Nine problems related to engine failure have been reported for the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette based on all problems reported for the 2009 Corvette.
I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, I took my car with 27000 miles on it to a Corvette specialty shop to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had (2) intake valve guides outside of service specifications, (4) exhaust valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of (10) other intake and exhaust valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The car is being repaired with proper re-machining of the heads to make the valve guides concentric, new intake and exhaust valve guides installed, as well as new seals, valves, springs, etc. 88% of the Corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. . Read more...
I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads and speaking to numerous Chevrolet mechanics about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines. This has happened on completely stock vehicles. People with less than 20000 miles have lost motors. 88% of the Corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. . Read more...
Engine valve train subject to complete failure due to improper manufacture causing a total engine failure an possible loss of control at speed.
I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, I took my car with 37,000 miles on it to courtesy Chevrolet / Cadillac to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had (3) intake valve guides outside of service specifications, (7) exhaust valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of (11) other intake and exhaust valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The cost of proper re-machining of the heads to make the valve guides concentric, new intake and exhaust valve guides installed, as well as new seals, valves, springs, etc. Is something I simply cannot afford at the moment with the downturn of the oilfield industry. Please bear in mind, my car had a replacement ls7 engine from a dropped exhaust valve before I owned it, so this has already happened to my car once. It occurred at 22xxx miles, and can have the gm dealer print a copy of the ro line to prove it. This is occurring at an alarming rate, but after our warranty period, we the consumer are left out to dry. 88% of the Corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. . Read more...
Gm denies any sort of wide spread issue with respect to the manufacturing/assembly of the cylinder heads for the ls7 engine. There have been numerous catastrophic engine failures as a result of a broken valve head dropping into the cylinder and subsequently blowing a hole through the motor, causing fluids to leak all over the road, and complete loss of control of the vehicle. The symptoms are premature valve guide wear, which eventually become so worn that the valve closes on the wrong angle to the seat, and off breaks the valve head. The issue appears to be poor valve guide to valve seat concentricity, which leads to premature valve guide wear. My 2009 z06 Corvette at only 15,000 street driven miles was inspected by a reputable third party repair facility, and discovered that 14/16 valve guides were beyond gm's service limit, and the remaining 2/16 were right at the limit. This is something that shouldn't occur until 150,000 miles at least. . . Not 15,000. There needs to be an investigation before more catastrophic failures occur. There are hundreds if not thousands of documented occurrences.
I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, I took my car with 7800 miles on it to a Corvette specialty shop ( katech) to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had (5) intake valve guides outside of service specifications, (4) exhaust valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of (3) other intake and exhaust valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The car is being repaired with proper re-machining of the heads to make the valve guides concentric, new intake and exhaust valve guides installed, as well as new seals, valves, springs, etc. 88% of the Corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. . Read more...
The engine exhaust valve guides were outside of gm specifications and both cylinder heads were replaced under warranty because of this. This defect can cause the head of a valve to snap off and destroy the engine. The engine will stop working immediately, causing the power steering and power brakes systems to fail. The valve failure can cause a oil spill onto the road if the engine is destroyed. There have been numerous engine failures as a result of a dropped valve into a cylinder which can cause accidents and fires. Gm is very aware of this issue, but refuses to do anything about this huge safety risk to drivers, passengers, and nearby vehicles if the engine fails going down the road.
I experienced an engine failure. This resulted in a sudden and complete loss of power at an unexpected time. This occurred during a high performance driver education event at auto club speedway in fontana, CA. There was no warning before the moment the engine failed. The cause of the failure was the head of one of the exhaust valves separated from the valve stem and fell into the cylinder, destroying the cylinder head, piston and cylinder wall. The engine model in my 2009 Corvette is the ls7. A google search on �ls7 dropped valves� will fill many pages.
The ls7 engine is known to have bad 2 piece exhaust valves that come apart and fall into the cylinder resulting in a catastrophic engine failure that requires an entire new engine. This happened to me this past March 2015. Gm needs to issue a recall on this issue, there have been numerous engine failures as a result of a dropped valve into a cylinder which can cause accidents and fires. Gm is very aware of this issue, but refuses to do anything about this huge safety risk to drivers, passengers, and nearby vehicles if the engine fails going down the road.