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.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- Widespread Toyota ‘Echo Defect’ Renders Bluetooth Calls Unusable, Claims Class Action
- Yukon SUV Defect Makes Rear-End Collisions More Likely, Claims Class Action Lawsuit
- GM SUVs, Trucks’ Faulty Airbags, Belts ‘Recklessly Downplayed,’ Affect Millions, Alleges Class Action
- GM Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit Putters Along in Oregon
220 thoughts onGM Refusing to Fix ‘Shift to Park’ Error in Popular Chevy Vehicles, Says Class Action
In the last week my car has been giving me the shift to start error message in my 2018 Traverse. I have to put it in park and then push on it again in order to make it stop. I searched to see if there was a recall on this which is when I saw many customers having the same issue. In reading many comments on numerous pages I see that GM is refusing to fix it at their expense, but wanting us to pay out of pocket for it. I am not a happy camper.
I have a chevy blazer 2019 and yesterday it started with the shift to park. What can I do.
I am also having this shift to park issue with my 2018 Traverse.
It is was an intermittent problem on my 2016 Chevy Malibu with about 27,880 miles on it. Once shifting the vehicle into park, the gear selector is indicating the vehicle is in park, but the dash board reads “shift to park” and does not allow you to turn off vehicle, it remains in accessory mode. You do not know if the vehicle is really in park because the dash board warning reads “shift to park”. If you try several times to put it in park or jiggle the gear selector, the warning will go out and then you can shut down engine. This is unsafe as you don’t know when this happens if your vehicle is really in the “park” mode. If your vehicle is not, it could roll or injure someone standing near the vehicle or it’s operator or passengers entering or exiting (if it should move unintendedly). I was informed that this is a known issue. This concern should be deemed to have “special coverage” and not be an out of pocket repair and a recall campaign should be initiated as it is a safety related concern. Car was brought to dealer and repaired for $401.14, covered by my extended warranty, but I was told it could happen again. It is a safety concern, complaint also filed with NHTSA.
The repair receipt states “replaced shifter harness and installed jumper harness”
2108 Traverse. Shift to park error last night. Couldn’t shut off vehicle. Furious this is a known issue and could have been handled at a chosen time if recalled instead of now as an emergency. Dealer said they would “ask Chevrolet if they wanted to participate in the repair cost.” No loaner, no Uber, can’t drive the vehicle until repairs are done because could get stuck anywhere unable to shut it off. Interested in joining class action.
My 2019 Chevy Blazer just out of monthly warranty but with only 32000 miles has the problem of not turning off when shifting into park. I my way to dealer now. Will let you know.
Same here. Low mileage and barely out of warranty!
Our 2017 Chevy Malibu has the “shift to park” problem constantly.
Also giving other error messages, check engine, etc we are in Tennessee
I have problems with my 2019 Chevy Blazer turning off sometimes. Gets frustrating.
I have this issue on my 2017 Malibu and 2018 Traverse. The dealer fees are $628 per vehicle.
Just started having the “shift to park” issue with my 2014 Volt, 75k miles. It won’t turn off when this happens.
I have a 2019 Volt that is having the same issues. I was told it would cost over $400 to repair.
Just started having trouble with the shift to park on 2010 traverse just over 3 years old and over 36,000 miles out of warranty. Dealership knows about the problem and so does GM it will cost over $400 to fix, GM should be paying for this.