[narrator]

I just got word from my dealer that there were a lot of metal shavings in the oil pan. New engine on order. I had the car towed in to the dealer for a noise I heard when I pushed in the clutch. The car has 10700 miles on it, I drive it a lot and love the car. I believe I will be without it for a while. I thought it was a throwout bearing, sounded like it to me. Am I the first to experience this?i

 

[glen e]

Got a vin #

what dealer?

 

[Mobius]

I just got word from my dealer that there were a lot of metal shavings in the oil pan. New engine on order. I had the car towed in to the dealer for a noise I heard when I pushed in the clutch.

Hmm, your post is a bit short on info. Please provide a more detailed description of the event up to your decision to have the vehicle towed. Include engine lights, DIC warnings, etc.

 

[jsvette]

Originally Posted by narrator:
"I just got word from my dealer that there were a lot of metal shavings in the oil pan. New engine on order. I had the car towed in to the dealer for a noise I heard when I pushed in the clutch."

Hmm, your post is a bit short on info. Please provide a more detailed description of the event up to your decision to have the vehicle towed. Include engine lights, DIC warnings, etc.

and Z51 or non-Z51, etc.

 

[narrator]

The Vin No. 1G1YL2D74E5106354 The dealer is Burns Chev in Rock Hill SC. I heard a very loud grinding noise at about 500 miles, pulling away from a stop light, I had the top off and music on, everything seemed normal, no indication of anything abnormal just the noise, very loud. I went to a local chevy dealer Carter Chev in Shelby NC for an oil change and told them about the noise. They dismissed the noise said could not duplicate. Also, they called me as soon as I got home and asked me to check my oil. They said they thought that it might be low. It was, three quarts low. That prompted a letter when they sent me a survey. Anyway, I kept hearing a ticking noise when the car wanted a skip shift when I went to 4th gear. And out of nowhere the other morning when I started the car it made a loud ticking noise when pressure was applied to the clutch. The night before, there was no hint of a problem when we put the car in the garage.

 

[glen e]

What does the dealer say about "3 quarts low"?

 

[narrator]

Sorry, you did ask for more info. It is a Z51, and I did have a check eng. light on the DIC. The light came on when I started the car that morn. I purchased the car the first week of Dec. 2013. The car is loaded with about every option including the duel roof option. This is our third Corvette. I love every one. I have no other issues with this great car

 

[narrator]

The dealer said the "kid" didn't know about the new Corvette. The reason I took it there in the first place was that they have a new Corvette in the showroom. I asked them if they had a mech. that was trained to work on the new Corvette. They said they did. Maybe he was off that day. I was very disappointed that an inexperienced mech was working on my $75,000 Corvette.

 

[Tuner Boost]

The dealer said the "kid" didn't know about the new Corvette. The reason I took it there in the first place was that they have a new Corvette in the showroom. I asked them if they had a mech. that was trained to work on the new Corvette. They said they did. Maybe he was off that day. I was very disappointed that an inexperienced mech was working on my $75,000 Corvette.

At what mileage did you do the first oil change?

We always cut the filter and examine as well....tells you what is happening early on in an engine. By the time there are shavings enough to see in an oil change, there is usually a substantial amount of engine damage already happening.

Warranty should replace the entire engine as the engineers will want to disassemble and examine at the factory to determine what "went away" to begin with (began to fail).

Good luck!!! And dont go more than 1000 miles on the first change ever.

 

[narrator]

I had about 80 percent left on the oil DIC I called the dealer to schedule my first oil change, they told me to wait until 20 percent or less to change the oil. I finally went to Carter Chevy here in Shelby with about 60 percent left. That's when the oil change from hell happened.

 

[Z06 Owned]

I had about 80 percent left on the oil DIC I called the dealer to schedule my first oil change, they told me to wait until 20 percent or less to change the oil. I finally went to Carter Chevy here in Shelby with about 60 percent left. That's when the oil change from hell happened.

Failing to change the oil by 1000 miles should not have done any damage. Tuner boost's practice of cutting open the oil filter at the 1000 mile change isn't a bad idea to detect problems early, but I know the dealer doesn't do that as part of a standard oil change.

I had an M3 with oil life monitoring and the dealer would not change until there was less than 25% life, unless I wanted to pay $250 for an early change. It's 1st oil change was at 10,250 miles. That engine drank 2 quarts of oil in its 1st 3000 miles, which BMW said was perfectly normal for that hand-built engine. It never used a noticeable amount of oil after 3K. And, it ran like a bull until I sold it!

Running the car 3 quarts low should not have posed a problem as long as you had oil pressure and didn't push the engine for an extended period of time, like making a hard run up Pike's Peak.

Should be interesting to find out what really went wrong. If it's the same thing that happened to the C&D Vette, hopefully it will be traceable to a limited number of engines/cars.

 

[Chip]

I just got word from my dealer that there were a lot of metal shavings in the oil pan. New engine on order. I had the car towed in to the dealer for a noise I heard when I pushed in the clutch. The car has 10700 miles on it, I drive it a lot and love the car. I believe I will be without it for a while. I thought it was a throwout bearing, sounded like it to me. Am I the first to experience this?i

I have seen 2 owner reports of "spun bearings" which required engine changes. This is a result of possible oil starvation to those critical engine components. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Tuner Boost]

I had about 80 percent left on the oil DIC I called the dealer to schedule my first oil change, they told me to wait until 20 percent or less to change the oil. I finally went to Carter Chevy here in Shelby with about 60 percent left. That's when the oil change from hell happened.

The problem with that is a lot of the debris from assy and especially the initial break-in are small particles that are to fine for the oil filter to pick up....the iron from initial ring seating is constantly recirculated through the engine, and rod bearings are one of the most critical that this causes accelerated wear. There is no way that first oil fill should ever be run longer than 1000 miles no matter what the dealer says or the marketing material in the owners manual. Sure, most will do just fine.....but why risk it? Anyone doubting this, just take an oil sample and send it in to BlackStone or similar and see the various metals that are present. Would make your jaw drop. So, anyone can certainly do as they choose....but there is no possible way this does not shorten engine life and cause premature wear. Get those abrasive particles out of the engine between 500 and 1000 miles and be safe.

And as always, anyone is welcome to visit our facility in person and I can show you all of this on low mileage engines apart at any given time.

 

[Milliwatt Rob]

From a cost/benefit point of view, changing the oil before 1000 miles certainly seems a prudent thing to do, even if you have to do it or pay for it yourself.

 

[Tuner Boost]

From a cost/benefit point of view, changing the oil before 1000 miles certainly seems a prudent thing to do, even if you have to do it or pay for it yourself.

Correct! The marketing trend towards buying a car and aside from putting fuel in, is to lead the buyer to believe they need no attention for 8-10k miles when new......and as long as the competition states the same, no marketing department is going to say different. This is where the owner needs to give some thought to some of the things that can never change. If it needs attention (common sense wise), ignore the marketing hype and take care of it.

 

[2ndvette]

Correct! The marketing trend towards buying a car and aside from putting fuel in, is to lead the buyer to believe they need no attention for 8-10k miles when new......and as long as the competition states the same, no marketing department is going to say different. This is where the owner needs to give some thought to some of the things that can never change. If it needs attention (common sense wise), ignore the marketing hype and take care of it.

This is exactly how the car magazines and Consumer Reports have driven the manufacturers to offer free maintenance and extended change intervals. The competition for zero cost to the consumer creating a new mindset that throws away common sense...as long as the warranty costs are kept under control, they will continue that trend.

 

[jsvette]

I am going to out on a limb here and say perhaps this "Metal shavings in the oil pan" has wondered off course a wee bit. The vast majority (I'd guess somewhere between 75% and 90%) of new cars are driven without ever changing the oil and filter after the first 1000 miles, and the OEM car manufactures are not to my knowledge loosing their proverbial shirts over the warranty claims for damage per their engine and drive train coverage. If you have historically changed you car's oil and filter after the first 1000 miles by all means continue to do it because it makes you feel more comfortable doing so. Conversely if you want to drive and maintain your car as the OEM recommends and haven't had any issues in the past, continue to do so with your new Corvette as well. The sky is not falling.

 

[dpmdc]

I have always considered an oil change and filter cheap insurance assuring maximum performance. How much are we really talking about here, less than $50 if you DIY. A good way to check for metal contamination. There are services where you can send an oil sample to get an in depth analysis. Sure it may be covered under warranty if the engine goes but there is down time and then the whole break in process starts again. If I'm putting down $100,000 on a ZO6 then you can bet there is going to be responsible maintenance. With the way the 2015's are being rationed there could be a back order on parts to replace warranty issues so the waiting would get longer. If there is going to be spirited driving on the street then 2500 miles is about my limit. if I do track days then it gets changed at the end of the weekend. Thermally abused oil is useless and will effect performance as well as engine longevity....period!

 

[Milliwatt Rob]

I am going to MacMulkin Tuesday to order my C7 Z51 convertible. They are 100 miles from me, and I will probably have my service done there. Their policy on the 4 free oil changes is the customer decides when to have them without having to wait for a service reminder to get to any specific remaining life indication.. That's good!! And I really do not trust unqualified service departments unfamiliar with the car to do anything to it.

Karl Gott, my salesman, was telling me horror stories of cars they sold that were brought in for service at dealers who knew nothing about C7 cars, and especially zero about the Z51. Apparently one oil changer did not realize that a Z51 has two motor oil drain plugs, one for the sump, and one for the oil tank. They only removed the plug from the sump. Of course, only a small amount of oil came out. They then proceeded to add the specified amount of fresh oil to the oil tank, with the old oil still in there. The result of the grossly overfilled tank was a royal mess of oil spewing into the intake side of the engine.

 

[U.S. Marine]

I just got word from my dealer that there were a lot of metal shavings in the oil pan. New engine on order. I had the car towed in to the dealer for a noise I heard when I pushed in the clutch. The car has 10700 miles on it, I drive it a lot and love the car. I believe I will be without it for a while. I thought it was a throwout bearing, sounded like it to me. Am I the first to experience this?i

narrator, I hope all goes well with your situation and the dealership does the right thing contacting GM. Keep us posted on what transpires in case other forum members experience this problem.

SF
Rick