— A 2020 Chevrolet Corvette trunk lid recall has been issued for nearly 8,000 cars in the U.S. and Canada to prevent the trunk lids from flying open while driving.
Apparently drivers are accidentally pressing the front trunk release buttons on the key fobs when the cars are parked, which unlatches the lids.
General Motors says audio and visual warnings will be activated, but drivers may ignore the warnings and drive the cars with the trunk lids unlatched. This could allow the wind to force the lids open and block the driver's view.
"Certain drivers appear to either ignore or not take notice of the visual warnings displayed on the instrument panel and/or the audible chimes before driving the vehicle at sufficient speed for air resistance to open an unlatched hood."
And what kind of warnings are allegedly being ignored?
"The hood-ajar icon on the instrument panel is illuminated and the driver information center (DIC) displays a message that the hood is open; an initial audible chime will sound once; when the vehicle is in drive and moving above 3 mph, a persistent chime plays; and, the DIC currently displays a message that indicates the vehicle speed is limited to 82 mph..."
General Motors received a report in April from a Corvette owner regarding the front trunk hood opening while driving. An investigation was opened and engineers determined all the warnings worked as intended and met all federal safety standards.
Over the next few months three additional reports were received regarding trunk lids that opened while driving.
Investigators determined drivers were accidentally pressing the front trunk hood release buttons on the key fobs while the vehicles were stopped and in PARK. The drivers then ignored the warnings once driving was resumed, and most of the incidents occurred when the vehicles went above 30 mph.
GM says the drivers who complained about the front trunk hoods opening also had the radios playing which may have "contributed to drivers ignoring the audible warnings. In at least one incident posted on YouTube, GM analyzed the audio frequency and determined that the warning chime was present and ignored."
The automaker isn't aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the lids opening.
The U.S. recall includes 7,071 Chevy Corvettes and 875 cars are recalled in Canada.
The 2020 Chevy Corvette recall will begin October 3, 2020. GM will send a wireless over-the-air update to each car which will allow you to update the body control module software without having to bring the Corvette to a dealership.
GM says the software update will limit the Corvette’s speed to 26 mph when the hood is not completely closed and latched. In addition, the update will also modify the hood release on the key fob and the interior hood release buttons to require longer press times.
Dealerships will perform the software update if a driver wants to schedule an appointment.
U.S. owners of 2020 Chevrolet Corvettes may call 866-522-9559 and Canadian Corvette owners may call GM at 800-263-3777.
GM's number for the Chevy Corvette recall is N202311160.
GM seems to be experiencing increased Chevy Corvette front trunk problems considering model year 2020 Corvettes were recalled for trunk troubles earlier this month.
CarComplaints.com has complaints from drivers of Chevy Corvettes.
