Request c7 Rims, anyone know of class action lawsuits in canada?

[RADVETTE]

c7 Rims, anyone know of class action lawsuits in canada?

I don't but I would join in. 2019 GS - cracked rear - when I went to the dealers of course the 1st thing they say "what did you hit" they had 2 others that week all of them were black - I did take pictures of the inside the spokes where maybe it shows lot/production control numbers of both mine and another that was in the shop at the same time. I have not compared the 2 of them yet.

 

[taylorbruce]

Unless I missed the conversation somewhere...would the rims pass a safety inspection; and if not, would Transport Canada be interested and initiate a recall forcing GM to react?

 

[Rruuff Day]

Unless I missed the conversation somewhere...would the rims pass a safety inspection; and if not, would Transport Canada be interested and initiate a recall forcing GM to react?

Excellent thought.

 

[Jeffer2013]

There are three class actions in the US that I know of. I have written to all three law firms but have yet to receive a reply from any of them. I had two bent rims on my 2019 GS, both on the left side. GM claimed it was impact from road hazard. The inner edge of the barrel bent on both, out of round was somewhere around 0.100 on the front and 0.140 on the back. Vibration came on quite suddenly, without hitting anything out of the ordinary on Alberta roads. It's easy to see why they bend - the barrel is very long and supported only by the spokes at the far outer edge; the runflats have stiff sidewalls.

sue in small claims using the wording in the USA lawsuits and I will help and perhaps be a witness

 

[Jeffer2013]

Not many done here in Canada

the proper answer is not many law firms do class action suits in canada

part of the reason is we have no really really really large companies up here to sue. I.e. drug makers, gun makers, cig makers and so on

 

[DavidWG]

The wide body rims are vulnerable for a multitude of reasons:

-First is overall size. We run 19 x 10 in the front, and 20 x 12 in in the back. There is very little sidewall to absorb an impact. (ZR1 is 19x 10.5 in front)
-Widebody cars are heavy. The lightest widebody is 3500 lbs.
-The cars come with negative camber, puts more emphasis on the inner barrel of the rim
-The suspension is stiffer, running sport or track mode just makes it worse on the rim
-The runflats we use are stiff on the INSIDE portion of the tire
-The rims are rotary forged. Rim is cast, then the barrel is spun and shaped and elongated. Depending on the quality of the initial casting and the heat treatments afterwards and the extreme width of the barrel, the material making it to the inner portion may not be strong enough to absorb a lot of impact force.

When you factor in all these aspects, consider the road conditions (cracks, expansion joints, road upheavals, manhole covers, train tracks etc), the sheer number of wide body cars ( ~80k made from 2015-2019), the odds of bent or cracked rims make sense.

Do other 19+ inch rims bend or crack? Yes. A coworkers Type R has a bent rim from some construction he hit. (no other cars that day bent a rim...) Other makes and models are not immune. Just gotta hit something at the right angle and force and it will happen.

The risk is high for you to experience bent rims, but the chances of not bending a rim are just as high. It all comes down to your driving habits, roads etc.

The damage for most wide body corvettes seem to be what are known as fatigue cracks. Rather than 1 strong impact, weaker impacts to the same area over and over will "bend" the rim. Since the inner barrel is "forged" albeit incorrectly termed, it does fail like a forged rim will over time given similar conditions. This is witnessed as multiple cracks per rim. It just keeps "flexing" until weak areas give.

Great detailed explanation. the only thing I would add is that the super low profile of our tires on the GS & Z06) models means there is very little sidewall to absorb any impact shocks. I am on my third C7 and despite putting lots of kms on on fairly rough roads never had a problem until I got my 2019 GS and four weeks into ownership I hit a very nasty pothole in a construction zone travelling at about 90 km/hr. I had never hit anything like it in either of my two previous C7s, it was really nasty but no obvious damage or vibration as I drove the remaining 10 km home but I was on city streets. The next day I went out for a highway drive and started off in "Tour" mode. I was driving on nice smooth fairly new pavement and noticed a little vibration. When I switched to "Sport" mode the vibration became very noticable. Took it into the dealer who I know and trust (Gateway in Brampton, ON). They immediately identified it as bent after spinning it up. They contacted a company who does wheel straightening and they declined to try and repair it given the degree of damage - nothing visible. I have talked to several other folks who have vehicles with very low profile tires and wide barrels and they and their colleagues have reported the same problems.

 

[ralexcur]

There are three class actions in the US that I know of. I have written to all three law firms but have yet to receive a reply from any of them. I had two bent rims on my 2019 GS, both on the left side. GM claimed it was impact from road hazard. The inner edge of the barrel bent on both, out of round was somewhere around 0.100 on the front and 0.140 on the back. Vibration came on quite suddenly, without hitting anything out of the ordinary on Alberta roads. It's easy to see why they bend - the barrel is very long and supported only by the spokes at the far outer edge; the runflats have stiff sidewalls.

You had two bent . Were theses repairable or had to be replaced ? If replaced how long to get replacements and would GM help ?

 

[telemate]

Not many done here in Canada

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum... need some guidance.

I just had second cracked rim on my 2018 Grandsport. My car is 2 years and 11months old, 38K kms. Should this be covered under warranty?

I see lawsuit in USA, anything happening in Canada as yet?

Some guidance would be appreciated.

 

[dyoung]

Doesn't look like it will be covered by warranty, but you can always ask..

I wouldn't waste any money on GM wheels if you are going to keep the car for awhile...It would be better spent on a set of forged wheels.

Problem is the good ones are around $4500 U.S. and up.

 

[telemate]

Doesn't look like it will be covered by warranty, but you can always ask..

I wouldn't waste any money on GM wheels if you are going to keep the car for awhile...It would be better spent on a set of forged wheels.

Problem is the good ones are around $4500 U.S. and up.

thanks will see how it goes... I would think it should be covered as its a known problem.

Any other members have some insight here?

 

[DavidWG]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum... need some guidance.

I just had second cracked rim on my 2018 Grandsport. My car is 2 years and 11months old, 38K kms. Should this be covered under warranty?

I see lawsuit in USA, anything happening in Canada as yet?

Some guidance would be appreciated.

Good question, I have asked the same and even done some internet searching but it appears that there has not been a similar action launched in Canada.
As we all know the USA is extremely litigious, their courts will accept almost anything as a class action. There are entire law firms that go around looking for causes to represent and it is not unusual for a law firm to charge 50% of any settlement as they invest millions up front in many cases. Legal acquaintances in the US tell me that the number of failed class action cases is staggering and that is something we don't hear much about. The legal landscape in Canada is very different.
At car shows I have spoken to quite a number of the young guys who drive the modified little Asian hot rods and many of them who ride on super low profile tires report the same issue including some with very high quality aftermarket wheels. I'm on my third C7 all with chrome wheel option and two were wide body models and almost 100k km on them combined and no problems until my 2019 GS which bent a rim within the first 2 months, but I would have been surprised if it had not bent given the pothole I hit at highway speed - no damage to the tire. After some whining and crying on my part the dealer was kind enough to give me the new wheel at trade price so that eased the pain a bit.
It can't be a major issue as I see the dealers are still offering tire and wheel road hazard insurance for the same price as they were charging on my first C7 six years ago. I certainly urge potential purchasers to get the insurance especially if they are buying a GS or Z06 model with the wider tires.

 

[Steve hicks]

I don't but I would join in. 2019 GS - cracked rear - when I went to the dealers of course the 1st thing they say "what did you hit" they had 2 others that week all of them were black - I did take pictures of the inside the spokes where maybe it shows lot/production control numbers of both mine and another that was in the shop at the same time. I have not compared the 2 of them yet.

Steve hicks. 2017 grand sport. Going on 3rd set of rims. Would love to see a class action suit. [email protected]

 

[Cariboocreek]

"After Market Rims". Will cost less and signifcantly reduced hassle over trying to take GM to court. Fight it on principle if you would like, but life is too short to fight over a set of car wheels.

 

[telemate]

I agree 100%, it’s the principle of the matter! I’ve also had to replace 3 rims and repaired several cracks over the years. GM sold us a defective rims and they know it. Other than this issue, I love my 2018 Grand Sport!!

 

[Vanguard2001]

2019 GS very and have gone thru all 4 of the black rims. Now one of those replacements in the rear is also bent. Causes a shake as if the wheel in not balanced. I swapped out the Michelin run flats for Continental performance tires. I plan to get non GM rear wheels this summer be and keep fingers crossed. GM will not consider compensation.

 

[Nimm]

2019 GS, cracked two rear rims in the 1st 6 months...Bought after market and just cracked a rear. Ottawa roads are especially bad this spring.

Was discussing with a friend who owns a 911 and they were confused as he runs similar low profile tires and has alloy trims and never had an issue. We speculate that it also has to do with suspension set up and how the corvettes absorb bumpy surfaces vs other performance cars

 

[Vanguard2001]

Corvette rims are cast aluminium I think. Porsche are likely forged much more resilient.

 

[Vanguard2001]

Ottawa roads are especially bad this spring.

It was Ottawa road construction (Innes near the prison) in July 2021 that took all four of mine in one shot.