When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
More bent cracked rim misery plus class action suit
I have had a misery with my 2016 Z06 convertible. Started last summer with leaking air, then changing tires, still leaking air, cracked rim replaced, another cracked rim replaced, vibration with 3 rims repaired and 100 miles later.....2 rims need replacing Car is in shop more than I have it in my garage and waiting, waiting, waiting for aftermarket insurance to send adjuster etc. Have had car in shop now for 10 days waiting. Meanwhile have called GM over and over and no response. Dealer insists I'm the ONLY one he's ever seen with problems and one of service advisors....a woman named Suzanne was incredibly rude and insisted I must be doing SOMETHING to cause these problems as NOBODY else has issues. Now I have learned that there is a class action law suit being started :
So the question is.....how common is this? Is there anything those of us who have had problems can do to get involved with forcing GM on this?
If I buy forged rims may help here but not sure which rims to get and how I'd handle a tire/rim issue after that. Currently have wheel and tire insurance which I assume would be invalid if I buy new rims. Very frustrated with this and thinking of just dumping this car. After GM's response I will NEVER buy another GM product. The C8 will NOT be in my future! This is from a Corvette loyalist on my 4th Vette in 10 years. If they can't keep a guy like me how are they going to convert people who like Porsches?
How common is it? Common enough to have people on the internet complain about it. Not common enough to rise to a big issue since their are far more people not reporting any issues. I can understand service people looking askance at you if you have had the problem more than once. Most dealers don't sell that many Corvettes and you may actually be the only one of their Corvette Customers that is having a problem. If the dealership sells 5 Corvettes per year and the rate of Customers experiencing damaged wheels is 5% of all owners world wide you could easily be the only Customer of that dealership that is having issues.
From the 2015 MY through the 2018 MY there are about 47595 wide body C7s on the road. I imagine with the 2019 sales there are at least another 5000 on the road on top of that. Figure the number is 50,000 total just to have an even number to work with. How many of those C7 Z and C7 GS owners have reported suffering wheel damage. I suspect it isn't many. 500, 1000, 2500? How many have actually been reported on the forum. I know that is hard to determine since things get repeated so many times but is it even 200 owners reporting their problems?
Highly suggested to not drive in Track Mode on the street. Just FYI
A lot of people have suggested that. Tadge addressed this very question by saying drive mode has nothing to do with increasing chance of bending rims. He did say its not really a problem at all, that you must have hit a pothole or something days or weeks earlier, and you just forgot . I'm just not sure that the guys who have bent rims have definitively proven that they were in track mode on the street when the bend/crack occurred.
As for lawsuits, it actually hurts us owners because GM, by advice of counsel, will not do anything to remedy since that would be an admission of guilt and used against them. They would be better off doing noting to remedy, and wait out the 5 to 10 year lawsuit. We get the shaft. The class actions only make lawyers rich. GM would eventually do something to remedy the situation to protect their reputation with customers. A class action stops all that.
I know folks who test these wheels fur durability and they said that they beat the crap out of them. Spring Mountain says that they are fine, but who knows what the conflicts of interest are there as well. Me, I'll probably go forged for looks, reduced weight, and peace of mind.
A lot of people have suggested that. Tadge addressed this very question by saying drive mode has nothing to do with increasing chance of bending rims. He did say its not really a problem at all, that you must have hit a pothole or something days or weeks earlier, and you just forgot . I'm just not sure that the guys who have bent rims have definitively proven that they were in track mode on the street when the bend/crack occurred.
As for lawsuits, it actually hurts us owners because GM, by advice of counsel, will not do anything to remedy since that would be an admission of guilt and used against them. They would be better off doing noting to remedy, and wait out the 5 to 10 year lawsuit. We get the shaft. The class actions only make lawyers rich. GM would eventually do something to remedy the situation to protect their reputation with customers. A class action stops all that.
Well, they sure didnt handle the valve guides on the c6 z06 that way. Katech and the aftermarket did a ton of business fixing that issue. Much like the forged wheel guys are now.
Well, they sure didnt handle the valve guides on the c6 z06 that way. Katech and the aftermarket did a ton of business fixing that issue. Much like the forged wheel guys are now.
Wasn't there a class action on that, too? If so it proves my point.
I have had 4 Corvettes and own 6 cars. I' ve NEVER had a bent or cracked rim until this Z06 and now have 8 incidents in a few months. I've hit NO potholes, don't drive in track mode and rarely even drive the car. Have only 4K in the last year. There is clearly a problem with these rims. That is why the after market is all over this forum with plugs for Strasse, BC forged, Forgeline, HRE etc. My C7 Z51 never had a bent rim in 30K miles and drove it harder than I drive the Z06 because I trusted it more. This car I don't trust in cold weather, rain, etc. I hit quite a few bad potholes with my C6s and never had an issue. My Z06 I've hit nothing but keep bending rims. Really atrocious.
I have had a misery with my 2016 Z06 convertible. Started last summer with leaking air, then changing tires, still leaking air, cracked rim replaced, another cracked rim replaced, vibration with 3 rims repaired and 100 miles later.....2 rims need replacing Car is in shop more than I have it in my garage and waiting, waiting, waiting for aftermarket insurance to send adjuster etc. Have had car in shop now for 10 days waiting. Meanwhile have called GM over and over and no response. Dealer insists I'm the ONLY one he's ever seen with problems and one of service advisors....a woman named Suzanne was incredibly rude and insisted I must be doing SOMETHING to cause these problems as NOBODY else has issues. Now I have learned that there is a class action law suit being started :
So the question is.....how common is this? Is there anything those of us who have had problems can do to get involved with forcing GM on this?
If I buy forged rims may help here but not sure which rims to get and how I'd handle a tire/rim issue after that. Currently have wheel and tire insurance which I assume would be invalid if I buy new rims. Very frustrated with this and thinking of just dumping this car. After GM's response I will NEVER buy another GM product. The C8 will NOT be in my future! This is from a Corvette loyalist on my 4th Vette in 10 years. If they can't keep a guy like me how are they going to convert people who like Porsches?
My 2017 Z06 with 12k miles now has its third cracked rim. My other 3 are slightly bent. I always drive in eco mode on the street and I also live in Texas where roads are pretty good. I had one crack fixed under warranty. I'll know this week if this most recent one will be covered. GM provides instructions for tracking the vehicle and it does not void the warranty so it is reasonable to expect the wheels would hold up to very intense loads.
Saw the news on the class action yesterday. I had 3 of the 4 of my rims with cracks on the inside of the barrel. They were not noticed until swapping wheels. Only indication something was wrong was a slow (1psi/hr) leak in one of the rims. Car had 30K miles on them and on the 3rd set of Michelin RFs. If the cracks are there, most wont see them till they swap tires. Which for some low milage drivers could be a few years. Stiff inner sidewalls on the RF with the inner lip of the wheel having the most flex is a set up for issues. I still have the wheels but will not be replacing them with OEM as if there was an issue before chances are pretty good that it will happen again.
How common is it? Common enough to have people on the internet complain about it. Not common enough to rise to a big issue since their are far more people not reporting any issues. I can understand service people looking askance at you if you have had the problem more than once. Most dealers don't sell that many Corvettes and you may actually be the only one of their Corvette Customers that is having a problem. If the dealership sells 5 Corvettes per year and the rate of Customers experiencing damaged wheels is 5% of all owners world wide you could easily be the only Customer of that dealership that is having issues.
From the 2015 MY through the 2018 MY there are about 47595 wide body C7s on the road. I imagine with the 2019 sales there are at least another 5000 on the road on top of that. Figure the number is 50,000 total just to have an even number to work with. How many of those C7 Z and C7 GS owners have reported suffering wheel damage. I suspect it isn't many. 500, 1000, 2500? How many have actually been reported on the forum. I know that is hard to determine since things get repeated so many times but is it even 200 owners reporting their problems?
Bill
Bill, I respect your opinion and a lot of your tech input but, please, stop schilling for GM on this one. I'm sure there's far more than 200 people with the problem and the more it's discussed, more owners come forward with the same thing...they thought they didn't have the problem until the tire store told them " Hey, Mr. Owner come look at this". It is clear that you can have a cracked wheel for a considerable time without knowing it because until it gets into the barrel, the tire won't leak air. My guess is that a poll on the forum would tell the true tale and even that would only include owners that are a fraction of C7 ZO6 and GS owners in total because there sure as hell aren't 50,000 wide body C7 owners on the forum. That makes your statistical sampling claim completely irrelevant. If there's 1500 owners on the forum and 300 report the problem that's a huge percentage and could be projected legitimately onto the overall ownership number. That would translate into 10,000 cars with the problem. And even if it was only 2500, that's too many. If a death had occurred due to one of these wheels, it would be a massive, costly and ugly recall that would be all over the news. I still think the ZO6 is a great car and bargain but for God's sake, let's at least admit the obvious on this issue.
Had a bend in one of my stock rims with 1200 miles of easy driving, no potholes, no track mode, etc. Enjoying my nice Forgelines now but I shouldn't have to order aftermarket wheels for peace of mind and to keep my car from being in the shop all the time. Not at the cost of a Z06 at least.
OP - plenty of threads about good aftermarket wheel choices here. Had a really good experience with Gerry at CW4L myself.
Why don't you guys get with Bob from House of Wheels and have a set of inexpensive reproduction wheels installed? They look identical to OEM. Weigh a little more but eliminates the worry and safety issue once and for all. This would fix all the hassles you have been through.
"Why don't you guys get with Bob from House of Wheels and have a set of inexpensive reproduction wheels installed? They look identical to OEM. Weigh a little more but eliminates the worry and safety issue once and for all. This would fix all the hassles you have been through"
One reason would be because it would void my warranty that currently exists and will exist on wheel and tires for the next 4 years if I do not change wheels.
Another is because if I'm going to have another set of wheels put on this car it's going to be a high quality forged wheel and not an inexpensive cast one. I'm looking at Forgeline vs BC forged right now. It will void my warranty but give better looks, performance and hopefully allow me to actually drive y car.
The BC forged are cheaper than the Forgeline because they are made in Taiwan vs USA. Quite frankly I don't care where they are made ...I just want to get this problem resolved. Both will reduce weight, improve performance, look great and hopefully fix my problem but if it doesn't I'd be really that much deeper in the doo doo so I'm not sure what to do.
Will listen carefully to others with more experience than I have however so please.......feel free to offer it.
"Why don't you guys get with Bob from House of Wheels and have a set of inexpensive reproduction wheels installed? They look identical to OEM. Weigh a little more but eliminates the worry and safety issue once and for all. This would fix all the hassles you have been through"
One reason would be because it would void my warranty that currently exists and will exist on wheel and tires for the next 4 years if I do not change wheels.
Another is because if I'm going to have another set of wheels put on this car it's going to be a high quality forged wheel and not an inexpensive cast one. I'm looking at Forgeline vs BC forged right now. It will void my warranty but give better looks, performance and hopefully allow me to actually drive y car.
The BC forged are cheaper than the Forgeline because they are made in Taiwan vs USA. Quite frankly I don't care where they are made ...I just want to get this problem resolved. Both will reduce weight, improve performance, look great and hopefully fix my problem but if it doesn't I'd be really that much deeper in the doo doo so I'm not sure what to do.
Will listen carefully to others with more experience than I have however so please.......feel free to offer it.
For what it's worth my monoblock Signatures from Deity are made in Taiwan and they have been fine. For about $4K, they're a decent alternative and will fix the problem. Give Khoa a call.
Sssh! Take your lumps and keep your mouth shut. it was your fault! Don't you dare get a lawyer involved!
yeah, right
I see Vette owners build elaborate ramps, just to avoid the 1" rise (bump) between the street and their driveway. There aren't a more careful set of drivers on this planet than corvette owners.
GM then: 2013 Dan Ackerson CEO and Chairman of board
2013 C&D LT test
It took the dealer two weeks to replace the engine under warranty, and GM engineers provided a full tear-down and analysis of the mishap. A connecting-rod bearing had failed, sending debris through the LT1’s belly and chewing up more internals. In related news, GM acknowledged that the engine manufacturing plant had experienced some difficulty ridding the inside of the block of machining burrs. As luck would have it, its oil-filter manufacturer had a similar problem; some filters had a thread shard that could come loose and contaminate the lubrication system. The only good part of this story is that our engine was replaced at no charge.
GM NOW: Mary Barra CEO 2014 COB 2016
C&D October 2018 GS LT test
the Grand Sport showed signs of an ailment that would dog us throughout our time with the car. At just under 6500 miles we discovered that three of its wheels were bent. Two were repaired, but one was cracked and had to be replaced. In all, that was an $1119 trip to the Corvette cobbler, none of which was covered by warranty.
Then, while on its first of two trips to Florida, and while wearing Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 winter tires, the left-front wheel and tire were destroyed by a rather large and unavoidable pothole. A new wheel and tire weren't the easiest to source and cost us $1612 before we could get the Corvette back on I-75 and heading north.
Within a month of the Corvette's Florida spring break, while at the dealer for the 30,000-mile service, we had Mr. Goodwrench diagnose a vibration at highway speed and a squeaky rear hatch. The dealer informed us that—surprise!—both right-side wheels were bent. The front was repairable ($145), but the rear wasn't; a replacement cost $641.
That was the end of our wheel troubles . . . for about 4000 miles, by which point all four wheels were bent. All. Four. So we shoveled another $580 to our new best friend, the wheel-repair guy. That, finally, was our last instance of bent wheels on the Grand Sport. In all, we spent $4098 on wheel repair and replacement—seven repairs and three replacements, for an average failure rate of once every 4000 miles
Is a Car & Driver 40,000 mile road test, and new wheels purchased every year of that test, an impartial enough source to make folks believe their is a problem? And not one damn repair covered under a warranty. Mouth kept shut to lawyers long enough.
I applaud the owners who filed 3 Class Action suits on the false Chevrolet advertising of the Z06 as a racecar right out of the box; and then watched the world go by when the HAL 9000 engine controller reported "sorry Dave, gonna have to reduce engine power"
I applaud the owners who filed the fourth Class Action suit when the "lifted cover on the 2017 supercharger" didn't fix the problem.
I applaud the owners who filed the fifth Class Action suit on the A8 transmission when they figured out the constantly increasing weight (90w now?) transmission snake oil GM was dropping down the tranny was just a band-aid to hopefully hold the tranny together long enough to get it past the warranty period. Just corvy owners whining? how about GMC and Cadillac owners who have the same transmission afflictions? Hundreds of Thousands of plaintiffs.
The Sixth Class Action suit, The bent rim story above. 'nuff said.
because GM, by advice of counsel, will not do anything to remedy since that would be an admission of guilt and used against them.
Gawd i hope so, because if true, at least 2 more lawsuits are forthcoming:
7. Automatic Fuel Management Valve lifter failure. GM has quietly remedied this problem on 2500 C7 2019 corvettes (and more currently being built.) GM fixed quietly by eliminating the AFM fuel management system completely on the C7 ZR1 engine.
Guilt by remedy on select cars. Only 177,000 more C7 corvettes to go.
8. Direct injection fouling of valves by carbon buildup. GM has quietly remedied this problem on 2500 C7 2019 corvettes (and more currently being built.) GM fixed quietly by adding port injection in addition to the direct injection on the motor, thereby sending cleansing detergent gas through the port injection to behind the valves afflicted with carbon buildup to clean those valves. But ONLY on the C7 ZR1 engine.
Guilt by remedy on select cars. Only 177,000 more C7 corvettes to go.
The adversarial gauntlet has been thrown down by the new management team at GM. Let the games begin.
Last edited by SilverGhost; 05-12-2019 at 10:05 PM.
05-11-2019, 10:54 AM
More bent cracked rim misery plus class action suit
. I'm just not sure that the guys who have bent rims have definitively proven that they were in track mode on the street when the bend/crack occurred.
But I did not think it ever happened.
