Corvette Reliability Way Below Average?
CF Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,313
Likes: 25
From: Tucson Arizona
All cars have 'issues' and Corvette is no exception. It's of interest to note that some car makers supposedly known for producing the most reliable cars suffered the most recalls over the past year or two. Even Mercedes experienced quality issues and is making efforts to rebuild their tarnished image.
My 2005 C6 has been extremely reliable and trouble-free. What few problems I've had have been quite minor. My 2005 has been great!
My 2005 C6 has been extremely reliable and trouble-free. What few problems I've had have been quite minor. My 2005 has been great!
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,762
Likes: 2
I have had a few problems, some of which were addressed above. I have a 2006 Coupe A6 and it has been in the shop: 3 times for a dead battery which they finally replaced; 3 times for active handling light issues - I'm still not certain that's fixed for good; 3 times for the painted roof - finally replaced; clutch pack issue; 2 times for engine drag light - no clue what's causing this; rear window defog inop; memory seat inop; ash tray cover replaced; transparent top noise. So far that's it.
Wow, that's a lot of 3x fixes. I would have said look if you can't fix the battery problem after 3 attempts either replace the darn thing or lemon law my car, period.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
From: Cloverdale Indiana
I have an 07 coupe auto with 22,000 +.It was one year old Aug.3. The only problem I have had is the seat has showen wear where I get in.
That has been taken care of ,NO CHARGE. I have had no other problems. I now watch how I get in.
I would rate this car very high,and I would buy another.I think that this car is the greatest.
By the way, did I say that I love my car?
That has been taken care of ,NO CHARGE. I have had no other problems. I now watch how I get in.
I would rate this car very high,and I would buy another.I think that this car is the greatest.
By the way, did I say that I love my car?
Last edited by FirstVette@63; Sep 19, 2007 at 05:48 PM.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 383
Likes: 15
From: CA
I'll Never Buy the First Year Again
My 2005 has has its share of problems. At 100 miles, the serpentine belt began shredding. Then the DBS came to the surface a few days later, and continued with numerous dead batteries until I installed a Priority Start (sure, I had the re flash and another dead battery within a week). The roof recall and finally the "Service Active Handling" message in the DIC that was fixed by GM using a zip-tie to keep the connector together. That's why I'll never buy another first production year. The same would hold true for the new Camaro. I will wait around three years so the problems are all worked out. You 2008 guys are the smart ones.
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Instructor
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 222
Likes: 1
The problem is that Consumer Reports is a liberal publication that openly argues for social change and is a clear advocate of policies that they believe the masses should adhere to. They desire to educate us to their collectivist way of thinking so we may make the correct lifestyle choices. The do not seem to hide this.
All that considered it would be OK to use them for a bicycle or consumable but not for what they perceive to be a large sports car and "guzzler" of gas. They will never like the Corvette.
I read it at the library for the toaster thing and skip the auto stuff. They can whistle Dixie for my subscription dollars.
All that considered it would be OK to use them for a bicycle or consumable but not for what they perceive to be a large sports car and "guzzler" of gas. They will never like the Corvette.
I read it at the library for the toaster thing and skip the auto stuff. They can whistle Dixie for my subscription dollars.
CF Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,262
Likes: 21
From: Palm City Florida
If you read this forum regularly, you'll note that there are a number of chronic problems with the Corvette. Most of them aren't disabling, but a few are. Those mainly center around the keyless ignition system and rapid battery discharge issues. 2005s had the most problems. Roofs delaminated and blew off, harmonic dampers unscrewed, column lock problems, shift to reverse problems, so-called DBS, etc. The 2006 got rid of the column lock and the requirement to shift into reverse at shutdown. That got rid of a lot of problems. Chevy put a bandaid washer on the harmonic damper which reduced the incidence of balancers unscrewing (actually keying the damper, as was done in 80,000,000 previous generation small blocks, would have fixed the problem completely, but they didn't do that). Halfway through the 2006 model year, Chevy changed the top material and seems to have solved the top delamination problem. A couple of software updates seem to have gotten rid of most of the DBS complaints. 2007 and 2008 cars seem better with these problems already remedied. But other problems are showing up, such as the recent spate of loose axle nuts, rocking seats are making an appearance as the older C6s gather more miles, etc.
The normal Corvette problems of squeaks, rattles, positraction clutch chatter, etc are still with us of course. The C6 also has a hydraulic clutch issue. The design with a totally enclosed slave causes the fluid to run very hot and deteriorate. That's a design fault which plagues all manual C6s.
Of course we have to remember that forums disproportionately talk about problems. Owners of cars which have no problems aren't nearly as vocal as the owners of cars who do have problems. So that can give a false impression that all Corvettes have serious issues. Some do, many don't.
Consumer Reports suffers a similar problem in that they depend on surveys of their membership to determine auto reliability. Those who have problems are a lot more motivated to return surveys than those who have no problems. So the absolute problem numbers are suspect. Still, the same holds for other car makes they survey, so the relative rankings should be mostly valid. But because the number of Consumer Reports members who own Corvettes is relatively small compared to the number who own Camrys, for example, they may not be a statistically valid representation of Corvette reliability rankings.
The normal Corvette problems of squeaks, rattles, positraction clutch chatter, etc are still with us of course. The C6 also has a hydraulic clutch issue. The design with a totally enclosed slave causes the fluid to run very hot and deteriorate. That's a design fault which plagues all manual C6s.
Of course we have to remember that forums disproportionately talk about problems. Owners of cars which have no problems aren't nearly as vocal as the owners of cars who do have problems. So that can give a false impression that all Corvettes have serious issues. Some do, many don't.
Consumer Reports suffers a similar problem in that they depend on surveys of their membership to determine auto reliability. Those who have problems are a lot more motivated to return surveys than those who have no problems. So the absolute problem numbers are suspect. Still, the same holds for other car makes they survey, so the relative rankings should be mostly valid. But because the number of Consumer Reports members who own Corvettes is relatively small compared to the number who own Camrys, for example, they may not be a statistically valid representation of Corvette reliability rankings.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 856
Likes: 1
From: Bovina New York "WOOF"
St. Jude Donor '08
Face it..Corvettes are machines made by machines and programmed by man, they are bound to be problematic to a degree as with everything else....we just hope that the problems are held to a minimum and GM stands behind their product when the problems do happen.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 419
Likes: 0
From: Port Orange Florida
No Way
The latest annual Consumer Guide issue rates new Vettes (not 08's) "Way Below Average"
Has your C6 had its share of problems or is this "Consumer Guide Hype"??
From what I've been reading on the forum, the 08's have their share of quality control issues also.
Thoughts/comments??
Has your C6 had its share of problems or is this "Consumer Guide Hype"??
From what I've been reading on the forum, the 08's have their share of quality control issues also.
Thoughts/comments??
Pro
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
From: Venice Florida
I bought a C5 03 new and drove it 150,000 miles on 4 sets of tires, 1 tune and 1 brake job absolutely no other problems except a burnt out left turn signal. I now have a C6 Z51 I drive everyday no problems yet except a squeaky roof the dealer took care of right away.
Just this month I will have driven it 3,000 miles.
If you buy one and park it you will have problems. Just ask the mechanics that work on a 5 year old car with 2,000 miles.
I never will understand why someone buys a car like this to put in the garage but each to their own as they say.
Just this month I will have driven it 3,000 miles.
If you buy one and park it you will have problems. Just ask the mechanics that work on a 5 year old car with 2,000 miles.
I never will understand why someone buys a car like this to put in the garage but each to their own as they say.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 16,507
Likes: 2,399
From: Out Where the Buses Don't Run, Eglin AFB/ Niceville FL
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Pro
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
From: Venice Florida
I bought a C5 03 new and drove it 150,000 miles on 4 sets of tires, 1 tune and 1 brake job absolutely no other problems except a burnt out left turn signal. I now have a C6 Z51 I drive everyday no problems yet except a squeaky roof the dealer took care of right away.
Just this month I will have driven it 3,000 miles.
If you buy one and park it you will have problems. Just ask the mechanics that work on a 5 year old car with 2,000 miles.
I never will understand why someone buys a car like this to put in the garage but each to their own as they say.
Just this month I will have driven it 3,000 miles.
If you buy one and park it you will have problems. Just ask the mechanics that work on a 5 year old car with 2,000 miles.
I never will understand why someone buys a car like this to put in the garage but each to their own as they say.
