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
Our 2018 Malibu is giving shift to park errors also. Is there any way to become part of the lawsuit? This is a problem the GM knows about for years and a recall needs to be issued with customers who’ve already paid out of pocket, reimbursed.
My 2019 Traverse has been saying the same thing “shift to park” error for months now, I am about to have to get it fixed at my own cost due to GM’s unwillingness to accept responsibility for the defective issue. At what point does it not become a recall with thousands and thousands of effected GM vehicles?
How do I join a Michigan class action lawsuit on this matter? Car at dealership today, estimated around $1k to fix…hopefully resolves situation. I did file a complaint with highway safety commission.
Dropped off my Malibu this morning, left it running so they did not have to go through the shifter dance or get the secondary message that the car cannot detect the key fob. Was forewarned that car may sit there for at least three days and repair parts may not be available. They have several new Chevy’s with same issue waiting on parts. Thrilled to get call that decided to work on my car today and they have a new shifter in stock. With parts, labor and diagnostics, the bill will be around a $1k. Now knowing that newer chevy’s have same issue, glad I did not trade off yet.
I have a 2019 Traverse. Had the issue as well had to pay to repair because it was not covered
I purchased a 2020 Chevy Malibu a year ago and have been having the shift to park issue as well as the check engine light being on since the day after I drove it home. I have had it back to the dealership multiple times only to be told they can’t find anything wrong that would be causing the issues and “amber lights are nothing to worry about. Shift to park warning will be fine just make sure the car turns off”.
Have a 2019 Traverse, that also has this shift to park problem! Have the time I leave it running till it shuts off.
I have started having the “shift to park” issue with my 2019 Volt. Per GM’s technical bulletin 19-NA-206 this is covered under the Voltec Component Warranty specifically for the Volt (see page 8 of the bulletin). I contacted GM and they agreed this was covered under the Volet Warranty and set me up with an authorized GM service center to repair the issue at no charge. After taking time off work and driving to another city to get the work done and waiting for almost three hours, I was then told that GM refused to cover the repair under warranty. I then contacted GM with the Case Number they had assigned and was told that the GM representative that set this up gave me incorrect information and no longer worked for GM and they refused to honor the promise to repair or offer reimbursement for my time and expense. They stated they did not have access to the GM Technical Bulletins and were under no obligation to honor the warranty that was explicitly stated in the bulletin.
The dealership wants to charge me $600.00 to fix the shift to park issue😡 I told them to go kick rocks. I had the car for only (10) months! I will never purchase another GM vehicle again
2020 Blazer RS AWD – Shift to park be going on for a bit now. Taking to dealer where they already knew what i was going to say about shift to park before I even said it. They completed the sentence for me and said their is not a recall only a service note and it is on me to replace since not under warranty even though its a known defect.