1998 Chevrolet Corvette complaints

THIS COMPLAINT REGARDS THE STEERING COLUMN LOCKING UP. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON OCCURANCE ACCORDING TO MY CORVETTE SOURCES. MINE LOCKED UP LAST WEEK AND REQUIRED THAT THE VEHICLE BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. MY CONCERN IS THAT SHOULD THIS HAPPEN AGAIN, I MAY BE IN A PLACE WHERE ASSISTANCE IS LIMITED. THE VEHICLE FAILURE OCCURED IN MY GARAGE AS I WAS LEAVING THE HOUSE. THE PROBLEM I ENCOUNTERED WAS THAT THE WHEEL WAS NOT STRAIGHT WHICH REQUIRED A LOT OF EFFORT TO GET THE CAR OUT OF THE GARAGE AND ON TO A WRECKER. REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

PE99066; STEERING COLUMN LOCK MODULE: UPON STARTING VEHICLE AND DRIVING ABOUT 50 FEET, STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. AFTER LETTING VEHICLE SIT FOR 5 HOURS AND REMOVING THE BATTERY, PROBLEM CLEARED UP. OWNER EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, BUT VEHICLE ONLY SAT A FEW MINUTES BEFORE STEERING WHEEL UNLOCKED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

IN EACH FAILURE OF THE ROTOR ASSEMBLY, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO VIBRATE TERRIBLY UPON TRYING TO STOP AND THIS USUALLY IS NOTICABLE AT 15 MPH. THE DEALERSHIP IS TERRIFIC IN ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM AND THE SERVICE MANAGER AT SEWELL IS THE BEST EVER...VERY ATTENTIVE AND CONCERNED WITH THIS CONTINOUS FAILURE. I DO NOT DRIVE FAST AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE VEHICLE IS SELDOM DRIVEN ACCUMULATING ONLY APPROXIMATELY 21,000 MILES IN 3 YEARS BUT THE ROTOR ASSEMBLY FAILS AT ALMOST 7,000 MILES EACH TIME STARTING WITH ORIGINALY EQUIPMENT AND THE REPLACEMENT PARTS ALSO FAIL EACH TIME THE PROBLEM IS ATTEMPTED TO RESOLUTION. STEERING IS DIFFICULT WHEN FAILURE OCCURS AND THE VEHICLE VIBRATES.

MY STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT UNLOCK, SINCE THIS VEHICLE HAS A MANUAL TRANSMISSION I PUT IT IN GEAR AND STARTED TO BACK AWAY FROM THE GARAGE WHEN I WENT TO TURN SO AS NOT TO HIT A WALL THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED. IT WOULD NOT UNLOCK AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. IT'S DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE CAR SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GO INTO A GEAR IF THE VEHICLE CANNOT BE STEERED. REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

STEERING WHEEL LOCKUP GOT MESSAGE SERVICE STEERING COLUMN REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

WHILE DRIVING STEERING COLUMN LOCKED UP, CAUSING STEERING TO BECOME DIFFICULT CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

UNDEDECTED WATER LEAK FROM PREVIOUS ELECTRONIC FAILURE CAUSING CAR TO NOT EXCEED 5 MPH. STILL NOT CORRECTED . CAR RETURNED TO DEALER WILL NOT START

IM STARTED MY CAR, PUT IT IN DRIVE AND DROVE OFF. I NOTICED MY STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED. THE ENGINE DIED ALMOST RIGHT AWAY. I WAS GOING ABOUT 3 MPH. I RESTARTED THE ENGINE SEVERAL TIMES TRYING TO FREE THE STEERING. NOTHING WORKED. I HAD TO BACK MY CAR OUT OF THE STREET WITH NO STEERING. THE NEXT MORNING THE STEERING STARTED WORKING AGAIN. AFTER TALKING TO SOME CORVETTE CLUB MEMBER, I FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS VERY COMMON TO HAPPEN ON LATE MODEL CORVETTES. REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

THE COVERS ON THE INSIDE OF HEADLIGHTS ARE DESIGNED SMALL AND RESULT IN FALLING OFF CONTINUALLY. *ET REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

STEER COLUMN WOULD NOT UNLOCK AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED. VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO DEALER FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK ACTUATOR. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

REPLACEMENT SEATBELTS NOT STOCKED, REVISED DESIGN NOT PERFECTED.

THIS PROBLEM IS ENDEMIC TO 1997-ON C5 CORVETTES! NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK

THE STEERING COLUMN LOCKED WHILE PULLING FROM THE PARKING LOT THRICE IN ONE MONTH. THE DEALER REPLACED SOME PARTS ON IT, BUT HAD TO TOW THE CAR IN. A SERACH ON THIS NHTSA SITE ITSELF INDICATES NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS WITH THIS CAR WITH PRECISELY THE SAME PROBLEM. I AM AMAZED THAT NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE ON IT SO FAR AND WHAT ARE THE AUTHORITIES ACTUALLY WAITING FOR. THEY ARE PROBABLY WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO DIE WITH THIS DEFECT BEFORE THEY TAKE ACTION. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

THE SEAT BELTS TWIST AND JAM IN THE BELT GUIDES. I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO UNJAM THEM EVERY TIME WITH SOME FIDDLING. HOWEVER IT IS TIME CONSUMING AND SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS WITH THE BELT ON AND THIS MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE WITH THE BELT LOCKED IN ONE POSITION. THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK FAILED TO DISENGAGE AND THE STEERING WHEEL WON'T TURN. I AM IN A CORVETTE CLUB AND THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 1997, 1998, AND EARLY 1999'S. REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED 1ST MAY,99 2ND JULY,00 ITS A GOOD THING VEHICLE WAS NOT MOVING WHEN IT OCCURRED. *AK

STEERING COLUMN LOCKED UP WHILE PARKED AND WOULD NOT UNLOCK WITH THE KEY INSERTED AND ENGINE RUNNING. ERROR MESSAGE - "SERVICE COLUMN LOCK, PULL KEY WAIT 10 SECONDS". PULLING THE KEY HAD NO EFFECT. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

STEERING WHEEL LOCK WILL NOT DISENGAGE!! THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM BASED ON SERVICE BULLETINS AND NUMBER OF POSTINGS TO VARIOUS BULLETIN BOARDS! MAKE THEM FIX THIS!!. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

STEERING COLUMN LOCKED AND I COULD NOT TURN THE WHEEL TO DRIVE IT. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

STEERING COLUMN LOCKED UP EVEN WHEN OPERATING VEHICLE, A WARNING LIGHT INDICATED TO PULL KEY AND WAIT 10 SECONDS, BUT IT HAD NO AFFECT. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

WHILE BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE STEERING COLUMN LOCKED UP. PROBLEM COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE A CRASH. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND REPAIRED. *AK *ML REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELT WEBBINGS OFTEN FOLD OVER WHILE RETRACTING. ONCE THE FOLDED WEBBING IS PULLED INTO RETRACTOR THE RETRACTOR JAMS. FURTHER USE OF SEATBELT IS IMPOSSIBLE. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND ILLEGAL. THE ENTIRE MOLDING MUST BE DISASSEMBLED EACH TIME TO GET THE BELT TO RELEASE AND BE USABLE AGAIN. THIS REQUIRES TOOLS AND .5 HOURS OF TIME. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME NO LESS THAN 20 TIMES IN A 2 MONTH PERIOD. WHEN PICKING MY DAUGHTER UP FROM SCHOOL THE RETRACTOR OFTEN JAMS FORCING HER TO NOT WEAR A SAFETY BELT. DEALER HAS BEEN NO HELP. GM HAS BEEN NO HELP. I HAVE A $38000 CAR THAT IS BOTH DANGEROUS AND ILLEGAL TO DRIVE. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP, THIS IS A VERY COMMON OCCURENCE ON ALL 1997 AND UP CORVETTES AND GM KNOWS ABOUT IT. NHTSA DATABASE LISTS CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 00V111000 FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM BUT GM JUST BLOWS ME OFF AND TELLS ME THERE IS NO FIX AND NO RECALL. *AK

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

WHILE BACKING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY ALL OF A SUDDEN THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. DEALERSHIP WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM. NOTHING WAS DONE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. ALSO SEATBELT DOES NOT RETRACT. *AK *ML REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

SERVICE COLUMN LOCK WAS DISPLAYED ON THE DRIVERS INFORMATION CENTER, WHICH STOPED THE STEERING WHEEL FROM BEING TURNED. THE FRONT ROTORS WARPED AT 7000 MILES, I HAD THEM TURNED, BUT THEY WARPED AGAIN AND WILL HAVE TO BE RETURNED TO MAKE THEM SMOOTH REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

VEHICLE STARTED AND DROVE WITH STEERING WHEEL IN LOCKED POSITION DUE TO ELECTRIC SOLENOID. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

TODAY THE COLUMN LOCK FAILED FOR THE 5TH TIME ON MY 1998 CORVETTE. ONCE THE COLUMN LOCKED ON ME AFTER I HAD BEGUN TO LEAVE A PARKING LOT AND THE CAR SHUT DOWN ON ME. HAD I BEEN AT AN INTERSECTION, I MIGHT HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED. FORTUNATELY (OR UNFORTUNATELY AS IT MAY BE) THE OTHER TIMES THE COLUMN LOCK FAILED TO RELEASE WERE AFTER I HAD PARKED THE CAR AND RETURNED. SO FAR, I HAVE ONLY BEEN GREATLY INCONVENIENCED OR HAD MY FRIENDS INCONVENIENCED, BUT I AM AWARE TAHT THIS PROBLEM IS NOT UNCOMMON AMONG C5 OWNERS. IT IS TIME FOR A RECALL FOLKS! ENOUGH OF "UNDER CONSIDERATION".*AK

THE DEALER DENIED OF ANY RECALL, AND SAID THAT I WAS MISTAKEN IN THINKING THERE WAS A RECALL. IT'S REAL SAD THAT OUR LOCAL CHEVY DEALER ISN'T EVEN AWARE THERE'S A RECALL! NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED WITHIN SUMMARY. *AK

ABS SENSOR LIGHT KEPT COMING ON. VEHICLE HA DBEEN IN DEALER'S SHOP ON FIVE OCCASIONS, AND PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

I HAVE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE 4 TIMES ON MY 98 CORVETTE - COLUMN SERVICE LOCK ON. THE STEERING COLUMN LOCKS AND THE CAR IS NOT DRIVEABLE. I HAVE BEEN STRANDED FOUR TIMES. THIS CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY, YET GMC DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THIS AS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. THIS PROBLEM RESULTS IN THE CAR BEING NON-DRIVEABLE, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING STRANDED AT ANY TIME IN ANY PLACE MAKES THIS A SAFTEY ISSUE. I HAVE RESEARCHED THE COLUMN SERVICE LOCK PROBLEM EXTENSIVELY ON THE INTERNET, AND HAVE FOUND THAT THIS PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON IN MOST C5 (97 - 00) CORVETTES - THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED OCCURRENCE. GM SHOULD RECALL ALL C5S AND CORRECT THIS SEVERE DEFECT. I HAVE EVEN HEARD THAT THIS HAS HAPPEND TO INDIVIDUALS WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION, DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE GMC TAKES THIS SERIOUSLY?? *AK

I FIND THAT THE GEARS GRIND BETWEEN SHIFTS AT EITHER HIGH SPEED OR HIGH RPM'S. AT THE BEGINNING ONLY 5 GEAR HAD GRINDED NOW I FIND THAT GEAR 4 AND 6 GRIND. THE GRINDING OCCURS OCCURS AS THE RPM'S APPROACH 4,500 AND HIGHER. ALSO THE GEARS ALSO GRIND WHEN SPEEDS EXCEED 140KM/H OR 88 MILES/H. I HAVE ALREADY HAD 3 PRIOR MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH MY 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION. THE FIRST WAS A TRANSMISSION LINK FAILURE. THE SECOND WAS A TRANSMISSION LEAK. THE THIRD WAS A BROKEN SHIFTER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TWICE DUE TO THE INCIDENTS. I FOUND COUNTLESS OTHERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AT WWW.C5-CORVETTE.COM IT SEEMS TO BE A SYNCRO PROBLEM. NO DEALER HAS BEEN ABLE TO RESOLVE MY PROBLEM TO DATE. I HAVE BEEN TO 3 DIFFERENT DEALERS FOR A TOTAL OF 5 TRIPS, NO CORRECTION HAS BEEN MADE THUS FAR. *AK

SEAT BELT WILL NOT LATCH. *AK

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 35 MPH, ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SAFELY. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

WHEN STARTING UP CAR STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED, CONSUMER TRIED ALL GEARS, IT STILL WOULD NOT UNLOCK . HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED. CONSUMER FELT THAT THIS WAS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE LOCKED UP WHILE DRIVING. TOOK TO DEALER, AND IT WAS A BAD SOLENOID SWITCH. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

VEHICLE SHAKES WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED BECAUSE ROTORS ARE WARPED. YH

PE99066, STEERING COLUMN LOCK MODULE; CONSUMER IS RECEIVEING MESSAGES TO SERVICE THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK. THIS PROBLEM HAS NOT STOPPED CONSUMER FROM DRIVING THE VEHICLE. BUT, DEALER DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO CORRECT PROBLEM AT THIS TIME. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

WHILE DRIVING DOWN ON INTERSTATE IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. THE INFORMATION WARNING SYSTEM DISPLAYED A MESSAGE THAT READ ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM WAS MALFUNCTIONING. ATER DISPLAY MESSAGE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THEN ENGINE LOST POWER. CONSUMER FELT THAT IF SYSTEMS FAILED IT COULD LOCK UP THE BRAKES AND POSIBLE INJURIES COULD OCCUR. *AK

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE STEERING COLUMN HAS FAILED TO UNLOCK UPON STARTING THE ENGINE. FORTUNATELY, BOTH TIMES WERE IN THE GARAGE. THE COMPUTER DETECTS THE FAILED COLUMN LOCK AND PREVENTS THE CAR FROM BEING DRIVEN BY SHUTTING THE ENGINE DOWN AFTER MOVING A COUPLE OF FEET. MY CONCERN IS THIS HAS BEEN REPAIRED ONCE. IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THE COLUMN COULD LOCK WHILE DRIVING ? EVEN IF THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN, I WOULD STILL BE IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

STEERING COLUMN LOCKED UP WHILE DRIVING, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO BECOME UNDRIVEABLE. DEALER HAS REPLACED THE STEERING LOCK MODULE AND ROCKER STUDS. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING LOT, DRIVING ABOUT 15 MPH THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO OWNER'S HOME. THE PROBLEM WAS REPORTED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK REF. IN EA02-031 CJS

SEATBELT BUCKLE LOCKS UP IN THE UPRIGHT POSITION WHICH WONT PROTECT THE OCCUPANT IN EVENT OF A CRASH. DEALER REPLACED PASSENGER'S SEATBELT 3 TIMES. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

STEERING LOCK MODULE SHORTED OUT CAUSING STEERING WHEEL TO LOCK. MJS (DID NOT COUNT IN NUMBERS FOR EA02-031; DUPLICATE OF ODI# 852313.)

VEHICLE HAS A CRACKED ENGINE BLOCK, RESULTING IN COOLANT LEAKAGE. THE DEALER HAS INSPECTED AND WILLL REPAIR VEHICLE. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK

TRANSMISSION FAILURE.

FUEL PUMP AND FUEL LINE EVAP. HOSE.

EGR VALVE.

SUSPENSION: FRONT SWAY BARS.

RADIATOR LEAK.

DRIVER'S SEAT BELT LATCH. SEAT BELT UNHOOKS ITSELF.

ENGINE--OIL COOL LINE TO FILTER IS DEFECTIVE.