NHTSA Complaint #10043371 — 1998 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

VEHICLE TYPE: 1998 CORVETTE. FAILURE OF ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN TO UNLOCK DURING INITIAL KEY IN/VEHICLE START. FORTUNATELY, IF THE REST OF THE SYSTEMS WORK, THE ENGINE WILL SHUT DOWN AFTER THE VEHICLE MOVES A SHORT DISTANCE. I PURCHASED THIS CORVETTE IN JUNE 2003 (I HAVE OWNED OLDER CORVETTES) NOT KNOWING THERE IS THIS DEFECT WITH NOT ONLY THE 1998 CORVETTE BUT ALSO WITH THE 1997, 1999, 2000, AND 2001 CORVETTES. BEGINNING WITH THE 2002 MODEL YEAR, THIS FEATURE WAS REMOVED. GENERAL MOTORS HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS SITUATION FOR SOME TIME. THEY ISSUED A "CUSTOMER SATISFACTION BULLETIN" DURING SEPT. 2001. THIS BULLETIN COVERED ABOUT THE LAST THIRD CORVETTES MANUFACTURED DURING 1998 (SERIAL #S 23355-31069), ALL OF 1999 CORVETTES (SERIAL #S 000001-33283) AND THE FIRST HALF CORVETTES MANUFACTURED DURING 2000 (SERIALS #S 000001-16233). THEY ALSO HAVE A REPAIR KIT AVAILABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM (GM PART # 88952427 OR 88952428 OR 88952428 DEPENDING ON TRANSMISSION AND EXPORT). THIS INDICATES TO ME THAT THEY KNOW THE CAR HAS A DEFECT AND ARE WILLING TO PASS FIXING THE DEFECT ON TO THE VEHICLE OWNER. UNFORTUNATELY, THE SERIAL # OF MY 1998 CORVETTE IS 11791. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED, IRONICALLY, JUST AFTER TOURING THE CORVETTE FACTORY IN BOWLING GREEN, KY. IT COST ME $250.00 AND TWO NIGHTS IN A LOCAL MOTEL TO GET MY CAR OPERATIONAL. THE CAR IS STILL NOT FIXED PROPERLY. AFTER DISASSEMBLING THE STEERING COLUMN, THE STEERING LOCKING SYSTEM WAS RESET AND DISABLED. THE CAR'S COMPUTER SHOWS AN ERROR CODE EVERY TIME THE CAR IS STARTED. NHTSAS WEB SITE SHOWS THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION OPEN ON THIS VERY PROBLEM WITH NO CONCLUSION. THIS DEFECT MAY EXIST IN OTHER GM CARS WITH THE ELECTRONIC STEERING LOCK ASSEMBLIES. I DO KNOW THEY DON'T USE IT AFTER 2002. *LA