NHTSA Complaint #10743743 — 2007 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

WHILE DRIVING THE CORVETTE, THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN WITH NO NOTICE. THE DASH INDICATED THE VEHICLE HAD ENTERED ACCESSORY MODE. POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES AND ENGINE POWER WERE COMPLETELY GONE. WITHIN A FEW SECONDS, THE DIC WENT FROM 'ACCESSORY MODE' TO 'SHIFT INTO PARK'. IN ORDER TO DO SO, I HAD TO COAST TO A SAFE PLACE. ONCE I GOT TO A SPOT WHERE I COULD MOVE OFF THE ROAD, I SHIFTED TO PARK AND RESTARTED THE CAR. IT THEN DROVE ON AS USUAL, BUT THERE WAS NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OR OTHER INDICATOR. THIS HAPPENED ONLY ONCE THIS DAY, HOWEVER OCCURRED THREE ADDITIONAL TIMES WITHIN 10 MILES ON THE 23RD OF JULY. I CONTACTED A GM SERVICE TECHNICIAN WHO WORKS AT A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP AND HE CHECKED FOR ANY SERVICE BULLETINS OR RECALLS. THERE WERE NONE FOR THE CORVETTE. I SEARCHED THE INTERNET, AND CORVETTE FORUM (I AM A 10 YEAR FORUM MEMBER). I FOUND NUMEROUS INSTANCES OF THE IGNITION SWITCH IN 2005-2007 CORVETTES FAILING IN THIS MANNER. I LOCATED AN IGNITION SWITCH AND REPLACED IT. THIS FIXED THE PROBLEM IN 15 MINUTES AND FOR LESS THAN $50 AT DEALER RETAIL. I KNOW FROM OTHER NHSTC RECALLS ON VEHICLES THAT IGNITION SWITCH FAILURES ARE CONSIDERED A CRITICAL AND DANGEROUS FAILURE. THE FAILURES IN THE CORVETTES SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THESE RECALLS. IF SUCH A FAILURE OCCURRED DURING CROSSING TRAFFIC OR WHILE DRIVING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY INTERSTATE TRAFFIC, THE RESULTS COULD EASILY BE (AND MAY ALREADY HAVE BEEN) DEADLY. PLEASE CONSIDER INITIATING A RECALL, OR INCLUDING THE AFFECTED YEARS OF CORVETTE IN AN EXISTING RECALL. MY CAR IS NOW FIXED DUE TO MY ABILITY TO SEARCH FORUMS AND OTHER WEB BASED INFORMATION, HOWEVER MOST CORVETTE OWNERS ARE NOT AS INVOLVED OR AS WEB SAVVY AND COULD BE INVOLVED IN A LONG DRAWN OUT PROBLEM/DIAGNOSIS PROCESS WHICH WOULD PUT THEIR LIVES AT RISK. THANK YOU.