GM Class Action Lawsuit Says Diesel Fuel Injection Pump is Defective

GM drivers claim that some of the company’s diesel vehicles possess defective fuel injection pumps that make them “ticking time bombs.”

Fourteen plaintiffs claim that General Motors knowingly sold millions of diesel-tank automobiles that are equipped with fuel injection pumps that are not compatible with American diesel fuel.

Allegedly, this incompatibility can cause the vehicles to suffer catastrophic engine failure.

The drivers in the GM pump class action lawsuit say that the fuel injection pumps in many of GM’s vehicles are not built to withstand American diesel, and are instead built to be used with European diesel.

Allegedly, American diesel is cleaner than European diesel, and therefore has less lubricating power than European diesel.

The drivers go on to say that the CP4 pump made by Bosch, which is in the Class vehicles “struggles to lift a volume of fuel sufficient to lubricate itself. As a result, the pump is forced to run dry and destroy itself as air bubbles allow metal to rub against metal.”

The CP4 GM fuel injection pump class action lawsuit says that having metal rub on metal in the fuel injection pump causes the pump to deposit metal shavings and debris into the fuel injection system and the engine.

This can cause the engine and fuel injection system to fail without warning, which further contaminates the fuel delivery system with pieces of metal, the plaintiffs state.

The GM fuel pump defect class action lawsuit says that this pump and engine defect can occur as early as the first fill of the tank, at “mile 0,” because as soon as the pump is filled, metal shavings and debris can begin to be deposited throughout the system.

Total engine failure does allegedly take some time to occur, the General Motors pump defect class action lawsuit states.

When the engine does fail, the engine suddenly and expectedly shuts off while the car is in motion and cannot be turned back on, according to the customers, which can cause the vehicle to crash and endanger the safety of the driver, passengers, and people around the car.

Even when the problem is covered under warranty, customers allegedly can end up having to pay a very expensive repair bill.

The GM defect class action states that this bill can allegedly be anywhere between $8,000 and $20,000.

Additionally, GM vehicle owners say that the repair done to the pump will not fix the problem, which will persist as long as the vehicle is being filled with U.S. diesel.

Allegedly, GM knew that the pumps were incompatible with American diesel, and used the pumps in American vehicles nonetheless.

GM drivers say that “GM knew from the specifications of the pump as compared to the specifications of American diesel, that the Bosch-made CP4 pump was clearly incompatible with the ordinary use of American fuel.”

The customers went on to state that before GM chose to use the CP4 pump part that was causing the problems, they knew of the incompatible, but went ahead and installed them anyway.

This isn’t the first time that General Motors has faced legal blowback over the allegedly defective pumps. Another GM class action lawsuit was filed last month over the same issue.

The GM drivers are represented by Andrew Parker Felix of Morgan & Morgan PA, by Robert C. Hilliard of Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLP, and by Steve W. Berman and Sean R. Matt of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

The General Motors Diesel Pump Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Frank Ginebra. et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 1:18-c-25209-FAM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.