GM Faces Court for Class Action Over Faulty Transmissions

GM Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Faulty Transmissions

The Lawsuit

The class action lawsuit covers approximately 800,000 vehicles from Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC.
Vehicles equipped with 8L45 and 8L90 transmissions are reported to experience shaking, shuddering, and lurching.
Plaintiffs claim that GM instructed dealers to inform customers that harsh shifts were normal.

Court Ruling

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a lower court judge has the authority to allow drivers to sue GM for Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC models manufactured between 2015 and 2019 with the 8L45 and 8L90 transmissions. The lawsuit encompasses around 800,000 vehicles, with drivers alleging issues such as shaking and shuddering in higher gears and hesitation and lurching in lower gears. The lawsuit also claims an inability to purge trapped air due to an insufficient valve body architecture.

GM’s Response

GM is accused of developing a new automatic transmission fluid and using it in vehicles on dealership lots, but not deploying this new fluid to vehicles already sold.

Class Action Vehicles

The class action includes various models, such as the 2015-2019 Chevrolet Silverado, 2017-2019 Chevrolet Colorado, 2015-2019 Chevrolet Corvette, 2016-2019 Chevrolet Camaro, 2015-2019 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, 2016-2019 Cadillac ATS, ATS-V, CTS, CT6, and CTS-V models, 2015-2019 GMC Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL, and Yukon Denali XL, as well as the 2017-2019 GMC Canyon.

Court Proceedings

GM attempted to avoid the accusations by stating that most class members never experienced transmission problems and lacked standing. They also argued that potential claims should be settled in arbitration. However, Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore disagreed, emphasizing that what matters is whether GM concealed known defects, regardless of the extent of individual plaintiffs’ experiences with shuddering or shift quality issues.

In March 2023, U.S. District Judge David Lawson initially certified the class actions for the alleged transmission faults.