2001 Chevrolet Corvette

Chevy / GM recalled over 100,000 Corvettes built between 1997 and 2004 for a steering column lock issue, that renders the car un drivable. The fuel supply cuts off at 2 miles per hour. Many of the dealers did a faulty job fixing the problem, causing it to recur. My 2001 Corvette (with less than 17,000 miles) repeatedly experiences this problem. GM says they will not warrant this known defective design, due to the recall expiring. According to an internet search on “Corvette Steering Column Lock”, there no telling how many unhappy Corvette owners this has created. Need your help getting this $50,000 car back on the road.

We purchased the car on 12/17/21. I went to Costco on 12/18/21 to get gas. I had a preset amount of $50 to put into the car. When I got to $50 I shut the pump off myself, the tank was not full enough for it to shut off automatically. As I look down on the ground I saw a fluid running out from underneath the car and rolling along the ground. I touched it with my finger and discovered it was gasoline. I put the nozzle back into the holder and I checked underneath the car and saw it was dripping from the drivers side in the area just behind the drivers door. I pulled the car over to the side to inspect it further. By now the gas had stopped dripping. Since the exhaust pipe is right next to the fuel tank I was afraid of a fire or explosion. Had some fuel vapors but they dissipated shortly after. My gas gauge was registering full at this time. Since then I have not had any gasoline leaks and or vapors present. I have not put any more gas in the car since then. (I contacted the previous owner and he said in an email response, if you overfill there is a vent hole that gas will leak out of at the top of the filler neck. It happened once when I put like 20 gallons in it.) I did some research and found that there is a problem with the Corvette gas tanks and or the crossover tube. I think this is a dangerous situation, thinking that if that gas ignited, the car and my passenger could have caught fire and possibly ignited the Costco gas station with an explosion. (This car will be going into the repair shop in January to have a diagnostic smoke test done to determine where the leak and or leaks are coming from.) I hope the NHTSA recognizes this as a very dangerous situation. All of this will be coming out of my own pocket for the repairs necessary to make this car safe to drive and not be dangerous to myself and family. I consider this a very serious dangerous situation.

I HAVE OWNED THIS 2001 CORVETTE SINCE IT WAS NEW IT HAS LESS THAN 7000 MILES ON IT.ON FRIDAY MAY 8TH 2020 I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO THE DEALER CENTURY CHEVROLET IN BROOMFIELD COLORADO.THE SERVICE COLUMN LOCK IS ON AT THE DASH AND I CANNOT TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AND IF YOU TRY TO DRIVE IT THE VEHICLE WILL STALL.I HAD RECALL 04006 PERFORMED ON THE CAR ON 10/25/2004 WITH 1912 MILES ON IT AND THIS WAS A REPROGRAMMING OF THE PCM.I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THERE HAS BEEN 2-3 UPDATES FOR THIS CONDITION AND THERE IS A RECALL 04006C AND SPECIAL POLICY #05081 FOR A NEW WIRING HARNESS TO BE INSTALLED TO CORRECT THIS CONDITION.I WAS NEVER CONTACTED BY GM ABOUT THIS AND FEEL I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR A DEFECT THEY KNOW ABOUT! THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED OUT OF MY GARAGE /DRIVEWAY WE HAD TO PUSH IT OUT OF THE GARAGE ONTO A TOW TRUCK AND IT IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALERSHIP WAITING TO HERE WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO. I DON'T THINK THEY ARE GOING TO OFFER ANY HELP NOR DID THEY WANT TO PICKUP THE TOW CHARGES AND ADD IT TO THE BILL. REGARDLESS I HAVE TO FIX THE VEHICLE AS IT DOES ME NO GOOD THE WAY IT IS.WITH THIS SAID THE ORIGINAL FIX OF THE RECALL DID NOT FIX THE VEHICLE AND THE NOW KNOWN FIX SHOULD BE DONE AT NO CHARGE TO THE CONSUMER/CUSTOMER.THIS VEHICLE IS IN MINT CONDITION AND HAS NOT BEEN MODIFIED IN ANY WAY AND TAKEN CARE OF LIKE NEW SINCE OWNED. I AM REACHING OUT TO YOU BECAUSE THE RIGHT THING NEEDS TO HAPPEN AND GM SHOULD ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THERE ACTIONS AND KNOWINGLY THAT THERE IS A DEFECT. I AM LUCKY I WAS NOT DRIVING THIS VEHICLE AS I WAS PLANNING ON DRIVING THE MORNING THIS HAPPENED AS I COULD OF KILLED MYSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE.

WHEN YOU FILL UP THE FUEL TANKS YOU GET A VERY STRONG SMELL OF GAS IN THE CAR AS WELL AS IN THE GARAGE. GENERAL MOTORS KNOWS ABOUT THIS COMPLAINT AND WILL HELP THEIR CUSTOMERS. IN FACT THERE IS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST GM FOR YEAR CORVETTE 2004. IT WILL COST ABOUT $ 2,000.00 TO $ 2,500.00 TO MAKE THE REPAIRS. A LOT OF TIMES THE RIGHT TANK IS CRACKED OR THE CROSSOVER TUBE IS CRACKED . I HAVE CALLED GM AND ASKED FOR HELP AND THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS AS A WARRANTY ISSUE. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE . BY THE WAY ALL THE GM DEALERS ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. CAN YOU HELP ME OUT ? YOU SMELL THE FUEL WHEN THE CAR IS STOPPED.

IN 2005 MY STEERING COLUMN LOCKED. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN ALEXANDRIA VA. THEY UNLOCKED THE STEERING COLUMN BUT DID NOT REPLACE THE NECESSARY PARTS. NOW THE COMPUTER READS THAT THE STEERING COLUMN IS GOING TO LOCK AND THE FUEL PUMP SHUTS OFF. WHEN THE CAR WAS INSPECTED BY WYNNGARDNER CHEVROLET THEY INFORMED ME THEN WARRANTY HAD BEEN SATISFIED. IF THE DEFECTED PARTS WERE REPLACED THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO REPLACE THEN SAID PARTS WERE REPLACED INITIALLY. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED AND SAID PARTS ARE NOT THERE. THE DEALERSHIP USED THE VIN NUMBER IN 2005, NOW WHEN THE VIN NUMBER IS USED, IT SHOWS THAT THE RECALL WAS SATISFIED. THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

UPON FILLING MY FUEL TANK FULL OF GASOLINE, I PARKED THE CAR IN MY GARAGE AND NOTICED A VERY PREDOMINATE FUEL VAPRO SMELL THAT SEEMS TO BE COMING FROM THE DRIVERS SIDE. THERE NEVER HAS BEEN ANY EVIDENCE OF FUEL LEAKAGE OR POOLING ON THE FLORR BELOW THE CAR. WHEN I INADVERTENTLY FILL THE FUEL TANK FULL, I HAVE TO TAKE A DRIVE AND PUT ABOUT 30MILES ON THE CAR THEN THE FUEL VAPOR ODOR PROBLEM IS SOLVED FROM READING THE INTERNET BLOGS, IT WOULD APPEAR THAT I AM NOT ALONE IN THE SYMPTOMS FOR MY CAR