I went to pick up my 05 vette last night, after it being at the dealer for the second time for numerous electrical and sensor problems, and being there a total of 43 days since march when i bought it. Assured everything was fixed, drove it 5 miles on the way home, traction control and ride control service lights come on and power drastically reduced. turned back around to the dealership and the car stalled a few mintues later. Felt like it was running only on 4 cylinders. I have not been contacted by GM at all, service manager at Mac HAik said he could possibly get a car payment refunded back to us. Not to mention they scratched the car the last time, tried to buff it out and made the whole rear hatch have swirl marks, then this time chipped the front rim and denied doing it. I called gm on thursday of last week and the lady still has yet to return call with any info on the car. Any suggestions?

 

Call the NCM, ask for the National Corvette Manager, and tell him about your problems. What you've gone through is beyond ridiculous and not par for the course!

Mike

 

This is unacceptable. You just have to keep going up the chain to find the right person to take care of you. Good luck with everything and post back on the progress.

 

Call the museum? Can they do anything? The museum is a private, non profit arganization -- not a part of GM.

 

i just talked to the dealership, they said its the pcm (powercontrol module). I already spoke with a young lady at the chevrolet customer assistance center and requested that the car be repurchased. does anyone know of anyone else having a corvette lemon and how chevrolet responded?

 

Mike,

We are not a part of GM and do not have a "National Corvette Manager".

It seems like this issue needs to be taken care of by the dealer and if there is no success then to Corvette Customer Assistance.

To the orig. poster, we wish you the best of luck on fixing your car.

Adam Boca
National Corvette Museum

 

Mj2005vette, I had GM contact me about a buy back. they draged it out for a month, and then did nothing for me. I love my vette, just not the problems, but I do intend on getting another if and when I resolve my current issues. Good luck, but don't count on GM helping you without a fight.

 

This sounds very similar to the problems I had with my vette. And yes, there were times when I was driving home from the dealer service center when it went back into reduced engine power / service traction system mode. Imagine that: clearing the codes doesn't automatically fix the problem! It has been in the shop 7 times for 40 days. Interestingly, according to the official gm database of service on my c6, it has only been in the shop 4 times. I guess the other 3 times they were to embarassed to officially log "we did nothing other than clear the codes."

I tried doing the runaround with GM customer assistance line. I asked them to buy it back, and, no surprise, they said no. And they said no a second time. They made me an offer for one month payment because it was in the shop so much. That doesn't do me much good since it is paid off. I pressed back and made them give me an extended warranty for free.

Though it appears to be running fine at the moment, I have no confidence in the reliability of this car. It will be doing fine for weeks, maybe even a month or two, and then whammo. It has been running OK for 7 weeks now. It is almost due for another incident.

I've had my PCM replaced twice, and the problem still came back. I don't think it is the PCM.

 

If you are using the lemon law as an option, search the web for forms that will work in your state and send them off now. Many states require 30+ days advance notice before you can attempt to have the manufacturer repurchase the car under that law.

 

They definitely like dragging it out and being useless. But my experience has made me decide not to buy another GM vehicle ever. I pressed them for the extended warranty because I fully expect this vette to spend a lot more time in the shop. It is going to cost them a lot more in the long run (parts, labor, rental car, and no future sales) than the price for them to buy it back.

 

GTC, my vette must be costing them a small fortune for the same reasons you listed. They offered me an extended warranty on the tranny only, but I trade cars so often,it just would not be beneficial to me. Good luck with it!

 

I had one with the same symtoms a while back.Threw a PCM at it and it did not fix it.Turned out to be a faulty throttle body assembly

 

If the dealer's shop told you it was the PCM, you'd better be hunting for a dealership which actually has a qualified Corvette tech if you hope to have the car properly repaired. The C6 doesn't have a PCM. (It has an ECM, autos also have a TCM, but there is no PCM in any C6 Corvette.)

Most persistent problems like this aren't because a car is a lemon. They are because the dealership mechanics are lemons. Any car can be repaired, and repaired right, you just have to find a competent mechanic to do it.

 

Not to be a wiseguy Shopdog, But why in he** with all the great mechanics in all the deler shops(including GM engineers) none can find out whats causing all the DBS Its happining to cars all over the country,even so coperate GM will not admit it.

In New York 4 tries to fix and it can go lemon law(that is a last resort)

 

Im not sure what to do at this point. I already certified mailed Chevrolet and i spoke with Customer assistance yesterday and said i want things escalated. She said GM would be in contact with me on monday. The dealership said GM offered me a one month payment reimbursement, which negates the fact that i just want a corvette that works the way it should. Ive missed work twice, had it towed in, and recieve a payment stub in the mail when the car isnt in my possession twice. I have lost my faith in GM at this point.

 

You'll never get your money back or a new replacement car.

GM doesn't work that way. FIX. FIX. FIX.

If you want out, you will have to trade/sell the car.

Sorry to hear about this. The last option is to get the car working. How about taking the car to a different GM dealer?

Try to hang in there. I know, it's NOT that easy at this point.

Take a deep breathe and hold on.
-Bill.

 

What great mechanics? In all of north Georgia, I know exactly 3 dealer mechanics I'd consider great. I know some mechanics at independent shops who are better, but not all that many of those either. There are lots of wrench turners and parts replacers, but few really good troubleshooters.

As for factory engineers, while they should know the systems, they aren't necessarily good troubleshooters. That's a different skill than design. In my field, I can't count the number of times I've had to bail out a factory engineer who couldn't find a problem with his company's equipment. Troubleshooting is a particular and systematic way of approaching a technical problem. Most engineers have never been taught it. For some people it is almost a natural talent, for others, they just never get it.

I suspect that what we're calling DBS has a number of different causes. The symptom is the same, dead battery, but that doesn't mean everyone has the same root problem. For sure some of those who are claiming DBS simply had defective batteries. Some didn't shift to reverse (though they've convinced themselves they did). Some hit the courtesy light switch on the dash with a knee. Some had loose grounds or other assembly wiring errors which resulted in inadequate charging of the battery. Etc.

People here have talked themselves into believing that there is one common underlying fault causing DBS, but I'm not convinced that's the case. What I do believe is that for any particular car there is a root cause, and that it can be found and repaired by a mechanic with the knowledge and troubleshooting skills required to be a competent mechanic.

 

It's not really up to GM whether they buy the car back or not when it comes to the lemon law (depending on the state). 43 days in the shop would qualify that car as a lemon in many states. Although it's a long, slow process, the lemon law can work for you or force GM to take action if you are meticulous in your recordkeeping and you follow the required steps of the law.

If that's the Mac Haik dealership from Houston, here is the site you need for the Texas Lemon Law:

Texas Lemon Law

 

Well, I called the dealer again this afternoon. They are back to square 1. It wasnt the pcm, still havent heard back from GM either, expecting a call any day now. Going on 48 days at the dealer since March 25 of this year. Anyone else having electrical problems, mainly with the abs, selective ride, and active handling?

 

I've won two lemon law cases and had one of the cars purchased back, the second they gave me full amount minus $500.00 towards purchase of another car (which ended up being cheaper..received a refund) at REAL COST (invoice minus holdback).

1. Check the lemon law in your state.
2. document everything..each time the car has been in teh shop, and for what.
3. call customer care and have them handle it at first.
4 . With the lemon law requirements met (make sure that you check that each time the car is in, that you leave with an invoice which shows what was worked on, and THEN you file a lemon law complaint (see the back of your manual).

Documentation is the key to winning a lemo law case.
-Evado