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C7 Corvette Owners File Class-Action Lawsuit Over Grand Sport, Z06 Wheels Issue

While we’re waiting for the C8 Z06 to roll out, the previous generation of the Corvette heads to court as part of a class-action lawsuit over a defect with the wheels. The Grand Sport and Z06 from the 2015 to 2019 model years are the culprits, and the complaint highlights “wheels that are prone to bending and cracking.”
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Filed on behalf of all owners and lessees in the United States of America by the Kehoe Law Firm, the class-action lawsuit points the finger at “cheaper cast material rather than forged wheels.” As if that wasn’t enough, Chevrolet is accused of suing “less material than necessary in order to try to save unsprung weight.”

The lawsuit additionally alleges that General Motors has concealed the defect despite access to aggravating internal data. Pretty much every time owners and lessees talked about the issue online, the automaker’s representatives have always replied that potholes are to blame for cracking and bending. But there’s more!

“When class members bring their vehicles to authorized dealerships requesting coverage for the rim defect, General Motors is systematically denying coverage.” That’s a bit uncanny if you remember the three-year/36,000-mile warranty with bumper-to-bumper coverage. Not only do consumers incur unexpected – and rather significant – repair costs, but a cracked or bent wheel can cause the tire to fail at speed.

A similar lawsuit has been filed in 2019 but was dismissed a few months later. It all started with plaintiff Anthony Nardizzi and his leased 2018 model, but we’ll now focus on a complaint from the owner of a 2017 model with less than 1,000 miles on the odometer of his Grand Sport. The customer “noticed a vibration in the front end when traveling on the highway at speed (55 miles per hour).”

“Brought the car to the dealership for inspection and the service manager informs me that all four wheels have been bend and need to be replaced.” After a week of waiting for any sort of feedback from General Motors, the customer assistance center told him the bent wheels are “not covered under the factory warranty.”
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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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