General Motors is being sued for allegedly providing faulty rims for the Chevrolet Corvette
When you spend $70,000 on a brand new Corvette, you expect it to come with a bulletproof warranty. And for the most part, GM provides that: 3-years, 36,000 miles, bumper to bumper coverage is all part of every new Corvette purchase.
Except for the wheels. Those are apparently not covered, and a new class-action lawsuit says it knows exactly why that is.
A lawsuit filed at the end of April accuses GM of providing C7 Corvette wheels that warp, bend, and crack at “extremely low mileage.” At less than 10,000 miles (and sometimes A LOT less), a Corvette’s wheel would warp or bend, causing extreme and dangerous vibrations and often cracking the rim beyond repair.
When taken to a DM dealership for coverage under warranty, GM has been turning these complaints away by blaming them on potholes and driver error. Some people are going out of pocket up to $7,500 replacing their Corvette’s wheels.
The lawsuit, uncovered by Jalopnik, alleges the wheel issue affects 2015 or newer Corvette Z06s as well as 2017 or newer Grand Sports. It accuses GM of knowingly selling faulty rims despite having plenty of internal data revealing a manufacturing defect that is requiring them to be replaced far sooner than expected and then blaming the driver in order to get out of covering the expense of replacement under warranty.
The suit cites numerous complaints made in online forums, complaints made to the NHTSA, as well as a 2018 article from Car and Driver that revealed their test Corvette Grand Sport’s wheels died after just 6,500 miles. Three of the wheels were bent, with one so badly damaged that it couldn’t be repaired and needed replacement. GM also denied Car and Driver coverage on the wheels, meaning they were out of pocket $1,119.
GM has yet to respond to requests for comment. The original plaintiff, Anthony Nardizzi, is requesting a jury trial and seeking unspecified damages to be determined over the course of the trial.