New '97 Owner with some questions

[Under Par]

My name is Chris and I just bought my dream car. I've been looking for over 3 years for one specific car....and finally found it for the right price. It's a '97 Nassau Blue 6spd Coupe w/ 38K miles. What an exhilerating ride!! It's in fantastic shape, and I've already had about 10 people ask me if it's a 2001 or 2002 because it's so clean (they didn't know the '97s have a moulding going down the drivers and passengers side).

But, as with all used cars, it's got a few problems. I would like to get any advice possible before I take it to a dealer and get over charged/under serviced. I'll list the issues numerically. I would appreciate any responses...even if it's just on one issue. Sorry for the length of my message.

1. After refueling, the fuel gage reads full, but after about 15 minutes of driving, the gage goes to empty and my D.I.C. gives me a "low fuel" warning. This happens 90% of the time. On occasion, turning the ignition off and restarting makes the gage work properly, but only for about 15 minutes. Any ideas? What about cost estimate to fix?

2. Neither cigarette lighter adapter works...kind of a bummer for those who choose to drive a few MPH over the speed limit and want to be able to use a radar detector. I've checked the specific fuse that's supposed to control the lighter (according to the user's manual), but it's fine. What else could it be? Cost estimate?

3. Previous owner put in a special shifter (graphite handle with Corvette logo). Putting the car into reverse is a pain. Sometimes, it slides in, but then as I'm backing up, it will slip out of gear...sometimes it just won't go into reverse. The salesman where I bought the car (a different state) said it was a "linkage" problem and that they fixed it, but it still happens. Could it be a "linkage" problem? Cost to repair?

4. Passenger side rearview mirror....the electronic control operates the mirror up and down, but does not work for moving the mirror left/right. The only thing I can see out of the mirror is the back side of the car. How can this be fixed? Cost?

These are the major ones. Again, any help would be great. Thanks!

 

[69MyWay]

Chris, I don't know how specific I can answer your problems, but I can tell you they are not all that unique.

For example, the fuel gauge issue is an ongoing problem with these cars. Our 2000 will read up to 1/2 tank, but when it hits 1/2 tank, it falls fast (like get your butt to the gas station now). Unfortunately, she just drove the car out of warranty and in her busy schedule failed to take it to the dealer. She did tell them about it earlier in the year, but they said they could not duplicate the problem. So, I may be fixing this myself soon. Do a search here in the C5 section on fuel gauge and see what you can dig up.

Sometimes Paul (C4C5specialist) will pick up on these threads and give extremely accurate and friendly advice.

On the reverse situation, we too had trouble getting it in reverse. She has had it to the dealer like five times for this complaint and they keep telling her all is well. I grind the gears and it pops out when I get in it cold, fire it up, slap it in reverse and start to back out. They say to put it in a forward gear first, then reverse, and wait until you feel it lock all the way in before releasing the clutch.

She is getting more use to is, and rarely ever has a problem now.

Have you tried other accessories in those lighter sockets? Maybe you have a bad plug on the radar detector/cell phone?

I hardwired the radar detector to the fuse panel, ran the wire through the passenger windshield pillar trim over to the rear view mirror. It is much neater and cleaner than having a coil of wires running up the dash to the detector. It was an easy 20 minute afternoon project of which she seems to appreciate in a big way.

On the mirror, it could be a bad switch, or a bad motor in the mirror, or the plastic screw jacks are stripped out. Try manually pressing the mirror glass side to side. You should hear it click like a wratchet sound. Then try operating with the switch. If it does not start working then, you will have to pull it open and start testing to see if it is a power or motor problem.

 

[Under Par]

69myway,
Thanks for the response. I did a search on the fuel gage problem and it looks like plenty of others are having similar problems with it immediately dropping. It looks like from the knowledge base, the sensors may need to be replaced.
Does anyone have any idea how much this would cost (without warranty)?
Also, would buying an extended warranty allow me to get all the problems listed in the first post fixed? If so, who should I go through for the extended warranty?

Thanks.