C7 disaster
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 13,602
Likes: 12,864
From: Virginia
No, I would call a forced reduction of power on an interstate something much worse than a major pain in the ***.
I have a friend who is a motorcycle cop. He had just merged into traffic at 70 mph when the electronic throttle of his Harley put the system into FORCED IDLE. He was nearly killed and basically due to his exceptional riding skills avoided panicking or being hit.
So, disaster no, deathtrap yes.
I have a friend who is a motorcycle cop. He had just merged into traffic at 70 mph when the electronic throttle of his Harley put the system into FORCED IDLE. He was nearly killed and basically due to his exceptional riding skills avoided panicking or being hit.
So, disaster no, deathtrap yes.
Last edited by Kevin A Jones; Mar 31, 2018 at 04:15 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 20,933
Likes: 905
From: salem OR
For the third consecutive time in the past 6 months my 2016 Z51 Coupe has gone to reduced power mode for no good reason. Each time I have had to limp home at speeds of 20-25 MPH hoping that I would not get run over by fast moving traffic. The problem is in the throttle linkage to the ECM and it has obviously baffled the local shop here in Florida because the car has been in the shop for 3 days and counting. I will soon be driving this disaster back to Canada and just hope and pray that it doesn't shut down on an interstate. In 50 plus years of driving I have never had such a disappointing car! Any suggestions?
Drifting
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 1,630
Likes: 759
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32,042
Likes: 4,610
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Last edited by Skid Row Joe; Mar 31, 2018 at 02:02 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 144
Likes: 25
From: About to Lap You
For the third consecutive time in the past 6 months my 2016 Z51 Coupe has gone to reduced power mode for no good reason. Each time I have had to limp home at speeds of 20-25 MPH hoping that I would not get run over by fast moving traffic. The problem is in the throttle linkage to the ECM and it has obviously baffled the local shop here in Florida because the car has been in the shop for 3 days and counting. I will soon be driving this disaster back to Canada and just hope and pray that it doesn't shut down on an interstate. In 50 plus years of driving I have never had such a disappointing car! Any suggestions?
Towed it to the biggest BMW dealer in Charlotte - Hendrick. They had the car for two weeks (while I had to drive around in a new loaner x3 :up: ) Well, that was the only thing they did right, was offer up the loaner. They said the car was ready...picked it up, and got about a mile from the shop, and it was running worse than ever. Took it back and got the loaner again for another 2 weeks :up: They finally throw in the towel and can't figure it out despite having their shop foreman or whatever work on it himself.
So I get the busted car back, and figure I'll just cut my losses. Throw it on ebay, and sell it for what I bought it for. Guy says he wants to drive it back from NC to TX.
and for me to have another shop look at it. I keep telling the guy he needs to tow it back, but the guy kept telling me to take it to a shop. So the closest one was a hole in the wall place. I mean a two car bay mechanic that looked like a 1948 gas station that survived a zombie apocalypse. Guy specializes in foreign cars - bmw, merecedes, etc. I drop the car off, and forget what I had to call him about, but called him an hour later. I asked how the car was doing. He sez, "Oh, running like a top, no problems whatsoever. Just got back from a test drive and she's ready to go"After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I asked him what the problem was......
....it was a pinched wire.
So multi-million dollar dealership couldn't figure out what was wrong with it for over a month. Take it to the dive bar of garages, and guy fixes it in under an hour for $120.
Moral of the story...check your wires
and f the dealer 
Anyways...like you said in your post...sounds like an electrical issue. If you can get the trouble code, it can tell you what sensor is firing the code. From there, you should be able to do some voltage checks on the sensor wire...that's how most sensors work (at least from the weekend'rs perspective)...you have a normal voltage and when that voltage get's too high or too low, the ecm recognizes that, and consults it's programming to decide what to do. Hopefully, it's just a bad sensor or broken wire. If it's a bad connection that cut's in and out...those can be a nightmare to track down.
Good luck.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 1,174
Likes: 824
From: Dallas Texas
Maybe try cleaning the throttle body connector? (Or replacing the throttle body)
Also I'd suggest getting one of those little blue tooth obd2 code readers that link to your phone. You can find them for like $20. Not only will this let you see the code, but you can also clear the code. This might get you out of reduced power mode long enough to finish your drive for the day. Definitely not going to solve your main issue but could get you out of "RPM" in a pinch
Also I'd suggest getting one of those little blue tooth obd2 code readers that link to your phone. You can find them for like $20. Not only will this let you see the code, but you can also clear the code. This might get you out of reduced power mode long enough to finish your drive for the day. Definitely not going to solve your main issue but could get you out of "RPM" in a pinch
Last edited by 555ctsv; Mar 31, 2018 at 04:18 AM.
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Advanced
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 88
Likes: 27
From: Moore Oklahoma
It's probably your EBCM. Same issues with my car. Took about a month to diagnose then another month or so waiting on the part to be built. It was a major pia and I started pursuing our lemon laws here in Oklahoma. I've had zero issues with the car since EBCM was replaced. If I recall correctly it's attached to the steering linkage and the entire linkage has to be replaced. 2015 Z51, A8
Drifting
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 1,630
Likes: 759
It's probably your EBCM. Same issues with my car. Took about a month to diagnose then another month or so waiting on the part to be built. It was a major pia and I started pursuing our lemon laws here in Oklahoma. I've had zero issues with the car since EBCM was replaced. If I recall correctly it's attached to the steering linkage and the entire linkage has to be replaced. 2015 Z51, A8
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 4,495
Likes: 1,263
From: Jacksonville FL
OP you might do a little planning (plan B) and locate a few Chevy dealers along your route to Canada. Good luck. You just might need a dealer who has a corvette tech who knows what he is doing. I have found some tech's are brilliant and others don't have a clue.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 6,813
Likes: 287
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Besides my 2017 Z51 (2LT, M7), I have a 2017 Prius Prime (a plug in hybrid). The car was giving us messages like 'Hybrid System Not Working Right Get Service' etc. The car never really broke down, but these message were persistent. We bring it to the selling dealer. They scratch their heads. They call Toyota USA headquarters in Texas. They call Japan. This goes back and forth for 2 weeks. Finally Toyota files two engineers all they way from the factory in Japan to Newburgh, NY (about 60 miles NW of NY City) to sort out this car. And they DID finally figure it out - the A/C compressor was randomly sending voltage spikes through the hybrid inverter making the ECU errantly send these messages. New A/C compressor, new hybrid inverter and *poof* the car is fixed.
The whole time we had a 2018 Toyota Camry XLE to drive, we were hardly inconvenienced. I was very impressed both by the lengths Newburgh Toyota went to take care of us and even more so by what Toyota did. That's really how it should be. They should FIX your car and GO TO ANY LENGTH to fix it. That's how companies like Toyota GET those reputations for reliability, when their **** breaks they are VERY CONCERNED, and they act accordingly all the way to the very top. P.S., since we got the car back 3+ weeks ago, we have driven it at least 1000 miles, it does appear to be back to normal, they did fix it.
The parts alone were like $3000+, I figure the total money involved in all this, parts, labor, rental car for period probably amounted to like $5K retail, our out of pocket cost was zero point zero zero. I couldn't be a happier customer, they turned **** into ice cream in the most professional and impressive manner possible.
Cars are increasingly computerized, and I'm sure your Corvette is suffering such a malady. So what is GM DOING about this? Are they doing what Toyota did? Ask the dealer and the regional rep that question when you talk to them. Feel free to reference my story and have them contact me about how a service customer with a major issue SHOULD be treated by a dealer, but more importantly by the manufacturer.
The whole time we had a 2018 Toyota Camry XLE to drive, we were hardly inconvenienced. I was very impressed both by the lengths Newburgh Toyota went to take care of us and even more so by what Toyota did. That's really how it should be. They should FIX your car and GO TO ANY LENGTH to fix it. That's how companies like Toyota GET those reputations for reliability, when their **** breaks they are VERY CONCERNED, and they act accordingly all the way to the very top. P.S., since we got the car back 3+ weeks ago, we have driven it at least 1000 miles, it does appear to be back to normal, they did fix it.
The parts alone were like $3000+, I figure the total money involved in all this, parts, labor, rental car for period probably amounted to like $5K retail, our out of pocket cost was zero point zero zero. I couldn't be a happier customer, they turned **** into ice cream in the most professional and impressive manner possible.
Cars are increasingly computerized, and I'm sure your Corvette is suffering such a malady. So what is GM DOING about this? Are they doing what Toyota did? Ask the dealer and the regional rep that question when you talk to them. Feel free to reference my story and have them contact me about how a service customer with a major issue SHOULD be treated by a dealer, but more importantly by the manufacturer.
Last edited by b4i4getit; Mar 31, 2018 at 12:32 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,800
Likes: 2,653
From: Down south in Dixie
Maybe try cleaning the throttle body connector? (Or replacing the throttle body)
Also I'd suggest getting one of those little blue tooth obd2 code readers that link to your phone. You can find them for like $20. Not only will this let you see the code, but you can also clear the code. This might get you out of reduced power mode long enough to finish your drive for the day. Definitely not going to solve your main issue but could get you out of "RPM" in a pinch
Also I'd suggest getting one of those little blue tooth obd2 code readers that link to your phone. You can find them for like $20. Not only will this let you see the code, but you can also clear the code. This might get you out of reduced power mode long enough to finish your drive for the day. Definitely not going to solve your main issue but could get you out of "RPM" in a pinch
OP, good luck. I hope they find your problem soon. I know how frustrating it can be.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 50
Likes: 1
C7 Disaster
Besides my 2017 Z51 (2LT, M7), I have a 2017 Prius Prime (a plug in hybrid). The car was giving us messages like 'Hybrid System Not Working Right Get Service' etc. The car never really broke down, but these message were persistent. We bring it to the selling dealer. They scratch their heads. They call Toyota USA headquarters in Texas. They call Japan. This goes back and forth for 2 weeks. Finally Toyota files two engineers all they way from the factory in Japan to Newburgh, NY (about 60 miles NW of NY City) to sort out this car. And they DID finally figure it out - the A/C compressor was randomly sending voltage spikes through the hybrid inverter making the ECU errantly send these messages. New A/C compressor, new hybrid inverter and *poof* the car is fixed.
The whole time we had a 2018 Toyota Camry XLE to drive, we were hardly inconvenienced. I was very impressed both by the lengths Newburgh Toyota went to take care of us and even more so by what Toyota did. That's really how it should be. They should FIX your car and GO TO ANY LENGTH to fix it. That's how companies like Toyota GET those reputations for reliability, when their **** breaks they are VERY CONCERNED, and they act accordingly all the way to the very top. P.S., since we got the car back 3+ weeks ago, we have driven it at least 1000 miles, it does appear to be back to normal, they did fix it.
The parts alone were like $3000+, I figure the total money involved in all this, parts, labor, rental car for period probably amounted to like $5K retail, our out of pocket cost was zero point zero zero. I couldn't be a happier customer, they turned **** into ice cream in the most professional and impressive manner possible.
Cars are increasingly computerized, and I'm sure your Corvette is suffering such a malady. So what is GM DOING about this? Are they doing what Toyota did? Ask the dealer and the regional rep that question when you talk to them. Feel free to reference my story and have them contact me about how a service customer with a major issue SHOULD be treated by a dealer, but more importantly by the manufacturer.
The whole time we had a 2018 Toyota Camry XLE to drive, we were hardly inconvenienced. I was very impressed both by the lengths Newburgh Toyota went to take care of us and even more so by what Toyota did. That's really how it should be. They should FIX your car and GO TO ANY LENGTH to fix it. That's how companies like Toyota GET those reputations for reliability, when their **** breaks they are VERY CONCERNED, and they act accordingly all the way to the very top. P.S., since we got the car back 3+ weeks ago, we have driven it at least 1000 miles, it does appear to be back to normal, they did fix it.
The parts alone were like $3000+, I figure the total money involved in all this, parts, labor, rental car for period probably amounted to like $5K retail, our out of pocket cost was zero point zero zero. I couldn't be a happier customer, they turned **** into ice cream in the most professional and impressive manner possible.
Cars are increasingly computerized, and I'm sure your Corvette is suffering such a malady. So what is GM DOING about this? Are they doing what Toyota did? Ask the dealer and the regional rep that question when you talk to them. Feel free to reference my story and have them contact me about how a service customer with a major issue SHOULD be treated by a dealer, but more importantly by the manufacturer.