C7 Corvette Cracked Wheels Lawsuit Allowed To Proceed
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A class-action lawsuit filed against General Motors over issues related to the cast alloy wheels on certain C7 Corvette Grand Sport and C7 Corvette Z06 models has been allowed to proceed after the automaker sought to have the suit thrown out.
This lawsuit was filed against GM in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and includes 18 plaintiffs. These owners claim the cast alloy wheels on 2015-2019 model year C7 Corvette Z06 and 2017-2019 model year C7 Corvette Grand Sport cars are prone to warping, deforming and cracking. The plaintiffs also say they have had to pay $1,000 or more to replace wheels once they bend, but the replacement wheels are equally as defective as the originals that came with their vehicle. This suit is one of a handful that has been filed against GM over this widespread issue in the past couple of years.
GM sought to have this lawsuit dismissed as the wheel defects mentioned in the suit are apparently a design defect rather than a manufacturing defect, and are thus not covered by the vehicle’s factory warranty. The automaker also says the problem is not its fault, placing blame on the owners for their driving style and for running over large potholes. Additionally, GM told the judge that certain plaintiffs’ cars were not within their factory warranty period when the cars were brought to dealerships for repairs, according to Car Complaints, nullifying their claims.
Despite this, the judge is allowing the case against GM to proceed. The judge also ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor regarding claims related to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which GM attempted to have thrown out as there were are not the usual required 100 plaintiffs in the case. The case is allowed to move ahead based on claims related to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, express and implied warranty, consumer protection and injunctive relief.
Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter has previously addressed this widespread issue, even providing feedback to owners in an online forum discussing the matter. Juechter said in the post that pressure cracks can form in the wheel if the driver hits potholes and other deformities on the road, which can then weaken the wheel and cause it to bend and warp as they drive down the road.
“Since it is hundreds or thousands of miles after the damaging event, the driver often can’t remember hitting anything that would justify a crack in the wheel,” Juechter said in the post. “I have actually experienced this myself.”
We’ll provide an update on this latest C7 Corvette wheel lawsuit as it moves through the courts.
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GM May now have to admit that in trying to save weight and dollars they have damage the Corvette name. I think it would be interesting to know if in testing the pre-production cars at locations around the country how many wheels failed during the road tests.
I have a 2019 grand sport that had a cracked wheel, passenger side rear. I contacted GM and told them. They told me they accepted no responsibility. At the time my car had less than 10m or around 10m on it. I’d like to know how I can be a part of that lawsuit as well. Thanks in advance.
I have a 2019 Grand Sport, 17,000 miles and my passenger rear rim is cracked. I want to get in on this lawsuit and show up on court day to let the idiots know they are doing more harm to the Corvette name then this is lawsuit worth. These rims are defective.
I also have 2019 grand sport I have had 3 in less then 3 months . Would like to know how to get in on the lawsuit
Hi, did you ever find out how to join lawsuit for cracked/bent rims?
Thanks
Paul
For GM to try to wriggle out of their responsibility by identifying this as a design defect, is despicable.
The Corvette is a product of the ENTIRE process, including design. They direct it, test it, own the process and its results. In this example, they neglected to make the C7 wheels a sturdy enough design; C5 and C6 wheels have been holding up to our potholed roads for decades. In effect, GM is selling out their good Corvette name. BAD IDEA! If they take proper care of their customers by doing the right thing (without being FORCED to do the same by the courts), they build loyalty and even new customers can buy with confidence.
It’s a shame that a multi-billion dollar American company (GM) doesn’t care about their own customer’s and products, my C7 Grandsport rims have all cracked at 10k miles I have a friend that has cracked 12 sets Yes 48 rims lucky for him he purchased the tire warranty, I dought if I get another Corvette anytime soon.
How do I join in with the class action lawsuit? My 2019 GS currently has 3 bent wheels, 1 front, 2 rear. 🤬🤬🤬
Same thing with my 2017 GS, 12k miles and 3 bent rims.
I have two rear wheels that cracked same hair crack I would like to be refunded or get two good wheels
Hi, did you ever find out how to join lawsuit for cracked/bent rims?
Thanks
Paul
I searched for the attorney offices (I believe there are two?) handling the case and reached out via their “contact us” link. An attorney replied and sent me a form to complete. I did but haven’t heard back and that’s been months.
Can you send me that attorney info?
Thanks.
This is happening to me as well – can you send me the info too please!
For GM to try to wriggle out of their responsibility by identifying this as a design defect, is despicable. The design of the product is just as important as the manufacture; and the customers who are expected to absorb the cost of the defective Wheels have no say in the design process of course.
If the C7 wheels are junk, it doesn’t matter if they are junk because of bad design or bad manufacture. The key word is, junk. Only GM can fix it, so they should acknowledge the deficiency, own up to the fact that it was a result of their processes, and make whole their customers if they plan to stay in business.
The Corvette is a product of the ENTIRE process, including design. They direct it, test it, own the process and its results. In this example, they neglected to make the C7 wheels a sturdy enough design; C5 and C6 wheels have been holding up to our potholed roads for decades. In effect, GM is selling out their good Corvette name. BAD IDEA! If they take proper care of their customers by doing the right thing (without being FORCED to do the same by the courts), they build loyalty and even new customers can buy with confidence.
You fail to mention that this problem has existed with the C6 also.
Moderator, please delete my first comment, and this, my third comment. Keep only my longer second comment. Thank you, Andy
GM, your CEO is leading you down the same path as many other formerly great automotive companies that have since disappeared into history.
Due to the ever-increasing demise of gm’s integrity, it’s upper-level mismanagement, and it’s empty showrooms, there’s no longer much to comment about on this site.
I hope that GM owes up to this defect. Not only do they not owe up to the defects, they requested a return of the damaged wheel or required you to pay an additional fee if you retained the damaged wheel, in order to purchase a replacement wheel. I assume that so you would have no evidence in a lawsuit.
There is no smoke and mirrors with requesting the original rim. This is common practice. There is a core charge not just on a Corvette rim but every other rim GM sells over the counter or through service. And TBH..the core charge for a Corvette rim is like $50 so if you want the old one back just pay the core charge and keep your evidence.
After hearing about this and talking to owners with the issue I went with the Z51 Corvette and NOT the Grand Sport or Z06. Google car and driver long term corvette grand sport for a good article on the issues they had with the wheels.
I have 2019 Grand Sport with the Z06 pkg. only 10,000 miles . I drive it like a baby !!! When my rear tire all of a sudden started leaking air , I brought it in to find 2 inner rim cracks like everyone else . There is NO WAY that the car hit ANYTHING , including potholes hard .
Is there a place to sign or add my name to the Class Action Suit . You pay as much as we did , and a Honda Civic has mor reliable rims than these !!!
Looking at discussions of this on Corvette Forum, the cure is forged wheels, which are a good deal more expensive than the OE wheels (which have been on back order from time to time, exacerbating owner dissatisfaction).
Once the issue showed up, GM should have paid for such replacement wheels and should have changed the spec for cars produced after that date. The cost to install appropriate wheels from the get-go would have been less than dealing with litigation, I suspect.
Corvette owners are a notably loyal bunch, and GM probably was making a good deal of money on these upscale models of the C7. GM should be taking care of its customers; one suspects that some financial guys made the decision to kick this can down the road for a short term gain.
I’ve had to replace rr cracked wheel and think I have at least one more that is warped. I also had a c5 with 78,000 miles-never a wheel issue.
3000 miles on my 2019 and one bent wheel.
The Pinto was a design flaw. What a poor response by GM on their flagship product. Blame engineers and then the owners for driving it on the road.
More lower case gm highlights.
I had 2 ZO6’s one a 16, and one 19, had to have wheels replaced on both, cost me thousands, and not even a “sorry “ from GM!
GMs fall down the rabbit hole of greed is not new but rather a gradual slippery slope. My first new car was a 59 Chevy Impala 283ci 185hp 3spd. Bought from Brigance Chevrolet in Illinois. Drove and raced it like I stole it without a single problem. I stepped up to a 66 Nova SS. 327ci L79. I drove and raced this car the same way and again without a single problem. Bought a new 68 RS/SS 396ci 350hp Turbo400 trans. from Brigance, same as the others. Drove and raced it the same as the others with never a problem. Along with these daily drivers I had a partner with a 61 Impala 348ci. 280hp 4spd. trans. who drove and raced it without a single problem. Later we put a 409ci. 409hp in the 61 and never had a problem with that. I bought a zero street miles 66 SS Chevelle and put an OEM L88 427ci to race in the UDRA pro-stock circuit. Again with no problems. NEVER BLEW ANY OF THESE ENGINES nor did we ever have a part failure. Now fast forward from 1972 to 2007, marriage and kids. I bought a new 2007 Saturn Sky Redline. What the hell happened to GM quality? Several chronic inherent defects. The only answers I can come up with are over anxious engineers who forgot about Murphys Law and Unintended Consequences brought about by penny pinching by the corporate bean counters and the lack of adequate severe road testing. Todays car companies don’t want to face that they are now exposed by the era of the internet which gave us Consumer Forums that records the experiences of any and all the owners. Car companies that have the crust to lie and deny when at a glance you can see the entire quality picture, should face charges of perjury.
My 2016 zo6 with 7800 pampered miles went in to have a screw removed from a tire and I learned I had three bent rims and one defective, oblong tire? You would think for a hundred grand GM could have put better rims on these cars. The defective Michelin is another story.
In short, a poor design.
Of the four owners, I have known with a Cracked wheel, the cracks were on the rear wheel inside rim and were Chrome.
They were made in Mexico, also.
Problem is, when you place -1.5 degrees of Camber on a 20×12 wheel you have most of the weight on the inside edge of the extremely wide 335/25ZR20 run flat tire! I have personally verified this myself by looking at tire wear pattern on dozens of tires.
You end up having the cords showing up on the inside two inches of said tire.
This condition has happened to me on my 2017 and 2019 Grand Sports even though I had my dealer align my wheels to the minimum specified Camber and proper toe after 3,000 miles. My wheels have been Black but no cracks yet.
GM probably knows this but won’t admit for obvious reasons.
Funny, we never hear of these facts!
This all boils down to poor design and the fact they should have been forged wheels.
Bean”counteritis” for sure! Too many excuses GM.
I also had 3 rims that were bent. I surely like to know how to get in on that suit to be reimbursed.
So did I would love to be included in this suit
I have a 2018 Zo6 with 6,000 miles on it I have a cracked right front rim. I would like to be included in this lawsuit also
I also had 3 bent rims on my 2017 grand sport. With only 8000 miles on it, I sure like to know how to be a part of that lawsuit to be reimbursed.
Joe,
Check with Keith at Corvette Blogger, he may know.
Wow, three bent rims! Sheesh!
I owned a 2006 Z-51 convertible from 2007-2018 and put 120,000 miles on it with no wheel issues. I currently have a 2018 Grand Sport convertible that I bought new in April 2019 that I’ve put 17,700 miles and have had to replace the right front wheel for a bent hub and the right rear for a significant crack. GM should man up, use a better wheel and replace all defective wheels under warranty.
I have a 2019 Grand Sport that I have replaced one bent rear wheel already. Taking it into the shop for the front to be checked as I have a vibration that comes and goes in 1-2 second intervals. I’ve had this issue since new, road forced balanced the wheels and replaced all four tires under 6 K miles and re-road forced and the problem continues. Goes into the shop next week as there is no excuse for this degree of poor quality in a 80K car. How can one join the law suit?
Bad design on the wheel…you select track mode in the streets hitting a pothole you crack a wheel because od stiff suspension on track mode. You might bent a wheel on sport mode.
Dont drive in sport or track mode and never tracked my car. Tour mode only, 30lbs and Continental Extremes Sport tires.
With all the precautions listed, I still end up with three bent wheels causing imbalance. I’ve replaced two at this point and looking for chrome forged for replacements under 6K.
I have a 2019 GS with chrome wheels and live in PA. I bent two on a trip to NC and bent three on a trip to OH. These wheels are junk, GM knows it, and refuses to address the problem. My insurance covered mine both times but I’m out the deductible. It’s like you’re afraid to drive the car for fear of bending the wheels!
2017 Grandsport have replaced driver back and passenger front really disappointed
Man, I know THAT feeling. Aftermarket wheels are in our future!
How can I stay in touch with the law firm handling this?
Just had a wheel shop tell me 2 of 4 rims warped and not repairable. Said there is a service bulletin that says don’t use track mode as it makes problems worse. Why would anyone buy a Z06 without track mode? My 3rd C7. Will be switching brands next purchase.