2003 Chevrolet Corvette

THE ELECTRONIC BRAKE CONTROL MODULE (EBCM) P/N 10343433 ALL OF A SUDDEN FAILED. AS A RESULT THE DASH COMPUTER ERROR CODE C1214 FOR THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM, TRACTION CONTROL HAS BEEN COMING ON CONSTANTLY. MY WIFE HAS TO PRESS THE RESET BUTTON WHEN SHE PUT THE KEY IN, WHEN THE CAR IS STARTED AND WHEN IT IS SHUT OFF. THIS EBCM IS NOT AVAILABLE THROUGH ANY WEB SITE OR DEALER AND IS BACK ORDERED. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS FAILURE IS THAT IF YOU STEP TOO FIRMLY ON THE GAS PEDDLE, THE CAR WILL GO OUT OF CONTROL POSSIBLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. AGAIN WITHOUT THE EBCM, THE TRACTION CONTROL AND ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM ARE DISABLED. THIS IS A VERY GRAVE HAZARD SHOULD AN OWNER NOT BE AWARE OF WHAT HAPPENS IF THE EBCM MODULE FAILS. A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED IMMEDIATELY.

THE ABS CONTROL MODULE HAS BECOME NON-FUNCTIONAL. THIS ELIMINATES THE SAFETY ASPECT OF ANTI-LOCK BRAKING, TRACTION CONTROL, ACTIVE HANDLING, AND ANTI-SKID CONTROL. CHEVROLET NO LONGER SUPPLIES THIS CRITICAL ELEMENT TO MY CAR'S SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE. THE DIGITAL INFORMATION DISPLAY CENTER FLASHES THAT THESE SAFETY ELEMENTS NEED SERVICING, WHICH IS ALSO A SAFETY IMPAIRMENT BECAUSE I CANNOT GET ANY DISPLAY OF OTHER FUNCTIONS OF THE CAR, I.E. MILEAGE, FUEL WARNING, OPTIONS, AND TRIP INFORMATION. THE PART NUMBER IS 10343433 (ABS CONTROL MODULE). THIS IS AN AC/DELCO NUMBER AND NONE ARE IN STOCK ANYWHERE IS THE UNITED STATES. I WAS TOLD BY MULTIPLE DEALERS THAT NONE ARE AVAILABLE AND GENERAL MOTORS WILL NO LONGER SUPPLY THIS CRITICAL SAFETY ITEM AGAIN! THIS IS A HORRIBLE SUPPORT SERVICE ON SOMETHING SO CRITICAL TO THE SAFETY OF A VERY EXPENSIVE AUTOMOBILE. THE RESPONSE BY GENERAL MOTORS IS SELFISH AND UNCARING. IF YOU TYPE ABS CONTROL MODULE FOR CORVETTE SERIES C5 IN GOOGLE, YOU WILL FIND AN UNLIMITED RESOURCE OF COMPLAINTS. I BELIEVE THIS WILL BE A SERIES OF ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN THAT WILL CAUSE PERSONAL INJURY AND DEATH ON OUR HIGHWAYS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND TAKE ACTION.

I WAS DRIVING NORTH ON INTERSTATE 95 IN MIAMI, FLORIDA, I CHANGED LANES AND COULD NO LONGER CONTROL STEERING, CAR SEEM TO GO THE WAY IT WANTED TO. IT STEERED TO LEFT TO THE RIGHT BACK TO THE LEFT ACROSS 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC AND I ENDED UP GOING SOUTHBOUND IN THE NORTHBOUND LANES. WITH THE HELP OF GOD I WAS ABLE TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK, START IT UP AGAIN, BACK UP, TURN IT AROUND AND HEAD THE RIGHT WAY, WHICH WAS NORTHBOUND, CONSIDERING THE TRAFFIC ON I-95 I SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIT BY NUMEROUS CARS DURING THAT TIME, BUT WITH GOD'S HELP IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. I NOTICED ON DASHBOARD THAT IT STATED TO SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING. I DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS RELATED TO THIS SAME INCIDENT AND SOME RECALLS ALSO. MY LIFE COULD HAVE TAKEN DURING THIS INCIDENT. I HAD JUST PURCHASED 2 NEW FRONT TIRES AND 2 REAR SHOCKS FOR MY CAR BEFORE THIS HAPPENED ONLY 6 DAYS BEFORE, CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN KEPT IN GOOD RUNNING CONDITION.

THE PROBLEM STARTED AS A HIGHLY INTERMITTENT WARNING THAT THE ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, AND ACTIVE HANDLING SUSPENSION SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE SERVICED. IT WOULD USUALLY GO OFF BY SHUTTING THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTING IT. COULDN'T LOCATE THE PROBLEM. THIS YEAR WHEN I TOOK THE CAR OUT IT RESET ONCE AND THEN STAYED ON. DIAGNOSED IT, GENERATED DTC ERROR CODE C1214, INDICATING A BAD POWER RELAY INSIDE THE ABS UNIT. THE CAR NOW HAS JUST OVER 40,000 MILES. TO ANSWER AN OBVIOUS QUESTION, YES THE PROBLEM DID OCCUR A FEW TIMES WHILE DRIVING BUT IT OCCURRED PRIMARILY WHEN STARTING THE CAR. SEARCHING THE INTERNET IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ACROSS A LARGE RANGE OF GM VEHICLES USING THIS SPECIFIC ABS SYSTEM MADE BY DELPHI. IT REQUIRES REPLACEMENT F THE ABS UNIT TO REPAIR. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY 2003 CHEVY CORVETTE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE "SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING" AND ABS ALERT CAME ON, NO PROBLEMS WITH DRIVING OR BRAKING WERE INITIALLY NOTED, SYSTEM WILL NOT RESET, AND I HAVE NOTED OCCASIONALLY WHILE BRAKING THE ABS DOES SEEMS TO ACTIVATE FOR NO APPARENT REASON DURING NORMAL BRAKING. IF I DEACTIVATE THE TRACTION CONTROL THE BRAKING ISSUE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE AS RECURRING, BUT THE ALERTS CONTINUE ADVISING TO SERVICE BOTH SYSTEMS. TAKING THE CAR INTO MY LOCAL CHEVY DEALER FOR REPAIRS BUT FROM MY RESEARCH THIS APPEARS TO BE A RE-OCCURRING PROBLEM WITH MANY CORVETTE OWNERS OF VARIOUS YEARS, POTENTIAL ISSUES HAVE BEEN CITED AS THE WIRE HARNESS IN THE TELESCOPING/TILT STEERING WHEEL AND/OR THE ELECTRONIC BRAKING CONTROL MODULE, (EBCM) ARE FAULTY. SOME HAVE REPORTED SERIOUS ACCIDENTS, HOWEVER I SUSPECT MANY HAVE NOT REPORTED THE PROBLEM AND/OR HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED IT YET BECAUSE ALOT OF VETTES ARE LOW MILEAGE. SEEMS THIS IS A SERIOUS CONSISTENT PROBLEM THAT WOULD TRIGGER A NATIONAL RECALL INORDER TO PREVENT FUTURE POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING, MY VEHICLE'S WARNING SYSTEM FOR THE ACTIVE HANDLING & ABS SYSTEM ACTIVATES DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT BOTH OF THESE SYSTEMS WOULD DEVELOP A PROBLEM AT THE SAME TIME. UPON RESEARCHING THIS, I DISCOVERED THAT GM REALIZED A FLAW IN THE DESIGNING OF THE WIRING HARNESS THAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE STEERING COLUMN THAT IS RESPONSIBLE. GM HAS DESIGNED A PART TO FIX THIS, BUT AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. IN THESE TYPES OF VEHICLES, THE ACTIVE HANDLING & ABS IS A SAFETY FEATURE, AND I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT WHENEVER THE WARNINGS ARE ACTIVATED THESE SAFETY FUNCTIONS ARE NO LONGER FUNCTIONING AS THE COMPUTER BELIEVES THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THEM WHEN THERE ISN'T. THE WARNINGS DO NOT COME ON AT THE TIME OF START UP, BUT ONLY AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE FOR ABOUT 5 MILES. IF THERE IN FACT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THESE FEATURES, A WARNING WOULD COME ON AT START UP. GM HAS FOUND THAT THE WIRING HARNESS BECOMES STRETCHED FROM CONTINUED USE OF THE TELESCOPING STEERING COLUMN OVER THE YEARS WHICH CAUSES THE FALSE WARNINGS. OTHER DRIVERS HAVE REPORTED POWER STEERING FAILURE AND OTHER PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW THAT COULD CAUSE DRASTIC PROBLEMS IF THE COMPUTER FALSELY DISENGAGES THESE FEATURES, ESPECIALLY THE ABS DURING DRIVING IN THE RAIN OR SNOW. THESE VEHICLES RELY ON THESE SYSTEMS FOR SAFE OPERATIONS. ONCE THE WARNING COMES ON, THERE IS NO WAY TO CHECK TO SEE IF THE ACTIVE HANDLING FEATURE IS ON OR OFF, AS THE COMPUTER WILL NOT ALLOW THE SYSTEM TO BE CHECKED. *TR

ABS TRACKING CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON WITH A FAILURE. IT THEN WENT OUT. THIS HAPPENED A COUPLE MORE TIMES DURING DRIVING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS(CAR NOT DRIVEN THAT MUCH). OCTOBER OF 2008, ABS LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN AND STAYED ON. TOOK CAR IN TO BE SERVICED. WAS TOLD COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS BAD. TRIED TO LOCATE A USED SYSTEM TO SAVE MONEY. WAS INFORMED BY CHEVROLET SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT COULD NOT USE A USED COMPUTER BECAUSE OF A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE COMPUTER. HAD TO HAVE REPLACED AND REPROGRAMMED ABS TRAC CONTROL MODULE FOR $1490.80. WAS TOLD TO HANG ON TO RECEIPT BECAUSE COULD BECOME RECALL. *TR

A MESSAGE WAS RANDOMLY DISPLAYED SAYING THAT THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM HAD FAILED AND THAT SERVICE WAS NEEDED. WHEN THIS HAPPENED, THE CAR'S COMPUTER WOULD THEN SHUT OFF THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM, BUT WHEN THE IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF AND THEN BACK ON, THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM WOULD BE ACTIVE UNTIL THE NEXT FAILURE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS FAILURE CONSTITUTES A SAFETY PROBLEM. AFTER MANY MONTHS OF THIS (I WASN'T OVERLY CONCERNED SINCE I DON'T DRIVE ERRATICALLY AND RARELY ACTIVATE THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM), I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALER (WEST CHEVROLET, ALCOA, TN) AND WAS TOLD (1) THEY HAVE SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE ON CORVETTES AND (2) IT IS DUE TO THE WIRING HARNESS IN THE STEERING COLUMN BEING TOO SHORT. (THIS CAR HAS A POWER TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL AND MEMORY SEATS SO THAT EVERY TIME THE DRIVER GETS IN AND OUT OF THE CAR, THE STEERING COLUMN AUTOMATICALLY MOVES OUT AND IN, EVIDENTLY TUGGING ON THE WIRING HARNESS EACH TIME.) THE DEALERS TECHNICIAN FOREMAN SAID THAT ONE OF SIGNALS CARRIED BY THE HARNESS IS THE ANGLE OF THE STEERING WHEEL WHICH IS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A YAW-RATE SENSOR TO DETERMINE IF THE CAR IS "SPINNING OUT" AND WHAT CORRECTIVE ACTION IS REQUIRED TO CORRECT THIS. HE ALSO SAID THAT DUE TO THE TOO-SHORT HARNESS, THE INTEGRITY OF THE HARNESS CONNECTOR DEGRADES OVER TIME CAUSING THE INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF THE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM. (3) THE DEALER SAID THAT THIS PROBLEM IS FIXED BY EXTENDING THE HARNESS WITH A GM PART WHICH IMPLIES THAT GM KNOWS THAT THEY HAVE A PROBLEM AND HAVE DEVELOPED A PART TO FIX IT. (4) I ASKED THE DEALER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I DID NOT FIX IT. I WAS TOLD THAT EVENTUALLY THE CONNECTOR WOULD COMPLETELY FAIL RESULTING IN A LOSS OF THE POWER STEERING. THIS WOULD THEN BE ANOTHER SAFETY PROBLEM. SO I HAD TO HAVE IT FIXED BUT IT WASN'T CHEAP - $594.68. *TR