Corvette Z06 Engine Failure Lawsuit Dismissed
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A class-action lawsuit that was filed against General Motors over claims the 7.0L LS7 V8 engine in certain C6 Corvette Z06 is defective has been dismissed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
According to Car Complaints, the plaintiffs that filed this suit claim there is an improper clearance level in the valve guides in the 7.0L LS7 V8 engine. This, according to the plaintiffs, is evidenced by the alleged fact that GM developed a test for technicians to determine if there were valve guide problems in affected engines and abandoned the test procedure once it realized the test may result in a product recall. These plaintiffs also say GM has told them that excessive valvetrain noise in the 7.0L LS7 V8 is normal.
This suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was previously dismissed, however seventeen of the plaintiffs then filed a motion to appeal that was sent to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit dismissed the suit this week, saying the plaintiffs “have failed to produce admissible evidence that their vehicles actually contained the alleged valve guide defects.” The only evidence of the engine defects provided to the court were “expert declarations,” that were determined to be not admissible in court.
The 7.0L LS7 V8 engine is the only engine offered in the C6 Corvette Z06, which was produced between the 2006 and 2013 model years, and is good for an impressive 505 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. This engine was also used in the fifth-generation Chevy Camaro Z/28 and produced the same output in the limited-run sports coupe as it did in the Corvette Z06. The engine remains available to order through Chevrolet Performance as a crate engine today.
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Pretty sure if you don’t bounce it off the redline the engine will last just fine…. oddly enough before reading the article I thought it was in reference to the c7z06 and the overheating issue they have and it being sold as a track ready vehicle
If there’s a class action lawsuit on an automobile, you know it was filed in California. Between those, the strict lemon laws, and the various CARB mandates over the years to sell cars, I don’t see how manufacturers make money. Even if it’s a huge market.
My personal Z06 has dropped a valve due to this issue and I’ve personally removed the sleeves and repaired 3 different ls7 blocks for other people that were damaged from a dropped valve. This issue is real, what it appears is the plaintiffs on the case didn’t appear to provide any direct financial hardship linking themselves to the issue. Meaning they probably all preemptively changed their heads, which is not on GM. The legal team should have been better prepared.
cars dropping valves with less than 15K isn’t a myth, GM denying the issue yet writing a stupid TSB that allowed a wiggle test and then replacing parts if the cars failed yet they still deny the issue….if it wasn’t an issue why did they fix cars? why the test? why issue a TSB? Why did GM try and hide behind “old GM and new GM” when there was never any break in building cars? There was no old and new GM they just tried to dodge responsibility. If you won’t allow expert testimony then why have experts testify? So much for GM standing behind their product.