Model years Chevrolet Corvette
2005 Chevrolet Corvette
Complaints about this year name active handling far more often than the other years of this generation — 25% of them, about 5× the usual rate of 5.3%.
First year of a new generation. The Chevrolet Corvette was redesigned for 2005. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 537 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 64 |
| Involving a crash | 12 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| EPA combined | 19 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- handling — 30.2% of this year's complaints, against 9% across the other years of this generation (3.3×). Owners wrote it as: handling, active, active handling, service active.
- column — 9.3% of this year's complaints, against 1.2% across the other years of this generation (7.5×). Owners wrote it as: column, steering column, telescoping.
- lock — 9.1% of this year's complaints, against 1.2% across the other years of this generation (7.7×). Owners wrote it as: lock, column lock.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- steering — 19% of complaints, 4× usual
- service active — 18% of complaints, 3× usual
- brakes — 14% of complaints, 5× usual
What owners wrote
WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE "SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING" MESSAGE DISPLAYED AND THE BRAKES SUDDENLY APPLIED. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE STOPPED ABRUPTLY. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE LOCAL DEALER (ALLEN TILLERY CHEVROLET, 4573 CENTRAL AVE, HO…
WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, THE WHEELS SEIZED, THE BRAKES APPLIED INDEPENDENTLY, AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. DURING THE FAILURE, THE SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SYSTEM WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE HAD OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 3 TIMES. THE VEHICLE WA…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 14V251000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 10V172000 STEERING Fixed free of charge.
- 09V491000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
- 04V525000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
- 05V455000 STEERING
- 06V181000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chevrolet Corvette was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette? What happened to yours?
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