NHTSA Complaint #10404118 — 2002 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

AS I WAS DRIVING, COASTING MY CAR DOWN A HILL IN BUFFALO, NY MY 2002 CHEVROLET Z06'S MOTOR SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY. I WAS MAKING A RIGHT-HAND TURN WHEN THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER-ASSISTED STEERING AND THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE RE-STARTED. I LATER FOUND OUT FROM THE DEALER WHERE I HAD MY CAR TOWED THAT MY Z06 HAD BROKEN A VALVE SPRING IN ITS ENGINE. AFTER SOME RESEARCH, THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2001 AND 2002 CORVETTE Z06 MODELS MADE BY CHEVROLET. THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES NEARLY IDENTICAL TO MINE WHERE THE VEHICLE'S VALVE SPRINGS WILL SNAP AND PREVENT THE VALVES IN THE MOTOR FROM OPERATING SUCCESSFULLY AND THUS PREVENTING THE CAR FROM MOVING UNDER ITS OWN POWER. I BELIEVE THIS FREQUENT PROBLEM IS A SAFETY HAZARD AS MANY OF THESE FAILURES OCCUR WHILE THE VEHICLES ARE BEING DRIVEN ON PUBLIC ROADS AND ARE RENDERED INOPERABLE BY THE FAILURE. MOREOVER, AFTER ONE OF THESE VALVE SPRINGS BREAKS, THE CAR LOSES ITS POWER STEERING FUNCTION (THAT MOST DRIVERS ARE ACCUSTOMED TO HAVING IN ASSISTING THEIR STEERING AT LOW SPEEDS); THE FUNCTION A DRIVER WOULD NEED MOST IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION WHERE THEIR CAR CANNOT MAINTAIN SPEED ON A PUBLIC ROADWAY. *TR