general problems of the 2008 Chevrolet Corvette

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.

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.

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.

Just as I got home and parked my car in the garage, I moved the automatic shifter to park and felt something break. I discovered that the shifter cable to the transmission case broke, which left the car in neutral. This would be very dangerous if it happened to someone who parked on a hill, since the emergency brake isn't strong enough to hold the car. The car had to be towed to the dealer, which surprisingly had the part in stock (a sign that this happens often enough that they keep the part on hand?). Six hundred dollars later, the dealer replaced the cable, I have to cross my fingers that this part doesn't break again.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette. After starting the engine, the shifter could not be removed from the park position. The contact indicated that the failure was intermittent. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000.

Vehicle taken to dealer for excessive valve noise. Inspection showed excessive wear of valves and valve guides. . . Out of specs. Engine heads and valves to be replaced under warranty.

The vehicle dropped a cylinder head valve and was fixed under original factory warranty in 2012. It was fixed by the dealer using factory parts. It was on the freeway and the motor lost almost all power. I had to get towed. It happened again in 2016 after 20,000 miles and religious oil changes. This car was maintained meticulously. They cylinders were found to be at fault of destroying an exhaust valve both times. Additionally, the number 8 cylinder was found to be consuming oil, which destroyed my catalytic converter. This is all with a vehicle which had under 40,000 miles (within powertrain mileage warranty, but expired duration warranty).

The 2008 Corvette with auto transmission , fails to accelerate after slowing down to a stop light or turn. There is quite a lag b4 the car gets going. Had it to the dealer 7 times. Will go after the florida lemon law, since gm says it is normal to expect lag and hesitation from a Corvette. This is not only bad for the top american sports car but a safety issue as well. Hopefully gm will do the right thing and refund me my money at the lemon law hearing and trash the car b4 someone gets killed in it. This has happened since I bought the car and it now has 21000 miles that have not been enjoyable. Stay away from 2008 Corvettes with auto transmissions.