This is a follow up from the breakdown that occured for me on Saturday - Shifter out of Alignment. 2006 Vert with a A6 Tranny. My Dealer towed the car in on Saturday and informed me of the problem Yesterday. It was a bad Shifter Control Cable - connects from the shifter mechanism to the Transmission for a A6. Dealer said they did not have one in stock so they needed to do a search throughout the US for GM Parts. Informed by the Dealer tonight that their are none in stock anywhere in the US. GM is out of them and backorder. I asked how long before you can get your hands on one - he could not answer me. The dealer is telling me they need to be made from the supplier for GM. The dealer is telling me alot of these cables are being replaced and that is why GM is out of them. Has anyone else had a shifter control cable go bad on a C6 for the A6 Transmission. Have not found any posts for that after a search

$60,000 car and GM does not even have enough basic parts in inventory in the event of a breakdown - anywhere in the US. My God

 

I feel your pain. I just received my '07 back after 10 days in the shop for a fuel sensing unit problem. I was issued a 4 cylinder GM product to drive during the wait...better than nothing. Good luck; GM is buying back a lot of these units as part of the "lemon law." 30 days in the shop, whether or not contiguious qualifies in California. My car has spent 14 days in the shop so far; and I've only owned it for 145 days.

On a more positve note, the warrenty is extended (in California) by the number of days your car is unavailable to you as a result of warranty work.

 

Thanks for sharing with me your issue - 10 days - uncalled for. Not sure what the Lemon Law is in California. I know if a problem cannot be fixed after 3 times that would qualify for a Lemon Law. If it takes over 30 days for a shifter control cable - maybe I will make them buy it back and get a 2007 just for the headache.

 

Have you been offered a rental? Request one, and use it if offered to keep things moving. If GM is paying for a rental, they will do their best to reduce costs (get your car repaired and you out of the rental).

I should note that although my previous post was in a negative tone...I doubt I'd envoke the "lemon law" even if future repairs will make my C6 unavailable to me for a total of 30 days. This car is FUN!!! I knew of the dependability issues upon purchace. That's why I bought a cheap Toyota PU as a backup for the expected down-times.

 

I hear what your saying - I am sure they will fix it as fast as they can and I love the car. Just sounding frustrated.

 

Rather than put up with your car being out of service, you might have your mechanic check here. Or check your local Yellow Pages for industrial controls. These cable assemblies are widely used in industry, and most towns of any size have a company that can custom make up on the spot any control cable you might need. Lots cheaper than the GM parts counter too.

 

, but there is no way either GM or the dealer will authorize some unapproved non-vendor to supply them with a control cable for one of their cars. If you want to buy it yourself and install it yourself (or pay someone else to do it), that's one thing. But, GM will never cover it.

I have a 2006 A6 coupe, no problems so far. I haven't heard about this new issue. Any info on why such a shortage? GM hasn't issued a recall or TSB on it, have they?

One final point - in fairness to GM (and it kills me to say this), but having a parts shortage is not limited to them. Have you ever owned a Porsche? Some other foreign car (even a vaunted Japanese or Korean one)? Let me tell you a story. I've owned several Porsches over the years. Wonderful cars. BUT, if you ever needed a part, even something as basic as a fuel filter, air filter, or, god forbid, an actual, real car part, you would wait WEEKS and WEEKS for it to "come in" from Germany. I even had them tell me they couldn't replace a LIGHT BULB because they needed to get one, and it was in Germany! My dealer always kept a large number of "rental" cars around because so many customers were being denied their $100K+ cars! Asian cars are the same way - my wife drives a 2004 Kia - decent enough car for her, but every time it needs a repair, it is always this - "We'll inspect it now and determine what's wrong. You'll have to come back for another appointment in 2-3 weeks to actually get the car repaired. If that doesn't work perfectly, then we'll have to repeat the process." In short, GM isn't the only one having these issues, folks.

Happy Vette-ing, All!

 

Great news today. My dealer contacted Bowling Green and they are shipping a new Shifter Control Cable to him overnight - this is a great corvette dealer.

Some of you were asking about the cable at hand. I understand Chevy had the old part # 10347393 - upgraded by a new supplier new part # 15888331. These cables were changed in 2006 sometime. I had a early 2006 production. To put everyone at ease - I am told if you have the existing cable do not be alarmed. Chevy had a new supplier making the cable because of a production change. The problem had to do with how it fits into the transmission. They feel this is a better upgrade fit to the transmission.

Not all chevy dealers are bad.

 

I noticed one of the wiper blades chattering on my C5, so I go to the dealer(one of the top 25 in Corvette sales) to purchase a pair of wiper blades. They did not have any in stock. He checked and there were none available from any GM parts warehouse. He had to order 8 pair directly from the supplier(not GM) to get the two I wanted. Took 2 weeks. Since I was in the mood to change wiper blades, I drove a block down the street to the Mercedes dealer, The parts girl reached over to a rack full of wiper blades and got what I asked for, on the spot, no waiting.

 

Could be worse, could be a GM vehicle built in another country. My 3 month old GTO sat for 22 days waiting for a new gas pedal sensor to come in. Then I waited 3 more months for a new rear differential to come to replace the whining one. Few months later, went to get an air filter, 2 weeks to wait for that to come in (but they did have wiper blades available). 2 weeks ago took it in for oil, inspection, and differential fluid change, and now I'm waiting for the differential fluid to come in. Not even an actual part, but just the fluid (and friction modifier)!!

 

I fail to see the point of JoesC5 post. So, a Mercedes dealer happened to have a couple of wiper blades in stock that just happened to fit your Vette? Good for them. Are you implying that we should all simply take our Vettes to a Mercedes dealer for repair? Imagine the repair costs then!

Facts are facts - every manufacturer runs out of stuff, and it's a pain in the a*s to get the parts. Even basic stuff can be in short supply. GM isn't alone in that regard. I bet if you took your McLaren into the Mercedes dealership and asked for something mechanical (say, a clutch plate or brake pads, etc.), their answer would be - "We'll have to order it from Germany. See you in a month."

 

I have a 06 c6 a6 f55 and the shifter selenoid was sticking and I could not get into or out of gear, almost rammed a car in service driveway at dealer. They had to order a complete shifting unit, I missed a trip to Big Bend Nat'l Park' and then when they installed it, the tech who installed it adjusted the linkage incorrectly and it chattered in park in Colorado. The tech was fired a month later, solved half the problem when he left, and other when I came back for readjustment. Dealer was looking at me somewhat funny for all my lemon Vette problems, like: trans cooling hoses, crank sensor, shifter, differential, stalling and hesitation, and top. He really listens to me now because he knows I'm a car techie and have been calling correct shots. We have a very, very good in depth theory discussions at times, he respects and listens to me, which I'm glad. I feel sorry for the non-techies who have problems. I have even been told by other Vette owners to get rid of "that thing", I even have considered in getting a prancing horse. GM sucks when it comes to parts and service; hopefully, they will get their act together, they need it!