NHTSA Complaint #10159003 — 2000 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

STEERING COLUMN LOCKS UP ON 2000 MY CHEVROLET CORVETTE. I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY ISSUE UNTIL I HAD A DEALER, (MARTY FELDMAN CHEVROLET; NOVI, MI), PERFORM A RECALL INITIATIVE ON JUNE 20, 2005 FOR THE PROBLEM AT GENERAL MOTORS' REQUEST. AFTER THE RECALL WAS PERFORMED, THE STEERING COLUMN LOCKED UP WHILE I WAS BACKING THE VEHICLE OUT OF MY GARAGE TO PREPARE IT FOR WINTER STORAGE IN OCTOBER '05. PLEASE NOTE: THE ENGINE DID NOT SHUT OFF WHEN THE STEERING COLUMN LOCKED. I RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER IN APRIL 2006 TO INVESTIGATE AFTER WHICH THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND RE-PERFORMED THE RECALL INITIATIVE. I PICKED UP THE VEHICLE UPON COMPLETION, IT WORKED FINE FOR TWO WEEKS. I THEN EXPERIENCED THE SERVICE STEERING COLUMN LOCK WARNING ON THE VEHICLE MONITORING SYSTEM ON 5/22/2006 WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, HOWEVER, THE STEERING COLUMN DID NOT LOCK UP. UPON LEAVING THAT DESTINATION ONCE AGAIN, THE STEERING LOCKED UP WHILE EXITING A PARKING LOT AND, ONCE AGAIN, THE ENGINE DID NOT SHUT OFF. I IMMEDIATELY RETURNED THE CAR TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO THE BATTERY BEING LOW BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS IN STORAGE FROM OCTOBER '05 TO APRIL '06. THE PROBLEM WITH THAT SCENARIO IS 1) THE PROBLEM FIRST OCCURRED PRIOR TO THE VEHICLE BEING STORED IN OCTOBER, AND, 2) I REPLACED THE BATTERY IN AUGUST OF 2005 WITH A NEW ONE. AFTER HAVING MY VEHICLE FOR 9 DAYS, THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE THEY COULD DO AND TO COME GET THE CAR. WHEN I PICKED IT UP I WAS ADVISED THAT IF THE WARNING APPEARS AGAIN TO DISCONNECT THE POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE FROM THE BATTERY TO ENABLE THE SYSTEM TO RESET...TOTALLY IGNORING THE POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD OF THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKING UP AND WAS CHARGED FOR THEIR SERVICES. I AM NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR AND CONSIDER IT RENDERED USELESS UNTIL GENERAL MOTORS CAN ASSURE ME THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF FIXING THEIR PROBLEM. *NM