2008 Chevrolet Corvette Powertrain & Transmission Problems

Just purchased 2008 Corvette with 46,000 miles. Not able to shift out of park

Shifter will not shift from park after starting engine.

The vehicle would not shift out of Park. Car has less than 20,000 miles. This happened once in a while at first then over time increased to almost every other time the car was started. I took it for repair and was told after searching the VIN # that my 2008 was installed with a 2007 shifter and gear. They said Chevy had numerous problems with the 2007 shifter and changed the 2008 parts so this would not happen. I had to replace both parts at around $2,500.00! I also had to wait on the parts to be found and there was only one available in the entire U.S. Chevy should have to pay for my repair since a 2007 part(s) should not have been placed in a 2008!

After starting the automatic will often not shift out of park. After turning off the engine and/or waiting 2-3 min. sometimes it will allow shifting and sometimes this may take several tries. When away from home this could become a MAJOR safety problem if someone needed medical attention etc. So far, I have always been able to get it work after time, but as I have checked on the web, others have been stuck. Also, a lot of people disable the safety "lockout" (which seems to be the problem) which is there to make sure the car is started in Park. The dealers know about this problem on C-6 Corvettes but want $$$ to replace the entire shift assembly. Without a mandated recall a lot of people will use the instructions on the Web to defeat the lockout creating safety issues for current and future owners when cars are sold. This happens almost 50% of the time I start the car and seems to be getting more frequent and take longer to function.

At first I couldn’t get it out of Park sometimes. Then it became more frequent & finally it wouldn’t go into Reverse or Park from Drive. The only available gears were Neutral & Drive. My son had to come & disconnect the battery because it wouldn’t turn off all lights & accessories. Since it wouldn’t start in Neutral I had to have it towed to my Chevrolet Dealership. This car only has 34469 miles on it so I’m not understanding how this could be happening! As it has now sat in the repair yard since July 29, 2021 waiting on parts to fix the problem to the tune of $1300 I think GM should cover that cost. I have kept this car in excellent shape & am proud of it, I get many remarks on its beauty! There is no reason this should happen on a car with 34468 miles on it. I have since seen many forums where a lot of other Corvette owners have had the same issue! $1300 is just the cost to repair the car to get it started so they can perform the maintenance I had an appointment for in the first place!

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift from PARK or REVERSE. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed that the shift lever needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAVING ISSUES SHIFTING OUT OF AND INTO PARK. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY IN A PARKING LOT.

WHILE PARKED, AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE, EVEN WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR WON'T SHIFT OUT OF PARK.

VEHICLE WON'T SHIFT OUT OF PARK INTERMITTANTLY. DEALER STATES THIS IS COMMON THE SHIFTER NEEDS REPLACED FOR $700. SAFETY CONCERN FOR BEING STRANDED IN DANGEROUS SITUATION.

GEAR SHIFT RELEASE BUTTON LOCKS AND OPERATOR IS UNABLE TO SHIFT VEHICLE BACK INTO PARK OR EVEN REVERSE AT TIMES. VEHICLE MAY ALSO GET STUCK IN REVERSE AND NOT BE ABLE TO GO BACK INTO PARK NOR DRIVE. ISSUE HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AND MAKES VEHICLE UNDRIVEABLE DUE TO THIS MALFUNCTION

VEHICLE CONTINUALLY IS STUCK IN PARK. VEHICLE HAS 26K MILES.IT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MONTHS, SINCE APRIL OF 2018. RESEARCH FROM CORVETTE FORUM SHOWS THIS IS A CONTINUAL ISSUE WITH C6 CORVETTES (2005-2013), AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS. I CONTACTED CHEVROLET AND THEY WILL DO NOTHING...THEY SHOULD ISSUE A VOLUNTARY RECALL OR A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN AS THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE

UPON STOPPING MY VEHICLE, I PLACED IT IN PARK. WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE, THE CAR WENT FORWARD. WHEN I PLACED THE CAR IN REVERSE AND TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE, THE CAR WENT FORWARD AGAIN. I NEARLY PINNED AN INDIVIDUAL BETWEEN MY CAR AND THE ONE PARKED IN FRONT OF ME. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A CHEVROLET DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A BROKEN CABLE BETWEEN THE TRANSMISSION LEVER AND THE TRANSMISSION. THE DEALER INDICATED THIS WAS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM. MY CONCERN IS THIS MECHANICAL FAILURE COULD RESULT INVERY SERIOUS INJURY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE CLUTCH PEDAL FAILED TO DISENGAGE AND BECAME STUCK TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO DRIVE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED, IT ACCELERATED DUE TO THE CLUTCH BEING IN GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OF THE CLUTCH FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL AND DID NOT OFFER ANY FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE CLUTCH PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE REMAINED ENGAGED IN GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO PASO ROBLES CHEVROLET (2485 THEATRE DR, PASO ROBLES, CA 93446, (805) 238-7800) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,500. *TT

WILL NOT COME OUT OF PARK AFTER BEING STARTED,THIS IS AN INTERMENT PROBLEM.THIS CORVETTE HAS ONLY 75,000 MILES ON IT.

I STOPPED THE CAR FOR ABOUT 1 MINUTE AT A DRIVE-THRU AND PUT THE SHIFT LEVER IN PARK WITH THE ENGINE ON. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT BACK INTO DRIVE, WHILE PRESSING ON THE BRAKE AND SHIFT LEVER, I COULD NOT GET THE LEVER OUT OF PARK. AFTER TRYING SEVERAL TIMES I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND THEN RESTARTED THE CAR. AFTER SEVERAL MORE TRIES IT FINALLY SHIFTED OUT OF PARK. IN REVIEWING THIS AND OTHER WEB SITES I FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON CORVETTE PROBLEM. MY CAR ONLY HAS 17,728 MILES!! I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND COULD LEAVE ONE STRANDED EITHER IN POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS, POOR NEIGHBORHOODS, OR IN A PERILOUS SITUATION. DUE TO THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM INVOLVING SO MANY CORVETTES, I BELIEVE THAT A RECALL SHOULD BE MADE FOR THIS PROBLEM.

THIS VEHICLE IN PARTICULAR AND THE C6 CORVETTE IN GENERAL IS EXPERIENCING A REOCCURRING PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION BECOMING LOCKED IN THE "PARK" POSITION OF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THIS PROBLEM INTERMITTENTLY OCCURS WHEN STOP THE VEHICLE AND PLACE IT IN PARK OFTEN TIMES IT WILL NOT COME OUT OF THE PARK POSITION. I WAS STOPPED BEHIND A STALLED VEHICLE AND ASSISTED THAT VEHICLE IN GETTING OUT OF A MOVING LANE OF TRAFFIC. WHEN I RE-ENTERED MY VEHICLE I COULD NOT MOVE IT BECAUSE IT WAS LOCKED IN THE PARK POSITION. MY VEHICLE THEN CREATED ANOTHER POTENTIAL LIFE THREATENING SITUATION FOR ME AND OTHER DRIVERS APPROACHING FROM THE REAR.

OCASSIONALLY, THE CAR WILL NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK. THE ENGINE WILL START AS NORMAL BUT IT'S HUNG IN PARK. AFTER WE TURN THE CAR OFF, GET OUT WAIT A FEW MINUTES WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AND DRIVE HOME. SO FAR WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY AND NOT STRANDED, BUT REALIZE IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE WE ARE STRANDED IN A PARKING LOT OR REMOTE LOCATION AWAY FROM HOME OR HELP.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GEAR SHIFT BUTTON FAILED TO RELEASE. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SHIFT GEARS WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE GEAR SHIFT ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 26,000.

ENGINE WAS MISFIRING WITH CEL CODE SHOWING. MECHANIC DECIDED IT WAS A MECHANICAL ISSUE, WHILE CHECKING VALVES AND VALVE GUIDES ON CYLINDER 6, REMOVED SPRINGS AND EXHAUST VALVE WAS LOOSE IN VALVE GUIDE, EASILY MOVED SIDE TO SIDE IN VALVE GUIDE. IN CASES WHERE THE VALVE HEAD HAS BROKEN OFF, ENGINE SEIZES AND LOSS OF POWER BRAKES AND STEERING RESULTS AS WELL AS LOSS OF COOLANT AND OIL ONTO ROAD. VERY DANGEROUS COMBINATION OF EVENTS AT HIGHWAY SPEED. AFTER REMOVING HEADS TO HAVE THEM REPAIRED, FOUND THAT THE CASE HARDENING ON THE LIFTERS HAD BECOME COMPROMISED AND DAMAGED THE CAMSHAFT. ENGINE REPLACED