2017 Grand Sport - Cracked Rear Transmission Tunnel Section
 

I had the misfortune of being on an extremely busy interstate about a month ago when a vehicle in front of me went over a large rock or chuck of something VERY hard. This interstate is eight lanes wide where I was at and vehicles were all around me doing 70+/- mph, so I had no where to go and I couldn't stop without causing accidents for others. I tried to straddle it, but it hit a number of places under the car, but luckily it missed anything with fluids. One big problem right now is the dealer has shown me pictures of a rear structural member that has a crack. They are calling it a rear transmission tunnel and indicating it is a non-serviceable part, not offered by Chevrolet. $7,600 damages without buying this part and the associated labor. Anyone have any similar experience?

I may end up with a totaled car that still looks perfect.


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Yikes. Glad there wasn't a bigger accident. Insurance should take care of it. I doubt it's a full write off.

Edit: I misread your post. I thought this was a pic of the tranny.

Of course news comes in right after I made my post. My dealer/repair shop heard from Chevrolet engineering and Chevrolet doesn't offer the part because it they say replacing it compromises the structure of vehicle. This is going to get interesting.

I am glad too that no one was hurt. A car can be repaired or replaced.

Can't help. I don't recognize that area. Do you have any other pics from farther away?

Seems like it's probably a structural stress area but anything metal should be repairable with welding. I will be interested to see what others think. :lurk:

This is the only other picture I have of the area that is cracked. You can see part of the exhaust pipe and shield for the fuel tank.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...30023f466b.jpg

A picture of my baby!!
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I hope the smart people here can help you find a repair that is safe and solid.

You might want to try posting in the C7 Tech Forum too for more eyes to see. Best of luck. :)

After talking with the insurance company, my car is being totaled. This will make someone a very nice car to repair as long as they don't worry about liability of a part that may fail. My luck would have it that the rear of the car would break and it would cause an accident hurting someone. At the worst, it will make a great parts car with only having about 8,000 miles.

Wow, I am shocked. I hope you have replacement coverage otherwise you will take a big hit. I'm really surprised this "crack" can't be repaired. Is it aluminum and thus can't be welded? Best of luck to you.:cheers:

It is rare but some types of damage will result in totaling a car that appears relatively unscathed and this is one example. This sort of incident is very rare because typically an accident sufficient to damage this part of the car would result in so much damage that clearly declaring the car a total loss would be the obvious move. This is the rare case where there was a near surgical strike to a critical part of the structure resulting in irreparable damage.

I suspect engineering's concern is due to the location and type of damage coupled with the material alloy and heat treatment necessary to supply the original required strength and rigidity won't respond well to any type of welding repair and replacement of the entire structural element isn't economically feasible.

I had a C5 that had frame damage caused by stress from too many laps with competition tires and the official recommendation was "replace the frame."

The car was out of warrantee so I took the only reasonable option and had it welded. It held up just fine. I suspect that this car could be repaired also and some repair shop will make out quite well.

That's a shame. Hope it works out for you!!!

There are certainly ways to repair it but they create liabilities that neither GM nor an insurance company is willing to accept but that doesn't mean a practical repair cannot be done. It could also be that the proper needed repair is going to require some reinforcing plate with associated engineering that a customer wouldn't accept as reasonable for his new car but would certainly be acceptable to someone looking for a very good deal on a mint looking "almost" new car.

This is one reason why you want to do your due diligence when purchasing a used car because this car is probably going to end up in circulation again and at least in the past cars that should have had a permanent salvage title get "title laundered" into an apparent clean title.

This makes sense to me given the location. And parting out to someone by the insurance is their best bet to recover something. :flag:

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Take INS money .. buy it back and have it welded ... :) It ain't like you Duke Boys jumped it and it cracked. What is the other $7600 in damage charges?

Someone will likely make money on this.

You could buy it back and have it welded with a nice, solid gusset--assuming you know a welder who is good with aluminum. Failing that, just buy a new C7 and call it good. This is why we buy insurance.

:cheers:

If you are not part of the buy back, post the VIN here so it comes up if someone googles the VIN. This way they can find some info if they search.

That car is beautiful, what a shame. I would be depressed.

How many cars have hit something on the road and received similar damage and the owners just kept driving them without fixing anything? I suspect more than you think.

Bill

While that sounds like a great idea, his insurance company may not be willing to provide full collision coverage on the car in the future if he does that.