Photo: Chevrolet
Chevrolet finally took the radical decision of switching its Corvette sports car to a mid-engine configuration and everything looked perfect for performance-hungry aficionados. But such a massive change also means a lot of things had to be remade from scratch. The new frunk – aka the front trunk – is one of them, and it already caused some problems.
Not long ago we reported the NHTSA website has started receiving complaints about the front trunk lid opening and blocking the front vision of the driver. It might sound funny, but if this happens while driving, the ones inside might get seriously harmed.
Of course, that is exactly what happened, with forums and social media gathering mounting evidence of the occurrence. General Motors does not seem willing to accept them, for now – even though the complaint page on the NHTSA website now has eight complaints pertaining to the same flying front trunk lid issue.
The twist is that Chevrolet has now acknowledged a different problem of the same frunk.
According to a popular Chevrolet blog, the automaker has not issued a recall for the unintended opening problem – and instead, has found another serious safety concern. More precisely it seems certain units of the 2020 C8 Corvette do not follow the S4.1 of Federal/Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F/CMVSS) No. 401, “Interior Trunk Release.”
This means that after ten minutes of sitting idle with the engine turned off, the vehicles will enter a so-called low-power “sleep” mode. Some vehicles might then encounter a situation in which the interior trunk release button may not function properly, as requested by the authorities.
Thus, if for some reason a child or small adult happened to enter the front trunk, and the lid was closed after the ten-minute period elapsed, it may be hard to get out without help - that' the scenario GM used to describe the issue.
Due to the increased risk of injury General Motors has reportedly decided to push forward a recall, but for now we have no offical word of how many 'Vettes are affected.
Because the 2020 Corvette’s software accepts OTA (over-the-air) upgrades it is possible to have the issue remedied without scheduling a visit to the local dealership. This is because the company is simply updating the software governing the Body Control Module (BCM) in order to allow for the interior trunk release button to function properly while in the low power sleep mode.
Of course, that is exactly what happened, with forums and social media gathering mounting evidence of the occurrence. General Motors does not seem willing to accept them, for now – even though the complaint page on the NHTSA website now has eight complaints pertaining to the same flying front trunk lid issue.
The twist is that Chevrolet has now acknowledged a different problem of the same frunk.
According to a popular Chevrolet blog, the automaker has not issued a recall for the unintended opening problem – and instead, has found another serious safety concern. More precisely it seems certain units of the 2020 C8 Corvette do not follow the S4.1 of Federal/Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F/CMVSS) No. 401, “Interior Trunk Release.”
This means that after ten minutes of sitting idle with the engine turned off, the vehicles will enter a so-called low-power “sleep” mode. Some vehicles might then encounter a situation in which the interior trunk release button may not function properly, as requested by the authorities.
Thus, if for some reason a child or small adult happened to enter the front trunk, and the lid was closed after the ten-minute period elapsed, it may be hard to get out without help - that' the scenario GM used to describe the issue.
Due to the increased risk of injury General Motors has reportedly decided to push forward a recall, but for now we have no offical word of how many 'Vettes are affected.
Because the 2020 Corvette’s software accepts OTA (over-the-air) upgrades it is possible to have the issue remedied without scheduling a visit to the local dealership. This is because the company is simply updating the software governing the Body Control Module (BCM) in order to allow for the interior trunk release button to function properly while in the low power sleep mode.
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