2015 Chevrolet Corvette Gets Hit With a Stop-Sale Order

Source: Chevrolet

Though it has become a rather commonplace occurrence, the latest recall effort and stop-sale from General Motors is notable because it affects the 2015 Corvette Stingray, regarded as one of the flagship models that will be bringing GM out of the dark and into the light. With a few hiccups along the way, it seems.

Virtually every critic who has gotten their hands on the new ‘Vette has lauded it for just about everything; their experiences say that the new Corvette Stingray, which was first introduced as a 2014 model, outperforms its predecessor in just about every way. Consumers have responded similarly, and the cars are selling about as fast as GM can make them. But the company has issued a stop-sale order on all new 2015 models because of issues with some parking-brake cables and airbags.

It’s worth mentioning that a formal recall has not yet been announced, as the company is likely still weighing how many of the cars are actually in consumers’ hands. Reuters reports that about 800 Corvettes — which are still on the dealer lots — may have been produced, with only one of the two rear parking-brake cables in place and properly equipped.

It’s unlikely that those cars will be recalled, and instead just fixed at the dealers prior to sale. However, there are also roughly 2,000 Corvettes that would be held at the Bowling Green, Kentucky, production facility because faulty components may have been used to attach the airbag to the steering wheel, the company said. Evidently, the driver’s-side airbag in the affected cars could separate from the steering wheel in the event of a crash.

Source: Chevrolet

As for the brakes, the issue implies that only one of the rear emergency brakes will engage once employed. This would be particularly concerning when the car is parked on an incline, as it greatly increases the roll-away risk of the vehicle. GM says that it found out about the issues in recent weeks.

The efforts puncture more than a month of relative peace for GM after more than 60 recalls — amounting to nearly 30 million vehicles — drew the ire of the public and Congress members. Sales have remained on steady ground, though the company’s public image has taken a thrashing in the wake of the scandals, when it was revealed that GM’s engineers were sitting on the faulty ignition switch information for over 10 years.

Recently, CEO Mary Barra announced that the bulk of the older-model recalls had been issued after months of intensive internal investigations. Moving ahead, it’s likely that these sorts of stop-sale orders and new-model recalls will become almost reflexive as the company mounts efforts to avoid another year like the one it has had.

According to Autodata Corp. data cited by Reuters, sales of the Corvette are about 235 percent up on the year, having sold 23,500 models this year through August. Very few of the affected cars have actually been sold to consumers, a GM spokesman was quoted as saying by Automotive News.