General Motors has issued a stop-sale order for some 2025 and 2026 Chevrolet Corvette cars following the discovery of a fault in the vehicle’s lighting detection system. The issue impacts 3,324 of the mid-engine sports cars. There is no official announcement yet regarding how many units already at dealers or in private hands may be affected in Canada.
The stop-sale was triggered by a non-compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108 in place in the United States. That is because the system can fail to alert the drivers of a non-functioning turn signal or brake light.
According to reports on CorvetteBlogger, the problem affects two different model-years, and the stop-sale order prevents dealers from delivering any affected Corvettes currently in inventory until the fault is rectified.
The problem
The issue is a software malfunction that prevents the vehicle from alerting the driver if a rear turn signal or brake light fails.
Specifically, the "Rear Brake Light Outage Detection" system—the safety mechanism designed to notify the operator of a non-functional lamp—is currently failing to provide those necessary alerts. This defect means drivers could unknowingly operate the vehicle with non-functional rear signaling, increasing the risk of a collision.
The solution
The defect is identified as a software-based issue rather than a physical hardware failure. General Motors has already developed a solution for the 2026 model-year cars. Those can be repaired via an over-the-air (OTA) software update, though owners may also opt for a traditional service appointment at a dealership to have the update performed manually.
As of now, GM hasn’t shared word of a solution for the 2025 model-year vehicles. However, it’s expected a similar software patch will be deployed shortly.
For Chevrolet, the timing of this problem is unfortunate, falling as it does as a bit of rain on the Corvette parade. Last week the automaker aimed to cause good cheer with the presentation of the C8 Grand Sport and Grand Sport X, as well as the new LS6 V-8 engine. But this order is forcing Chevrolet to pull thousands of C8 cars back into the shop until it can guarantee they are once again compliant with safety regulations.