Just last month, GM Authority reported that a judge had dismissed a lawsuit filed against General Motors in which it was alleged the automaker had fit various seventh-generation Corvette models with faulty wheels. Although the case dismissal means the automaker will avoid ponying up replacement Corvette C7 wheels and reimbursement costs, it’s also a major snub to owners.
First, a little background. It’s been well-documented that the lightweight aluminum alloy wheels equipped on C7-generation Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and Z06 models can bend, warp, or crack. The Corvette C7 wheel issue is a common topic in online car communities and forums, and multiple lawsuits have been filed against General Motors alleging a defect.
Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter has even acknowledged that the Corvette C7 wheels could be damaged by potholes and crack or warp over time. And although General Motors has every right to defend itself from the allegations, it could come at the cost of customer loyalty and trust.
For starters, the C7 Corvette is not a cheap vehicle, especially the Grand Sport and Z06 models. One would assume that these high-end sports cars come with equally high-end components to justify the price, and the sort of damage alleged by numerous owners and lawsuits doesn’t line up with that thinking.
Further more, the wheels themselves are quite expensive. Replacements can cost over $900 per wheel, and given the replacement Corvette C7 wheel could have exactly the same defect, its longevity is anything but assured.
Intentional or not, the message to customers is clear – GM is more concerned with short-sighted loss mitigation than it is with long-term customer loyalty.
This is a major issue. Chevrolet Corvette owners are some of the most loyal GM customers out there, often owning multiple GM vehicles, but for a C7 owner that suddenly must replace bent or cracked wheels on their new sports car, it begs the question – does GM’s handling of the Corvette C7 wheel issue instill confidence in future purchases from General Motors? The answer is likely “no.”
Hopefully, this issue does not continue into the future. The up-and-coming Corvette C8 Z06, for example, will offer carbon fiber wheels that will drastically reduce unsprung weight. But with the ongoing Corvette C7 wheel issue, will C8 buyers spring for the expensive composite option? Will impacted C7 owners consider the C8 at all?
The real question is this – is GM’s defense on this issue worth the hit to customer loyalty? It remains to be seen.
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Comments
The harsh reality is that tires with short sidewalls can contribute to damaged wheels.
I have seen damage wheels on a number of cars and destroyed tires.
Much like any C7 drive needs to use care on curbs and driveway entrances an damage the nose.
If there was a proven defect in the wheel I could understand a complaint. But to fix this odds are they would have to change wheel size and that would affect handling.
To be honest I expect this issue to only get worse as roads are getting worse. Many cities have squandered their money are now hurting more due to the virus and tax money losses.
Since working from home I avoid the near by city due to their streets and crime. People are leaving these cities and that is going to contribute to even more tax losses.
I just hope the Fed does not bail them out with my tax money.
not that trump will soon be out of the white house, republicans are going to start worrying about the debt again.
Attn Steve: Keep the Damn politics out of this forum. This forum is about this sleek; awesome car!
I’m surprised, C8R. You state that to fix this problem, likely they would have to change wheel size. This means that you considered a Forged wheel of processes used by racing wheel manufacturers, along with the materials used and the design. Clearly a lot of “forces,” are at work in the manufacture of wheels. Logical sense is that adjustments in design and materials and the process can all be made which would develop a lightweight and reliable wheel, without having to change its size. If in fact, also, your argument that bad roads are getting worse and thus the problem is getting worse, all the more reason to looks at design, construction, manufacture, materials, grain structure, forging vs. other methods (billet?) etc. Your point regarding people working at home, however, is well-taken. One other Point: Excpected-product performance by the public to whom products are advertised. Most people expect a set of wheels to last a long time, unless warned otherwise. How long is a long time? I suggest taking the average time that Corvette wheels lasted during some of its other generations and use that time frame as a reference guide. Surely GM hasn’t forgotten how to manufacture wheels as good as it once did, several decades ago?
Andrew they could clearly be at the limits here in design.
I deal with racing wheels. They all either break or dent.
What most companies do is try to keep a wheel from breaking and dent or bending to keep it from coming apart but there are limits.
Changing size really is not an option as they would never fit over the brakes.
In the past I worked with a lot of BBS 3 piece wheels from racing. I used to have to take many apart to fix the damage of a race. They then and even today made one of the best forged wheels in the industry.
Funny I just drove a Pontiac a couple months ago that had plastic wheels, Yes in the 80’s Pontiac and Motorwheel worked on composite wheels to get less I sprung weight. The problem was they really were not lighter. They also designed them to bend like a forged wheel but pushed too far they like Forge can break.
The basic issue is we are now using the lowest profile tires on vehicles today we have ever use. The tire generally protects the wheel but there is not enough there anymore to do the job.
The balance is to get the wheel weak enough to bend not break. But they will only bend so far.
Comparing the old wheels to today is apples to oranges. No way to compare this.
Billets are out of the price range and even they can fail. I sell tons of replacements.
The best wheel for durability is steel. It will take a beating but you pay in weight.
If the Corvette was using a cast wheel people would have a reason to complain but when you play on the edge the margins of failure is much closer.
You have to consider many of these failures were not on cars where people took it easy on them. Just look at all the crashed C8 models already. Some people really beat these cars.
For what it is worth the boss has a Z06 and track times it. No wheel failures. He uses care on the road no failure. Funny how some folks have no issues while some do. The driver is the one major variable.
C7s sans-ZR1 use cast aluminum. You’re right, cast is normally fine but they spec’d an aggressive setup with very low profile tires (F25/R30 aspect ratios) and cheaped out on the wheels somehow. GM screwed up big time on this and are hoping their homerun with the C8 can smother it out.
The only fixes are to spend $3-4k on properly-manufactured aftermarket flow forged / rotary forged wheels which are very unlikely to have this issue or spend $6k+ on fully forged wheels and essentially never have this issue. A properly made aluminum wheel should never bend, crack, or otherwise deform when driven on the street even over mild potholes. I had aggressive fitments on my old Mazdaspeed as well as my recent Mustang with both OEM cast wheels and flow forged wheels respectively, and I’ve never had this issue even hitting every pothole in New England. My C7GS has already had one wheel replaced under warranty a little under 5k miles in because even the dealer thought something was weird. I never even hit a pothole or drove over a rough surface, it slowly deformed just being driven.
It sucks that this is an issue and I’m not entirely surprised GM is doing this since they aren’t the greatest in terms of “the customer is always right.” I always planned on getting aftermarket wheels for my car but I don’t think I’ll be the first taker on any GM product ever again.
K, go buy 14″ steel wheels if you drive like a dumbass and hit stuff then?
They’re cheap cast wheels. Forged wheels are much stronger but costs more.
Pathetic, but I would buy good aftermarket wheels anyways (HRE, etc.)
I myself have fallen victim to the cracked wheel issue. As have the two other C7 owner I regularly cruise with. There is a definite pattern that can’t be ignored.
I mean we don’t see owners of porsche, ferrari, lamborghini, etc, coming out and saying thier large wheels on low profile tires are cracking.
You can say, “Be a better driver and don’t hit potholes,” or whatever comment makes you feel internet superior. I say,”Ditch GM, get a Porsche and hit all the pothole you want.”
not likely, if you hit a pothole in a Porsche You may bend or crack a rim too, best to avoid potholes all together if possible.
“hitting all the potholes you want” is a bad mind set.
I have a BMW 550i sport with wide low profile rims. I have also had problems with cracked rims due to potholes and bad streets. I welded my crack and its fine. Low profile wheels are more prone to damage from poor roads. I dont think you can fault GM here.
If u read the facts surrounding the case, like I did in an earlier article, I’m sure all the people here siding with GM would change their minds. The judge here was a douche, the argument he gave was ridiculous. There was something about the way he interpreted the definition of “inherent/flawed design or defect” that made him deciding against the corvette owners. In my mind he was completely wrong and if u all read it I’m sure u would agree. Guy was an idiot.
Ok guess he didn’t misinterpret the definition but what the plaintiffs supposedly failed to show, according to the judge, is how GM knew of the problem and continued to sell the product. Apparently the plaintiff wasn’t able to get the point across to the judge that GM knew about all the cracked rims and continued to sell them. Apparently the thousands of complaints posted on the forums weren’t enough for this judge. Here’s an excerpt from another article:
“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.”
Apparently rims that crack with normal driving (there were claims posted where people didn’t hit potholes and avoided them at all costs and still had cracked rims) aren’t defective or flawed in design according to this judge. Also, the thousands of complaints posted on forums, and all the calls to the GM dealers weren’t enough to show that GM had “obtained knowledge of the defect”?Ridiculous.
Its the wide body c7 that has the problems, not the stingray. Mine bent before the 500 mile oil change. After being refused help from the dealer and gm i purchased a set of forged wheels from Forgeline that are track rated.
Ive since put 2700 miles on them with no issues. Also since the forged wheels are stronger they are also lighter, the difference is very much noticeable.
Its the wide body c7 that has the problems, not the stingray. Mine bent before the 500 mile oil change. After being refused help from the dealer and gm i purchased a set of forged wheels from Forgeline that are track rated.
Ive since put 2700 miles on them with no issues. Also since the forged wheels are stronger they are also lighter, the difference is very much noticeable.
Ps. I did not hit a single pothole. Took in one smooth as silk curving blacktop.
Mark, just curious.
Which model of Forgeline wheels did you buy…the F01 Flow Formed or more expensive true forged wheels?
Barry,
I got the true forged VX3 series in dark transparent smoke. Contrasts great with the blade ceramic silver color on the car.
Among all the automakers who play in the sports car arena, 100% of them utilize lightweight wheels and low profile tires to maximize handling. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost to ride quality, as well as road hazard damage. If you own a Corvette and by chance hit a pothole, there will be a cost, either for a replacement wheel or tire, or replacement molar. Take your pick, and don’t think that choosing a Porsche 911, or Acura NSX will make a difference. You’ll just have to spend a lot more up front for less vehicle.
On a general note, there’s multiple reasons lux buyers are moving from lux sedans to lux crossovers. and for every one of them that had to pay for a bent wheel or blown out tire with their sedan, they ride in their new crossover without that concern…
I think it’s shortsighted by GM not to offer something to the owners of these Corvettes. They are some of the most loyal to the brand and pissing them off is a stupid move.
Chevy should offer a replacement wheel at cost, with free mounting and balancing.
Yes, low profile tires suck when you hit a curb or pothole but it seems to be endemic with these wheels.
A goodwill gesture goes a long way to keeping customers happy and in the GM family.
Hmmm, it’s almost like super thin sidewall tires and spindly pencil thick spoked wheels aren’t a good combination. Who would have thought? Gotta make sure those calipers are visible.
But that’s the look customers clamor for, so I kinda see this as be careful what you wish for.
The thick spokes on my C5 are as good as new, 20 years and over 100k miles later.
The improved wheel design and handling performance of the c7 wide body models was not matched with improved materials and manufacturing qualities that are needed to not self distruct.
Hence quality track rated forged wheels do not fail like the cheaply made stock wheels.
Made in China or Mexico saves gm money though.
I’ve had e cracked rims one at 1000 miles one at 6000 miles and one at 12000 miles on my 2019 grand sport, the chevy dealer denied my claim without even looking at it. They said they were told to deny all cracked wheels. So I canceled my c8 order. I have a c7 and a c5 but those will be my last due to how they treated me!
Easy fix for Gm: partner with a company that makes forged racing wheels, poll their corvette owners for the style from said company they would most prefer, order several thousand of those wheels in stock sizing, and then call the owners In one by one to change them out, but make it optional, if you prefer the stock wheels you can keep them, but you can’t complain about them anymore become GM offered a free fix
why would you buy a corvette designed for the track where there are no potholes and complain about damage from using it on pothole filled streets streets. ?? i bent a wheel on my standard 2008 corvette from hitting a big pothole.
Motorman.
The standard corvette does not have any issues unless you hit a pothole.
The wide body models wheels bend and crack, without hitting potholes. The physical dynamics from NORMAL driving,,
added to the the grand sport and z06 wheels are not the same as the standard wheels. I bought my grandsport and paid the extra amount for the enhanced handling capabilty it has over a standard issue vette. The standard cast wheel from china or mexico cannot withstand those dynamics. So if you’d payed the extra bucks for that performance, wouldnt you expect the proper match of wheels to that performance????
All wheels are not the same, gm should have matched the right wheels to the car. They chose to save money anyway.
At the very least they could have offered the same wheels they race with at an added cost.
Its GM, just be glad you are not going up in flames. They pay LAWYERS not CONSUMERS. They take your money & its on you to keep their crap operational/safe. Sleaziest car manufacturer in the world. Save your hater comments, dont care, GM vehicles are sold to be traded in when undrivable in 2 years.
Yes, this was a total bullcrap decision by an incompetent judge. Issues with these wheels isn’t from hitting potholes or large bumps with them at speed. They are bending and cracking even when just being driven mildly on smooth the roads. It takes very little to ruin them. What I don’t get, is this was also an issue with the C6 wide wheels, mainly the rear wheels. I had the same problem on my 2011 Grand Sport, as did many others with C6 Grand Sports or Zs. This isn’t confined just to the C7 generation. This has been an issue for two decades with GM putting poor quality wheels on these Corvettes.
Americans need to stop tax evasion to have enough money to fix their roads. That’s the real problem. We rarely see cracked rims in Germany but BMW in America has a huge issue with the same cars and rims.
Cut back on your ridiculous and useless defence spending and fix your crumbling infrastructure!
lets cut back on welfare as defence spending keep people employed that pay taxes to fix the roads. people on welfare pay little or no taxes.
Motorman, you seem to know less about government and world affairs then even your absolute lack of knowledge with regard to corvete wide body wheel defects. You should Post that dribble on MSDNC, they’ll eat that bs all day.
Wrong site dude.
i have owned 11 new corvettes so i believe i know something about corvettes. the wife and i both raced corvettes. what did i post above that is not true about welfare vs people who work ?? i got up at 5:30 every morning for 42 years to go to work and came home and ran a family business so i also know something about work vs welfare. what is your expertise ??
Motorman,
I have been on welfare for 32 years, so I know something about being on welfare.
What’s your point? 🤔
Well that is really something to be proud of!
why is my question and are you proud ? ? my dad died when i was 19 and instead of going to college i had to go to work to to pay taxes to support people like you on welfare plus myself and my mother.
He’s full of crap dude, just ignore his silly comments. If indeed he’s on welfare forever, then let him live with that pitiful life. Good on you for working hard and contributing!
Back to Vettes😉 My ‘99 certainly doesn’t have rim issues. Have you seen those fat-
ass wheels that come stock on 99’s? Over 20 years old and 125,000 miles, and only problem was a new clutch and some minor suspension parts. Great car! Weird too that 20 years ago 350 HP was a lot.😂
The 99 Vettes had 8.5 and 9.5 in wide wheels. Those aren’t the problem. The problem is the wider wheels of the C6 and C7 Grand Sports and Zs. The rear wheels on those are 12 in and they are really the ones that have the problems.
Nigel,
Thank you for your insight into American transportation systems. Just so you are aware the United States has 6.85 million km of roads and 95,000km of expressways. Compared to Germany’s 644,000km of roads and a mere 13,000km of expressways. We spend more on road repairs than Germany evades paying to NATO. So maybe if you want to make comparisons, you should take into consideration the obvious variables like amount of roads, and also the vastly different climates and maybe the types of vehicles we utilize like 32 ton semi tractor trailers.
Why you’re so concerned with our defense spending is beyond my understanding, but your prime minister sure wasn’t pleased to hear that our defense spending cuts would reduce the American military presence in Germany and require Germany to cough up a little more for their own defense. And before you get all high and mighty saying the American military should leave, maybe ask around to determine how much money we pour into your local economies to be there (it’s a lot by the way).
General Motors should offer a pro-rated replacement plan for existing wheels, and replacement insurance for new purchases. The aftermarket offers this, why not General Motors?
I was a GM costumer all my life, got tired of paying more for less quality. Own a Honda Insight now got a lot more for my money,and was 5k less than GMs hybrid also turns in higher mpg.
You have to realize by now GM have always been notorious for this kind of thing. Having worked at GM for 33 years 17 of those as an engineer and 8 of those at Bowling Green the best day for quality at Bowling Green was for every 100 Corvettes coming off the assembly line there were 148 defects and they celebrated that…on average there are 189 defects per 100 cars
I too worked at GM for more than 30 years. They are not interested in a quality product, just verbally. The two consistent top rated quality producing car plants are long closed.
Michael Otvos,
Which 2 plants were they?
General Motors is a pariah they had fed on the American people they were the main cause of the 2008 financial crisis and that asshole Obama bailed them out anybody that buys a GM product is a fool they should have shut this company down long ago
obama bailed out the unions not GM. GM could have come out of bankruptcy and been stronger without the unions. GM has to compete against the non union transplants here in the USA.
Motorman,
Wrong again. Look it up.
Obama cut a deal with GM, giving them 16.5 billion dollars, forcing the CEO to resign and appointing Marry Barra to the CEO.
In that process it could be argued that the union members were protected by the act of givin GM federal monies to avoid a bankruptcy and restructuring.
if it was a non union company it would not have happened. the UAW is a big backer of the dems. did obama help out any of the transplant companies were american workers lost their jobs.?? these transplant companies also pay taxes here in the USA.
Delusion….
GM doesn’t proof read their product before release and if they do then why are their so many product issues? Can’t blame the union on poor engineering or poor service drive performance. GM needs to build happy customers not defective vehicles. If GM thinks they can build cars better with non union help then they can build and sell in China where they can supply our enemies with technology and industrial strength. Duh! Short sighted thinking.
Dan L
I love to bag on the Government Motors as much as anyone, however the real problem is their willful negligence, not proof reading means they forgot a step, they didnt.
They pay allot of engineers allot of money to make sure their vendor’s wheels made in plants in Mexico and China are made cheap enough, quality is not in the equation..
They’ve had this problem for years.
They simply cant or wont spend the money to make it right. They’re betting the “Corvette” brand power can survive even if they put pos wheels on their cars.
Also there are some great non union cars that are made in the USA.
Yep, Lip Service is the game. “Ship it”!!!
If you are going to produce an expensive vehicle you could, at the least, stand behind your product and your customer. GM has been going down the same path as those years that buried them. Satisfied customers have friends and unsatisfied customers share their experiences with others, usually on a forum scale. Maybe GM thinks the Chinese market will save them from their poor customer satisfaction elsewhere but I’d be willing to bet it will not. The other global corporations focus on making their buyer happy by doing whatever necessary to keep them coming back.
The very same GM that clearly knew there was a serious issue with, I believe, the ignition switch. Fires and death ensued for years before GM acknowledged the problem. Cost them a fortune then.
If you bought a GM product, what do you expect? You didn’t buy a Porsche, because that was “overpriced”.
I’m so tired of boomers buying GM products and then complaining about the quality of their “American” cars.
You get what you pay for, how many times does the world have to tell you that?
Now go replace your own wheels on your busted GM product. No one cares…..Stop whining…..
lmao what are you talking about. So you have to spend >$100,000 to get a “decent” car now? People aren’t buying Corvettes because 911s are overpriced, it’s because Corvettes are and always have been performance bargains and not everyone is a millionaire who can throw $200k on a 911 Turbo as nice as it’d be. A C7GS or C7Z is half the price of a base model 911 and is equally as fast or faster on a track as the 991.1 GT3RS. It’s lower slung and feels more sporty. Maintenance is significantly easier. Parts are cheaper and easier to find. The aftermarket is debatably the largest for any sports car outside of a Mustang or Miata, and there’s more performance shops specializing in the Chevy small block than there are Porsche dealers in the US.
I’ve witnessed issues with all of the brands out there from friends with BMWs that have leaking and creaking door seals/hinges, Fords with horrible galvanization on metal body panels, to Nissan who apparently can’t make a reliable electrical system to save their life. And don’t forget about Porsche with their IMS bearing and conrod failures, the former of which they did nothing to help customers with. Think before you speak!
Seems like loyalty is a one way street when it comes to those who can afford escalades, Corvette’s. GM likes customer loyalty but once damage or breakdowns occur on a part on these high end vehicles, loyalty is only on the customer side, not the manufacturers. No matter the part, no matter the defect or how it occurred, these parts should be replaced no questions asked on such vehicles. It’s called customer service and satisfaction. C’mon GM.
LOL, I ordered a brand new Vette in ’79. Ordered it with every available option. To this day, it was the worst car I’ve ever owned. It was so bad and GM and the dealer were so indifferent, I’ve not owned a GM car since. In fact it was 26 years before I bought another domestic car. I’ve had great luck with all of the German cars I’ve owned since then.
Jim – Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda. The Bail out happened, as Mark studiously points out. It was, “Government Mortors,” for a long time. My son believes I’m a trader for buying the C8. Each time I see it, drive it, clean it or park it somewhere in the community, I am happy that I am out and out enjoying what is likely the best car I’ve ever owned. However, I only have about 2,000 miles on it. Early problems were straightened out by Chevrolet and since then, it’s been going like gang busters. However, this is the first GM car I’ve owned in my 75 years on the planet. As for German cars, I have a 2012 991 Carrera which drives and corners like a champ, one I put those Michelin 4S tires on the car. The only problem I had with the car was the electric seats, Porsche’s fault. I brought the car for an annual oil/filter change. A mechanic sat on the driver’s seat with a srrew driver in his pocket, which severed the heating element beneath the seating surface. The dealer refused to rectify the situation and I spent several years writing to Porsche to no avail. Porsche not only did not stand behind its car, its servicing dealer refused to own up to its responsibility. Eventually I put out about 2300.00 for a new hearing element (had to be ordered from Germany) and all the labor connected with it. The seat heating and everything else on the car now works. The point is, a whole lot of manufacturers and their dealer network do not stand behind their products. Even when the engineering is great, sometimes their customer service just sucks. You have to vote with your feet/wallet. AF
Cracked wheels is a good excuse to buy some good aftermarket forged wheels.
At least C7s aren’t having issues with spun rod bearings or spinning harmonic balancers like some of these German cars.
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The wheels look ugly and weak, I don’t have to be an engineer to see that.