Software – 2020 Corvette Recall for Trunk Release Failure

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling 5,141 2020 Chevrolet Corvette sportscars because the release button located inside the front trunk compartment won’t function after the vehicle has been shut off for ten minutes. These Corvettes fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, “Internal Trunk Release.”

These Corvettes are designed to enter a low power “sleep” mode ten minutes after powering off. The trunk lid release button located inside the front trunk compartment “may not function” while the vehicle is in this sleep mode.

• On 19 June 2020, an auditor at GM’s Bowling Green assembly plant tested the trunk lid release button located inside the front trunk compartment in one of the affected vehicles after the vehicle had been left unattended and entered a low-power “sleep” mode. The button would not unlatch the trunk lid while the vehicle was in this mode. A GM quality manager submitted the issue to GM’s Speak Up For Safety program that day.
• On June 26, 2020, GM opened a formal product investigation.
• On July 8, 2020, GM’s investigator was able to duplicate the condition on a 2020 Corvette. GM engineers determined that, under certain conditions, the voltage generated by the button is insufficient to wake the vehicle from sleep mode, rendering the button inoperative while the vehicle is in that mode.
• A regulatory assessment concluded on July 21 that the condition represents a potential noncompliance condition. On July 30, 2020, GM’s Safety and Field Action Decision Authority (SFADA) decided to conduct a noncompliance recall.

GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software in the vehicle’s Body Control Module (BCM) to allow the release switch to always work, free of charge as is required by Federal regulations. Owners also may allow the vehicle to be remedied via an Over-The-Air software update, which could take 15 minutes.

In the required NHTSA filing, GM said it is not aware of any incidents from the safety defect. Courtesy transportation is available for customers whose vehicles are involved in this recall and are within the warranty coverage period for the warranty which is associated with this recall.

The recall is expected to begin 21 September 2020. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-866-522-9559. GM’s number for this recall is N202309350. they may also check their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for Off field actions in GM Owner Center at https://my.gm.com/recalls or via NHTSA’s website at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.