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OFFICIAL: Bent/Cracked Wheels – Reporting to NHTSA (Merged w/previous thread)
NOTE: It has been requested that our original Bent/Cracked Wheel thread be merged with the NHTSA thread for a more comprehensive merge of what is going on. This has been done on Friday, August 16th.......Steven Bell --Our 6 week old 2018 grand sport began losing air today on our drive. We found the nearest dealership and took "Athena" (yes she is named) in to be checked over. We thought we picked up a nail. It was not long before they called us back into the shop and asked us to get under her. There was a large crack in the wheel on the inside. No other damage. I admit Illinois roads SUCK but we had not hit any potholes. No physical damage to the tire no rim damage outside of the crack. We filled it up and began the journey of 2 hours home. We took it to our dealership that sold it to us and we are now waiting to "see if it is covered under warranty". Anyone else heard of this happening???
Last edited by Steve Garrett; 08-16-2019 at 02:14 PM.
Wheels are wear items, just ask any BMW owner. BMW wheels have been prone to cracking for years.
That's horseshit. In over 25 years of owning numerous vehicles I have never had to replace a wheel. This issue is being caused by a lousy wheel design/vendor and its a failure on GMs part. Nobody should accept a failure in quality like this.
I would think (hope) they would not try putting this on you with the car only 6 weeks old. I'm sure others have driven far longer on worse roads without a major crack in the wheel like yours shows.
You may want to check in the C7 section of the forum to see if anyone else has experienced the same. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c7-corvette-141/
Best wishes that they are fair with you!
IMO an impact strong enough to crack a rim like that would have left tell tale signs of damage on the tire as well, like a bubble or gouge on the sidewall, or damage and discoloration inside the tire.
If there are no signs of tire damage there’s a good case to be made that this is worksmanship issue from manufacturer.
Looks like a factory defect to me. Only, (45 years in the biz), what do I know?
The fact that it leaked all the air out quickly indicates that the crack itself was not there prior to whatever the OP hit, and he must have hit something. Unlike regular 50 to 60 series tires, the low profile run flats in a Corvette, will never bubble when you hit something, even if you hit it hard enough to completely destroy the rim.
The fact that it leaked all the air out quickly indicates that the crack itself was not there prior to whatever the OP hit, and he must have hit something. Unlike regular 50 to 60 series tires, the low profile run flats in a Corvette, will never bubble when you hit something, even if you hit it hard enough to completely destroy the rim.
And where did the OP say that "it leaked all the air out quickly"?? From what he said, it sounded like a "slow" leak.
Last edited by Walt White Coupe; 07-06-2018 at 04:22 PM.
There may be a problem with the C7 Grand Sport wheel design(?)
I dropped in here to do a thread search on "Cracked Wheel" because.... since March, I have replaced 5 wheels and may be looking at replacing #6 because I started losing air in the right rear today.
(2017 Grand Sport, black wheels, bought April 29, 2017)
I replaced a full set - all 4 wheels were bent - in March, after hitting a shallow construction gouge across the road, at 45 mph
(City and Construction company have denied the claim).
I cracked a left rear last month (June) on a normal drive between Nashville TN and Charlotte NC. No potholes along the way.
If my left rear is now cracked, that'll be #6.
This is mostly driving in Middle Tennessee. We had a harsh winter but - this is my fourth Corvette. Previously had a '93, a '98, and a '99.
I haven't suddenly become a wheel-abusing driver. I have never cracked or damaged a wheel on any other cars in my life.
And... Car & Driver just mentioned wheel damage problems on their long-term GS!
Clearly, this is a known problem by Chevrolet. The new - you pay for an upgrade - MSR suspension softening is evidence. The numerous threads on cracks by owners is evidence.
I bought the wheel and tire warranty and thus far, after one year and 2200 whopping miles, no issues ... yet. Knock wood.
I would never replace six crap wheels, find a quality forged set and move on.
our 6 week old 2018 grand sport began losing air today on our drive. We found the nearest dealership and took "Athena" (yes she is named) in to be checked over. We thought we picked up a nail. It was not long before they called us back into the shop and asked us to get under her. There was a large crack in the wheel on the inside. No other damage. I admit Illinois roads SUCK but we had not hit any potholes. No physical damage to the tire no rim damage outside of the crack. We filled it up and began the journey of 2 hours home. We took it to our dealership that sold it to us and we are now waiting to "see if it is covered under warranty". Anyone else heard of this happening???
I bent 2 rims with little trauma on my 17 GS. You are not alone, even Car & Driver had issues with 4 rims on long term drive. Part may be wheels, part may be suspension which even in tour mode is very harsh for city driving. I had the upgrade for the electronic suspension but the change is minimal- still need to avoid manhole covers and minor road defects.
Same problem for me. Chevy refused to warranty, Same crack that you have, same symptoms. No ding in the wheel like you might expect after a hard enough hit to crack it. Still fighting them- 800 bucks for a new wheel. They claim the wheel is out of spec for lateral runout, which is in their mind caused the crack.
I have the cracked wheel, intend to test it further as don't buy it at all
The head engineer says that there arent problems, but tons of people are getting bent tires. I know that the proving grounds was/is going through tons of zr1/grand sport wheels.
07-05-2018, 09:15 PM
OFFICIAL: Bent/Cracked Wheels – Reporting to NHTSA (Merged w/previous thread)
the dealership said it would be ok to get her home but we went straight to where we bought her.
