Sorry for the long post in advance...

I have been a diehard chevy guy since the day I was born. I am 24 and have been obsessed with cars every one of the years i can remember. I have jokingly said in the past that if you were to take a bood sample of mine and inspect it under a microscope, that my bood cells would certainly resemble the shape of a bowtie. However, my discouragement began with my first car purchase...my history is as such:

1st car: blue '94 camaro...transmission failure, left my brother stranded
2nd car: '93 Z28 6-speed...the only car i've ever owned that i loved,but regretfully sold it...i still beat myself up over that
3rd car: '98SS...many drivetrain issues...sold it

And the reason i am writing this:

4th car: '05 F55 6-speed Corvette: a real dream come true for me...right?

- flooded twice in the first weeks of owning it...faulty seal in the firewall
- numerous transmission problems: 1st gear block out at nearly every redlight, and gears grinding on upshifts...the factory won't fix either
- roof delamination...yeah the factory fixed that after the 4th time
- Sometimes my navigation screen goes black...
- Navigation system does not work properly...factory won't touch it.
- finally: electrical problems: something stays on that drains the battery...this is the 4th occassion, which has left me stranded 90 miles away from home/work. 3rd time in the past 2 weeks. when the battery goes dead, the windows will not roll up when you shut the door, in fact, if you open the door more than once, the window will go down even further...it is supposed to rain today and tomorrow...I have a huge deadline to meet at work by Tuesday...

Essentially, this car has seen the service dock more times than the road. This has left me with a very disappointing impression of General Motors and their flagship nameplate: Corvette. It is a tremendous let down. It has left me in a situation where I can't sell the car with a clear concious. I am going to ask that they buy it back from me under lemon law...which i'm sure they wont...and if i trade it, i will lose a large sum of money, and i will likely never step foot in a GM dealership again...

How would you guys feel in my situation?

 

Sounds like a lemon. Gotta expect a couple when so many are made, especially the first year of a redesign.

 

I'd be pissed. Did you buy the car new? If so, why so long before you're looking to take lemon law action? Is is still under the original factory warranty? If, yes, find a lawyer who handles lemon law claims ASAP. If you are not the original owner, I think you're out of luck on the lemon law (not sure). In that case, I'd be shopping for a dealer that is willing to tackle the problems, but you're going to have to be diplomatic and not go in with a chip on your shoulder. Good luck!!

 

Are you the original owner? Is the car still under full factory warranty?

 

Who did you get from! Was it a used car? 05? still with problems?
Don't lose faith, as you have a bad apple! Lots are problem free!

 

Did you buy it new ?

Can you still Lemon law it an 05 ?

If you are out of the Lemon law time it can happen to ANY car

There is a good reason for GM extended warranties:

I know you are not in a good mood discussing it, but have you contacted GM
and above before ?

 

Sorry to hear about all of your issues . . .as an early '05 owner - -Sept `04-- I've fortunately had none of the issues you've been plagued with save for a single dealer service roof injection . . .

Gotta wonder if some of the difference is dealer related ?

Good luck - -

 

I did a Lemon law on an 05 SSr this year it varies by State. If you are not the original owner you won't qualify for a buy back in most States check your States laws. Did you buy it from a Dealer or third party? I also had an early 05 build and had many problems with it, so much so I sold it after owning it for only 3 months and cut my losses sometimes this just happens.

 

I feel sorry for your situation and I'm curious...did you buy this car new or used? I assume you bought it new or you likely would have seen a problematic service history which might have steered you clear of this particular car.

Naturally, I would be disappointed as well. Perhaps even more so knowing the vast majority of C6's (2005's included) are quite problem free. Certainly all cars have issues but it seems you've had quite a few.

It sounds like the DBS issue started recently. Did the dealership perform the 'DBS' re-flash? The re-flash purportedly works in most all cases. I can't understand why the dealership won't repair or replace the transmission if it truly grinds when shifting through the gears. Have you tried changing transmission fluid to Royal Purple? Many say that helps. Are you re-indexing the windows after instances where the battery does dead? Are the windows still malfunctioning? Did the dealership replace the roof panel with the SMC roof? I can't recall hearing of any instances of delamination with the SMC roof panel.

I would think these problems could be remedied but as we all know, some individual cars just seem to be plagued. If you're totally disillusioned with Corvette, Chevy or GM....try something else and I wish you good luck.

It's no consolation but know (according to a poll I conducted some time back) the vast majority of 2005 C6's are considered reliable by their owners. My 2005 MN6 C6 has been very reliable and trouble-free. What few problems I've had have been minor.

Again, I'm sorry for your situation and if these problems can't be fixed...move on to something else.

 

What explanation does the dealer give for not addressing the transmission and navigation problems? That makes no sense to me. As for the repeated battery drainings, it's a well-known problem on '05s with manual transmission. (It happened to me 3 times.) There's a TSB involving a firmware update the the dealer can perform in a matter of minutes. I had mine done (as have many others here) earlier this year and haven't had a problem since.

 

You've got classic DBS and need the BCM reflash by your dealer, and probably a new battery. Do a search or PM me for details on DBS.

I just bought the first car extended warranty in my life, for my 3 year old C6. I will keep it despite all it's problems, but I would never keep or recommend this car without a warranty.

Early '05 Z51 MN6 VIN 4997
Just under 15,000 miles, daily driver.

Rocker panel and underside damage per dealer PDI right off the bat, fixed!

DBS X 3 or 4, but none in a year since getting the reflash at 2 years.

Clutch 'sticking to the floor' problem several times at high RPM, fixed by me with 50 cent bracket to reduce clutch throw. No more problem in 2 years.

Replaced squealing brake pads under warranty at 12 months. Also took care of excessive brake dust.

A/C freon removal fix at 12 months.

Repaired stuck outside rear hatch button ala Pipedreams DIY.

Paint chip damage to the front edge of both rear 1/4 panels due to poor door alignment fixed and painted.(at my expense) Home made rubber bumpers installed by me. No more chips. Now GM provides for their own bumpers.

Did the fluid exchange for noisy rear end at 2 years. Seems to have worked, so far.

Replaced clutch slave fluid numerous times with significant and now
sustained improvement in clutch feel and smoothness.

Very loose rear sway bar bolts found when inspecting underside.
Also loose passenger side rear axle bolt.

Roof still needs foaming. No delamination yet. Roof had slightly mismatched original DSOM paint. Recently repainted under warranty with much better match. But they forgot to foam the roof! So it has to go back! Also to fix the tire sensors which are now inoperative! Of course the battery was dead when I picked it up, despite the warning tag on the shifter! I have now brought it back twice to fix the tire sensors and still no joy! They tell me the tool is broken and will call me back for a third time. Roof also still creaks alot.

Driver seat rocking fixed. Had that twice fixed with my C5.

Shifter had been rattling at mid RPMs especially when cold (<60 degrees) the last 2 years. Dealer just fixed that, and I'm waiting for cold weather to see. Seems OK so far.
They also replaced the console that they scratched the first time they tried to fix the shifter rattle.

Battery died for good last May.

I still enjoy the car, but I would never recommend an '05.

 

My story of your "bowtie" love is the same. I've owned 2 Camaros and bought my first vette 2 years ago when I ws 24. Thanksfully, none of my cars had any major issues that were not my fault. Just hang in there, no matter what manufacturer you buy, they will always have those bad apples.

 

As others have mentioned, the '05 (and any 1st year design change) had mostly minor problems. Of course, they're not all like that, but the ones that are don't help the Corvette's reputation. I purchased mine used from a dealer and the only thing they've had to do was fix the roof, and that was under the recall notice. Other than that, I've been very pleased with my '05. Sorry to hear of the problems you've had.

One question. You said it had been flooded twice. Did that happen before all the problems began? Is it possible the flooding led to the other events?

Good luck on the repairs and your decision to stay or not stay with GM.

 

Flooding? A bunch of your issues could be related to to water damage, including your dealer backing off on servicing it.

 

This is just typical GM quality (or, should I say, lack thereof).

 

Hate to hear of your problems.....when I did the factory buyers tour, I got to go into the water booth with the tech....mine didnt leak thank god, but he said when they do around the footwells its a real problem. So far mine has been great.

 

Dollars to douhnuts this is a flood damaged car. Don't blame GM for not building a submarine...

 

Didnt you know to never buy the first year of a new design????

Skip these cars

1984 Corvette
1982 Camaro/Firebird
1997 Corvette
2005 Corvette

You should have gotten a C5 2004 or a 2007 C6...

 

I'd have to disagree...

Below is my list of issues on my 06 and 97

1. Recall for C5 seatbelt
2. Recall for C5 fuel tank
3. Recall for C5 column lock
Exactly 0 issues on the C6.

I'd call that pretty good quality.

I have had more than that on my BMW and so has my wife on her Lexus.

 

WRT the water leaks at the firewall - has the windshield ever been replaced? Maybe it was replaced before you bought it and they did a crappy job??