2026 data Public-data reference. official source

2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE — Complaint #920081

Open-data reference.

NHTSA Complaint about STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE filed May 24, 2012

NHTSA complaint #920081 (ODI reference 10459589) concerns a 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE and was filed on May 24, 2012. The owner reports the failure occurred on December 15, 2009. The vehicle had 35,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Missouri based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as steering:column locking:anti-theft device, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.

The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.

Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same CHEVROLET CORVETTE cohort independently describe similar steering:column locking:anti-theft device failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.

Vehicle
2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE
Component
STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE
Crash
Yes
State
Missouri
Mileage
35,000 mi

Complaint Description

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 25 MPH WHEN THE POWER STEERING FAILED AS THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED A SLIGHT TURN. THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE AND WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 35,000. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE DRIVING, THE STEERING COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. SINCE HE HAD NO STEERING, SO HE APPLIED THE BRAKES, AND SOON AFTER, THE VEHICLE WENT FROM 25 MPH TO 60 MPH. HE HIT A CURB AND THE VEHICLE WENT AIRBORNE. THE VEHICLE SPUN AROUND AND LANDED ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE DITCH. THREE TIRE WERE BLOWN OUT, THE FRAME WAS BENT AND THE AIR BAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. THE CONSUMER STATED HE NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL REGARDING A PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING. ALSO, THE BATTERY WOULD GO DEAD, IF THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED ON A REGULAR BASIS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE JUMP STARTED ON FIVE OCCA

Complaint Details

NHTSA Complaint ID 920081
ODI Number 10459589
Date Filed May 24, 2012
Failure Date December 15, 2009
VIN 1G1YY32G935

Similar STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE Complaints for 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.