One of the lawsuits filed against General Motors over the well-known C7 Corvette cracked rims issue has been dismissed.
The judge presiding over this suit, which was filed in the spring of last year in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, ruled that the plaintiff in the case did not prove that the problems with factory wheels on the C7 Corvette Z06 and Grand Sport were caused by a defect in the materials or workmanship rather than a design defect. While GM’s three-year, 36,000-mile factory warranty covers defective parts that do not work as they are intended, they do not cover inherent design flaws with vehicle parts. The plaintiff’s case hinged on the fact that GM had expressly breached its own warranty claims, so it was thus thrown out.
Additionally, the plaintiff alleged GM knew about the allegedly defective wheels and continued to sell affected vehicles to customers anyway. The judge said that with claims such as this, a plaintiff “is typically required to allege how the defendant obtained knowledge of a specific defect prior to the plaintiff’s purchase of the defective product.” Because the plaintiff could not say how GM obtained knowledge of the defect prior to them purchasing their C7 Corvette Z06 or C7 Corvette Grand Sport, this was claim was also deemed invalid.
The plaintiff in this Corvette cracked rims suit alleges the lightweight aluminum alloy wheels that come standard on the C7 Corvette Z06 and Grand Sport are prone to bending, warping and/or cracking. This is a widely documented and discussed problem in the C7 Corvette owners community, with Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter having previously acknowledged the issue to owners through an online forum. Juechter said the problem can be caused by owners hitting potholes or other bumps in the road and then continuing to drive on the wheel, which can cause it to warp severely.
A number of other suits have been filed over the Corvette cracked rims problem, including two separate ones in April and October of this year. We’ll continue to follow these cases as they progress through the courts, as this is a worrying and seemingly widespread issue among C7 Corvette Z06 and Grand Sport owners.
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Comments
Design flaw? A great way to get around a defective part.
What do you expect – that’s GM .
Was any metallurgy testing done on any of the cracked wheels? What percentage of sold wheels had issues? Is it one manufacturer of the wheels the source?
I’m sure these were answered someplace.
In GM’s files most likely. These records would have to be handed over once a case proceeds to discovery. That’s why GM is trying their hardest to get these cases dismissed before that happens.
This is interesting, and perhaps a little troubling; so a manufacturing defect is covered by the warranty, but an “inherent design flaw” is not. That would indicate that GM does not stand by their engineering. Being an inherently human activity, design engineering can certainly generate flawed products. The only way to completely eliminate errors is to do nothing. I certainly have designed a few things that didn’t work out as intended and had to be revaluated and modified, but I took the responsibility.
It certainly is a good thing that this problem, at least as far as I know, is limited to wheel and tire damage. With high power heavy machinery, it could have been much worse.
WHERE ELSE BUT IN CALIFORNIA!! Enough said!! Here is a judge that MIGHT know the law but don’t know the integrity of medal an doesn’t know the difference in CASTING AN FORGING ! The grain structure between CAST AND FORGED!
Bob you are right in that this can easily be part of the problem. Perhaps GM didn’t mention whether or not the wheels were cast or forged in their brochures. You don’t say it, but the forged process costs more. In a Z06 and a grand sport a more expensive set of forged wheels might be the hot ticket, even if passed on to the consumer. At this point, there are a lot of customers who might have wished they’d been charged more but have wheels that last a lifetime. AF
I dont believe this problem is isolated to 2017 rims only. I had two rims on a 2002 C5 crack and one warp. Guess one can blame potholes and such, still seems odd for a car with less than 30K milrs
I feel your pain But none of these new wheels can take a good hit anymore yes potholes are hell I even had some nice aftermarket ones destroyed to
Interesting statement ” Juechter said the problem can be caused by owners hitting potholes or other bumps in the road and then continuing to drive on the wheel, which can cause it to warp severely.” So problem only occurs if you hit pothole or bump and continue driving. what are you supposed to do? Stop and change wheels? Park and call a UBER? i have a c7 Grand Sport and have almost 100 miles, but now i’m afraid to drive it and crack or warp the wheels.
Gerald P. – Excellent points. The Grand Sport is a great vehicle. Perhaps all Corvette owners should factor into the cost of their Z06 and Grand Sports, the cost of some good looking and forged, name brand wheels. It will drive the cost of the investment up, but at least the customer would not have to be afraid to drive his or her vehicle. AF
That’s because GM wants to outsource everything to China. Solid American engineering, substandard Chinese build quality –
68 Vett your right that is just one country one of many we gave engineering to!
AN THEY STILL CAN’T GET IT RIGHT ! WHY???!!! Admit it GM! IF WE MADE IUR OWN PARTS LIKE ALL MANUFACTURES DID WHEN AUTOMOBILES WERE STARTING OUT THE CAR AN TRUCK MANUFACTURES WOULDN’T HAVE THUS PROBLEM AN THEIR REPUTAION WOULD BE RESPECTED AGAIN!
all of GM’s growth business is CHINA, so American customers come last.
It’s actually the other around, the Chinese are rising while the US is ….Well, sinking in many areas.
But boys like you live in the past and too proud to accept these facts.
Take the hit.
How can you separate design flaw from manufacturing defect. Isn’t the method of manufacture part of the design? Cast or forged, it would seem to me to be integral to the design as designs take into account the usage of a particular piece and wouldn’t you assume there would be a difference between cast and forged for a particular design and it’s intended usage.
China’s rise will stop when they run out of uighur muslim organs to sell, heck that’s why they are doing it to Christians and falun gung practitioners as well, but hey the red dragon is identified in the bible as satan who does not regard the gods of his fathers(communist), he will deceive the whole world(covid-19) he will glorify his deception (blamed it on us army showing he is untouchable), he will hate women (one child policy towards women allowing for the trafficking of extras), causes the craft(pharmaceuticals) to prosper, presents a new gospel where jesus is a murderer (bibles says whoever does this is cursed), no one can make war with him(supplies computer chips and parts for war machines globally). Yes the great red dragon, that didst deceive the nations, magnified himself above all that is called God, is prophesied to rule the world for 7 years with the Pope’s help.
to convert your comment to cars, like this forum is about, while it’s hard to buy a car without Chinese parts, i certainly would not buy a car imported from China.
So that judge was clearly bought , and there goes GM doing what GM dose best, screwing over its customer base
Joshua — The question is not if GM is screwing over its customer base, which you have stated that the company does. The question is, when will you cast a ballot with your feet? AF
I did.Had a leased Pkatinum Escalade, but got me first Lexus. When lease was up. May not go back to GM. Still have 4 other GM cars but will not replace with GM anymore.
Like many others, I did not know that GM was owned by a Chinese corporation when I ordered my new C8 in October of 2019. If the rims are not covered by warranty, I may just cancel my order and get my $5000 deposit returned!
When my C8 came in last month I paid an extra $2K for road hazard insurance on the tires and wheels. Has anyone priced a set of forged wheels lately? I clicked on a lot no from this site about new forged wheels for the C8. $1500-$2500 and up from there for one wheel!
The problem is not the outsourcing to china or to the moon it is the quality control issue, and the bigger issue is GM not giving a hut about its customers look how they have handled the C8 delivery issue, their attitude is “take it or leave it” I have been a Vette owner for the last 30 years and the way they have screwed us up “never again GM” there are a few more players in this game
Not sure about the state of metalurgical quality in past and present wheels. The low profile tires, by having less “stroke” available to cushion abrupt road irregularities will transfer higher loads to the wheel rim.
Sure low profile tires on large airy wheels look great, are more responsive, and leave more space for large brake disks but they are a more fragile system. Drive with care!
I just discovered my driver side wheel has 3 inch hairline ending with a crack that can hold a quarte. Am now on phone with GM who is fiddling around. The crack is inside cant be seen and has no contact with the ground. GM stand up and own your sports cars.
I would also like to join the law suit .. my passenger sled rear wheel is cracked . I have 8000 miles … I found that most of the cracks are on the passenger rear side … Big lawsuit head GM way when people died !!!
Thought I was doing the right thing by purchasing American built … wrong