The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette has just been recalled for the first time because it’s front trunk might not open beyond the 10 minutes that pass after you’ve turned it off. According to a release by Chevy, the new ‘Vette fails to comply with S4.1 of Federal/Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 401, “Interior Trunk Release.” Essentially, the C8 enters a “sleep” mode 10 minutes after it’s been off and the electronic front trunk release may not work as a result.
GM plans on fixing the problem via a wireless, over-the-air software update that will “(lower) the voltage required to wake the vehicle from the low power “sleep” mode.” This essentially means that the C8 will be able to unlatch the hood if the interior frunk release button is pressed even when the Corvette is in its sleep mode. Owners who opted out of over the air updates will be able to take their cars to a dealership to have the fix applied.
We aren’t quite sure how the problem was discovered, and we sure hope no one got trapped inside the front trunk of a C8 (or if so, not for a very long period of time). It also isn’t clear whether or not it is physically impossible for most people to actually fit in the Vette’s trunk—the primary trunk sits in the tail, leaving the smaller front unit for little extras.
And the latching issue isn’t even the front trunk’s lone issue. There have been separate reports of C8 Corvettes’ front trunks flying open while the cars were in motion—even at relatively low speeds. This recall is entirely unrelated to those reported incidents, but Chevrolet told us, “After isolated reports of 2020 Chevrolet Corvette hoods opening while being driven, the engineering team is investigating the issue and working to understand the cause of these reports.”
It seems like the bowtie still isn’t sure what’s causing the hoods to fly up, and we might see another recall if the problem becomes widespread. Hopefully Chevrolet can get the C8’s frunky issues fixed and put the lid on them, soon.
