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
2019 Silverado has the same issue with volume spiking! Also screen sometimes does not turn on. Then all controls fell to work.
Add me please. 2018 GMC Sierra 2500HD. Also screen changes on it’s own volition. Nav screen, position moves while sitting still, nav screen flips to XM radio screen, channels change without being picked. Screen is wacky changing constantly. One owner, one person using vehicle, no screen damage. Help please.
Our 2019 Colorado Infotainment system has had multiple problems from the start. We got it replaced after going to the dealer with the touch screen dead and the new one is just as bad. Occasional sound spikes, touch screen failures, complete black screen failures with no radio at all. Sometimes the screen displays but the radio will not work and touch does not work. The problems are constant.
My 2018 Silverado infotainment starting acting up right at 40k miles, just outside of the warranty period. It will switch screens, adjust volume, change songs, put people on hold, turn on and off the carplay while it’s giving directions, etc. This is unacceptable, especially for a vehicle that costs $40k.
2015 Sierra 1500 SLE. My radio started changing screens, channels and going into nav mode randomly for 3 mos now. I have tried everything to fix with negative results.
Volume control. 2021 Eguinox
Hey guys, my 2017 Silverado 1500 LT was doing exactly the same problem that everybody else on here has been talking about where the Radio starts jumping, the main screen freezes up, it’ll make phone calls all on its own without being prompted, Basically acting like it’s totally possessed. Once you get to the dealer you will have to have them do an HMI update and possibly replace with a shark fin. According to OnStar and GM, if the shark fin is not replaced that’s what’s causing the radio to act possessed and the HMI update needs to be completed so that way the computer recognizes the radio and the shark fin to your vehicle Vin number. Most of the dealers for some reason I’ve never heard of this problem. Most dealers will do what they call a hard reset, which is nothing more than disconnecting the negative terminal from the battery waiting 10 minutes and then reconnecting it. That’s why I stress you have to get them to do the recent HMI update. I personally ran into this problem with two different dealers. Once I had the shark fin replaced in the HMI update done I have not had one single problem with my radio, satellite GPS positioning, OnStar, or my phone individual phone calls or Apple CarPlay or Android play either. In fact, the dealer that did the replacements and the HMI update wrote me out a receipt and I took it back to the original dealer and got my money back for The labor and the parts. Good luck to everyone hope this helps my radio has been working like brand new straight from the factory ever since this was completed.
That’s funny u said is fixed and working like straight from the factory. Mine did the malfunction while completing the setup when vehicle only had 27miles. If I would have known it would was not just “an Equalizer setting” that was causing the malfunction like the dealership said I would have increased my life Insurance policy sooner.
My 2019 Colorado radio spikes and also just today stopped working. I called the dealer and they said my bumper to bumper expired 9/24/2021.
All of the above, my 2019 Colorado infotainment system is an accident waiting to happy, it causes distractions by nature of the defects, numerous defects.
On my second Colorado – this never happened to me on my first one but that was a 2017. Leased a 2021 in January of this year. Within a week, I had damn near blown my eardrums out. Phone locks up whole system and bam, out of nowhere it pumps volume up to max and I cannot control it unless I pull over, shut truck off and restart.