2008 Chevrolet Corvette Engine Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  947%
• 25k–50k
  526%
• 50k–75k
  211%
• 75k–100k
  211%
• 100k–150k
  15%
• 150k+
  00%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Chevrolet Corvette owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

I am a long time Corvette owner and have purchased many through the years. I recently purchased a 2008 Corvette Coupe with only 30k miles, one owner vehicle. Unbelievable to me, I have had to spend over $4,000 the past month replacing the ECM and most notably the Fuel Pump, to relieve the constant Fuel Smell, not to mention the rack and pinion steering gear needs to be replaced, with again, only 30k miles on the vehicle, and that part is discontinued. The failure of the ECM almost cost my wife and I our life when we were coming home to [redacted] from [redacted] . The car completely lost all power on the highway and we almost got railed by traffic. Not a good situation to say the least. I almost had a heart attack. …

Low beams don't work when the engine gets hot, I was driving the other night at 10pm and the headlights went out. Pitch black and almost wrecked.......This is a know issue..... Fuel pump has small cracks in the top of driver side fuel pump could start fire, and its a know issue....... Heads on the LS7 also know valve issue. It will ruin the motor.....

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, when "disable ride service control" message was displayed as the steering wheel seized. The contact stated she lost control of the vehicle, spun around and colliding with a parked vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle left the ground as there was no visible skid marks on the roadway. The air bags did deployed. The contact mention that previously the 'service ride control' message displayed as well as 'ignition switch' as vehicle last all power. The contact sustained lower back, whole left side and right knee was injured which required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact stated that the vehicle was a total loss. The vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic as of yet. …

I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by GM's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, loosing a valve while driving will result in loss of power assist for steering and breaking while on the road . I took my car with 13500 miles on it to a Corvette specialty shop to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had (8) exhaust valve guide and (3) intake valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of (5) other intake valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The car is being repaired with proper re-machining of the heads to make the valve guides concentric, new intake and exhaust valve guides installed, as well as new seals, valves, springs, etc. …

2008 Corvette with 119000 has a strong odor of gas after filling up over a half of tank, but is showing no leaks. The gas cap is firmly in place and works correctly. I read that I should fill this out because it is a common issue with this model Corvette and could be a safety issue. I thought I had bought cheap gas but this has happened again in the last couple of days. I did see a recall letter from Chevy but the car is over 10 years old but is under 120,000 miles. I have had it since June of 2018. The vehicle is parked in a garage and the odor is very strong. When the vehicle's gas supply drops below a half a tank, the odor goes away. I first noticed this in the fall of 2019, but have not driven the car very much until this past week. I have had a pot hole issue in dec where a claim was filed but this has nothing to do with that. …

Engine knock on 6.2 liter engine. When the vehicle sits a knocking occurs in the engine upon startup. It is not a lifter knock, but a knock deeper in the engine GM has noted the problem and made multiple repairs (6+) cam shaft changed but no lifters. Thought this was odd as the wearing surfaces are now dissimilar .GM said this is all they authorized. Knock still present GM then removed upper end of engine. Noted extreme carbon build up on multiple pistons. One piston had so much building apparently close to valves hitting. GM tech advised engine replacement, GM authorized cleaning of pistons: guess what, knock still present the knocking is a piston or lower end knock. Similar to wrist pins or rod bearing caps or bearings. When knocking occurs engine is rough and pulsates. …

Engine started making noise, feeling there could be a failure I drove to my servicing Chevrolet dealer. They listened to the engine and said, that's normal. Not trusting that judgment, I had an independent shop inspect the engine, and had the valve issue resolved at my expense. I was still under extended warranty, which made me angry. But if the dealer says there is noting wrong, what am I supposed to do? After the repair was performed at my expense, I took the failing parts back to the dealer for them to inspect. They admitted they were wrong, but what good did that do me? Keep in mind my vehicle had less than 10K miles on it. This is where I feel safety comes into play; had my engine failed and locked up on todays crowed interstates, I could have caused a major accident. The failures I have read about, gave no warning, when the engine let-go.

The car had an oil pump failure in July (zero oil pressure in the engine), after which it was towed to an independent shop who is currently replacing the oil pump and verifying that no damage was done to the engine for a cost of about $2000. Upon investigation on my part, GM has known that oil pumps can fail on not only my car but any car with a "generation 4" v8 including a 6th generation corvettes. They have released to their dealers document pip4158g stating this. I think personally that this is a safety issue and there should be a recall, but at the very least GM should have to pay for any service work done because of this "known" issue. I refuse to take my car to a GM dealer, due to the past treatment of my car by dealers (they are careless) and so GM will do nothing as they say "it can't be diagnosed by anyone but a GM dealer." that's hogwash

I just had my mandated 08 c6 emissions recall done. Now while in drive at a stop light, the steering wheel vibrates, along with parts of the drivers door and the center console. It is the new resonance from the mid cats and RPM idle change. Plus I drove it 60 miles, then took temp readings with a laser temp gun...my right pant leg was at 95 degrees, and the seat belt plastic attachment was at 115 degrees. I then measured the temp inside the center console...140 degrees. Also on average, the engine is running 10 to 15 degrees hotter(due to more back pressure and the leaning of the air fuel mixture) when I parked it in the garage and got out...you could feel a strong wave of heat coming from under the car. The dealership that I took it to agrees with my conclusions. However, GM corporate is not helping me to resolve these issues.

While driving on highway in 5th gear #5 exhaust valve dropped into the cylinder going through the piston and causing connecting rod to go through side of the block. Engine seized and caused the car to go into a 65 MPH spin. Luckily this occurred late at night on a open 4 lane highway with little traffic. I nearly clipped an oncoming pickup truck but squeaked by him. The car had 32,000 miles on it but out of warranty because of the years. Total cost for this ls7 replacement cost me 18,000 out of pocket. I hardly even drive the car because I'm afraid of it happening again. I'm reluctant to sell it because of the valve issue happening to potential buyer and them coming after me for the failure. GM needs to correct this problem before someone gets killed like I could have been that night.

Engine complaints in other Corvette years