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05-15-2020, 05:56 AM | #1 |
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
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It’s been *so long* since I’ve seen my Corvette
That I don’t even know I own a Corvette sometimes.
But yes. I own a 2017 Corvette Grand Sport. Still do, in fact. I last saw it on March 2nd of 2020, as it was being loaded onto a flatbed truck to be taken to the local Chevrolet dealership. Back it up 2 days. I took the Corvette to visit some friends in NorCal on the prior weekend. While driving around spiritedly, as one is wont to do in a sports car of this caliber, I got a “low oil pressure, stop immediately” message on the dash as the engine started to sound like sh*t has hit the fan. I pulled over and shut it down immediately. Since it was already late on a Saturday, and all the Chevy dealerships I called said they won’t even touch the car until Monday, I decided, at my friend’s beck and call, to just leave the car for the time being and enjoy the weekend. Little did I know that it was the last time that engine would turn over. I looked under the car and in the engine bay, and from a quick glance there appears to be no signs of any leakage that would indicate a loss of oil. After I dropped off the car I spoke with the service writer expressing my concerns, but I assumed that a car I bought new barely a year ago, now barely with 5,000 miles, that whatever ailed it would be fixed promptly. A week went by. Two weeks. Okay. I tried to be patient, especially since I have 2 more cars to drive at home. Dealership never bothered to keep me updated, so I called back for the first time sinceI dropped it off, assuming they’ve been working on the car all this time. “Oh, we needed to pull the DME records to send to GM.” Okay. That’s fine, I’m certain it wasn’t a mechanical over-rev as I am “enthusiastic” when driving but careful when it comes to upshifts and downshifts, with nearly my entire adult driving life operating manuals. Another week went by. I tried to limit my calls to the dealership to once a week. “Sent the DME pull to GM. Waiting on them to authorize.” Okay, so 3 weeks in no work has been done. Then COVID-19 hit. At this point getting a hold of the dealership service department is like pulling teeth. I’d be lucky if they return my calls within the same week. Weeks, turns into MONTHS. End of March came and went. April came and went. FINALLY GM authorizes warranty work to begin at the beginning of May. I figured they’ll just replace the engine based on the symptoms. Nope. All they’ve authorized was replacement of the crank bearings. Okay. Fine. How long is it going to take? “Oh should be no longer than a week. Then a couple of days for the tech to test it and make sure it’s repaired right.” Two weeks later, not a peep. At this point I’ve completely lost faith in GM and Chevy. Had this been my BMW, I’d have the car back within 2 weeks with a fresh new crate motor. It’s been 70+ days since I last saw my car, and at this point I’m considering filing a “missing vehicle” report except I don’t even remember what it looks like. I vaguely recall owning a Corvette like this.
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05-15-2020, 07:37 AM | #3 |
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Very sad to hear. I had some electronic gremlins with my C7 but it wasn't this serious. I got rid of it anyway. You shouldn't have to pay for this much and have to explain why things are failing.
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05-15-2020, 07:45 AM | #4 |
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I've heard that sound.....it was expensive.
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05-15-2020, 08:18 AM | #5 |
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Yuck that is a mess, hoping for the best. It is shameful that you have to solicit updates from the dealership and are not getting regular communications.
After five maintenance free months I called the BMW independent and the owner answered "is everything OK, do you still own the car(s)?" |
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05-15-2020, 08:37 AM | #6 |
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Don't understand their hesitation to replace the motor... If it destroyed a bearing, that material would be in the oil, which would likely be everywhere including the heads. You would hope that they would think logically and just replace the whole thing. Really hope no more engine problems happen during your ownership. Bet you can't wait to get it back, even if there is a sour taste in your mouth.
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05-15-2020, 09:06 AM | #7 |
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My heart sank a little when I heard it, I’m not gonna lie. Luckily I was with some friends that put my mind at ease and entertained me for the weekend.
Surprised there were no oil leaks, no signs of trouble prior. Just the light on the dash, quickly followed by what sounds like someone hacking up a lung. I was able to pull over within maybe 10 seconds and by that time the engine wouldn’t turn over. 11 weeks at the dealership so far...I would think, since they’re going to have to remove the engine to get the bottom end off, it WOULD have saved them significant amount of labor time to just swap in a crate engine. SECOND car I ever owned in 30 years of driving to leave me stranded. I guess count my blessings?
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05-15-2020, 09:09 AM | #8 | |
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05-15-2020, 09:10 AM | #9 |
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Yeah, makes no sense. If it lost oil pressure and no external leaks, I would think think oil pump gears, or spun crank shaft bearing(s). And again the metal pieces could be anywhere. I question the effort the dealership is making here. Also direction from GM is strange on this one. Unless they somehow flush oil through the whole system under pressure before they fire it back up. Strange.
Hope you get the car back soon. I had very different experience with Ford. I brought my Mustang in for what sounded like right rear wheel bearing at 2.5 years into the 3 year warranty, and the dealer replaced all 4 wheel bearings under warranty. I had track pads in the car, and track decals. No hassle. Had the car back next day. I realize a bearing is not the same as a block, but the feeling of being taken care of is what I appreciated.
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05-15-2020, 09:10 AM | #10 | |
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
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As it stands, IF metal particles get into various passages and I blow the engine again within the next 3 years? I’m still eligible for lemon AND they’d have to back track the mileage and time to this incident. Penny wise, pound foolish. Especially considering how cheap the LT1 engine is.
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05-15-2020, 09:12 AM | #11 |
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Definitely a terrible experience with the dealer even with delays due to whats going on. You shouldn't have had to reach out to them to get an update. You'd think the lead service manager would have a listing of jobs in his building which couldn't be that long of a list to deal with customer service. I've never been interested in domestics ever since seeing how much of a pain it was for my family when I was younger.
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05-15-2020, 09:58 AM | #12 |
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Unfortunately, you should have stopped trying to call them and went to written correspondence a while back, with most lemon laws, they get 2 chances to fix and on the 3rd chance, if not successful, they have to buy the car back or provide a new one. It's probably a good idea to invoke this, even if they haven't used up all of their chances, to state that their fix must be successful. If you are not comfortable communicating with written correspondence and putting them on the spot, it's time for a lawyer.
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05-15-2020, 10:54 AM | #13 |
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Wow, no excuse for that, on many levels. But with the amount of crate engines they have in stock, it's just like, wow.
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05-15-2020, 11:40 AM | #14 |
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Exactly. LT1s are dime-a-dozen.
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05-15-2020, 01:35 PM | #15 |
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05-15-2020, 06:55 PM | #16 |
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My biggest fear of going the Corvette route is the GM service experience. I really have no complaints with my BMW dealership other than the cost. I enjoy and appreciate the convince of showing up and getting a loaner and the prompt turn around for the fix.
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05-15-2020, 08:27 PM | #17 |
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This is honestly so disheartening in two ways. Forst, the whole point of a big old V8 is it's simple and shouldn't shit itself. Second, the dealer and GM appear to be tripping over their own dicks trying to replace parts to save what, 10%... just change the fuckign engine.
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05-16-2020, 03:28 AM | #18 |
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Sorry for your loss. Hope it gets fixed soon. Be patient and firm. I've kept my bmw isolated for fear it could catch the covid and lose a motor.
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05-16-2020, 06:31 AM | #19 | |
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I have owned numerous Corvettes. Stock and modded, I have beat them to death with no issues. But all it takes is one time to leave a bad impression.
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05-16-2020, 08:14 AM | #20 |
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I feel putting something like a Corvette in the same dealership with the other run of the mill Chevrolet is contributing to this problem. Not all "certified" mechanics are able to work on a Corvette. Besides the engine and some switch gears, everything else on a Corvette is unique to the Corvette. When I had my accident, it took 2 months to repair simply because there was only 1 Corvette body tech and 1 Corvette mechanic in an otherwise large service department. It may be old school compared to some European makers but it's still pretty exotic stuff to a Chevy dealer. Clumping this car in with a busy Chevy dealership does not do it justice.
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05-16-2020, 04:07 PM | #21 | |
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Those were pretty easy to work on. But I'm talking about Heads, Cam, Intake, torque tube, clutch, and rear diffs.
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05-18-2020, 10:04 AM | #22 | |
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
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Apparently it’s a “2 day” job to swap out the bottom end of the engine. It’s only taken so damn long because GM had to authorize the repairs. When I finally got a hold of the service writer, he sounded surprised that GM is asking for a repair instead of a replacement engine. Either way, it’s been nearly 80 days since it’s entered the shop. Again, penny wise, pound foolish. If they simply authorized an engine replacement, we’re done in 2 weeks, I get my car back, and sure they would pay a little more in parts but less in labor, but at least they avoid the possibility of lemon law. Plus I’d be far more inclined to hold a neutral or positive view towards GM products. At this point, after my experience with returning the lease on the Bolt and the ordeal with the Corvette, I’d be more inclined to buy a FCA product before I’ll consider GM, and my opinion of FCA products is pretty f**king low. Having worked with GM as a supplier in the past, though, I shouldn’t be surprised at this. Let’s just say they have some brilliant engineering and product design minds that are severely hamstrung by a penny pinching corporate philosophy and an inept marketing team. Saving pennies on a part that would potentially cost MILLIONS in warranty claims is standard practice.
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