As exciting as the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06’s wider body and refined aerodynamics are, the 5.5-liter flat-plane LT6 V-8 engine the star of the show sits behind the driver. Unfortunately for new Z06 owner Marco Garcia, the motorsport-derived engine in his Corvette Z06 failed after just 52 miles on the initial delivery drive.
Garcia purchased a black and red Corvette Z06 1LZ on December 23 from Covina Hills Chevrolet in Covina, California. YouTube videos. The on-demand sports car had a sticker price of $113,975, but paperwork and dealer fees brought the final sale price to $182,457.38. Garcia owned two Stingrays at this point and even came in to buy a Z06 modified C8. After the purchase process was complete, one of the salespeople at the dealership offered to follow Garcia to his construction yard with the Stingray. Garcia agreed to take them up on that offer and return the seller to the dealer after the exchange.
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After dumping the Stingray in the yard, the seller jumped into the Z06 and drove it back to the dealership. Garcia noted in the video he watched that the two enjoyed a few gentle shots on the ride, but didn’t push the car too much. Garcia further noted that he was already quite familiar with the C8 platform hacking procedure due to previous ownership experience. Shortly after returning the seller to the dealer, things went horribly wrong.
Garcia noticed a lack of power from the engine and decided to pull off the highway to investigate. Garcia says the problem, which started with just 52 miles on the odometer, was accompanied by a check engine light and some aggressive rattling noises. After going into town to charge his phone, the salesman told Garcia he wouldn’t be able to tow the car there that evening. In addition, OnStar had difficulty helping because it did not yet have the necessary warranty information for such a new vehicle. Garcia was forced to tow the Z06 back to his construction yard that night.
Things did not improve much the next day. OnStar sent a tow truck for the vehicle on the 24th, but that truck was not authorized to return the vehicle to the dealer that sold the vehicle. This created a new challenge that required Garcia to spend hours using the OnStar service for help. After the car actually arrived at the right dealer, a ton of error codes started appearing in Garcia’s email inbox sent through OnStar services. The most notable of these issues is listed as an engine and transmission fault, which you might expect based on the sound found in the clip alone.
Garcia says he’s faced the situation and has no interest in continuing the Z06 ownership experience. After the car is repaired, he plans to pass it on to the next owner.
“Dead Z06 coming soon,” Garcia said in a follow-up post. “I think I’ll probably try to fix it up and sell it to someone else. It’s a shame.”
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From the moment the Z06 debuted, General Motors was adamant that the LT6 V-8 was a bombproof engine. The LT6.R V-8 used by the Corvette Racing C8.R for several years, the street engine has almost the same high-end design. That said, large-displacement flat-plane V-8s are notoriously difficult, as Ford has previously emphasized. Voodoo V-8 and its vibrational disturbance.
A GM spokesperson confirmed this R&T the company is aware of this Z06 incident and is actively looking into the situation. As is common practice with these types of failures, GM will disassemble this engine to figure out what went wrong in this particular instance.
I hope this particular LT6 was just a bad egg. For now, this troubled example seems like a small drop in the bucket as owners continue to take home their new Z06s.
Chevrolet
