GM Shift to Park Error Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Chevy owners have lodged a class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC (GM).
- Why: Plaintiffs allege GM is refusing to fix a defect affecting hundreds of thousands of its popular Chevy vehicles, including the Malibu, Volt, and Blazer.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Michigan federal court.
General Motors (GM) designed, manufactured, marketed, distributed, serviced and sold vehicles that fail to detect when they are put in park, instead signaling a “shift to park” error, a class action lawsuit alleges.
Lead plaintiffs, James Bertagnolli, Gregory Fladeboe, and Juanita Crawford allege the shift defect affects hundreds of thousands of 2016-19 Chevrolet Malibus, 2016-19 Chevrolet Volts, 2018-19 Chevrolet Traverses, and 2019 Chevrolet Blazers. They want to represent owners of those vehicles in a class action lawsuit filed in Michigan federal court.
Bertagnolli, Fladeboe, and Crawford claim the shift to park defect does not allow them to shut off their vehicles and Chevy owners must resort to “tricking” their vehicles into detecting that the vehicles shift lever is in the park position.
Automaker Will Not Fix Shift to Park Defect
The class action lawsuit alleges GM had knowledge of the defect, as evidenced by posting a bulletin to its dealerships back in 2017, however failed to address or resolve the issue with drivers.
The plaintiffs say that they and other Chevy owners are forced to fix the shift to park error at their own expense.
The plaintiffs claim this is a breach of contract on the behalf of the Defendant and is in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which governs warranties on consumer products.
“Had Plaintiffs and other proposed Class Members known that the defect existed at the time of purchase or lease, they would not have bought or leased the Class Vehicles, or would have paid substantially less for them,” states the shift to park class action lawsuit.
Bertagnolli, Fladeboe, and Crawford are seeking damages and restitution from General Motors for themselves and on behalf of all others similarly situated. The plaintiffs are also asking the automaker to notify all Class Members about the shift defect.
Another class action lawsuit filed earlier this month against General Motors alleges it knew millions of its SUVs were fitted with defective airbags and seatbelts.
The allegations came just days after the car manufacturer issued a recall on 50,000 of its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicles determined to be a fire risk on account of a battery defect.
Do you own a Chevy Malibu, Volt, Traverse, or Blazer? If so, do you have trouble turning off your vehicle? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by David H. Fink of Fink Bressack, Michael F. Ram and Marie N. Appel of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, and Samuel J. Strauss of Turke Strauss, LLP.
The GM Shift to Park Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Bertagnolli et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:21-cv-11910, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division.
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220 thoughts onGM Refusing to Fix ‘Shift to Park’ Error in Popular Chevy Vehicles, Says Class Action
Just started having this shift to park problem in the last 2 weeks on my 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Premiere LTZ which i bought in 2021 used only has 33,000 miles on it and now out of warranty. I am handicapped and can only use right arm & hand. It has been difficult getting this vehicle to park w/o the shift to park light coming on repeatedly, whiggling the gear shift back & forth several times. I should not have to go through this. Haven’t taken back to Dealer yet, why is GM still selling these cars with these problems? I would like to join the class action lawsuit on this senior citizen with fixed income . Jessie Hamilton
Came to the dealership and while getting some inspection done that shift to park reading popped out on the screen I had no idea what it was. Paid 145 for inspection only to be told k had to pay 400$ to get the issue fixed. Shame on you Chevrolet
I just bought a 2019 Chevy Blazer AWD RS and I haven’t noticed the problem yet, however my 2014 Camaro RS/2SS just started doing this a couple months ago it has less than 40k miles on it because I only drive it in the summer but I figured out how to get it into park so I can turn it off. I have to put it in Park, and put my foot on the brake and click the release on the shifter a few times then it releases so I can get my key out. Sometimes I have to do that a couple times but it’s saved me from having to take it to a dealer if obviously GM isn’t going to pay! It shouldn’t be like this though, they should pay to have this corrected if it’s a known issue!
I have made adjustments for my mother in laws 2017 Malibu LT Several times because the car Will Not shut Off ! The biggest problem is she lives in Wisconsin and I live in Illinois about 3hr Each way and the dealership wants a few Thousand to replace the shift assembly. The Undue Stress on both of us is a failure of the Manufacture to admit and commit to making the repairs On her vehicle with only 22,000 miles
2018 Chevy Malibu less than 26000 miles giving shift to park message and won’t shut off. I had to leave the car running to go into store. Been at dealership 4 hours now. They said 450 to fix it. I have no choice. GM denied any assistance when service manager reached out.
Just bought a 2019 blazer 2 days ago on August 24th 2022. This morning coming into work my car wouldn’t shut off and I had to put it into driver then park multiple times before it finally let me shut if off. Hoping this issue can be fixed on the dealerships dime.
I just had to pay $ 380 + Uber 50 bucks at Chevrolet dealership in Vegas for Shift to Park problem. This is second time this happened in 3 years. This is lunacy. I don’t understand how they expect people to buy Chevy again. This is my third Chevy and my LAST !
I purchased my 2019 Chevy Traverse, used end of last year. I just started having this issue last week. I have an apt with the dealer tomorrow. If GM is aware of this, its surprising to me that they are not doing anything to make thing right.
I bought a new 2018 Chevy Malibu LT from a Chevy Dealership in Saline, MI in 2019. I just started having the issue a couple of days ago. I have moved to Phoenix since then and am no longer covered under warranty. My local Chevy dealership quoted me at $415 to fix the issue. Ridiculous…
I have a 2019 Blazer RS. It started 2 days ago with the message appearing once, now its gotten worse everytime I drive somewhere and put it in park I have to shift into drive and then park 7 to 12 times before the message goes away.