2016 Chevrolet Corvette: problems, recalls and reliability
2 recalls and 103 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is wheels (57% of complaints); the 2014 and 2015 model years look more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Jul 2017
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 103 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“I left my car at Vandergriff Chevrolet in Arlington, TX for diagnosis and repair of a transmission sensor failure. They took nearly 6 weeks to fix the issue. When I went to pick up the car, there was a new noise in the engine so I left the vehicle for diagnosis. Now, they are telling me it's a known issue that is considered 'crucial' to repair but is not a recall and they are so far unwilling to cover the repair since it seems to have happened while they had the vehicle. I've attached their service bulletin indicating the known issue and repair.”Owner report · Engine · Apr 2025
“The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the structure of the dashboard had started to detach from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,027.”Owner report · Structure · Sep 2024
“Transmission is very erratic to shift, especially when cold. Sometime, when pressing the accelerator, the car hesitates before moving forward. This can be dangerous at intersections with oncoming traffic. The transmission was inspected by a Chevy dealer right after the car was purchased (09/2017) and parts replaced. The symptoms still happen. It was inspected again 01/2023 by a Chevy dealer and the transmission fluid flushed. The symptoms still happen regularly. GM is aware of this dangerous issue, yet nothing has been done to correct the problem.”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2024
Show 7 more owner reports
“The transmission has a shudder issue at speeds between 60 and 80 mph. Gives the feeling of driving over rumble strips. Vehicle milage is 6200 miles. The dealership verified the issue associated with the transmission and indicated that a repair bulletin was issued by GM to correct the issue”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2023
“The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated that while driving from a stop, after engaging the clutch, the vehicle started to shudder and vibrate and nearly stalled. The contact pulled over into a parking lot. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the valve spring had fractured in half within cylinder #5. Further diagnostic test determined that the failure had caused damage to the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 12,000.”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2023
“Normal driving - about 69,000 miles. Rear wheel rim developed cracks in inner bead lip causing complete loss of inflation.”Owner report · Wheels · Jul 2023
“Started loosing tire pressure on L/R tire, local tire shop informed and showed me that my left rear rim has a crack which causes loos of air. This is a known issue that GM wants to blame on drivers but issue stems from GM using cheaper cast aluminum materials instead of forged materials which are better suited due to the amount of torque that the ZO6 models generated. *Note* GM used forged material on their ZR1 models!!”Owner report · Wheels · Oct 2022
“Transmission shudder a low acceleration. Requires Triple Transmission flush. Vehicle is 2016 Model with 10500 miles GM refused any responsibility. GM was aware they had an issue with the transmission fluid. It has gone through two reformulations to correct the issue.”Owner report · Power Train · May 2022
“Vehicle has less than 8k miles and right rear wheel has a stress fracture on inside of wheel. Zero signs of damage to the tire or anything indicating cause of fracture was from a road hazard. Fracture causes a slow air leak. Hundreds if not 1000s of corvette owners 2015-2019 have had this issue.”Owner report · Wheels · Mar 2022
“All 4 rims were all bent when tires were replaced a few months ago and Americas tire found that there were several cracks in the rims with only 25,000 miles on the car. Looking through the corvette forum, thousands of people have had the same problem. This is a huge safety concern with this fast of a car.”Owner report · Wheels · Oct 2021
When filing, owners marked a crash in 1 of these complaints and injuries in 1 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 2 campaigns
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2016 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Corvette by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette reliable?
NHTSA has 103 owner complaints and 2 recall campaigns on record for the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. The most complained-about area is wheels (57% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2016 Chevrolet Corvette problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 15,000 miles or less.
Does the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette have open recalls?
2 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning seat belts:pretensioner. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.