C8 Corvette 'Frunk' Over-the-air Update Underway

Owners of the newly mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette might notice a new message greeting them this week, now that a solution to a recent recall concerning the 2020 C8 ‘Vette’s “frunk” appears to be underway.

C8 owners have complained of their front-end trunk’s (frunk’s) lid opening while on the road, leading to a dangerous situation as they attempt to pull over to close it. Just like a hood flying up on the highway, no one wants their frunk doing the same. TTAC’s Chris Tonn, currently ensconced in a bright yellow example, received the prescribed remedy last night.

The issue at the core of last week’s recall is that the car will still allow drivers to get on the freeway if the frunk isn’t securely latched. Audible and visual warnings alerting drivers of the possible danger were deemed lacking; as such, the C8’s advanced electrical infrastructure is now tasked with remedying the issue via an over-the-air software update.

The strategy is multi-pronged. GM claims it will make those warnings harder to ignore (an increase in volume and altered messaging, to be exact), but it also plans to limit the vehicle’s speed to 26 mph if the frunk lid isn’t securely latched, thus preventing an incident. Once the lid is closed properly, the road’s your baby.

Several alarming videos have appeared over the past month, with this one depicting the frunk lid flying up at 43 mph.

Another element of the OTA update is that drivers will have to press the frunk release button on their key fob, as well as the one inside the car itself, for a longer period of time for the unlatching to occur. A separate recall one week earlier concerned the possibility that, in some C8s, a person could become locked inside the front-end cargo cubby after the internal frunk-release button stops operating. In these cars, the vehicle enters “sleep mode” 10 minutes after engine shutoff, killing the functionality of that button.

You can imagine the potential harm that could come to the unlucky individual curled up inside the frunk. Again, it’s something that can be remedied via an OTA update.

In Chris’ C8, the following messages appeared over the past 12 hours:

It would seem Chris’ frunk is now safe, but is the car safe from his digital pen? Tune in for his upcoming review.

[Images: General Motors, Chris Tonn/TTAC]