We've been intentionally limiting how often and how hard we drive our longterm 2002 Corvette Z06 while we sort out its detonation issue, which is why posts related to the silver sports car have been few and far between.
Nevertheless, the handful of editors that have driven it have all muttered about its trunk refusing to pop up more than a millimeter or two when you press the trunk release. This makes the lid darned near impossible to open fully without prying it up with some kind of implement, which none of us dare attempt.
I found a way to make the decklid pop up all the way to a grab-able height without resorting to such cavemen techniques, though. The workaround involves a highly sophisticated fluid mechanics phenomenon that I demonstrate in the video above. Gotta make sure those windows are rolled all the way up for it to work.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 42,430 miles.
oachalon says:
01:44 PM, 02/ 9/10
Looks like the previous owner never lubricated a single thing ever. Looks like you guys need to get a can of endura castle spray and lube up the hinges, locks, etc. Should be good to go then.
wrinklebump says:
01:55 PM, 02/ 9/10
Had to do that to get the hood to pop on my old Plymouth Acclaim
carguy622 says:
01:58 PM, 02/ 9/10
Maybe there are some rubber bumper in the trunk you could elevate? My grandmother's 1997 Taurus had a hood that wouldn't open far enough either, so I adjusted the height of the rubber bumpers under the hood and that fixed that.
kurt_ says:
02:11 PM, 02/ 9/10
The stuff Corvette owners put up with.
mieden says:
02:36 PM, 02/ 9/10
Ahhhh...good old GM products. Nothin but the best...
thedream21479 says:
02:52 PM, 02/ 9/10
God such crap from GM. Though I can't wait for Stingray454 to pop in and say his 2 cents in defense. It's like watching the slightly retarded monkeys struggle to open bananas.
roadburner says:
02:58 PM, 02/ 9/10
Some decent spray lube(DuPont Teflon, Wurth HHS 2000, or similar) and a bit of adjustment should fix it.
mini2009 says:
03:00 PM, 02/ 9/10
It's a corvette... It will go fast and turn (when it's not detonating, but this one is high mileage, right?) and nothing more.
mzbamf says:
03:05 PM, 02/ 9/10
I've seen a video of the opposite being the problem (the trunk won't shut all the way unless the door is open)
Seems to be something about a vacuum created in the cockpit. Good ole "old gm" design!
brn says:
03:24 PM, 02/ 9/10
That's by design. You can't have both the door and the trunk open at the same time.
RTFM.
/s
subytrojan says:
03:37 PM, 02/ 9/10
Hahahaha! Brilliant, Jay!!! =Þ
greenpony says:
04:07 PM, 02/ 9/10
lol
jederino says:
04:10 PM, 02/ 9/10
I've heard that the latest Corvette is put together with great fit and finish, even if the roof does become unglued. Can anyone verify this?
m93 says:
04:18 PM, 02/ 9/10
i heard gtr's transmissions crap out, toyota's accelerate without you knowing. can anyone verify this?
just like like all those, there was a recall for it. woop de do, jederino.
jederino says:
05:34 PM, 02/ 9/10
^^ you missed my meaning. I've read posts from current Corvette owners who praise the build quality as it stands right now, compared with earlier editions. I'm curious if the factory quality has changed significantly, or if the C5, C4, etc. are all respectable.
m93 says:
06:12 PM, 02/ 9/10
ah, my bad jederino. i thought you were being sarcastic, i apologize. well in our family we have a 2008 corvette 6m, and we can say that it runs flawlessly. 29 mpg on the highway, and the fit and finish is years beyond that of the c5. the panel gaps, are a huge step up compared to the c5. some may say that the plastics are iffy, but they are solid, and one must remember this car is a total performance bargain. we got ours at a little under 40k plus tax brand new.
the maintenance of corvettes is something to be copied, nothing special or exotic like other car makers.
thedream21479 says:
06:37 PM, 02/ 9/10
"the maintenance of corvettes is something to be copied, nothing special or exotic like other car makers. "
THAT, is something that I will wholeheartedly agree with. I currently own a 2004 M3 and a 2008 CLK63 AMG Black Series. Both of these cars are relatively high maintenance. Not so much in the work that needs to be done (pretty standard maintenance)...but it usually costs double or triple (or quadruple in the case of the CLK63- thank god it's under warranty).
To Give credit where credit is due, the Vette's are generally pretty reliable and take a beating without complaints.
That said, no way in hell I could I live with an interior that sucks worse than the interior in a Power Wheels Barbie Corvette.
565565 says:
07:59 PM, 02/ 9/10
I actually own a 2002 Z06 as well.
The reason why the trunk refuses to pop is because the last owner has the rubber bumpers in the lowest most position.
If you want the trunk to pop higher just turn the rubber bumpers on the left and right undersides of the upper lid until they are higher (they twist up and down). Also you can put some WD40 into the latch mechanism if it is sticking.
sundownredhl says:
12:37 AM, 02/10/10
lube the lock mechanism and be done with it...you could also try twisting the rubber stubs on the front corners
ptcdawg says:
07:05 AM, 02/10/10
Could be something as easy as trunk struts losing strength. It's not just a Corvette thing, as some would imply. My Wife's SLK 230 needed a pair, along with our SC Lexus.
jederino says:
09:40 AM, 02/10/10
@m93, great to hear about the C6. I think the car is gorgeous in any trim, and even the interior looks decent, if not class leading. Living in Seattle, I don't know if I would ultimately go with a rear drive car with that much power. However, perhaps the base coupe with good summer tires could handle the damp and cool roads. Have you ever heard of people using winter tires on these? Probably everyone just garages these when the frost comes.
firstwagon says:
08:31 PM, 02/10/10
I agree with those that say just fix it. Sounds like a minor adjustment on an 8 year old car.
It says nothing about the quality of GM, it just says mechanical devices need a bit of maintenance now and then.
cr_driver says:
07:53 PM, 02/11/10
565565 says:
07:59 PM, 02/ 9/10
I actually own a 2002 Z06 as well.
The reason why the trunk refuses to pop is because the last owner has the rubber bumpers in the lowest most position.
If you want the trunk to pop higher just turn the rubber bumpers on the left and right undersides of the upper lid until they are higher (they twist up and down). Also you can put some WD40 into the latch mechanism if it is sticking.
He probably is onto something....