calinator

So a year and a half ago I bought my first Corvette, a yellow 4-speed that I fell in love with and just last month started modding which has been great and fun. I bought a two year extended warranty which will run up in July and it has saved my butt so much but i'm really worried when it runs up, here is a run down of the issues so far.

Bought the car in July, only issue with it was TPMS which I had the dealer fix and its been good.

July 2011 purchased.

September transmission tanked, required rebuild.

December 2011 catalytic convertor failed.

2012

Fuel door failed

Steering wheel sensor was bad had to be fixed.

Fuel door failed again.

Now the Harmonic balancer went bad and serpentine belt is getting replaced too.

The reason I hold on to this car is because it had everything I wanted when I bought it, I wasn't gonna settle for another color or body style, it's also not paid off yet. I love the car it just pisses me off a lot and granted there are a lot of exceptions C5's don't seem to be as bulletproof as everyone makes it seem, lots of gremlins.

Thank goodness my little 99 Cavalier is so damn bulletproof and a great daily driver, as far as reliability. It's a 2004 with 78K on it(put 10K on it).

sabastian458

Well lets get this part out of the way. You didnt buy a Lemon, you bought a used car. Lemons are generally a new vehicle with a fault that cant be fixed in a set period of time and continues to have the exact same failure.

Now, what you are describing is a C5 with an Auto trans, correct? Im guessing the last sentence is referring to the Vette, meaning that it is a 2004 with 78k on it?

Now we are talking about a 9 year old vehicle, almost 10. That if hadnt been maintained properly by the prior owner(s) could have numerous issues. The balancer is a common issue, even talked about a bit in the C5 forums. What was the failure in the transmission? Also cat converters dont last forever, things do deteriorate over time. What failed on the fuel door?

I bought a 16k mile C5, I have had to put a set of tires, an engine, a clutch, and now rebuilding a torque tube. I bought a used vehicle with a questionable history. Some things wear out, other thing just happen. I can understand your fustration but just imagine if you didnt buy the service contract on the car and had to pay full price for that transmission rebuild.

dadaroo

Sorry to hear about the transmission and balancer. The other issues are not major. Who did the transmission rebuild and does it have a warranty? How many miles on it?

sfc rick

Seems like minor issues, except the transmission part. But then again that may just be an issue with prior owner beating on it.

calinator

Good points and buying that extended warranty has saved me a few thousand so it was definitely worth it. I can't exactly remember the reason for all the failed parts because my memory isn't so hot and I don't have the paperwork in front of me. Hopefully after all these fixes i'll basically have a brand new car lol. The dealer I go to said they could extend it again for 3 years $3600 which sounds enticing again but still a bit much.

Oh 2 Fun

Nah, your car is far from being a "lemon". As said, the tranny rebuild is a serious issue but I'm doubting it failed by itself. You also don't describe just how catastrophic a failure or just something minor that still required pulling the tranny etc....that alone is a big expense! But I'm betting on some previous abuse that contributed to this.

Otherwise, your issues really are minor and no better/worse than most any car.

And...to me....the car is worth it every time it puts a smile on my face!

OneFast1

Judging from your time frame the previous owner may have known the transmission was nearing its end bacause two months later you rebuilt it. Now if you look back at the time of your purchase you may have suspected something was wrong but your emotions may have won out? The fuel door I suspect is the switch, uless the thing just fell off the car, and if it's the switch then maybe it's just the connection? I agree with everyone on the the minor issues, but I might suspect you knew something was maybe not quite right about that transmission on the test drive?

sabastian458

For $3600 I would extend that warranty. All it takes is 1 large item to fail and it paid for itself. As you already have experianced.

f6john

Just be thankful you got an 04 and not one of those pre 02 models that everyone talks about. You're lucky if the wheels will roll and the doors don't fall off if you listen to some people.


I'd be upset about the transmission too, but since you had the warranty,kudo's to you. I'd keep my $3600.00 dollars for maintenance and mods, you have covered most of the bases.

calinator

Yeah I agree part of it is yeah its nearly 10 years old but being the last year I thought I wouldn't run into many problems. And since I got a lot of the components fixed that is part of the reason im not gonna get the warranty so... *prays* I wonder are 2001-2004s immune to those column lock issues?

whitesmokels1

Not trying to dog on you but there's a popular phrase around here, "You have to pay to play". The C5 is, however, a very reliable car (relatively speaking) but its also a machine, and things wear out...
Used cars are always a tossup. There is no way to know how it's been treated and maintained, which is EVERYTHING.

DDaaryl

Think you got problems now? Perform some "mods" (special home made improvements) and watch the rest fall apart!

fishbust

If that is a lemon wait until you see the rest of the list for what are common problems on the C5!

DevilDog II

oh1vette

Here, check your corrected issues off against this list - may help you determine if you wanna spend that $3600...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...l-in-here.html

lxconv331

But C5's did have weak automatics! Everybody made good points in this thread just don't let it get you down. Put this way when your done fixing all the issues, you will have a Vette that you know is Mechanically sound!!

racebum

#1 cause of automatic transmission failure {besides flogging} is infrequent fluid changes.

any auto i have ever owned regardless of what the book says gets a fluid flush and filter cleaning/replacement every 30k

calinator

No one has actually. This forum has easily the nicest and most helping people, other kinds of forums are horrible with people bashing eachother. I get the car back tomorrow and am pretty excited.

lxconv331

That's what its all about on this forum, to help each other out! Most of the time any answser can be found on this forum about any Vette question. Many people have had same situations with there cars and share there experience/outcome here! Keep us updated on your out come and Good Luck.

sereneDelusions

I've had my share of problems with the car. It's nice to have a community of people who share advice and provide their experiences. I try not to let the bad outweigh the good....bottom line I own a C5!