03sixspeed

I have not had my 2003 coupe out of the garage much this spring but when I took it out in May I thought I saw some spots next to the Corvette emblem looking like bubbles under the paint, The car is under warrenty until July 9, 2009. I took the car out yesterday and it looks like it has got worse. I will take it to the dealer Monday and see what they have to say. I did find a tsb on this problem and doing a search here on the forum I see that others have had this problem. Can anyone tell me if their problems were fixed or did they have to fight for a resolution with GM.

03sixspeed

Took the car to the dealer today and they will be checking with Chevrolet to see if it will be fixed. I will keep you guys posted. Has anyone else had theirs repaired yet.

TarHeelDan2001

Another thread on this recently, including a link to the TSB.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...t-failure.html

loose nut

I will be curious to see if GM covers your repairs . My 02 has the same problem and my local dealer tried to hash it out with GM for me . My car had 18k miles on it and GM denied my claim. I make a habit of looking at all 99 and newer c5 coupes now and I have spotted this on about 80% of the cars that I look at. It is usually hard to spot in the sun but when you pull it in under florescent lighting it looks real bad. I guess what I am trying to say is that you are not alone. I cannot believe this is not a major topic , I know that I am very upset about it. The thing that bothers me is if it is replaced can we trust that GM has corrected the problem or are they still selling off the defective panels in their stock, and will the same issue come back in 3 or 4 years

03sixspeed

I am taking the car back tothe dealer on Wednesday to have them check for a bad wheel bearing while the extended warranty is still good. I hope they will have some info on the hatch. The GM rep I spoke to on Monday said that it should fall under their 72 month/100,000 mile panel warranty but the dealer says that is for panel rust through. So I told them well since Corvettes are made of fiberglass I guess I am screwed. He said it looks like that might be the case. I guess the best thing we can all do is call GM and complain. It is a joke that we may all have to shell out a couple of grand to keep our cars looking good. This is nothing but poor material quality and they should stand behind it.

loose nut

Please let everyone know if GM takes some responsibility for this. It took GM a week to get back with me and tell me that they wont cover it. My dealer acted suprised. If a few claims get approved it will make it easier for the rest of us to build a case.

EStreeter

Sounds like "class-action" time!

I have noticed the same thing starting on my 03. Seems worse when its hot out. Early in the morning when its in the garage it is hardly noticeable if at all.

I have a beemer for which the model year was having some wide spread suspension issues where the rear ends were pulling out of the frames. I just got a letter for a class action settlement advising me to take the car to a dealer for inspection and repair at no charge to me.

I think there are enough of us out there with this hatch problem and enough GM denials for service under warranty - especially with a TSB out there that there would be a good case.

Anybody interested in going for it?

03sixspeed

I am interested in doing whatever it takes to make GM fix this. How do we get started with a class action.

motogib1

I have this problem myself. With GM in their current state and being their future being directed by the "car Czar", good luck getting it fixed by them. I consider it minor. My car generally looks excellent and is quick as hell so I choose to ignore it. Many more important pressing items out there.

Choreo

I had the same problem appear literally overnight on my black 2001 after about 5 years.

The warranty would not cover it, but my Service Manager did get GM to cover the full cost of the repair because:

(1) I had purchased several new Corvettes over the years (repeat customer)
(2) Had the Extended GMPP
(3) I was the original owner of the vehicle (bought it new from GM)
(4) Had few other claims
(5) Maintained the car in pristine condition

It was in the shop about 2-1/2 weeks.

Requires removing hatch, removing glass from hatch, painting both sides of new hatch, reinstalling hatch and reinstalling glass (then it has to sit still for about 3 days while the glass sealant sets up - not like a windshield). The problem cannot just be repaired on the car - requires whole new panel.

03sixspeed

Thanks for the reply, I hope when I speak to GM on Monday I can get some answers. My car is like yours. Bought it new and had GMPP on it. I also own nothing but GM cars & trucks.

loose nut

03SIXSPEED, Have you had any luck with GM?

03sixspeed

The dealer called me last Friday to verify my miles on the car and said he was talking with GM about the repair. I will give him a call Tuesday to see what the heck they are doing about this. I will not let this go. Any other cars that have this problem should be brought to GM's attention. The more poeple who speak up the more likely something will be done.

03sixspeed

To anyone following the rear hatch delamination problem. I spoke to GM rep today, it sounds like they may repair the problem. When they called they wanted the miles on the car and went into if it was purchased new and how many GM roducts I have owned over the years. I guess they are looking at loyalty to the brand. I will keep everyone posted.

03sixspeed

GM called today to say that they may not cover this. I told them that there is no way I will let this slide. They had told me when I first took the car in that GM gives a 72 month panel warranty on rust thru. Well since corvettes are fiberglass we dont get a panel warranty. There is no way a car with 14000 miles should look like this. How do we get a class action started to make GM take care of this.

Choreo

I agree, its a tough issue. Obviously, this should not be happening, but by the same token when I first approached the dealer on this, I figured I had about a 5% chance of getting a "cosmetic" issue solved under warranty since I knew that they were very specific about using the word "rust" in their coverage (which basically means plastic panels not really covered). This does not look much worse than my 1972 Corvette body seams the day I picked the car up in 1972 and they would not cover the cost of fixing those on day one!

It would be interesting to see just how many people have actually had this problem appear on the C5, what "colors" of paint were affected, but apparently since the problem spans over several years, it looks like it is something in the panel bonding agent that leaches through to the surface over time and may very well ultimately affect all C5s? It seems like most of the posts I have seen on this had the problem present itself after 5-6 years - first few years all was fine? They probably could not improve this on later models since it was not really showing up until the end of the C5 run?

As far as class action, may have to get in line behind the EBCMs, delaminating targas, delaminating door panels and sticking fuel tank senders!

AU N EGL

Orange peal paint?

My yellow 03 coupe did not have problems.

Class actions? only lawyers make money on those.

03sixspeed

Thanks for the info on your hatch problem. The fact that GM put out a TSB on this problem means to me that they know there was a defect. Then they should take care off said defect. As I explained to the guy at GM I do not expect them to fix problems on parts that wear out normally. But this is a panel that should last for many years. I mean don't you think they should know how to make fiberglass after 50 years of practice.