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2008 Chevrolet Corvette

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Corvette years

Owner complaints for the 2008 Chevrolet Corvette are substantially higher than the model-year median of 29.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

414 reports with mileage · 126 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 356 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Exterior Lighting. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 39 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports2 fire reports5 injury reports

What owners actually said

540 reports
8,000 miles · May 9, 2013
Electrical SystemEnginePower Train

I'VE HAD REPEATED FAILURES THAT HAVE REQUIRED MULTIPLE REPAIRS 1. ENGINE KNOCKING- REPEATED REPAIRS, UPPER END REPLACED KNOCKING AND ENGINE ROUGHNESS STILL THERE 2. TRANSMISSION- FAILURE OF CLUTCH PLATES, REPLACED PROBLEM NOT RESOLVED, TRANSMISSION SLIPPING IS INCREASING 3. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE: THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM COM…

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I'VE HAD REPEATED FAILURES THAT HAVE REQUIRED MULTIPLE REPAIRS 1. ENGINE KNOCKING- REPEATED REPAIRS, UPPER END REPLACED KNOCKING AND ENGINE ROUGHNESS STILL THERE 2. TRANSMISSION- FAILURE OF CLUTCH PLATES, REPLACED PROBLEM NOT RESOLVED, TRANSMISSION SLIPPING IS INCREASING 3. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE: THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN, NOTHING OPERATES EVEN THE HAZARD WARNING LIGHTS- THIS HAS OCCURRED A MINIMUM OF 8 TIMES. RELAYS, SWITCHES WIRING BATTERY GET EXTREMELY HOT UNTIL BATTERY BLEEDS DOWN. HIGH POTENTIAL FOR ELECTRICAL FIRES AND CAR CESSATION OF OPERATIONS HAVE LEFT US IN PERILOUS CONDITIONS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10511227

53,924 miles · May 2, 2013
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Steering

AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE COMPUTER DISPLAY PANEL READS, "SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM" ACCOMPANIED BY A SWERVING CAR ICON AND AN ALERTING DING SOUND. THE MESSAGE COMES ON PERIODICALLY, LASTING UP TO 15 OR 20 MINUTES AT A TIME, THEN SHUTTING OFF. SOMETIMES UPON STARTING THE ENGINE THE MESSAGE WILL APPEAR AND OTHER TIMES THE MESSA…

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AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE COMPUTER DISPLAY PANEL READS, "SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM" ACCOMPANIED BY A SWERVING CAR ICON AND AN ALERTING DING SOUND. THE MESSAGE COMES ON PERIODICALLY, LASTING UP TO 15 OR 20 MINUTES AT A TIME, THEN SHUTTING OFF. SOMETIMES UPON STARTING THE ENGINE THE MESSAGE WILL APPEAR AND OTHER TIMES THE MESSAGE WILL BE OFF FOR DAYS AT A TIME. IT ALWAYS REAPPEARS. OVER THE YEARS THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH AND BRAKE SENSORS HAVE BEEN REPLACED (4/18/11; 10/8/11; 12/4/12) AS WELL AS REPLACEMENT OF THE FOB (12/18/12). ALTHOUGH THIS DISPLAY MESSAGE HAS APPEARED NUMEROUS TIMES OVER THE YEARS, THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCES ARE AS FOLLOWS: 5/1/13; 4/30/13; 4/25/13; 3/28/13; 10/30/12. TWO CHEVROLET DEALERSHIPS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO RESOLVE THIS MALFUNCTION TO DATE (5/2/13). SINCE 10/30/12, THIS CAR HAS BEEN SEEN SIX TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AT TWO DIFFERENT CHEVROLET DEALERSHIPS. THERE WAS A RECALL IN 2005 FOR THIS PROBLEM: "STEERING RECALL 2005-2006" "... IN RARE CASES, REPEATED MOVEMENT OF THE STEERING COLUMN MAY CAUSE A SIGNAL INTERRUPTION WITHIN THE COLUMN. IF THIS OCCURS, THE MESSAGE, "SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM" WILL APPEAR... AND ONE OR MORE OF THE BRAKES MAY APPLY...". THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN DISPLAY MESSAGES ON MY CAR READING, "PRESS BRAKE TO START ENGINE", SO THIS PROBLEM, IN MY MIND, IS RELATED TO THE "ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM" ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10510399

47,400 miles · Mar 23, 2013
Air Bags

THE AIRBAG READINESS LIGHT COMES ON. THIS PROBLEM HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN REPAIRED BY THE DEALER. A SEARCH OF THE CORVETTE FORUM INDICATES THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2005 TO 2013 CORVETTE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10504252

67,000 miles · Feb 22, 2013
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Exterior LightingService Brakes

STEERING JERKED,BRAKES APPLIED FOR A SECOND,CRUISE CONTROL TURNED OFF, NO BRAKE LIGHTS,AND SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING MESSAGE APPEARED. HAPPEND MORE THAN ONCE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10499737

56,000 miles · Oct 3, 2012
Fuel/propulsion System

ON SEPTEMBER 13,2012 MY FUEL GAUGE STOP WORKING AND IT WAS NOT REGISTERING ANY GAS LEVEL IN THE TANK . I WENT TO CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP THINKING THAT THIS WAS A REPAIR WHICH WOULD FALL UNDER MY VEHICLE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS A HISTORY CODE THAT CAME UP IN MY CAR COMPUTER AT 13,700 MILES THAT MY FUEL SYS…

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ON SEPTEMBER 13,2012 MY FUEL GAUGE STOP WORKING AND IT WAS NOT REGISTERING ANY GAS LEVEL IN THE TANK . I WENT TO CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP THINKING THAT THIS WAS A REPAIR WHICH WOULD FALL UNDER MY VEHICLE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS A HISTORY CODE THAT CAME UP IN MY CAR COMPUTER AT 13,700 MILES THAT MY FUEL SYSTEM WAS FALLING. THIS IS A CODE THAT YOU AS THE DRIVER DO NOT SEE NOR DO THE TECH AT THE DEALERSHIP WILL SEE UNLESS A DIAGNOSIS TESTING IS DONE. THE DEALERSHIP HAD TO CALL GM , BECAUSE THIS FALL UNDER THE FACTORY WARRANTY AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS WITH CORVETTES. THE SERVICE MANAGER STATED SOMETIME THIS FUEL TANK FAILURE CAN HAPPEN AT ANY MILEAGE. THIS FAILURE WITH MY VEHICLE CONSIST OF RIGHT FUEL TANK HAD TO BE REPLACE,FUEL LEVER SENSOR HAD TO BE REPLACE,FUEL SENSOR HAD TO BE REPLACE,LINE IN TANK HAD TO BE REPLACE,CROSSOVER TUBING HAD TO BE REPLACE. IF I KNOW THAT THIS AL FELL UNDER THE GM FACTORY WARRANTY THIS WOULD HAD CST ME $2,024.09. THIS ISSUES HAD TO BE KNOW, THIS HAS HAPPEN WITH 2007 THRU 2011 CORVETTE'S THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUES. YOU AS A OWNER MUST BE PERSIST WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND GM THEY WILL NOT WANT TO PAY ERROR THAT THEY KNOW IS GOING ON. I HAD TO REPORT THIS TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFFICE IN ILLINOIS AND THE BBB IN ILLINOIS BEFORE SOMETHING WAS DONE. I JUST WANTED OTHER OWNER TO BE AWARE OF THIS HAVE YOUR VEHICLE CHECK FOR THIS FAILURE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10478457

50,000 miles · Jul 9, 2012
Electronic Stability Control (esc)

SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM FLASHED ON DISPLAY AND THE ACTIVE HANDLING WAS AUTOMATICALLY DISENGAGED. THIS HAS NOW HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10464661

13,342 miles · May 22, 2012
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Equipment Adaptive/mobility

MY SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM WARNING CAME ON ABRUPTLY. THIS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS HANDLED BY MY LOCAL DEALER. SUPPOSEDLY, IT WAS A TSB WHICH REQUIRED REPLACING A CLIP AT AN ELECTRICAL COUPLING. THIS WAS REPORTEDLY THE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. THIS MOST RECENT INCIDENT OCC…

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MY SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM WARNING CAME ON ABRUPTLY. THIS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS HANDLED BY MY LOCAL DEALER. SUPPOSEDLY, IT WAS A TSB WHICH REQUIRED REPLACING A CLIP AT AN ELECTRICAL COUPLING. THIS WAS REPORTEDLY THE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. THIS MOST RECENT INCIDENT OCCURRED 500 MILES FROM HOME AND HAS ME WORRIED THAT A SERIOUS MALFUNCTION OF MY BRAKING SYSTEM MAY OCCUR. I DO HAVE AN APPOINTMENT FOR SERVICE ON JUNE 4 2012 FOR THIS RECURRING ISSUE. THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF ABRUPT AND INADVERTANT BRAKING OCCURRING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WITH LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THANK YOU INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) *TT

NHTSA ODI #10459268

20,500 miles · Apr 19, 2011
Electronic Stability Control (esc)

I HAVE A 2008 CORVETTE COUPE, BASE MODEL WITH APPROXIMATELY 21,000 MILES THAT I PURCHASED NEW IN APRIL 2008. RECENTLY ON FIVE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS I HAVE HAD THE FOLLOWING ISSUES: 1) TWICE WHILE GOING SLOW AND TURNING, THE "TRACTION SYSTEM ACTIVE" MESSAGE CAME ON AND THE CAR / BRAKES STUTTERED. 2) THIS ALSO HAPPENED TWICE WHILE G…

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I HAVE A 2008 CORVETTE COUPE, BASE MODEL WITH APPROXIMATELY 21,000 MILES THAT I PURCHASED NEW IN APRIL 2008. RECENTLY ON FIVE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS I HAVE HAD THE FOLLOWING ISSUES: 1) TWICE WHILE GOING SLOW AND TURNING, THE "TRACTION SYSTEM ACTIVE" MESSAGE CAME ON AND THE CAR / BRAKES STUTTERED. 2) THIS ALSO HAPPENED TWICE WHILE GOING SLOW AND NOT TURNING. 3) ONCE WHILE GOING SLOW, THE "ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM" MESSAGE CAME ON WITH THE SAME RESULTS AS ABOVE. AT ALL TIMES THE ROADS WERE DRY, FLAT AND NORMAL PAVED ROADS. THE CAR HAS NOW BEEN BROUGHT TO THE DEALER TWICE WITH NO RESOLUTION. THEY SAID THE CAR GAVE OFF NO CODES AND THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IT IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM SO THEY CANNOT DUPLICATE AT WILL. MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS WILL ACTIVATE WHEN I AM DRIVING FASTER, PUTTING ME IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION.

NHTSA ODI #10397674

44,000 miles · Apr 14, 2011
Electrical System

MY 08 CORVETTE HAS LEFT ME STRANDED 3 TIMES, ONCE ON THE FREEWAY. THE CAR QUITS PULLING,SERVICE BRAKES AND FUEL SYS. LIGHTS COME ON. THANKFULLY I HAD TIME TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD,BUT,IT COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10395823

32,523 miles · Feb 21, 2011
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Service Brakes, Hydraulic

LEFT REAR BRAKE WAS APPLIED WHEN DRIVING OVER 60 MPH CAUSING CAR TO SLOW DOWN AND SLIDE TO THE LEFT. ACTIVE HANDLING ON SHOWED ON DASH OF MY 2008 CORVETTE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10383883

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.