power, etc, but it comes with a few weak points, actually potential disaster points. We must not stick our hreads in the sand about the weak points, but rather seek information and data about system failures, and eventually hold GM resposible for making sure our cars remain safe.
Of course, some crashes are driver error, or driver intent, and are not a reflection of any system failure. What concerns me are the system failures that can or do reslult in loss of safety.
I am half expecting that one of these days. some GM lawyers will come calling to shut me up over what I have to say about these defective systems, They might even ask the various forum adminisrators to cut my access. If this ever does happen, I'l try to let you know somehow. They HAVE visited people for posting certain photos of non-public unreleased prototypes that were taken from GM websites, and made life pretty miserable for the offender, But that involved clear cut violation of copyright law. I would hope that discussion of technical flaws would fall under Federal Protection as a First Ammendemnt Right to free speech. I mean no slander, just awareness and knowledge of potential technical flaws that may cause severe damage, and the seeking of solutions or remedies to those flaws.
Drive safe!
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,545
Likes: 17
From: Bartlett Tennessee
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 11,556
Likes: 52
From: SoCal Twin Turbo, Any Questions?
St. Jude Donor '06-'07
hey fiberglassfan, what do you do for a living? i read your post with great interest, and im glad i don't have active handling... Im a mechanical engineering major so this kind of stuff interests me
Well thought out well written post, too bad it was brought out my such a sad occurence
Well thought out well written post, too bad it was brought out my such a sad occurence
Racer
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 302
Likes: 0
From: Birmingham AL
Good points...
Sounds like a potential malfunction of the Active Handling system to me. Just imagine having a rear brake apply itself for no good reason ....pulling you right over into whatever roadside obstruction happens to be in the way. The fact that the guy was pulled over to the side of the road a few minutes before clues me into the potential that some system was malfunctioning and he was trying to get it to reset. We will likely be seeing more and more of these mystery crashes as the mounting clip that holds the accelerometer for Yaw, Pitch, and Roll fatigues and the sensor tips. Once this happens the active handling goes nuts. Unlike ABS systems that let off brakes to prevent wheel lockup, Active Handling works by allowing a computer to APPLY brakes to one side or the other. It does NOT require that you be applying the brakes yourself, it doed it all on its own. I will NEVER have a C5 with Active Handling installed. Working in technology, I know too darn much about systems failure and dont want an electronic failure mode in a car to set up a potential for killing me. It is also possible that the steering column locked up. This is another BIG problem in all C5s, resulting in several aftermarket products designed to reduce the risk of the column locking all its own at some ransom time. After several recalls dealing with software instructions, and even a wire harness plug0in similar to the aftermarket products, GM and the Feds have finally come up with a recall that totally removes the lockplate, so that no matter what the locking servo does or does not do, it is IMPOSSIBLE for that steering column to lock. If you don't have the recall, please PM me with a functional email adddress and I will send you a PDF attachment of the Officail GM instructions for performing the recall service. You can bring ot to any GM dealer and they must do the repair/modification at no cost to you. They have done a lousy job of contacting C5 owners of this recall....I have been a registered owner for over 2 years, and a customer of the parts department at a local Chevy dealer, and even though I am in the system, I never got the notice, None of the C5 owners in our Corvette club got the notice either, even the GM employees!
Remember, the same guys that brought us the column lock that the Federal Government has now mandaded a removal of, are the guys that brought us Active Handling. They can't get a friggen simple column lock servo to work, how in the heck can they expect an automated brake activation system to work perfectly forever????.....
This poor guy is dead, and his car is splattered, so there is likely no way to determine if the Active Handling activated or not [ if it is installed in the vehicle ] , , if the Active Handling G sensor mount had failed [ again, if the sysem is fitted] , or the steering column locked up........Time for a really good forensic engineer to get involved. If I was GM, I would do a recall and remove every active handling system ever installed. This kind of wreck is likely to start showing up more and more often as our cars get older and things go haywire, especially the things that take over control of brakes and steering.
I love these cars......The C5 is a great package, good looks, great handling, power, etc, but it comes with a few weak points, actually potential disaster points. We must not stick our hreads in the sand about the weak points, but rather seek information and data about system failures, and eventually hold GM resposible for making sure our cars remain safe.
Of course, some crashes are driver error, or driver intent, and are not a reflection of any system failure. What concerns me are the system failures that can or do reslult in loss of safety.
I am half expecting that one of these days. some GM lawyers will come calling to shut me up over what I have to say about these defective systems, They might even ask the various forum adminisrators to cut my access. If this ever does happen, I'l try to let you know somehow. They HAVE visited people for posting certain photos of non-public unreleased prototypes that were taken from GM websites, and made life pretty miserable for the offender, But that involved clear cut violation of copyright law. I would hope that discussion of technical flaws would fall under Federal Protection as a First Ammendemnt Right to free speech. I mean no slander, just awareness and knowledge of potential technical flaws that may cause severe damage, and the seeking of solutions or remedies to those flaws.
Drive safe!
Remember, the same guys that brought us the column lock that the Federal Government has now mandaded a removal of, are the guys that brought us Active Handling. They can't get a friggen simple column lock servo to work, how in the heck can they expect an automated brake activation system to work perfectly forever????.....
This poor guy is dead,
and his car is splattered, so there is likely no way to determine if the Active Handling activated or not [ if it is installed in the vehicle ] , , if the Active Handling G sensor mount had failed [ again, if the sysem is fitted] , or the steering column locked up........Time for a really good forensic engineer to get involved. If I was GM, I would do a recall and remove every active handling system ever installed. This kind of wreck is likely to start showing up more and more often as our cars get older and things go haywire, especially the things that take over control of brakes and steering. I love these cars......The C5 is a great package, good looks, great handling, power, etc, but it comes with a few weak points, actually potential disaster points. We must not stick our hreads in the sand about the weak points, but rather seek information and data about system failures, and eventually hold GM resposible for making sure our cars remain safe.
Of course, some crashes are driver error, or driver intent, and are not a reflection of any system failure. What concerns me are the system failures that can or do reslult in loss of safety.
I am half expecting that one of these days. some GM lawyers will come calling to shut me up over what I have to say about these defective systems, They might even ask the various forum adminisrators to cut my access. If this ever does happen, I'l try to let you know somehow. They HAVE visited people for posting certain photos of non-public unreleased prototypes that were taken from GM websites, and made life pretty miserable for the offender, But that involved clear cut violation of copyright law. I would hope that discussion of technical flaws would fall under Federal Protection as a First Ammendemnt Right to free speech. I mean no slander, just awareness and knowledge of potential technical flaws that may cause severe damage, and the seeking of solutions or remedies to those flaws.
Drive safe!
1. driver had stopped half mile back? Why? Answer this and the rest will likely fall into place. Heart pains? Active Handling foul up? DIC message? Wife said goodbye? Lost/losing job and/or benefits? Recent doctor visit with bad news?
2. debris covered 50 feet? I am not an engineer...but, how fast would he have to have been going to get that result? Fast, moderate or slow? He hit an immovable object. So, Newton's Laws did apply.
My heart goes out to the family who may never know. But, if the culprit was the car...I'd want to know that if I were them.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 162
Likes: 0
From: Sacramento ca
My friend from highschool died and his girlfriend critically injured on that same road (I grew up in Sayville) around the same time of year. It has been freezing cold on Long Island this week. In the 12 degree area. It is a very thin 1 lane in each direction road with lots of black ice. So sorry to hear this. My prayers to his family.