Update:
- On May 31, plaintiffs Karen Boddison, Josey Wood and Nicole Parfinovics agreed to dismiss their claims that certain General Motors vehicles include faulty electronic stereo systems that sometimes spike at maximum volume.
- Each party is responsible for its own costs and attorneys’ fees, according to court documents.
- In March 2021, Florida Judge William F. Jung dismissed all claims based on breach of express warranty but allowed the plaintiffs to pursue claims of breach of implied warranty.
(March 22, 2021)
A class action lawsuit that claims certain General Motors (GM) vehicles include faulty electronic stereo systems that sometimes spike at maximum volume will proceed, albeit in a more limited fashion than originally proposed.
Florida Judge William F. Jung ruled allegations may proceed that the faulty infotainment system in some GM vehicles breaches implied warranty and consumer protection laws. But the judge drew a line on other types of GM warranties.
Named plaintiffs Karen Boddison, Darr Hawthorn, and Alex Hogan are seeking to represent a nationwide Class, as well as Classes in their own states of Florida, California, and Missouri.
They allege the electronic infotainment systems in the GM vehicles they bought have several major defects that can distract drivers, including the volume spiking to max without their input, incessant phone-ringing sounds, and other distractions.
Judge Jung dismissed all claims based on breach of express warranty, because he said GM’s warranty explicitly disclaims coverage of software-based issues.
However, for the claims of breach of implied warranty, Judge Jung said the spectrum of merchantability for a modern car is not only whether the vehicle will get its driver from point A to point B, but now also includes other advertised features. He said this matter was a close call, but the plaintiffs could pursue the claims at this stage.
In her September 2020 class action lawsuit, Boddison alleged GM knew about and failed to remedy the defect which caused the radio volume in her 2019 Chevrolet Colorado to unexpectedly spike at maximum level. She said this could potentially startle drivers and increase the risk of an accident.
Owners of the affected vehicles are driving in “potentially ticking time bombs while GM knowingly exposes its customers” to severe injuries or fatality while making millions on the Class Vehicles, she said.
Judge Jung also found the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged GM was aware of the defects in the infotainment system as early as 2016 but failed to disclose them while marketing it to customers.
He ruled claims under their states’ unfair competition and consumer protection statutes could therefore go ahead, as well as claims of fraud, as plaintiffs had shown they relied on GM’s advertisements and alleged the car manufacturer was aware of the defect when they bought their vehicles.
Judge Jung dismissed claims of fraudulent omission under Florida law, as well as claims of unjust enrichment, negligence, and violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, as the plaintiffs did not respond to GM’s bid to dismiss them.
According to the technical service bulletin issued by GM in December 2019, and referenced in the initial complaint, GM acknowledged the radio in certain vehicles “may ramp up to maximum without input to the volume controls.”
The bulletin lists Chevrolet models Colorado, Equinox, and Silverado models made in 2019, as well as the 2019 GMC Canyon and Sierra 1500 among those with the radio defect. GM attributed the defect to the possibility of a software issue.
Vehicle defects not only cause the potential for serious injury — they can be time-consuming and costly to deal with.
Consumers who purchased a GM vehicle with radio problems or another car with a vehicle safety defect may be able to join a class action lawsuit or be entitled to a class action rebate. An attorney who handles class action lawsuits concerning vehicle safety defects can advise consumers of their legal rights and remedies.
Have you had issues with an inbuilt infotainment system in your vehicle? Let us know in the comments.
The Proposed Class is represented by John J. Nelson of Finkelstein & Krinsk LLP and Christopher M. Hittel and Ryan Hittel of Hittel Law PA.
The General Motors Radio Volume Spike Class Action Lawsuit is Boddison, et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 8:20-cv-02139, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
123 thoughts onGM class action over radio volume defect dismissed
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Ad me 2019 Colorado had truck a dealer 6 to 9 times contacted gm stereo shits down volume goes sky high the screen won’t let you do anything when the volume goes way up you have to hurry up pull off the road and shit down the truck. The dealer said they can’t do anything else for me because of a bulletin that gm put out telling them not to change any parts and just have to wait on them to figure out this problem pay all this money for a vehicle and this happens and on top of that the stereo goes so loud you have to get off the road quickly and shit it down so dangerous.
This is a very frustrating issue! I have a 2020 Chevy 2500 high country hd and the screen always does whatever it wants. It works when it wants and seems like every time I need it the most, it doesn’t come on. I’m tired and over it and would really love for it to be taken care of.
Please add me, I have a 2019 Silverado. My screen shuts down and reboots 2-3 times while I’m driving, drops calls when I’m on the phone and spikes volume when I’m not even touching the knob. It is extremely frustrating and my dealership has looked at it twice. They’ve said, ” you should be good, we reset it and updated the software”. It continues to be an issue and now I’m trying to get Chevy to buy back my truck, I’m done with it.
You can add me to this as well. 2019 Silverado trail boss with the 7” radio volume spikes and radio blacks out at random times. Had the issue since I bought it and dealers refuse to acknowledge there’s a problem.
Please add me to this claim. I purchased a 2021 Z71 model chevy suburban a few months ago. On delivery it has a glitch in the system about the safety restraints. Took it back to dealer and this was addressed. I did an update sent from GM a few weeks ago and the update failed. It “killed” the entire infotainment module. Took it to dealer . After a full week the dealer said they couldn’t fix it. I brought the car home. Called GM three times over the past few weeks and they will do nothing. Wont provide the part. We wanted to do the lemon law and took it back to the dealer. Turns out that GM had actually called our dealer and told them NOT to take our car back for repair and to NOT write us a letter stating why. I need a car that is fully functional not a car that is partially functional. We tried to enter the GM buy back program but that is not moving forward. GM just wants us to wait. Not an acceptable answer. I didn’t spend this much money on a car to wait weeks and or months for it to be repaired.
Also, I discovered that GM had not done a recall on this problem with an the update but instead sent a TSA(technical service advisory) to dealers saying they needed to replace the modem/slash infotainment system. We were never advised. Also, after the fact of the update prompt I received, GM sent another TSA to dealers and made them aware that the update could cause problems and only dealers should do the updates. Customers where not informed about this. Negligence upon negligence . And still they continue to sell vehicles with faulty systems.
Please let me know if I can join this lawsuit .
Thank you
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I own a 2019 Silverado WT. I have experienced the sudden volume spike while listening to the radio. It has startled me a few times. It has occurred maybe 10 to 12 times over the course of one year. Additionally, the screen went black on one occasion.
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