HOUSTON, TEXAS - A Chevrolet Corvette is seen at the Knapp Chevrolet dealership on February 02, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
(Photo : Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Supply chain issues continue to hound Chevrolet, with the automaker forced to drop the Rear Park Assist function from the 2022 Corvette Stingray because of a computer chip shortage. The announcement comes a few days after it was reported that Chevrolet would no longer offer the popular High Wing Spoiler for the mid-engine sports car.
The Corvette Action Center reported that Chevrolet's removal of the Rear Park Assist function was due to a lack of appropriate semiconductors. The Rear Park Assist system uses a handful of ultrasonic sensors on the Corvette's rear bumper, and the vehicle automatically beeps when drivers are approaching an object while reversing.
That feature is vital for any car, especially the Corvette, which is relatively compromised on rear visibility because of its structure. Chevrolet had no other choice but to remove this feature from the 2022 Stingray as the computer chips needed for this particular system were difficult to acquire due to the ongoing supply chain crisis.
Rear Park Assist will be available to retrofit in the 4th quarter of 2022
Buyers who placed an order for the 2022 Corvette Stingray with a Rear Park Assist function will receive a $50 credit from Chevrolet in place of the system's removal. The good news for 2022 Corvette buyers is that the said feature will be available to retrofit once the needed computer chips for the system arrive during the fourth quarter of the year.
It is not just the Corvette that has limited availability for the Rear Park Assist feature at the current time. Among the Chevy models that are also encountering this particular problem right now are the Chevy Silverado pickup, Chevy Trailblazer crossover, Chevy Suburban full-size SUVs, Chevy Tahoe, and the Chevy Camaro coupe.
Chevrolet decided to provide limited availability for the Rear Park Assist feature to these vehicles to keep their plants up and running for production while there is an ongoing chip shortage. Rear Park Assist is the official name given by GM for its safety feature, which most refer to as a backup sensor.
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How does the Rear Park Assist work?
The sensors will actively detect the distance to the object once the vehicle senses a nearby object while moving in Reverse. A beep sound will then be heard in the vehicle in increasingly quicker intervals as it approaches the object. That sound lets the driver know how close the distance is between the vehicle and the object. An instrument cluster also shows locations for rear- or front-detected objects near the vehicle with a sequence of bars.
According to a report from early this year, the 2022 Corvette Stingray will only remain in production for just a few more months, with Chevrolet ending production of the 2022 model on May 6. Chevrolet will quickly transition to building 2023 Corvette models, with the automaker set to start producing those vehicles on May 9.
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