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Old May 15, 2015 | 09:31 PM
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Default Steering issues

From the day I picked up my 2015 Z51 corvette it drifts to the right. It has been back to the dealer 3 times then to another dealer who set the alignment outside of the GM specifications. Now GM Customer care does not want to send anyone to repair the car.

Bill
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Old May 15, 2015 | 10:45 PM
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I would ask to have the electric steering gear replaced.
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Old May 15, 2015 | 11:52 PM
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Originally Posted by cruzin_05
From the day I picked up my 2015 Z51 corvette it drifts to the right. It has been back to the dealer 3 times then to another dealer who set the alignment outside of the GM specifications. Now GM Customer care does not want to send anyone to repair the car.

Bill
Bill, is there any more to this story? They will need to set the parameters within the GM criteria, then have technicians drive for an extended period to monitor for symptoms.

If symptoms occur, the repair is authorized unless there is an external influence (performance modification, etc). This is a clear-cut issue that a regional service manager would be able to clear up for you.

If you've truly been in to the dealer with the same issue three or more times since purchasing the vehicle, and the dealer(s) can verify that they cannot or will not fix the issue, you're going to want to look into your state's Lemon Law policies and procedures. Regional service managers will generally lean on local service managers to get this sorted out before it goes that far, especially for something like this.

The steering system on our cars is not all that expensive, nor difficult to work with.
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Old May 17, 2015 | 07:51 PM
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Cars do tend to drift right because road surfaces are tilted to the right for water run off, it's very hard to find a piece of road that doesn't have those characteristics.
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Old May 18, 2015 | 09:23 PM
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Default Steering issues

Originally Posted by Theta
Bill, is there any more to this story? They will need to set the parameters within the GM criteria, then have technicians drive for an extended period to monitor for symptoms.

If symptoms occur, the repair is authorized unless there is an external influence (performance modification, etc). This is a clear-cut issue that a regional service manager would be able to clear up for you.

If you've truly been in to the dealer with the same issue three or more times since purchasing the vehicle, and the dealer(s) can verify that they cannot or will not fix the issue, you're going to want to look into your state's Lemon Law policies and procedures. Regional service managers will generally lean on local service managers to get this sorted out before it goes that far, especially for something like this.

The steering system on our cars is not all that expensive, nor difficult to work with.

I have been to two dealers and am going to a third. All they do is mess with the alignment to a point that it is out of the GM spec. They tell customer care it is fixed now customer care closed the case and does not want to deal with it. Since 93 I have had 6 corvettes. This one doen not handle like a corvette.
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Old May 18, 2015 | 09:25 PM
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Originally Posted by bob guzzy
Cars do tend to drift right because road surfaces are tilted to the right for water run off, it's very hard to find a piece of road that doesn't have those characteristics.
I have been to two dealers and am going to a third. All they do is mess with the alignment to a point that it is out of the GM spec. They tell customer care it is fixed now customer care closed the case and does not want to deal with it. Since 93 I have had 6 corvettes. This one doen not handle like a corvette.
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Old May 18, 2015 | 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by robertf97
I would ask to have the electric steering gear replaced.
I agree I wish they would change something rather than trying to doctor up the problem by playing with the alignment.
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Old May 19, 2015 | 01:44 PM
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Originally Posted by cruzin_05
I agree I wish they would change something rather than trying to doctor up the problem by playing with the alignment.
I used to design rack and pinion steering gears for TRW. There is a torsion spring on the input shaft that is supposed to recenter the torque sensor when you aren't turning. They go through a "balancing process" when they are built but can occasionally get out of whack and cause the problem you are describing. Good luck.
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Old May 19, 2015 | 02:03 PM
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You may think I'm crazy... But I'd put money on it being a bad tire. I had the very same issue, had it checked, and realigned 3 times by the dealer. Replaced wheels and tires and problem went away. Car drives as it should now. No other changes. Just a thought.

One more bit of input... Wife had a brand new Acura TL with Michelin Pilots on it too. Had very same issue from day one, finally FORCED the dealer to replace tires and again, problem solved. These new batch of Michelins suck. And I'm a die hard fan of BF Goodrich and Michelin.

Last edited by C7BB; May 19, 2015 at 02:08 PM.
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Old May 19, 2015 | 03:08 PM
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Had the same problem with my 2014 C7. Took it to a dealer and had it checked out an realigned. GM issued PIC5975A "Steering Pulls to The Right at Highway Speeds" dated 11/12/14. It also allows a minor out of spec alignment condition if necessary.
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Old May 19, 2015 | 03:46 PM
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Originally Posted by C7BB
You may think I'm crazy... But I'd put money on it being a bad tire. I had the very same issue, had it checked, and realigned 3 times by the dealer. Replaced wheels and tires and problem went away. Car drives as it should now. No other changes. Just a thought.
I was also thinking this is a possibility. Try swapping the front tires left to right and see if that changes anything.
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Old May 19, 2015 | 08:16 PM
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How bad is it pulling to the right? A fellow member of my past Corvette Club complained his 08 was pulling to the right and he couldn't get anybody to fix it. I took the car out on a smooth straight freeway and took my hands off the wheel with the car in cruise at 70 mph. In the right lane it would slowly drift right and when it hit the paint stripe on the right side of the pavement it would bounce off the paint stripe and back into the lane. I kept my hands off the wheel for several miles and it wandered from the middle of the right lane to the paint stripe over and over and never crossed the paint stripe (there was a lot of years of paint build up). Then I did it in the left (passing lane) and it repeated the same behavior except it was hitting the left side paint stripe and bounding off it. I asked him how much time he spent in the hammer lane going to Florida and he said not much. Then I said you probably need to drive faster and spend time in both lanes instead of just the right lane.

Bill
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Old May 21, 2015 | 07:32 AM
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Originally Posted by ETHYL
Had the same problem with my 2014 C7. Took it to a dealer and had it checked out an realigned. GM issued PIC5975A "Steering Pulls to The Right at Highway Speeds" dated 11/12/14. It also allows a minor out of spec alignment condition if necessary.
I had the same problem until the dealer applied this GM "fix" which resolved the issue.

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Old May 22, 2015 | 02:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn
How bad is it pulling to the right? A fellow member of my past Corvette Club complained his 08 was pulling to the right and he couldn't get anybody to fix it. I took the car out on a smooth straight freeway and took my hands off the wheel with the car in cruise at 70 mph. In the right lane it would slowly drift right and when it hit the paint stripe on the right side of the pavement it would bounce off the paint stripe and back into the lane. I kept my hands off the wheel for several miles and it wandered from the middle of the right lane to the paint stripe over and over and never crossed the paint stripe (there was a lot of years of paint build up). Then I did it in the left (passing lane) and it repeated the same behavior except it was hitting the left side paint stripe and bounding off it. I asked him how much time he spent in the hammer lane going to Florida and he said not much. Then I said you probably need to drive faster and spend time in both lanes instead of just the right lane.


Bill

??? Right lane is for right turns only I thought I made the problem clear IT IS ALL THE TIME
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