defaria

Interesting, I had a C6 but it was my DD. I never consciously bothered to park it in reverse. Seems pretty dumb to require that. I wonder what was draining the battery in the C6 if parked in something other than reverse. BTW this says it's for C5's not C6's.

So then, it is really no difference if I park it in reverse or 1st or 2nd, etc.

JerryU

Yep or what I do and have done with all 5 Vettes! I leave it in neutral!

Comes from old habit that with my first car a ‘41 Ford and 2nd ‘50 Ford, if in gear and someone hit your bumper when parallel parking (we had real bummers then) could hurt a trans gear.

Frankly as flat as we are in Eastern SC it’s a none issue. If I ever have to park on an incline I would put it in gear. But no inclines from Myrtle Beach to Society Hill SC, 2 hours away!

drs

This issue was strictly a C6 M6 issue. The C6 progressively went through multiple "shut-down" steps, each of which reduced the drain on the battery as various functionality was shut down. For some dumb reason, parts of the shut down procedure would not begin unless the transmission was in Reverse gear. As a DD you probably would never notice the issue.

As other have pointed out, the C7 M7 does not have that problem.

eboggs_jkvl

I think that was the C5 with the issue. I had the M6 C6 and there was NO issue with me leaving it in neutral.

Elmer

defaria

Yeah but this says it's for C5's not C6's.

Gearhead Jim

My recollection is that it was just the first year (2005) of C6 manual tranny, and a program update was later issued to correct the problem on 2005's if desired.

eboggs_jkvl

Fiction for all 2006 and newer Corvette models with manual transmission.

Fact for all 2005 Corvette models with manual transmission.


AKA DBS Dead Battery Syndrome


Elmer

Patman

Even when driving my automatic cars I always put on the emergency brake. I feel like it's easier on the transmission. My wife never uses the emergency brake and when I drive her BMW (or my Honda) after she was the last one to drive them, the transmissions both engage a little bit harsher when putting them into reverse without that emergency brake being used. That can't be good for them in the long run.

NSC5

I am fairly confident it isn't the E brake sticking, it is the primary brake pads that "bond" to the rotor when parked wet (rain or just washed) or when a sudden increase in temperature causes moisture to build up on heavy metal parts that only slowly increase in temperature.

This can happen with any vehicle but it more noticeable on vehicles with greater braking capability, like our Corvette.

About a year ago a member posted where both front wheels were completely locked after parking the car over the weekend just after washing it. Generally a little gentle rocking shifting from forward to reverse will break them loose but in rare cases you will actually rip off part of the pad material so avoidance is best. After washing use a blower to dry the wheel area or take it for a short drive and ride the brakes enough to heat them up, do the same before parking for a longer period after driving in the rain. Some pads and rotor material are worse than others about this issue.

davepl

On an incline, using the parking brake in an automatic avoids loading the parking pin in the transmission. I generally set the brake first, release the footbrake to load the park brake, then put it into park. This way the transmission isn't really involved. It has no idea I'm on a hill because the brake is taking all that torque.

Similarly, if you're on flat ground, the transmission can't know and doesn't care whether you've set the brake or not.

With respect to washing the wheels, I had mine lock up enough that I dragged the fronts on concrete while backing out. As soon as I hit the driveway they broke free. Didn't hurt anything, but sure doesn't feel like it's good for anything either!

Foosh

Well, that would explain what I said above. I had a 2005 Corvette with a manual transmission, and I missed the memo that it was later corrected.

JerryU

Worse after washing as even when raining your using your brakes to stop. Doesn't take much of a stop to get the rotors hot regardless of rain. Stopping energy is quickly converted to heat.

I always drive a short distance after washing. Doesn't take many stops to heat and dry the rotors and avoid rust. When I am back in the driveway, I pick up water drops that spilled from the mirrors, spoiler and clean up water drops on the wheels. That is when I apply a matte tire dressing, then park.

GM'er

GM actually has a service bulletin noting this.

muncie21

Anyone have a link to this service bulletin?

I notice that the brakes on my GS sometimes stick after being parked for more than a few hours. Didn't happen often enough for me to correlate wet car with the sticking brakes.

davepl

Not offhand, but I doubt there's a fix. It's more likely a "Yep, that happens, don't sweat it" kind of TSB.

Bill Dearborn

I agree. Wet rotors and parking the car over night right after washing will definitely build up corrosion between the rotor and pad that needs to be broken loose. Will happen on any car with iron rotors and pads that have some metallic compound. Of course some car wheels don't let a lot of water get on the rotors when the car is being washed so it won't be as noticeable on them. With the Corvette wheels you are spraying water directly on the rotors when washing the car.

From the standpoint of something to worry about it comes in significantly lower than worrying about whether my shoe laces are dirty and I don't spend much time worrying about the shoe laces.

Bill

madrob2020

Go to corvetteactioncenter.com under C7/Brakes. As Bill said it is not something to be fixed by service dept. It just advises service depts. of the problem & to explain not fixable. Use steps as others have described to avoid. PS: Wish someone would advise this moron (ME) how to post links so I don't have to type them out-DOH!

CP

I had a 2001 Z06 manual and NEVER used the parking brake. The car was usually parked in 1st gear. I NEVER had a battery drain issue, either.

ersatz928

No No No No (!)
The C5 M6 never had the "battery drain if not left parked in R" issue....that was the C6 that had this problem. I parked my C5 M6 in neutral for the 15 years I had it, and never had the battery drained because of that.

Avanti

Exactly why I don't put/leave them on if vehicles are to be parked any amount of time.