NHTSA Complaint #10859846 — 2009 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

GM DENIES ANY SORT OF WIDE SPREAD ISSUE WITH RESPECT TO THE MANUFACTURING/ASSEMBLY OF THE CYLINDER HEADS FOR THE LS7 ENGINE. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURES AS A RESULT OF A BROKEN VALVE HEAD DROPPING INTO THE CYLINDER AND SUBSEQUENTLY BLOWING A HOLE THROUGH THE MOTOR, CAUSING FLUIDS TO LEAK ALL OVER THE ROAD, AND COMPLETE LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE SYMPTOMS ARE PREMATURE VALVE GUIDE WEAR, WHICH EVENTUALLY BECOME SO WORN THAT THE VALVE CLOSES ON THE WRONG ANGLE TO THE SEAT, AND OFF BREAKS THE VALVE HEAD. THE ISSUE APPEARS TO BE POOR VALVE GUIDE TO VALVE SEAT CONCENTRICITY, WHICH LEADS TO PREMATURE VALVE GUIDE WEAR. MY 2009 Z06 CORVETTE AT ONLY 15,000 STREET DRIVEN MILES WAS INSPECTED BY A REPUTABLE THIRD PARTY REPAIR FACILITY, AND DISCOVERED THAT 14/16 VALVE GUIDES WERE BEYOND GM'S SERVICE LIMIT, AND THE REMAINING 2/16 WERE RIGHT AT THE LIMIT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULDN'T OCCUR UNTIL 150,000 MILES AT LEAST...NOT 15,000. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN INVESTIGATION BEFORE MORE CATASTROPHIC FAILURES OCCUR. THERE ARE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTED OCCURRENCES.