[VIDEO] PDR Captures Another 2020 Corvette’s Frunk Opens While Driving

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[VIDEO] PDR Captures Another 2020 Corvette's Frunk Opens While Driving


Nearly a month ago we brought you the unfortunate video showing the frunk opening on a new 2020 Corvette seemingly on its own while the car was driving down the road. At the time, there were two complaints of the 2020 Corvette’s frunk opening that were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that detailed the incidents.

Chevrolet engineers believe that the cases stem from the frunk hoods being left inadvertently open while being driven and we know they are investigating the issue while also working to improve the warnings which include both a visual notice on the dash and an audible warning while the car is in Drive.

So far we have yet to hear of any resolution to the issues as the number of complaints filed with the NHTSA has increased to seven. And now we have another instance where the Performance Data Recorder caught the frunk opening up as the car was at a fairly low speed. The owner of the car says “PDR camera footage of 2020 C8 Corvette hood (frunk) opening on its own damaging the hinges and chipping the paint on the hood.” The look on the driver’s face when he closes the hood says it all…


As you can see in the PDR video, the driver appears to be “driving casually” along a four-lane surface street with the Corvette’s speed recorded at 43 mph while in 5th gear when the frunk suddenly springs open. There is no audio recorded on the video and so we have no idea if there were any audible alarms sounding as the driver turned on the street.

As we detailed in the previous article, CorvetteBlogger contributor Jeremy Welborn attempted to replicate the issue by driving his 2020 Corvette and pressing on both the keyfob’s frunk release button or the interior release button without success. There are warnings on the dash and an audible warning sounds when the frunk was left intentionally open, but we could see how the sounds could be drowned out by the Bose stereo.

[VIDEO] PDR Captures Another 2020 Corvette's Frunk Opens While Driving


So far, owners have been “lucky” to be driving at mostly low speeds when the frunk opened and they were able to pull over safely. But one the NHTSA complaints tells the story of an owner who was doing some spirited driving on a two-lane canyon road and the sudden loss of visibility could have resulted in injury or even worse:

I JUST GOT MY 2020 CORVETTE DELIVERED LAST WEEK. I AM THE FIRST OWNER OF THE CAR AND TODAY I WAS DRIVING UP PCH TOWARDS MALIBU. WENT UP TO 80-90 MPH AT TIMES. DROVE FOR ABOUT 100 MILES. I STOPPED TO GET SOMETHING TO EAT. GOT BACK IN MY CAR AND PROCEEDED UP THE CANYONS FOR SOME SPIRITED DRIVING. THE CAR IS ALREADY BROKEN IN AT 1300 MILES.

I DECIDED TO PULL OFF THE ROAD TO TAKE SOME PICTURES OF THE CAR. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK WITH THE PARKING BRAKE ON AND LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING WITH THE KEY FOB IN THE CUPHOLDER. AFTER I GOT THE SHOTS I WANTED, I PROCEEDED TO DRIVE DOWN THE CANYON AND WITHIN 15 SECONDS I HEARD THE FRONT HOOD LATCH CLICK/THUMP (SAME SOUND YOU HEAR WHEN YOU PRESS THE BUTTON TO POP THE HOOD) RIGHT BEFORE I SAW THE HOOD FLY UP AND HEARD A SNAP. SUDDEN LOSS OF VISIBILITY ALMOST CAUSED MY CAR TO GO OFF THE CLIFF AS I COULDN’T SEE THE TURN. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR BEFORE GOING OFF THE ROAD. THE HOOD DID NOT HIT MY FRONT WINDSHIELD, BUT THERE IS SEVERE HINGE DAMAGE AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO BOTH FENDERS AND THE FRONT HOOD. I HAD MY WINDOWS DOWN AND MY ROOF OFF, DID NOT HAVE THE RADIO ON AND IT WAS QUIET ROAD. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS THAT THE HOOD LATCH WAS OPEN/DISENGAGED. EVEN WHEN THE HOOD FLEW UP, THERE WAS NO INDICATOR LIGHT OR BEEPING.

Nothing pains me more than discussing these kinds of issues with the new 2020 Corvette, but it’s important that owners know what others are experiencing with their cars. If you do get into the frunk before driving, take a moment to make sure you completely latched the hood by pressing it down twice on the crown right above the Crossed-Flags logo. It may also be a good idea to set your PDR to record whenever you are driving so you can have some evidence in case this happens to you.


Source:
YouTube via GM Authority

Related:
[VIDEO] The NHTSA Has Complaints of the 2020 Corvette’s Frunk Opening While Driving
General Motors Responds to Issue of the 2020 Corvette’s Frunk Opening While Driving
C8 Corvette Owner Annoyed Over Glovebox Issue – Updated with Instructions

 



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12 COMMENTS

  1. So far only 4000 to recall, unless these 8-10 mistakes were all built the same day or week or something…? Not good for GM if handled slowly, improperly, ineffectively and with a cavalier corporate attitude.

  2. They are already blaming user error. GM and dealers said the same thing about the cracked wheels on C7 Grand Sports and Z06’s blamed it on driving habits and potholes. Let’s see how this goes and unfortunately they may not take responsibility until there’s loss of life or major injury.

  3. Just so all concerned know, there is a double latch on the C8 forward opening frunk. This is mandated by NHTSA since the late 60’s there must be a secondary safety latch for all forward opening hoods.

  4. If there is a secondary latch why did the hood open all the way? I must be defective. If you push the button and pop the hood you should still be able to drive it without it flying up.

  5. I have to say “this one” looks like Pilot Error!

    If you look closely in the PDR video “pre-release”, you can just see the hood in the PDR cameras view.

    After the displeased owner re-shuts the hood and latches it fully, you can no longer see it in the PDR’s view. Hence, it is sitting lower on the front end, (ie latched this time).

    This must really suck and I feel for the owners. I was getting very worried about driving MY new car after I got it just last week, but this video makes me feel a little better and GM might be right.

  6. Regarding the flying open of the frunk/hood lid once at speed, is there NOT a secondary mechanical safety latch as on all other front opening hoods? I thought that was a mandatory requirement. Is the secondary safety latch actually electronic, which would not be reliable? Does that pass NHTSA? An audible warning warning will not work for the hearing impaired. A visual instrument warning will not work in certain blinding sunlight conditions. A traditional mechanical secondary safety latch would work in all of those conditions. Please folks, help me understand what i am missing here.

  7. Dave, I thought when you said “hearing impaired” then started about a visual issue I thought you were going to say “vision impaired”! Anyway, the key fob does nothing unless the car is in Park, and there is a secondary latch, so it is really interesting what happened. Don’t see how it could be driver error but then I can’t see how the hood would “skip” the secondary latch if there was an electrical/software issue. It should be interesting to see what the fix is.

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