No doubt GM will look into the build process on this exact C8.
Getting to be one of the first to drive a new generation anything is special, but the tradeoff seems to be being among the first to find small quality control issues, as is often the case. So when new Chevrolet C8 Corvette owner Seth Lewis noticed a chunk of Artic White paint missing from his front door near the fender, he inspected the damage closer to find out what it could be. One of the screws holding the inner tire liner in place stuck out far enough where, if you opened your door to full extension, the end of the screw would nick your door.
Check out the photos of his C8 Corvette and the small manufacturing defect shared on Facebook’s C8 Corvette Owners (And friends) group below.
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According to Seth he only noticed this small paint chip after an oil change, his C8 now with 565 miles on the odometer. Prior to that there was no paint chip and Seth thinks somewhere along his initial break-in period, where all parts on the C8 are finally settling in, the paint chip appeared.
This is not the only instance. According to a thread on CorvetteForum.com, another C8 Corvette dubbed “Chucky,” allocation #16 also has a messed up door, presumably with the same problem.
Seth has C8 #57, so this might be an early batch issue.
As per Seth in the Forum discussion,
“It’s called a mistake. It’s either a design problem or the assembler used the wrong screw and/or over torqued it. Engineers have to try and account for everything, including an owner who slams his door open, or a gorilla on the assembly line. “
Seth’s already notified his local Chevrolet dealership about the issue and hopes to collaborate with a GM rep as early as Monday.
This has caused a tiny panic among new C8 Corvette owners. A handful reported back that there isn’t an issue on their C8s and they can open their doors without issue.
Simms Chevrolet representative Aaron Sims shared that GM has a special Action Center set up through GM’s Technical Assistance Center where they quickly respond to any C8 quality control issues as they pop up. Check out a screenshot of an internal e-mail they sent out to all GM dealerships with C8s below.
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This is probably an isolated issue that slipped through the cracks (no pun intended) and got past quality control. Perhaps opening doors to full extension is not part of their final checklist.
Check out how final assembly line technicians inspect the gap and overall fit and finish on the previous gen Corvette.
The C8 Corvette is the tip of the spear for Chevrolet’s lineup and represents the pinnacle of American sports car engineering. I’m sure GM will identify and fix any production issues that might’ve caused this.
Despite all the planning, the occasional teething issue on a car with literally thousands of parts is bound to pop up.
On the “C8 Corvette owner can’t fully open door without screw gouging paint” article, I would like credit for sharing the email to the Facebook group. Also, in the article, you said they sent the email to customers. This was an internal email sent to GM dealership employees.
My name is Aaron Adams and I represent Simms Chevrolet
Hey Aaron, my apologies. Updated the blog post to reflect this.
HAHA, that is nothing compared to what the guerillas at the dealership will do to that car when he brings it is for service. Ask me how I know? Bought a 1998 jeep Cherokee from a combo jeep/gm dealer. Never again will I subject myself to that kind of disrespect and flat out abuse. My jeep, with a few thousand miles on it, brought in for a small problem and the guerillas decided it would make a great delivery vehicle for a greasy transmission so they loaded the old greasy trans into the back of my jeep and dd not even bother placing a section of cardboard in there. Result giant grease spot on a almost brand new jeep. I asked why is there a grease spot back there and they said I did it because they would never do that. Next time they did exact same this time backed it into something and scratched the rear bumper all up. I made them repaint it and to spite me they painted over the dirt and laughed in my face. Next I had trouble with air conditioning and took 3 visits to fix, last visit guerilla climbed in with huge grease spot on his overalls and transferred the grease to my seat. That was last straw, never took it back, all service done at private garage or by me. Never had another single issue from then on. wanna see the jeep and the stuff the dealer did to it, it is right out in my driveway and you can still see the damage. So…. I am going to buy a car like the new vette and let these total guerilla mor**s touch it? I would rather eat a fresh dog t***. No matter what where when how I will never give another GM dealer a chance to screw me over and disrespect me like that again. GM can shove that new vette where the sun don’t shine. F-U GM Scum.