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2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles, LT6 Engine Sounds Rattly

Chevrolet may charge $105,300 sans destination charge for the brand-new Z06, and some peeps believe that’s good value given that certain exotics from Europe don’t hold a candle to the ‘Vette on the track or in a straight line. On the other hand, the Z06 is hampered by a few things.
2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles 11 photos
Photo: Marco Garcia on YouTube
2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 before it broke down2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 before it broke down2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Breaks Down After 52 Miles
First and foremost, dealers mark up the price of the flat-plane crankshaft V8-engined sports car like there’s no tomorrow. Markups aren’t necessarily bad in this context because it’s common practice to mark up the suggested retail price in the first year of production. But as opposed to $5,000 or ten grand, the markups on the Z06 currently exceed $50,000.

Secondly, and just as important, General Motors isn’t a byword for quality. The biggest of the Big Three in Detroit is known to cut corners where it shouldn’t do it. The ignition switch recall springs to mind, and lest we forget, the C8 had a ton of problems when the Stingray was new.

One of the biggest issues came in the guise of bad valve springs, an issue that affected every single small-block V8 from the fifth-generation family. More specifically, everything from the L8T iron-block V8 of the Silverado HD to the LT2 all-aluminum V8 developed specifically for the Stingray.

The Z06 is too new to say what kind of issues it may exhibit. The owner of the Z06 in the featured clip, however, experienced a catastrophic engine failure with 52 miles (84 kilometers) on the clock. The flat-plane crankshaft V8 went kaput just after Marco Garcia left the dealership in his brand-new car. Adding insult to injury, Garcia paid $50,000 over sticker.

The owner had to walk to the nearest gas station to recharge his phone, not knowing that the car’s OnStar was still working. Once he got in touch with Chevrolet, he received the bad news that the tow truck can’t leave the vehicle at the dealership for the night. Garcia’s Z06 was briefly restarted after being dropped off the flatbed, spewing out thick white smoke.

White smoke could mean plenty of things, including a blown head gasket, a crack in either head, or a cracked engine block. The rattling noises produced by the flat-plane crankshaft V8 could indicate a spun bearing and a bent rod. The digital instrument cluster reads 18.7 miles per hour (30 kilometers per hour) on average over the past 52 miles, which means that Garcia didn’t rev the hell out of this engine during the break-in period.

Whatever the problem may be, here’s hope that Chevrolet will honor the warranty and fix or replace that LT6 without charging the owner a single cent. As a side note, the Car Wizard recently discovered a small oil leak from the oil filter of Tyler Hoover’s new Z06. Prior to that, other owners had experienced transmission problems with the dual-clutch transaxle.

UPDATE

Garcia has provided an update to his experience in the second clip below. As far as customer service is concerned, it definitely isn't a pretty story. OnStar may have alerted the owner of "an issue with the engine and transmission system" of the vehicle, but the dealer has yet to crack the engine open. On the upside, the car still moves under its own power, although a bit rattly.

UPDATE 2.0

A new engine will be installed in about two months' time.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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