2000BSME

Given that water leakage into the interior and grounding/electrical problems are more or less imminent in these vehicles?

I've got two, I've had a 99 since it had 23k on the odo and I've prolly had it for 8 years now, maybe nine, and I've had an '01 z for going on 4 years. They both stay wet on the inside, from what I've read can come from multiple sources. I've put many hours into the electrical/grounding problem on my '01, and they both get wet inside the passenger footwell. I've just recently taken apart the interior of the z (again) to try and find the sources of entry, and the 99 just started getting wet this last year.

Now I'm a huge fan of everything engineering wise that went into making this vehicle, and I defend and promote the generation for all it is, but working on these vehicles is beyond ridiculous now.

Let me see, battery leaking acid on the pcm, interior leaking water on the bcm, constantly wet, electrical problems... The cars both officially fit my definition of a lemon. They do NOT age well.

I still love 'em, but I can't even sell them until I put work into fixing these crappy problems. It's all pretty annoying. It just makes me super glad that I never spent the big bucks on buying these things brand new.

racebum

rust belt is hard on cars.

the electrical problems that exist in some parts of the country are non existent in others because of the climate difference

water leaking is a little worse on a c5 than the average car but most any car will leak when the rubber starts to crack or gaps appear

the trim on the FRC/Z06 around the door is kind of a design flaw

magneticred

I have an 02 that I bought new and haven't had any of these problems.
Love the car.

2000BSME

The water intrusion seems to me like an unforgivable oversight to me. Caulking cracking? I've had so many cars, convertibles, sunroofs, none have ever held water like a bucket. My 60's model stang didn't leak after 30 plus years. After a good rain I have a half inch of standing water in the z. It has gotten progressively worse, and I have to do something about it now.

I still love both rides, but always having to work on the z for this stupid sh33t sucks big time.Now the vert has the same water leak too. Hopefully it won't be that bad and I'll find the leaks quickly and be done with it... I'm just so frustrated right now. I pay a lot of money to insure these things and they sit in my driveway and garage more often than not.

andrec10

This is why mine is tucked away for the winter, and is not driven in the rain by choice.

2000BSME

I would read up on the water intrusion problem sooner or later you are bound to have it. The caulking doesn't stand the test of time, as I understand, among other things possibly.

danieloneil01

Thankfully I own a home that has a garage.

2000BSME

two car garage doesn't keep all four cars inside of it. Thanks for your snide comment though.


I forgot to mention also that both cars sound like a flock of screaming banshees due to crank pulley wobble/belt noise.

Never had another car do anything remotely similar to that either.

1Willy1

I honestly dont think he was being snide, sometimes comments online can be misread easily.

Anyways this is why I joined this forum, I honestly love the C5 vette but alot of people tell me that it has alot of problems, this is the first time ive heard of this water leakage.

If you have a half inch of water on your floor that is a VERY serious problem, and can cause electricla issues and fires.

Please keep the posts coming, id love to hear how many of you guys have had water issues, and if its caused any serious problems.

Thanks

C5R USA

Wow, really sorry for all your bad luck that your having. Not just one but BOTH having leaking problems has obviously frazzled you quite a bit as I imagine any one of us feeling the same way.

I've heard of the footwell leaks on the passenger side and that may be caused by the A/C condensation tube backing up. As it's located next to the footwell, when it gets clogged up that water will go into your footwell. If you have small hands you might be able to get at the tube an squeeze it to clear it out. Otherwise you'll most likely have to remove the battery to get to it. Get that done ASAP, you don't want that getting into electronics (BCM). Hope this helps...Good luck

Choreo

Same here with my 2001. Bought it new in 2000. Driven it every day for nearly 14 years (my DD). Never had to mess with grounds (yet) and never had any water inside the car?

I did have the Harmonic Balancer wobble which I had replaced under warranty at about 25k miles. I agree, inexcusable that they have that kind of a problem after so many years of building engines - never had a problem like that on any other car. (BTW - if you are having that problem, get it fixed before it walks into your steering gear, that could total the car!).

Since I live in West Texas, not much moisture to screw with the grounds, but I would not even own a Corvette again without a garage. I had 9 Corvettes previously (when I had apartments) and it was just a constant exercise in frustration. This is the first time I have ever had a Corvette with a garage (it has never spent a single night outdoors) - it makes all the difference. I used to get about 3 years on my other Corvettes before the elements started taking their toll, after 14 years this car looks and runs as good as it did day-one. I have to credit most of that to good maintenance and a garage.

As far as the battery, never had one leak, but right above the PCM is scary. I still cannot believe that a 3rd party never sold a soild tray replacement at least. That is on my project list for this year

1Willy1

what kind of problems did u have with your car outdoors?

I dont have a garage and if I get one it will be parked outside, possibly even during the winter, i would of course cover it , but thats all I can do really.

Vetteman Jack

I've had my '03 (bought used) for about 4.5 years now and have none of the problems you mention.

Black 02

My '02 Z had bad water intrusion on the driver side where the roof molding had cracked. I ended up taping everything off and spraying a healthy dose of plasti dip into the seam. It seems to have stopped it from leaking so bad. I chose plasti dip instead of caulk since it is rubber and easily reversible.

bj1k

I haven't had any of those problems either on my 2001 and those are problems that you just don't hear much on any forums. Sounds to me like there has been a lot of abuse going on with his cars to have the same problems with both of them.

sfc rick

Yea, the C5 is a lemon all right.....You should probably sell them while you are still ahead. I understand if you continue to have problems, but let's just be honest for a short time. These cars are old, and they will never be problem free. I have one that's a 98 and about 150,000 miles on it. When something breaks and goes wrong I don't whine and cry about it but rather take the opportunity to fix and learn more about this awesome car.

Do I think my 98 is a lemon? No way in hades! Does it have trouble? Why yes it does, and it's only going to get more as time goes on. But seriously....You will never have any vehicle that will be trouble free.

Well maybe that 94 Pontiac Grand Am 4 banger was the finest trouble free car in history.

Crosis

C5s are not lemons. A true lemon doesn't last this long. My 01 is over a decade old. Sure it has issues that are all related to age. But if it was a true lemon it would have been undrivable by the end of the first year. I can understand frustration but the OP is allowing his emotions to override his intelligence on the issue.

DevilDog II

I've had my '98 for 14 years and I haven't had any problems with it.

Black 02

That's not true. There are plenty of cars with lemon titles driving around. When BMW first came out with their direct injection turbo motors they had problems with the fuel pumps. The problems have all since been fixed but there were a lot of buy backs that occurred in California because of the issue. All of these got branded as lemons but are nothing more than a great deal today.

s'noJob

To say a used C5 is a lemon is unsafe.


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