Does Active Fuel Management aka V4 Mode Affect Corvette Reliability & Should C8 Owners Worry?

When it comes to the C8 Corvette, there’s a lot to be excited about — and at least one feature to dread.

Corvette YouTuber Bladed Angel is upset about the C8. Not the entire car, mind you — just one specific feature. Active Fuel Management (AFM) aka Cylinder deactivation aka V4 mode, first introduced on the C7, is being retained for the C8.

While the technology helped the Corvette improve its fuel economy, there are major drawbacks that go along with it. In his words, “V4 mode has single-handedly ruined the C7 Corvette’s reliability. It has single-handedly tarnished the Corvette’s reputation.”

As Bladed Angel explains, V4 mode causes the transmission to slip. This considerably shortens the life of the transmission. In fact, he says that between five and ten percent of C7 Corvettes have experienced transmission problems. These issues, whether they affect the torque converter or the entire transmission, are directly related to cylinder deactivation.

C7 owners with manual transmissions aren’t immune. They still have the chance of dealing with failed lifters. In short, V4 mode has taken one of the Corvette’s best features — a simple, reliable engine — and sacrificed it at the altar of fuel economy.

What’s the Solution?

That’s a real shame, because as America’s sports car, the Corvette has stayed within reach of the everyman. Unlike more exotic machinery, it’s simple and does its job well, and it’s affordable. As Bladed Angel says,  “If you owned a Toyota Camry all of your life, you could actually own a Corvette and not feel out of place.”

Surely, you have to be able to turn this off, right? Well, sort of. On the C7 Corvette, you could always leave the car in manual mode to prevent it from deactivating cylinders. For manual transmission owners — or automatic transmission owners who want to leave the car in drive — the feature has to be turned off in the tune.

This results in a real conundrum for owners. Do you void your warranty with a tune now and pray no other issues pop up? Or do you wait out the warranty and hope that your drivetrain is healthy enough to survive whatever comes next? For Bladed Angel, the answer is easy. “I’d rather lose a warranty and have a tune than to have warranty, but have V4 mode still.”