webteamsix

Posting for my retired father's 2000 pewter c5

What a fun pain in the *** this car has been since dad bought his dream/nightmare car brand new. LOVE/HATE is an understatement

I know this a common problem but, what a predictably money sucking crap shoot to actually figure out basic problems for your local mechanic from this electronic disaster of a car. $500 every time there is a misdiagnosis of the cause. Owning this car is similar to lousy healthcare not being able to fight cancer.

I do not dream of trading in for a new stingray , it just has to be even worse to own. I'd rather have an old 914 with no electronics.


ANYWAY. SO IT RANDOMLY STARTS.

Ignition assembly was replaced. NOPE $500

The clutch switch was disconnected by the mechanic & for legal reasons jumpered by me to bypass the switch. NOPE, DIDN'T WORK

Battery was replaced NOPE.

Occurs using either key fob

No visibly worn wires anywhere.

What other less than $500 guesses are there ?

I have heard of telescoping steering wheels might be a culprit.

Since this is random, being prepared to read the codes when the problem occurs isn't really an option.

This is my dad's last cool car on limited retirement funds, help. The c5 could have been a much more reliable car & anything after it should be Chevy...

Thanks.

Fcar 98

Sorry to hear about the problems with his car. I have owned my car for 17 years, it has been one of the best car I have owned. I never had it back to the dealer for warranty work. Yes there were recalls but that was it. They are not perfect but mine has been real good!!

skydiven4fun

Man I hate to hear about all the issues, I also own a 2000 pewter C5 FRC, it's been nothing but a joy to own, these forums will help to save a lot of money especially when it comes to diagnosing electrical issues.

I would start by checking all of your grounds to start and then do some searching here for the many threads dealing with electrical issues.

Also where are yall located, has the car ever been exposed to flood waters are anything like that

Hope things get better for yall

XotiK ZO6

Sorry to hear of the troubles.

I do question your motives. Your post comes off as less, "help", and more C5 bashing with a heathy dose of whining.

Perhaps you should sell it and move on to something more your style. As you pointed out the 914 would be a great fit.

webteamsix

love/hate thanks for the advice with no positive reply for a possible solution.

webteamsix

Its been in since purchase for column lock

overheating

the usual recalls

The car is mechanically fine now but, the electronic guess work is getting tiresome & expensive,

1Willy1

I don't mean to be rude but I think the problem would be your mechanic rather then the car.

The mechanic should eat at least the labour part of the mis-diagnosis.

I would walk away from a mechanic who kept mis-diagnosing and didn't take responsibility for the wrong disgnosis.

OneCylinder

Sox-Fan

Why is that? it's two buttons on your dash board. press them when it doesn't start, your dashboard gives you the codes.

webteamsix

This link seems helpful

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...rt-issues.html

webteamsix

going to try this hack next

7. Check the Theft Deterent Relay *TDR relay which is GM part number# 12177233 or *located above the BCM in the same location. The easiest method to check this is to remove the relay and jump between the purple and red wires on the connector, If the car starts with a jumper in place you need a new relay !
This relay is located right above the BCM in the pass. side footwell. It has 4 wires attached to it:

Coil side:
Yellow - +12v from ignition switch during starting.
Yellow/black stripe - Ground signal supplied by BCM.
Note this will only show continuity to ground during starting (assuming no theft protection is occurring...the BCM has the ability to prevent starting by not supplying this ground signal).

webteamsix

it occurs it's when the old man actually needs to be somewhere & getting the car started by random pushing of buttons is faster for him than sitting in a parking lot writing down codes he has no idea what they mean

momo20

sorry to hear about all your issue's with your vette...sounds like to me your mechanic does not have the slightest of a clue how to work on vette's let alone cars in general..i would learn how to do it myself or find someone else with reference's to work on your vette...i have a 2003 Z06 and it has given me very few issue's that were the car's fault

webteamsix

we live in the middle of nowhere, it's old school billy joe jim bob or the chevy dealer. The dealer is a guaranteed $1000 + con job

The local mechanic didn't charge for the jumper hack try 1st.

The next guess is going to cost something

webteamsix

One problem here is only chevy dealers have the acutal code reading equipment that local mechanics can't afford to purchase if they are even released for purchase.

The mechanic knows what he is doing but, doesn't have the modern tools with patched software to get it right the first time or even second time depending on how many relays are playing musical chairs.

jackthelad

I have a lot of sympathy - luckily my problems were all under warranty. Suffice to say, for the 3+ years, the service receptionist at the big Corvette dealer I bought it from and I, became very good friends. That happens where you are in pretty much every month. In fact I looked pretty hard at my then state's lemon laws, as they really did not seem to be able to fix it - random electrical faults all the time.

Finally they put a new BCM into it, and voila! most issues went away. A reflash fixed the gas gauge to zero issue, and things calmed down. It's been OK (sort of) since. I say sort of, because even though the mileage is not high (75k), it's needed the usual fixes - both door mirrors sagged, HVAC display bit the dust, driver's door module needs replacing as I speak, as the door switches don't work any more. And the driver's seat plastic trim broke up. And no, I am not a "big boy".

It does not help that my wife has has Subarus for the past 20 years. In total we have had to go back to the Subaru dealer for repair 3 times over that period. The only work (outside of normal maintenance) needed on her now almost 10 year old Legacy (with more miles on than the C5) has been headlight bulbs and a new battery. That's how all cars should be, IMHO.

webteamsix

Thanks for that. This car also has the zero gas gauge issue.

I doubt this car will pass inspection next time around without a few thousand spent on relays or wiring faults,

BCM is on the list next I think

zeevette

Seriously, a 914?

65GGvert

I've read the whole thread and I still don't know what issues you have. One thing about the codes, you don't have to read them when you are having the problem. They will store as history codes and you can still see what the problem was. I'd clear all the codes and then next time you have whatever issue it is you're having, pull the codes and post them here. I bet you'll find there's not much that it would take to fix it.

PS Having the dealer work on the column lock issue is not the way to resolve it.

formula1nut

I owned a 914. Best thing that happened.to it was that it burned to the ground! Unfortunately my wife and I were in it at the time! The fire was the result of a manufacturer's defect.

It was a terrible car. My Corvette is better in every possible way and is way easier to fix.

There is no comparison. Maybe I got a bad 914. Maybe too your dad just got a bad Corvette.

Have to say I would be grateful for any car I inherited from my dad!