The new C8 Corvette debuted back in July, but delivery and production were delayed as a result of 40-day UAW strike. Now, however, the first units of the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette are finally in the hands of owners, and that means folks have an opportunity to pick apart its various quirks. As such, some owners are complaining about an intrusive dashboard glare that’s affecting visibility.
GM Authority reader Charlie is one such owner. As he laid out in a recent letter, Charlie just took delivery of his new C8 Corvette on April 2nd, making for his ninth Chevrolet Corvette model to date. The new sports car is finished in Elkhart Lake Blue Metallic, which is paired with a Natural Dipped Napa leather interior.
Clearly, Charlie is a diehard Vette fan, but it didn’t take long for him to notice something was wrong.
“Took it for the first time on a sunny day last week,” Charlie writes. “Problem: the glare on the inside of the windshield from the dash covering on the driver’s side over the HUD is awful, distracting, and very irritating. This covering should have been black, it’s just a small section that is involved.”
Frustrated, Charlie says he is looking for a solution, possibly with a black replacement section for the dash. As we can see from the picture provided, the bright tan interior finish does indeed look like it would be quite distracting on a bright and sunny day.
Other owners have highlighted additional problems with the new C8 Corvette. For example, one YouTuber pointed out how the new Vette’s engine bay would collect a fair amount of standing water after a wash, which is annoying for those owners looking to detail the naturally aspirated 6.2L LT2 V8 and keep it looking nice.
Would this dash glare in the C8 Corvette annoy you, dear reader? Let us know your thoughts on this issue in the comments, and make sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more mid-engine Corvette news, Corvette C8 news, Corvette news, Chevrolet news, and 24/7 GM news coverage.
Comments
Sooo… I’m assuming any car with a light-colored dash presents a similar result? How is this ‘problem’ unique to C8? Buy yourself a black dash cover or think ahead and buy a dash color combo that works better for you next time.
Also, on the so-called ‘issue’ of water collecting under the C8’s engine cover… that guy was obliterated on YouTube for the idiotic complaint. Does any ICE car have a water-tight engine compartment, much less one resistant to a high-pressure wash??? He apparently never opened the hood of any of his previous Corvettes after pressure washing them to check for water intrusion. The guy sounded moronic and even more so once he started trying to defend himself in the comments.
I agree with you completely Ford Guy 😬? 🙄, 😄!!!
As I posted about the article linked bellow, the same goes here. Really Mr. Lopez?
“In case you’re still wondering about the purpose of such a stunt” – There is only one, to bash on GM and the Corvette. While you can.
Sorry, two. To sell ads.
There is a failing of integrity in journalism where a Prius will be pitted against a pickup truck in a towing comparison (you may have seen it).
All geared towards exposure from publishing nothing relevant to the real world, just for revenue from clickbait.
Anyone worth their salt (looking at all you automotive journalist) know that comperable vehicles other than one obvious metric is a ruse. That it has an already known outcome, 45+% more horse power, one of the biggest metrics in sports cars!
This is nothing more then… Wait for it!
Fake news!
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/c8-corvette-drag-races-ferrari-488-pista-obliteration-follows-142619.html#comment-4872913697
And to think of all the bickering I’ve seen here over black interiors in GM’s trucks!
Also note in the picture that the passenger side where it is black, still has the glare. So, I’m not convinced that a black dash is the answer.
The black portion delivers a light reflection that’s not an issue, but the tan portion delivers a reflection that’s a lot stronger.
Porsche has had this going back to the 1997 Boxter and before. Any light-colored dash pad is gonna do this. The 2LT Natural interior has the black dash pad. If you don’t have a clue as to what you are ordering this is the result. Nobody’s fault but the buyer’s. And these blogger writers are only able to pay their Mom to live in her basement by writing meaningless B. S. like this… GM Authority is known for it.
I have a C8 HTC on order so I am interested in possible solutions to the glare. Is it possible a window tint could alleviate the problem? I live in NY so we are limited on the tint %.
Check out a custom shop that does leather and plastic, they can actually spray it to your colour of choice. I had some minor rub marks on my new Camaro and took it to Fibrenew and they matched the colour and spayed it. Fantastic job that never changed at all. Recommend them highly.
Get some good polarized shades and enjoy your awesome car. I’ll buy you a pair if I can drive it just once.
Can anyone confirm that you still can see the HUD with Polarized sunglasses? This would be the only answer to the guys complaint
Or look at the speedometer lol. Im sure the polarized would block the HUD as well. I get it. Spend all that money and this, but I would dream of just driving once so it’s hard for me to understand. I am surprised how bad it is.
Replace glare inducing leather with mouse fuzz, dark Alcantra.
Don’t know if the C8 head up display is any different from the C7, but when wearing polarized sunglasses in my C7 it has to be turned all the way up to be barely visible.
Mine didn’t work at all with polarized driving glasses
Gee, wonder what child gave me the thumbs down? Bwaahahahahah!
Choose your interior color wisely and it will minimize the reflection. The sharp windshield rake and light dashboard color impacts the reflection. This will force buyers to choose dark dashes.
I requested that the dashboard issue be addressed about a month ago. I am happy to see it has been addressed. I have been told that polarized sunglasses will resolve the issue. However, my sales guy recommended that I stick to a 2LT to avoid the issue. So, that is what I have on order. If and when I get a chance to get a look at a 3LT with a natural dashboard, I will test with my polarized sunglasses and know for sure. Since I will probably now get my C8 sometime in Q1 of 2021, I have plenty of time to resolve this issue. Again, thanks for addressing it.
I have the same interior and have no problem. Enjoy the car stop mitching
I had a 2014 IMPALA 2LZ with light gray interior. I had the same problem……….on a sunny day it was miserable to drive the car. I traded it on a 2016 with black interior………….helped a bit but ultimately traded the 2016 on an Equinox. BTW……….I had to go all over the area to get a decent trade…………..nobody wanted the IMPALA LTZ with 8K miles on it.
Although the looks of the Impala were outstanding, the interior was cheap, seats were hard, and the ride was average. I can understand why people would just not buy one of these $40K wonders………..fool me once, fool me twice….that’s what I get when I am a loyal GM customer.
The Impala sold very well, and was always in the lead in its space, even after GM “gave up” on it. So people bought them, and in healthy quantities.
The C8 is very good for it’s price, and the car is a huge bargain for the money you pay. It has an LC 500 like interior on the 3LT trim and a reliable NA V8 with supercar level of performance.
I’ll take one of those awful glare ridden C8’s. Oh wait! I want to help my grandkids with college. Never mind!
The photo does indicate a viewing problem. At certain angles, a good portion of the driver’s view is either blocked or reduced significantly. GM needs to attend to this problem and the water problem. Too often people that pay a significant amount of money for their brand new model year vehicles refuse to raise issues with them because they do not want to admit the problem. They just want to live with it.
In regard to all those that “attacked” the blogger that raised the water issue, I think they are over reacting. That much water in the engine compartment signifies a problem that I as the previous owner of 8 Corvettes would want corrected. Those that can live with the problem may choose to do so; it is their decision to make. Just don’t crucify someone who noticed the problem and brought it to the public’s attention.
I guess a mid engine car isn’t for everyone. The problem being the venting needed to get air to the engine leaves enough openings for water to intrude. Though it would be interesting to see how other mid engine cars deal with this scenario. It won’t bother me since I’m not interested in the C8 at all.
That’s the reason I went with a two tone interior to reduce glare and it looks better IMO
Seriously, any car with a light colored dash will have reflection problems. I switched from a 911 with a red dash to one with matte black for just that reason. Frankly, anyone who buys a car with a bright or light colored dash top is asking for trouble. The other issues about he new Vette, such as locking keys inside and sloppy dash stitching, are far more real.
i had a 02 coupe with the bright red interior and the red carpet in the back reflected in the rear window making the inside mirror useless. the next year carpets were black no matter what color the interior.
Simply go to the Walmart and buy some of their polarized sunglasses for $4.87. These sunglasses cut out all the glare from a very good looking tan dash and also any reflection from letters and papers that accumulate on your dash onto your windshield (mine, anyway). It works. Trust me- I’m a car salesman.
Yea, Corvette is not the only car with a light colored dash that this happens in. Also, windshield angle/rake being more aggressive than ever doesn’t help.
This is why most cars have a Black Dash, regardless of what color the seats are.
Have the same issues with my cars. I keep a black microfiber towel in each car. When driving into the sun I toss the towel up on the dash, problem solved…..the remainder of the time the dash looks great!
It won’t be long before some aftermarket vendor introduces a black pad, complete with Velcro attachment tags, and cut-outs for the HUD unit, to cover the affected area. Or, maybe the JC Whitney catalog will offer one of those metal awning visors that were once semi-common on car windshields from the late ’40s through the late ’50s, LOL!
Zone an anti-glare coating as used in corrective eyewear. The reason it has to be zoned is the HUD works by reflecting on the glass. The glass could be masked off in a rectangular area when coating, as to allow the HUD to reflect only on a specified area. No experience with this, just an idea.