I own a 1998 Chevrolet Corvette. The EBCM can have an issue. Complains of traction control, ABS braking and AH active handling. This can cause issues when driving with no ABS active. I have seen numerous complaints about this issue here and on various forums. Unfortunately the part needed to correct the issue is no longer available and for some reason cannot be repaired. Used parts are costly (2K or more) and no guarantee they work. GM should provide replacement part or work around. If not available they should offer total car buy backs for a fare price depending on condition or offer an exchange for a corvette that can be repaired.
1998 Chevrolet Corvette: ABS light or ABS activating
13 of the 399 complaints about the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette describe ABS light or ABS activating.
- owner complaints
- 13
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- typical mileage
- 82,122
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 2 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
ABS light or ABS activating by model year
What owners say
Abs/traction control lights on. Went to dealer and no part is available to make the repair. So I have no ABS or tracion control on my car part no 9367071 & 12530740
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 chevrolet corvette. The contact stated while at a complete stop, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly with the illumination of the posi traction and ABS warning indicators. The brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle failed to slow down until the gear was shifted into the park position. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the steering harness and an unknown part related to the front engine was replaced. The failure persisted and the vehicle was taken to a different dealer where the master computer and alternator were both replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 71,722.
Approximately 3 years ago my 1998 c5 corvette coupe experienced fault codes and warning lights associated with a failure or failures within the electronic brake traction control module (ebtcm). I tried to replace the electronic module that mounts to the ABS pump a few times with used modules and the problem was never resolved. Last summer I put the corvette into the service center at the local chevy dealership and told them to fix the problem and clear the fault codes. When I picked up the car and started it the codes and warning light was still there. I enquired why and was told that gm no longer supports the ABS/traction control module for the older corvettes. I was told by the chevy "certified" technician that the car was safe to drive without ABS and traction control. I added that it was safe as long as I didn't drive in rain or snow.
I know I am not the 1st to report this same condition. You should have several 100 of us if not 1000's, who are experiencing ABS failures which affects the traction control modules (also called electronic brake traction control model)( ebtcm) on all corvette's made from 97-2007 that I am aware of. We continue to experience the ABS & traction control module failures and gm says they can't fix it due to lack of parts. My vehicle does not have the active handling system but others do and this has to be a safety concern for the federal safety agency. You have 40,000 high performance corvette's on the road with electronic controls that do not work for the anti-lock brake systems, traction control, and active handling for stability control and no spare parts available from gm? How can that be? There is a 10% chance aftermarket companies who say they can repair these modules actually do. Many people are spending $650 to $1200 to get them repaired and it's about a 10% success rate they get repaired. Go to any corvette forums and you will see lots of data to support what I'm telling you. Gm will never do anything about this unless the federal safety agency makes them. Your best advantage point to do nothing is that most corvette owners are over the age of 40 and we drive these vehicles with respect to others on the road. I would prefer a "repair" capability not a 100% reengineered module so they can charge me $5000 for it when my vett is worth $10k. I hope this is the final data point to get some dialog from you to gm and see if there is any viable solution to these issues on the corvettes with their long history of ABS control and traction control failures with no viable repair action from gm.
Sitting idle, all warning lights illuminate on dash board, in dash display shows"service engine soon". Made it home when smoke bellowed from under hood. Abs module shorted out and started fire at module and wiring harness. Thankfully, I am a body man and knew what to do by disconnecting the battery. If my wife was driving there would have been a full blown fire. My research shows, this is a very common problem with the 1997 to 2000 corvette with j 04 active brake control option. Not only is there a fire possibility, the part manufacture has gone out of business in 2007, the module or harness and no longer available. Due to the fire history of this part, no aftermarket company's will rebuild this unit. Zero available new, very limited used (yards will only sell a totaled corvette as a rolling chasis). This leaves us corvette owners purchased for $50,000 new with a undrivable vehicle! Local chevrolet dealers will not accept vehicle in the service dept. ("we are sorry, but we cannot repair this vehicle. No parts are available").
The ABS/traction control malfunction and will not enable.
I slammed on my brakes and my ABS brakes failed, my car could not stop and I narrowly missed hitting the car in front of me. I had my car diagnosed at john l sullivan chevrolet and was told that my ABS "electronic brake control module" failed and there are no replacement parts available from the dealer or aftermarket. I went online to the corvetteforum.com and found out that there are hundreds of corvette owners with the same problem. There are no fixes for this. I couldn't believe that gm could not address this issue and have parts available. This problem includes corvettes manufactured from 1998-2004. I would like to know what it takes to make this a recall issue. This is a serious issue and I'm afraid to let my family drive my car.
Driving down a 4 lane city street a child chasing his ball ran out in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes not knowing that the ABS system was not working, it caused me to lose control of the car and spin out into oncoming traffic. I called the local chevrolet dealer to find out about repairs and was told that the abc control module is no longer available and it can not be rebuilt or repaired. What im I going to do now with an unsafe car. There are thousands of these cars with the same problem.
Sometimes. After turning into an intersection, the ABS engage and slows the vehicle to 5 MPH and there is oncoming traffic.
The cars computer shuts down the car at high speeds. Messages that appear include low voltage, service active handling system and ABS failure. This has occured four times - 6/26/01, 8/8/01, 10/4/01, and 10/25/01 and I have brought the car into the dealership for repair. Dealer claimed to have fixed problem only to have it reoccur. It is like having the car shift into neutral at 70 MPH. It creates a very dangerous situation as I am usually on a highway with fast moving traffic around me. The dealership says this happens all the time with the corvettes as if it is normal. I can't believe that a car would be designed to shut down at high speeds if the computer registered a voltage drop. The manufacturer representative michael steele at 800‑222‑1020 is aware of the problem and tries to help but has no power to deal with this issue. The case number at chevrolet is 05623088. This car is dangerous and should be subject to review and possible recall before someone is killed.
Abs sensor light kept coming on. Vehicle ha dbeen in dealer's shop on five occasions, and problem is still occurring. Feel free to provide further details.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette abs
Is ABS light or ABS activating a common problem on the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette?
13 of 399 owner complaints about the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette (3%) mention ABS light or ABS activating. The model year with the most reports is 2000.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette?
There are 0 recalls and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette
Steering lock-up 57Stalling 14Seat belt 12Engine failure 8Loss of power 7Power steering loss 6Fuel smell 5
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