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 Tahoe had radio issues just before warranty expired Chevy replaced 1 year later having same issues radio turns on and off , freezes can’t control rear camera issue door open chiming digital speedometer disappears etc. Furst Chevy said they installed a refurbished radio in 21 so now I owe full cost GM said no it was a new radio but we will give you 20% off bill I would still owe $700.🤬 after 4 days of me calling Chevy and GM complaining GM calls and says Chevy made a mistake it was a new radio installed at warranty so there is no warranty
Own a 2011 gmc sierra with the infotainment system and sound system that partialy made me loose my hearing over how loud it was even at low setting. The sound comming out of the system is just absurdly wrong
2015 GMC Sierra SLT 4X4 also has volume spiking issues and won’t turn down.. Has had all of the infotainment system problems. Black screen, image ghosting,touch screen inoperative, channels change all by themselves. Happens daily! Every option that I’ve considered cost a ton of money and there are no guarantees. Pretty sad for a $50,000 vehicle. I know I’m not alone but GMC seems to be blind to the big picture and that is future business, if this isn’t fixed then I won’t be part of that future business!
2019 Colorado purchased new. Radio spiked full volume and I could not turn the radio down or off. My phone was plugged in. I was on a steep grade highway at the time and had to make an emergency stop because the volume was so loud. I turned off the ignition and opened the door and the radio still would not turn off. Unplugged my phone and the issues seemed to be resolved. Dealership found nothing wrong. I will not plugg my phone in while driving. Infotainment screen also goes black then comes back on after a while. All dashboard lights spike and just randomly come on. Dealership says they can’t find a problem.
I had the same thing happen. It is extremely dangerous because you must combat the volume the whole time. I came inches away from head on collision the 3rd time it happened to me. Now there is about to be snow covered roads and it is only a matter of time before my crash. It is a very sociopathic decision to keep the same software issue from 2015 to today since mine is q 2022 refresh.
2020 Chevrolet Equinox, purchased new, only 1 owner). Finally at my wits end so I google the problem and I found all this. Glad I am not alone, but sorry I’m not as well. The infotainment display in my vehicle does all kinds of craziness. If I an talking on the phone through the car system, once call is disconnected the display still shows the active call…time running and all. The other person is not there, they hung up but apparently my car was not ready to finish the conversation. After a few minutes it pops up with “connection has been lost” but remains to show my previous call as active. While this is occurring I can not use my phone through the vehicle, it will not work. Only fix….shut off vehicle and restart.
2nd issue I am having is streaming music through my phone via bluetooth or aux. Sometimes, no volume will come out even AFTER I disconnect the phone. Can’t even hear the regular car radio. In addition, when moving the volume knob it shows “phone volume” and I can turn it all the way up (and yes, I confirmed my DND was off and phone volume was up) and I get no sound. Nothing.
3rd issue – When my husband is driving, especially for longer trips, I will try to listen to my own stuff through my headphones. My phone automatically connects to the car but I can’t disconnect it to listen on my headset…it stays on the vehicle speakers. I had the care “forget” my phones bluetooth. I was not plugged in via aux. But every single time, my audio was back on the car speakers. I had to completely unpair my phone from the system to get it to work. Of course, then I have to repair when I want it back on vehicle.
I have had the issue where the radio volume suddenly increased to a max level. This actually caused a seizure in my son because the abruptness of it scared us all, and he can have seizures on “jump scares”.
I haven’t found anything that will troubleshoot my issue and I am beyond frustrating. There have been several times something goes out, goes up, won’t disconnect, or connects randomly without ‘permission’ while I was the only person driving….I can’t just pull over on the interstate to shut car off and on hoping it will resolve it. Not to mention it completely takes your eyes off the road as your freaking out trying to get something to disconnect, lower volume, etc.
2022 Tahoe, infotainment system starts to slow down until it becomes unresponsive after 15-20 minutes EVERYTIME after I start the vehicle. Volume will then go to max suddenly after a while which is posing sudden distraction hazard to me and my wife. Left the vehicle at the service, they said they don’t know how to fix it and they called GM and no answer for a remedy yet. Car has 2k miles only. Spent 65k +tax. Customer service were not helpful. Not sure what to do next.
My work truck is a 2019 Silverado, the radio likes to just turn off randomly then back on sometimes multiple times, my home vehicle is a 2020 Silverado with the same radio, it does the same thing, I’ve noticed its usually when its really hot in the vehicle and when my iPhone has been plugged in for over a hour.
I have a chevy trax 2016, about a month ago the volume spiked, and could not be turned down. My radio was replace about two years ago for backup camera going out. Now I changes radio stations, randomly make calls. It hangs up when I’m talking to my friend and then radials on its own sometimes it the right number sometimes not at all. I called the dealership and ghey want to charge $109 dollars for diagnostic testing all day and they said they go from there. They also said they never heard of this and been working there thirty years. I would like to enter the class action suit.
I have a 2019 chevy Colorado where the radio volume spikes without me doing anything. Everytime I bring my car in for service I have the dealer but because the problem is so random there was nothing they can do.
I have a 2022 Chevy Tahoe RST that I purchased new. Has about 7,000 miles on it. Just heading over Vail pass in CO and the volume went from normal to blaring. Scares the crap out of us. The volume wouldn’t reapond to any buttons in the car. Damn near got in an accident. Had to pull to narrow shoulder on the interstate to turn the car off and open the door to get it to stop. I e disconnected my phone and am scared to death to try the radio again. This is insane.
2016 Chevy Colorado also has the infotainment system problems. Black screen, image ghosting,touch screen inoperative, channels change all by themselves. These issues have become almost daily in the last month or so. All repairs listed on the GM forums are quite expensive and no one seems to claim their issues have been resolved. GM should be sued. These issues date back to 2014 across the GM line of vehicles.
Please add me
Me too. There is no way to stop it from happening any other way because all the deaths it has caused cannot be traced back to infotainment since it is difficult to prove that the system was faulty before the vehicle was smashed. So we need to at least try and prevent the volume issue since it has nearly killed a few of us in this thread. 8 years of this issue is too long.