2008 Chevrolet Corvette: sudden loss of power

Filed May 8, 2026 · Acceleration, Engine · PA

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 [XXX] from [XXX] . 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. So we had to have it towed and finally made it home, only to find out the next day after a nice ride, my entire garage was overwhelmed with a gas smell that evening which permeated through the whole house. I took notice that GM covered this exact situation with GM Bulletin # xxx back in 2017, so they KNEW there was a problem! My question is, how can GM not cover this NOW. Many 2008 Corvettes are still being bought and sold. I spent over $2800 for this last week! I am asking you and GM to at least cover 50% of this charge. I don't think that is too much to ask. It's much cheaper than having been sued by our family, should me wife and I have not survived that situation on the road, a case I know they would have won. We should definitely be compensated to say the least! Thanks INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Feb 24, 2020 · Engine · 56,000 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet corvette. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH smoke emitted from the exhaust of the vehicle. The vehicle lost power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to watson chevrolet located at 625 west auto mall drive, tucson az, 85705, (520)329-4097 to be inspected. The contact was informed that the vehicle experienced engine failure with a connecting rod going through the side of the engine block. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced or repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.

Filed Aug 8, 2015 · Transmission · 30,000 miles · WA

Engine was misfiring with cel code showing. Mechanic decided it was a mechanical issue, while checking valves and valve guides on cylinder 6, removed springs and exhaust valve was loose in valve guide, easily moved side to side in valve guide. In cases where the valve head has broken off, engine seizes and loss of power brakes and steering results as well as loss of coolant and oil onto road. Very dangerous combination of events at highway speed. After removing heads to have them repaired, found that the case hardening on the lifters had become compromised and damaged the camshaft. Engine replaced

Filed Mar 21, 2015 · Brakes, Engine · 13,500 miles · WI

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. I can provide data on the failed guides for documentation 88% of the corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. Source: http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...-registry.html gm needs to issue a recall on this issue, there have been numerous engine failures as a result of a dropped valve into a cylinder which can cause accidents and fires. Gm is very aware of this issue, but refuses to do anything about this huge safety risk to drivers, passengers, and nearby vehicles if the engine fails going down the road.

Filed Aug 4, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 54,000 miles · AE

On this day, I was driving on the highway going about 100 MPH (german autobahn) when the vehicle for no apparent reason decided to lock up the brakes. I also lost power steering. Luckily there were no cars around me. The "service active handling" sensor has been on and off since then and I am looking at getting it looked at tomorrow. I have just read forums of other 2005-2008 corvettes having this similar problem. Is there anything I can do about getting this car serviced? I am in germany and I have yet to find a corvette mechanic. Would appreciate any advice. Thank you

Filed Mar 4, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 68,200 miles · AR

Traveling at 65 MPH with the cruise control on driving on a straight 4 lane divided highway, I brake and pressed the clutch pedal to down shift to make an exit. I exited, made the turn and started accelerating. I notice a loss of power and the steering wheel shook. There was no message that the active handling was engaged. I stopped and turned off the engine. All was fine when I drove again. However, it keeps happening sporadically without any cause. Once the service active handling system lit on the control panel but after turning off the engine it has not appeared again. Yet, the active handling system(or something) keep tapping the brakes making the car lose power and the steering shake.

Filed Jul 24, 2008 · Electrical, Engine · 1,700 miles · AZ

Does someone have to die? Our brand new 2008 base model corvette has lost power in the middle of the road, 5 times driving to our home. The 4th time my husband was almost rear ended by a truck! First time we had the car a week. 2nd time the dealer said it was the gas. We use chevron texaco. 4th time the liaison from chevy said that oil was getting into our gas from a bad ignition switch. Doesn't make since. 5th time was same day as 4th time. It drops from 45 to 10 and goes all the way down to 1st gear. The RPM goes up and down. It back fires! We have been taking it to the local chevy dealer in kingman az. The 4th time it happened my husband pulled over but didn't turn off the car, and waited for someone from the dealership to drive up and get in the car for a drive. It was idling up and down for about 15 min then idled fine. After hooking up a computer scanner to the car they started up the hill. They drove 2 miles 45 miles per hour, then it just dropped to 5 miles per hour surging back and forth. Making this the 5th time! Foot was steady on the throttle. Husband was told to hold it to the floor, and then it back fired real loud and stopped completely in the middle of the road! Turned off key opened and closed door to reset computer. Check engine light was on now. Drove down to dealer. It's been there 9 days so far this time. 7/23/08 the liaison from chevy called and said that our car does not meet the criteria for a buy back! We are fearful of being rear ended at a high speed! We've had to cancel trips we had planned to take in the car. We still don't have our car fixed, as they don't know what is wrong. No corvette tech has been on site to check out our car. Only buy phone! Each time they have sent the car home stating that the problem was fixed, to go ahead and drive it. Someone is going to get killed if this car isn't fixed, as there is no warning that the car is going to jerk to a stop in the middle of the road!