jimmyb496

That really is the bottom line, it scary to think you're safe just because it hasn't happened.... YET

Bradysdad

I have owned my 05 Vert for approximately one month. It has 7500 miles on it and the only DIC message I have seen is one stating "Calibrating Active Handling". The message came on while I was driving and went away after approx 30 seconds. No adverse reaction from the vehicle.

Is this type of message related to this issue, or is it just a normal calibration process?

Thanks All. Excellent thread !!

Treadstone71

Wow, just found this thread. It kind of takes the wind out of my desire for a C6. Will be watching with interest. Thanks for posting and the updates.

KVA_Dave

Great thread, scary though. I think I'll be driving a lil slower now until they come up with a real fix!

LIVetteFan

Very scary and although it seems very rare (there are over 100K C6 vette's racking up probably 1M miles to date, and only a 81 reports) it is unimaginable GM has not found and fixed the problem at this point. Had I known this issue was still out there I would not have purchased my '08. If the service message ever does come I will not hesitate in trading it in on the spot, and it won't be for another GM product (of which I have been a 100% loyal customer for years). This is my 3rd vette and I love my C6, but I love my wife and kids more.

2006c6keller

Not to change subject, but GM is a slow learner. Eg. They have been making rear ends for over 50 years on Corvettes and they are still having trouble with clutch packs! They are slow learners. This is nothing new with GM, SOS. Don't expect them to do anything different with active handling.

A-Pex

Seems the "Service Active Handling" message is related to at least 2 separate issues identified in this thread.

1st is the lock up issue which sends the car into other lanes at speed.
2nd is the slow speed tight turn issue which causes AH to act up.

I happen to suffer from the 2nd. As a side effect, I'm unable to turn AH off or place it in "competition mode" without the car reacting by loosing power.

I don't want to derail the conversation so I thought I'd ask. Are both issues caused by the same electrical problem?

Also anyone else having this same problem, do you also suffer from the loss of power?

I plan to set an appointment with the local dealer this week.

Treadstone71

I just reread the thread looking for an answer to my question but didn't find it.

Does active handling apply to Z51 cars?

jimmyb496

I would say yes. Originally I thought this was a Z06 issue, but then seeing folks come out telling their story about their C6's has me thinking differently. I believe it applies to any C6, Z51, Z06 (and possibly C5's) with the telescoping steering wheel column. There is also a TSB on the same issue with a Cadilac.

inthehunt2

NOTE: The TSB is for vehicles with a telescopic wheel, but there are several (if not many) reports from those that do not have the telescopic wheel. This issue involves more vehicles that what the TSB states. It is part of what scares me about GM and the way they are handling this.

sweet6

Hey there my c6 has the same problem and I also got taken from GM. all they did both times is delete the codes and charged me 200.00 smackers. so I got my own OBD2 code reader and deleted them my self. What I did find out from a buddy GM tech is that the Vettes computer is behind front right tile and always get condensation from rain or washing the car. I find that these both effect the Active Hand Serv sign.

bterwilliger

Wow, I just had my first and 2nd experiences with this. Low speed in parking lots (~10mph), when turning right my front left brake LOCKED (solid) until stopped. Going in on Thursday to get it dealt with however they can (05 M6 under GMPP warranty)

inthehunt2

OK... I just got a note from a friend of mine on the forum. I wanted to share his note and my response without sharing names. The intent on my part is to share information and help (in the little way that I can) the community. My friend definitely knows how to drive a car. I have personally raced for 15 years on all type of road courses and I have spent time with him in his car to see how he can handle it. I have no questions about his ability to drive a car.

My friends note:

Happened to me tonight. No crash, but it freaked me out! I took a 90 degree corner and nailed the throttle; power slid the corner (to the left), then straightened the car out. As soon as I straightened it out I felt a strong pull to the right and repeated “CHIRP” from the passenger side front tire as the car tried to pull off the road to the right. Very, very very scary. I have no idea why that happened. I was perfectly able to fight it though, since I still had control of the steering. I would like to know why it did that… First time in 52300 miles. Thoughts?

My response...

Thoughts? Well I need to say two things. First, I know a lot about automotive electronics. Second, I don’t know the actual design of the AHS system, so I will make some assumptions. I am assuming from your note below that when you say that you straightened out the car that two things happened that determine the “state” of the AHS system. By “state”, I mean a set of circumstances that define a particular status of the car (this is common in a digital system where modeling is employed to define unique conditions). Circumstance #1: The car was going straight (ie. no yaw). Circumstance #2: The steering wheel was at TDC. If this is the case, read below. If this is not the case, then we need to talk further for more detail.

If you check the threads on this, I have given several explanations of my theory. The bottom line is that it is scary. The reason that I say scary is because what I think it truly root-cause.

My theory is that the steering wheel sensor signal, which travels through harnesses and connectors before it gets to the electronic module gets corrupted. Most probably through an intermittent connector. I believe the actual steering wheel sensor (SWS) is an encoder. Although I am not 100% sure on that… It may be an analog potentiometer. In either case, the signal is most likely getting corrupted by an intermittent connection at a connector (pins in sockets). The pins/sockets are most likely either being stressed by a bad layout of the harness leading to stress on the interconnect or there is some kind of corrosion that has build up that leads to poor contact. I think the former rather than the later. In either event, a bogus signal is sent to the electronic module which then interprets a condition that is not true. This is most likely from the bad sensor signal faking out the electronic system and throwing it into a mode that isnot correct. Once this happens, get ready for a ride that is NOTHING like what you would expect. Grab a hold of the steering wheel really tight and drive it like a race car. By this, I mean forget about what you would “expect” (totally throw out rationale) and drive the car based totally on what you see and feel (sort of react like a test pilot that is in a new airplane that can do anything abnormal and your job is to figure it out within milliseconds and keep it in the air).

Where I think the real flaw is in the system is that even though the STS signal gets corrupted, the system doesn’t adapt well to that event. This is due to a poor DFMEA (design failure mode and effects analysis). This is something every good automotive engineer is trained in like a religion. Analyze the system. Look at every potential failure. Design the system to work with the failure (so it doesn’t result is a massive problem such as driving into oncoming traffic or the nearest bridge pillar or off the side of a bridge 100’ over a river). Someone at GM really dropped the ball on the DFMEA for this system. The software should be smart enough to address a bad sensor input. I can suggest at least three solutions that should be employed in the software to prevent this type of “false occurrence”. I am quite surprised that the GM engineers wouldn’t consider this in their DFMEA (if they did one… and I have think they did…)

NOW… QUESTIONS FOR YOU…

Please define for me the following:

The year of your C6: __________
Do you have a telescopic steering wheel? _________
Was your AHS enabled during the event? _________
Was your TC enabled during the event? __________
Were you in competition mode? _________

I am glad you’re alright. I’d sure hate to see a young talented individual like you be bitten by a bug in software. Life sometimes isn’t fair, but this shouldn’t be what ends your life (or anyone elses).

Take care my friend and let me know the answers to my questions. If you have anything more you’d like to talk about on this topic I will be more than happy to help out.

vahpr

Oh man, I definitely didn't know about this before I bought my C6 coupe in April. I take it this applies to 09's as well??

inthehunt2

You'd have to ask GM. I am not privy to this as I do not work for GM. Sorry mate.

Treadstone71

It's been mentioned in this thread that C5s have also been affected by this active handling bug; however, a search through the C5 forum didn't turn up any notes on it. Anybody have further information? I was all set on a C6 but not anymore; now I'm back to looking at C4s and C5s and a '73. (An LT5 ZR-1 is also looking mighty nice about now.) Thank you for your time and attention. --B--

COL Dave L

I received a copy of the service bulletin from my dealer today. Document ID: 2032653 dated oct 19, 2007. It covers some Cadillacs and all 2005-2008 Corvettes with tilt, telescoping steering wheel.

I had the "fix" made to my 06 coupe today after getting a DIC error message of "Service Traction Control System" and the tech found a fault code indicating the steering wheel position sensor as the problem. I never experienced any handling/performance problems, other than I could not activate the Competitive Driving Mode (I was at a track driving event at the time). Hope this helps.

bterwilliger

Just dropped mine off this morning. They found a fault in the 'yaw sensor' and are replacing it under warranty. We shall see what that does...

05C6GAC

Dealer fixed mine, by complying with the service bulletin that incorporates the new clip. no problem sense almost a year, with numerous track events. Hope this helps

KRAYZ308

Which computer is this? What does it control? Where specifically is it?Can you "see" it from the ECM port?