Car dealer took alook at my 2003 Vette and detemined that it is the fuel pump making a high pitched noise and said that they don't change the pumps just because of a noise problem. I will be calling GM to see what their policy is. This noise is more annoying than the 6 speed trans when taking off.Does anyone have any thoughts on this? LT

 

I think that it is the nature of the beast.
Mine make some noise, but it's not really that bad.
Keep us posted.

 

Mine seems to make more noise in cold weather. It comes and goes but never has it been overly loud.

 

Replace the fuel filter it may be plugged causing unnecessary backpressure on the fuel pump - you never know.

 

The only thing that bothers me here is that GM got rid of the noisy fuel pumps in 1998, literally. I had a '97 and the high pitched whine from behind the seat was a staple during that time. My car still had it (and the original fuel pump ) at 59,000 when I traded her in. The noise is not symptomatic, nor indicative of a problem, just irritating. I've never heard of this on a 2003. Make sure that they are not treating you like they would a 1997 owner. There was a TSB issued back then and they would replace a pump under warranty.

Paul

 

My 2004 had the same problem ......dealer replaced it under warantee when I complained


DH

 

Do you know which fuel system your 2003 has? I don't know that the following information will help you any in your discussions with GM, but I thought you might want to be aware of the following and know which fuel system your car has.

Partway through model year 2003 (starting with 2003 VIN 35114929 produced on 11/25/02, so I've read), GM totally redesigned the C5 fuel system. For 2003 Corvettes only, this system was designated by RPO code FFS, which can be found on the car's Service Parts Identification (RPO) Label. However, the name "FFS" has been unofficially applied to all vehicles with the new system.

In addition to meeting future LEV 2 emission requirements, part of the reason for the system redesign was to include more isolation and noise control for the electric fuel pump. Our car has the new system and so far we haven't noticed any noise from its fuel pump.

In the new FFS fuel system, the fuel pump and reservoir assembly, the fuel pump strainer, the primary fuel pressure regulator, the fuel filter and fuel level sensor are all part of the left fuel sender assembly inside the left fuel tank. Unlike the fuel senders on the older, non-FFS system that mounted from the rear side of the tanks, the left and right fuel sender assemblies on the new FFS system mount from the top of the tank. And, in order to replace the FFS fuel senders, the tanks must be dropped. Too, in order to drop the tanks, parts of the exhaust have to be removed and the driveline may need to be lowered. Although GM does say once you gain some experience that you may be able to drop the tanks without lowering the driveline. If your car has the FFS system, this might possibly be part of the reason for the dealer's "brush off" and his not wanting to do the work under warranty where he doesn't get paid as much.

You can read more about the redesigned FFS fuel system at the following link:

2003 - 2004: Service Information: Fuel Tank System Corvette and Cadillac XLR

HTH and good luck with your discussions with GM.

 

 

Not quite so easily done if his 2003 has the redesigned FFS fuel system. In the redesigned FFS system, the fuel filter was moved inside the left fuel tank as part of the left fuel sender assembly which also includes the fuel pump. For the FFS fuel system, the GM Service Manual calls for the replacement of the entire left sender assembly and not just the filter. See my reply above for more details.