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
2019 Chevy Traverse – This just started happening. I want in on the lawsuit also!
shift to park problem on 2019 Malibu with 78,000 miles. no warranty. need to join class ac
I have a 2019 Chevy Malibu with only 36k miles and I have the shift to park issue as well. Started a couple weeks ago.
I have a 2022 chevy traverse that this is happening to. I actually have video of it doing it. When I called the service department they told me to pump the gear shifter and it would stop. They also told me they were not allowed to fix it unless it was doing it when I came in! I want in on the lawsuit!
I have a 2018 traversa that I purchased new it has just started doing the shift to park. Sometimes it will take 2 or 3 tries of starting the car and shifting to drive and park for the message to disappear. I have not contacted the dealership yet I wonted to see if there were any recalls on this problem first.
I have 2018 Chevy Traverse and it has started beeping at me when I park letting me know it is not in park even though it is. I am now also getting messages that say steering assist is reduced drive with care and parking brake while I am driving. Are those messages part of the shift to park problem? Also, how do I join the class action lawsuit? I bought the vehicle used so I am guessing any information is being sent to the original owner.
I have a 2020 Malibu that I just purchased 1 month ago. Did it to my son when he drove it a couple weeks ago now it happens fairly often. So I guess the issue didn’t stop in 2019
.my camero 2018 shift to park keeps coming on.
I have a 2019 Traverse and am paying to have it repaired as I type.
Have a 2019 traverse and now have to pay out of pocket for this shift to park issue to be fixed