Lights out and Corvette owners left in the dark

2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. photo / supplied

US car safety regulators are investigating complaints that the low-beam headlights can go dark without warning on some Chevrolet Corvettes.

The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers more than 103,000 Corvettes from the 2005-07 model years.

The agency says it has had 30 complaints from owners about low-beam headlight failure.

No crashes or injuries have been reported, but one driver ran over a discarded tyre while trying to pull off the road.

The high-beam headlights and fog lights keep working even if the low beams fail. But the agency says driving with the high beams all the time can harm vision of oncoming drivers.

Investigators will check into how often the problem happens and decide if a recall is needed.

Holden vehicles - which are from the same GM stable as the Corvette - do not use the same headlight system.