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
2019 Chevy Traverse is having the shift to park issue. Taking it to have it fixed
I have a 2019 Chevy Traverse and the shift to park keeps coming on. I dropped my vehicle off at Chevy today. I’m waiting to find out how much this is going to cost me.
2017 Chevy volt. I had the shift to park issue in 2021 paid $450 for the repair two weeks ago. I started getting the error message again I called the dealer and he told me the 24 month warranty on the repair had expired. Very angry No more GM vehicles for me.
I have a 2019 Chevy Traverse and I just started to get the shift to park message. I have 33,000 miles on it. Calling the dealership within the next 2 weeks. I dont want to get stuck somewhere and not be able to shut my car off .
This is happening in my 2021 Chevy Malibu! Getting the shift to park message. I am at 36700 miles so my warranty literally just expired! I’m so angry! 😠 😡
I have a 2018 Traverse same issue
I have a 2020 Chevy Camaro and I took the car to the dealership because the thermostat went bad. Car was brought brand new so I thought right as my bumper to bumper warranty expired the shift to park incident happened I notice it’s on several forums about camaro having the same problem but it’s no recalls on it and that’s just not right. Went to the Chevrolet dealership in Pembroke Pines Florida and the advisor told me it’s going to cost me 1000.00 to fix the problem. That in itself is really ridiculous. I feel like I brought a LEMON.
I have the same message appearing for the past several months. I went to the dealership when it first started and of course while I was there I didn’t get the message. They said when it pops back up to come back so they can look at it. I have an appt on Wed so I’ll see what they say. I think it’s BS that I’m reading the manufacturer won’t pay for it. It’s clearly a defect. I have a 2018 chevy malibu
I have the same issues
Traverse 2019
This is happening with my 2020 Blazer too!
I own a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup crew cab. Shift to park issue started just after 60k miles. Contacted the dealer thinking drive train warranty would cover repairs. Dealer declined to correct so now I deal with the ongoing issue.