1999 Chevrolet Corvette

WHILE DRIVING MY 1999 CHEVROLET CORVETTE I TURNED OFF THE HIGHWAY & INTO THE PARKING LOT OF A STORE UPON DOING SO MY STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. I NEVER RECEIVED ANY WARNINGS IN MY DIC ABOUT STEERING PROBLEMS I ALSO HAD THIS REPLACEMENT PART PER A RECALL NOTICE LESS THAN A YEAR AGO & AT THAT TIME FOUND OUT IT HAD BEEN REPLACED PRIOR TO THAT. THE DEALERSHIP TOWED THE CAR IN & INFORMED US THAT THEY HAD FIXED IT AGAIN! THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS VEHICLE! THE NOTES I READ ON YOUR SITE EVEN 1997 THROUGH 2002 MODELS WITH THIS PROBLEM NONE OF THE REPORTS WERE WHILE DRIVING THEY WERE WHEN PEOPLE GOT INTO THEIR CAR & STARTED IT THAT THE WHEEL DIDN'T UNLOCK. I HAVE AS I SAID BEFORE NEVER RECEIVED A MESSAGE IN THE DIC PRIOR TO ANY OF THE LOCK UP PROBLEM. I AM THE 2ND OWNER OF THIS VEHICLE & IN THE 18 MONTHS I HAVE HAD IT IT HAS BEEN REPLACED 2 TIMES THIS LAST TIME COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL TO BOTH MYSELF AND MY DAUGHTER! JUST 10 SECONDS EARLIER BEING ON THE HIGHWAY WITH SPEEDS OF 60 MPH WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! AT WHAT COST WILL IT TAKE FOR GENERAL MOTORS TO CORRECT THIS WRONG? MY DAUGHTER SAYS SHE WILL NOT GET BACK INTO THE CAR AGAIN! I MYSELF AM SCARED FOR MY LIFE TO TAKE THE CHANCE THAT THIS WILL OCCUR AGAIN! SO, I REFUSE TO DRIVE THE CAR ANYMORE. THESE ARE NOT CHEAP CARS TO BUY! I HAVE OWED SEVERAL OTHER CORVETTES & HAD A FEW MINOR PROBLEMS HERE & THERE, BUT NOT ANYTHING THAT COULD BE A LIFE THREATENING OR LIFE TAKING PROBLEM ESPECIALLY AFTER THE FIXES BEING DONE BY THE DEALERSHIP! ANOTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO ASK OF YOU, IF YOU HAVE AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ON THIS CAR, IS IT NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LOCKED WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS? I DID ALL THE SO-CALLED THINGS, OF KEY REMOVAL & WAIT, ETC & IT DID NOT UNLOCK THE STEERING, BUT YOU COULD PUT IT IN ANY GEAR TO MOVE IT. JUST STRAIGHT FORWARD & BACKWARD DO TO NO STEERING. I CAN'T SEEM TO GET A REAL ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. *NLM REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

I HAVE A 1999 CORVETTE COUPE. I WAS DRIVING ON FOLSOM BLVD. (AT WATT AVENUE) IN SACRAMENTO, CA DURING RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC (4:50 P.M.). I PULLED OUT INTO TRAFFIC AND MY CAR WENT COMPLETELY DEAD. LUCKILY, NO ONE REAR-ENDED ME. I WAS ABLE TO RE-START MY CAR BUT THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT TURN AND A "STEERING COLUMN" LOCKED MESSAGE ON MY COMPUTER READ OUT INSTRUCTED ME TO WAIT 10 SECONDS THEN REMOVE THE KEY. SO I COMPLIED. I THEN AGAIN STARTED MY CAR, BUT THE "STEERING COLUMN" LOCKED MESSAGE CAME ON AND MY STEERING COLUMN WAS, INDEED, LOCKED. LUCKILY, MY STEERING WHEEL WAS AIMED IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND I COULD DRIVE FORWARD OUT OF THE BUSY INTERSECTION WHERE I STOPPED IN FRONT OF A GAS STATION. I CALLED FOLSOM CHEVROLET'S SERVICE DEPT. AND THEY ADVISED I WOULD NEED TO HAVE MY VEHICLE TOWED INTO THEIR SHOP. THIS PROBLEM COULD HAVE EASILY ENDED UP IN A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT HAD I NOT BEEN IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFICE. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF I WAS ON THE FREEWAY DOING 65-70 MPH? REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

PURCHASED USED 1999 CHEVROLET CORVETTE COUPE (C5) IN FEBRUARY 2002 FROM DEALER. IN APRIL OF 2002, I GOT IN THE CAR, STARTED IT AND PROCEEDED TO DRIVE OFF. NOTICED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED UP AND I COULDN'T STEER THE VEHICLE. HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE UPON THEY HAD TO REMOVE THE STEERING LOCK TO ALLOW THE CAR TO BE STEERABLE. THEY FIXED THE PROBLEM BUT AFTER READING AN ARTICLE IN THE FEBRUARY 2003 ISSUE OF CORVETTE FEVER, I THOUGHT IT BEST TO LET NHTSA KNOW OF THIS PARTICULAR INCIDENT. I WAS NOT HURT OR INJURED AND AM FILING THIS ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF IT AND MAYBE TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE WHO OWNS ONE OF THESE VEHICLE TO BECOME AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

1999 CHEVROLET CORVETTE COUPE STEERING COLUMN LOCK PROBLEMS: TWICE IN TWO YEARS THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, I FOLLOWED ALL PROCEEDURES SHARED BY FELLOW CORVETTE OWNERS AND THE MANUAL, I HAD TO REPEAT THIS PROCEDURE SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT WOULD UNLOCK. I THEN TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER, THEY REPLACED THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK SYSTEM BUT TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS NO OFFICAL RECALL ON THIS. ONE YEAR LATER, SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN, I TRIED AND TRIED TO GET THE STEERING COLUMN TO UNLOCK. IT WOULD NOT, CALLED THE DEALERSHIP, THEY WANTED THE CAR TO BE TOWED IN. THEY TOLD ME THAT SINCE THEY HAD ALREADY REPLACED THE SYSTEM, THEY WOULD NOT REPLACE IT AGAIN. (BY THE WAY THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER GM EXTENDED WARRANTY.) I DID NOT HAVE THE CAR TOWED RIGHT AWAY, BUT LATER THAT DAY I TRIED ALL OF THE SAME PROCEDURES AGAIN, WITHOUT SUCCESS. I WENT ONTO THE INTERNET TO A CORVETTE WEBSITE/DISCUSSION BOARD AND RESEARCHED IF OTHERS HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND ANSWERS/IDEAS TRIED. LOCATING SEVERAL POSTINGS SUGGESTING TO PULL A SPECIFIC FUSE, WAIT 1 MINUTE, THEN RE-INSTALLED THE FUSE. BY DISCONNECTING THIS FUSE, THE COMPUTER BRAIN WOULD RESET ITSELF CONCERNING THIS TASK AND THE PIN SHOULD UNLOCK WHEN THE IGNITION KEY WAS RE-INSERTED. I TRIED THIS, SEVERAL TIMES, OVER AND OVER WITHOUT SUCCESS. FINALLY OUT OF FRUSTRATION I RESORTED TO "SHAKE THE STEERING WHEEL HARD BACK AND FORTH"UNTIL THE PIN WOULD RELEASE. AFTER A MINUTE OF SHAKING... THE PIN DID LET LOOSE AND THE STEERING COLUMN UNLOCKED. THE NEXT DAY I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER AND INSISTED THAT THEY REPLACE THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK SYSTEM AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH THEY TOLD ME A DAY EARLIER THAT THEY WOULDN'T DO THAT, THEY DID CHANGE IT WHEN I CONFRONTED THEM. IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO ME THAT GM HAS NOT ADDRESSSED THIS PROBLEM OR ACKNOWLEDGE IT AS BEING A PROBLEM. WELL I AM HERE TO SAY THAT IT IS, THIS IS WHY I AM FILING THIS COMPAINT. REF. IN EA02-031 *CJS

WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED CONSUMER OPENED THE BACK LID AND IMMEDIATELY NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE SEAT. UPON CLOSER INSPECTION, CONSUMER NOTICED A BURN HOLE FORMING ON THE SEAT, CONSUMER THEN PLACED A PIECE OF PAPER ADJACENT TO THE BURN HOLE AND FULLY REOPENED BACK LID, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THE PAPER STARTED TO BURN DUE TO THE SUNLIGHT HITTING IT THROUGH THE BACK LID GLASS. THE GLASS BEHAVED SIMILAR TO A MAGNIFYING GLASS, WHICH CAUSED THE SEAT AND PAPER TO BURN. TS *JB