NHTSA Complaint #10611206 — 1998 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

WHILE DRIVING, THE STEERING WHEEL SUDDENLY LOCKED AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. THE CAR WAS STUCK IN THE ROADWAY. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER, WHO SAID A CRITICAL RECALL WAS NEVER DONE. ALTHOUGH I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER, I NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM GM. THE RECALL, WHICH I LATER FOUND TO POSSIBLY AFFECT 120,000 CORVETTES FROM 1997 TO 2004, WAS PERFORMED ACCORDING TO GM INSTRUCTIONS. HOWEVER, THE RECALL ONLY CONSISTED OF REMOVING THE STEERING LOCK PINS. THE LIKELIHOOD OF FUEL SYSTEM SHUT OFF STILL EXISTED. THE DEALER SAID THE GM RECALL WAS INEFFECTIVE, GM WAS AWARE THAT THE RECALL WAS INSUFFICIENT, AND SAID THE ENTIRE MECHANISM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED IN ORDER TO PREVENT FUTURE RECURRENCE. THE REPLACEMENT WAS THEN DONE AT MY COST. AS A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER I BELIEVE THE INADEQUATE GM RECALL REMEDIATION IS A SERIOUS SAFETY DEFECT. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE DEFECT USUALLY OCCURS AFTER 60,000 TO 80,000 MILES. HOWEVER, MOST CORVETTES ARE DRIVEN WELL BEYOND THIS POINT. I WROTE TO GM, BUT THEY ARE NOT TAKING THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONDITION SERIOUSLY. *TR