GM Class Action Alleges ‘Chevy Shake’ At High Speeds

Drivers have launched a class action lawsuit against General Motors, claiming that the powertrains in some Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC vehicles are defective, causing an unpleasant driving experience known casually as the “Chevy shake.”

The Chevy shake class action lawsuit was filed by Kim Bostick and Branden Jamison who say that they purchased vehicles affected by the defect.

According to Bostick and Jamison, General Motors leased and sold hundreds of thousands of vehicles that are equipped with defective drivelines or powertrains — the part of the vehicle responsible for turning the vehicle’s wheels. Allegedly, this problem causes the vehicles to shake violently when driven at high speeds. 

Bostick and Jamison go on to describe the “Chevy shake” defect in more detail, claiming that the problem is caused by a defective drive shaft that is part of the driveline.

According to the plaintiffs, the drive shaft is an aluminum tube running the length of the interior of the vehicle, “transmitting torque and rotation from the engine to the wheels.” The drivers say that when the output shaft of the transmission rotates, it spins the drive shaft, turning the differential ring gear to rotate the wheels.

To work correctly, the drive shaft must reportedly be designed to particular balanced and weighted standards, so it can perform at high speeds. However, the design of the GM drive shafts in question allegedly are not appropriately designed.

The GM driveline shake class action lawsuit says that because of their defect, the vehicles are unstable at highway speeds and can cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles.

Allegedly, the problem can worsen over time if it is not fixed. The drivers say that the defect in the design can cause the drive shaft to deteriorate, which can cause the powertrain to completely fail by the drive shaft dropping to the ground. The drivers say this occurrence makes the vehicles unusable.

The vehicles that reportedly possess the Chevy shake defect include the following:

• 2015 to 2020 Cadillac Escalade
• 2014 to 2019 Chevrolet Silverado
• 2015 to 2020 Chevrolet Suburban
• 2015 to 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe
• 2014 to 2019 GMC Sierra
• 2015 to 2020 GMC Yukon or Yukon XL

GM allegedly knew or should have known about the defect in the driveline because of testing that the company should have conducted on the vehicle before it was released onto the market.

Additionally, GM knew or should have known about the problem at least after the vehicles were released onto the market because numerous complaints were made about the problem and communicated to GM, say the drivers.

The GM driveshaft class action lawsuit claims that GM actively concealed this information from consumers. The drivers state that GM put its own profits ahead of the safety and financial interest of customers. 

The plaintiffs say that had they known their vehicles were defective, they would not have purchased them or would not have paid as much as they did for them.

In April, GM drivers filed a separate, similar Chevy shake class action lawsuit.

Have you experienced the “Chevy shake” with your GM vehicle? Let us know in the comment section below.

Bostick and Jamison are represented by Steven R. Weinmann, Tarek H. Zohdy, Cody R. Padgett, and Trisha K. Monesi of Capstone Law APC; and by Russell D. Paul and Amey J. Park of Berger Montague PC.

The Chevy Shake Driveline Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Kim Bostick, et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 5:19-cv-02451-VAP-SP, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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