I was in a single car accident in my 2001 corvette. I bought it brand new. The injuries I suffered were nearly fatal. I was air lifted to a shock trauma unit, in a coma and on a respirator for 21 days and rehabilitation for several months after. I have sustained some permanent injuries as a result of this accident. This was a single car accident involving only my vehicle. The evidence points to a possible steering column lock up which rendered me unable to steer the car. The vehicle right hand side went over a rock wall on a driveway and then went perfectly straight into tree which began tipping the car over. Next to the tree was a very large tree stump which caught the right side of the car's underside and finished rolling the car. I was thrown from the car as I wasn't belted in. (I had trouble with the driver's side seat belt in this car also.) the estimated speed at the time of the crash would be around 20 MPH.
2001 Chevrolet Corvette steering complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 88 of 88, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Security sytem steering column locks. Light is on on dashboard. Cannot steer car. Cannot keep running if I put it in gear. Had to call tow truck. This is the second time in one year I have had to have it towed and "fixed". Whats the deal?? Why no recall?
Steering wheel locked while driving.
Nar 06/19/2003. *mr the consumers vehicle was in need of numerous repairs. Voluntary emission recall- reprogram the powertrain control module. Excessive engine oil consumption. Engine knocking noise. Fuel gauge dropped to empty, driver seat is coming apart, steering column lock. Air conditioner has a bad odor. Inability to lock car doors. Radio produces loud static, and speakers rattle. Headlights have a bad battery and the rear view mirror doesn't dim. *cb
As with many other corvette owners I know, I was stranded by the defective column lock mechanism. This should be a factory recall on all corvettes.
Message "service steering column lock". Dealer said recall does not include the '01 corvette, just previous years. Apparently the problem was not cured, just dropped the recall. Ref. In ea02-031
Just after starting my 2001 corvette, I was pulling out of the garage and the steering locked up. I think this is because the steering pin solenoid doesn't pull the pin when the voltage drops. My battery was apparently weak because when the tow truck driver beat the steering column until the pin dropped, the car wouldn't start without a jump. Ref. In ea02-031
While pulling out of the drive way without prior warning the steering column locked up. Causing him to crash into the neighbor next door house. Please provide additional information dealer is aware of the problem. Ref. In ea02-031
Steering wheel has locked up about 10 or 15 times. Usually immediately after starting the car. It has had me stranded for anywhere from 5-60 minutes. Two dealers have looked at the car at least 5 or 6 times. I thought the problem was resolved until I was driving to work a few weeks ago on a major highway at a rate of speed of about 65mph when the digital display on the computer said to "service steering column lock". This is the usual notification I get on my car when the wheel has locked up in the past. Fortunately the steering didn't lock up but it really frightened me. The dealer was unable to identify any problem in the dealership and now I'm scared to drive the car for fear the stearing wheel will lock up while I'm driving. About a week after this happened I was made aware of an investigation into this problem by the federal safety agency . I have a 2001 chevy corvette. Can you please update me on the investgation and what should I do now?? Ref. In ea02-031
While backing out of the driveway consumer attempted to turn the steering wheel, the steering wheel locked up, and the warning buzzer sounded. Vehicle was towed to dealer and the steering actuator was replaced. Mr *tt
Steering column locked up. If you go to http://www.corvetteforum.com & do a search for column lock you will see this is a widespread problem. A lot of people on this forum have removed the lock & installed a column lock bypass instead of pressing the issue with gm. To me gm does not have a proper & correct fix for it as they have removed the locking mechanism on the cars with automatic transmissions but due to federal law can not remove it from the manual transmission. Gm just put their hands up & gave up as it shows they have no answer otherwise they would not have removed the lock from the automatic cars. I have heard it locks up while moving & that is on the back of my mind while driving, very dangerous. Please get gm to correct this unsafe condition & if they tell you they have a fix ask them why they removed the lock from the automatic cars. Dt
Steering column locked up while backing out of my garage preventing me from turning steering wheel. Car was towed to my nearest dealership, palm chevrolet who replaced the locking mechanism. My car supposedly had the latest improved fix by gm from the factory. This is an ongoing problem with all corvettes since 1997. Gm has taken the locking mechanism out of all automatic transmission corvette which shows they do not have confidence in any of their fixes. They cannot remove them from manual transmission since that would be against federal law. On the forums this is a big topic of steeriing columns locking up & I have heard it has been doing so on moving vehicles. Mine locked up while backing out of my garage. Being locked up while parked is an inconvenience but it happening while moving is deadly. Ts ref. In ea02-031
Sensor on driver's door has been replaced numerous times, intermittently drivers door will not respond to remote option.*ak customer stated that oil leaked from engine area. The driver door rattles while driving and was hard to close. The right door glass has wind noise due to door glass failure. Brakes failed to grab. There was a noise while driving due to left seat belt retractor failure. Consumer states cd charger would not eject cd cartridge, the steering tilt was inopartive, the door rattled, the seats would not hold programming.
Consumer states while driving 60 MPH without warning the steering wheel locked resulting in consumer loss of steering this problem has occurred three times dealership has been notified mechanic states vehicle is safe to drive. Gm not willing to do nothing. *tt ref. In ea02-031
Consumer states that while driving at 60 MPH the steering wheel on the vehicle locked up and the consumer could not steer the vehicle at all. Contacted dealer and the dealer is not willing to do anything. Nlm
Active handling system malfunction - on three separate occasions during a recent road trip, I experienced a momentary loss of directional control while driving my vehicle at highway speeds. On each occasion, I was fortunate to quickly regain control of the vehicle after it involuntarily veered to the left and crossed into the adjacent lane of travel. Shortly thereafter, a dash board message appeared : "service active handling". Upon arrival at my destination, I had my vehicle serviced at an out of town cheverolet dealer. After consulting with general motors, the dealer examined the vehicle but was unable to provide a "fix" for the problem. I asked the dealer if they were aware of any similar problems with other corvettes - they responded - "no". Acceleration disruption issue - this has been a problem since day one and continuess through today. The probloem is most apparent when I attempt to merge into traffic upon entering a freeway. "excessive heat" - as with the acceleration issue , this problem has existed since buying my vehicle in august of 2000. I plan to have warranty service with respect to the acceleration and heat issues sometime in the very near future.
Steering column locked, brand new car stranded.*ak ref. In ea02-031
All 1997-2001 corvettes are being shipped with a defective column lock, causing steering wheel to lock and leave owners of $50,000 sports cars stranded! Gm will not address this issue. Please investigate this situation. You will find numerous cases of failure and fixes by gm with the origional defective part. These things fail repeatedly! Thank you. Ref. In ea02-031
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