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
I have a 2017 Malibu, driven by my daughter who attends college away from home. The vehicle has had trouble shutting off when in park. The vehicle did not shut off for long periods of time leaving her stranded. This occurred with my wife at church the other night, causing serious concerns and worries. I am at the dealership now getting the repair done. Chevrolet knows that this is a serious issue but has done nothing but repair and leaving me with the bill. This well known issue should be a recall!!
I have a 2016 Chevy Malibu and have this problem with shift to park! It’s incredibly annoying to not be able to park your car when you are sitting in the heat or in a hurry! I have had other issues with this car too and have taken it in but they never fix this issue. I’m in Texas, is there a way I can be compensated for this?
I HAVE PAID OUT OF POCKET TO FIXED THIS TWICE IN OUR 2017 MALIBU AND NOW WILL NEED TO DO THE SAME ON OUR 2019 BLAZER.
I have a 2018 Malibu and this past week I started getting the shift to park message. I have to wiggle the gear shift in order for the message to go away. I will be calling the dealership but I’m not expecting much help except a big fat bill for repairs. Im in Pennsylvania, is there a way to join the class action suit?
2018 Chevy Traverse – was “fixed” once in March of 2021 under warrantee, happened again this week and it is all out of pocket. Corporate no help.
I also have a 2017 Chevy Malibu lt I had all types of problems but the shift to park is just one of them.
Chevy Malibu 2017 here. Will contact dealer next week – not looking forward to that conversation!
I’m taking my traverse in next Tuesday for the same issue. It’s very annoying and frustrating
This started happening on my 2019 Volt yesterday and has happened 4 times already since then
Taking my 2019 Traverse in this Thursday for the same issue
I bought my 2019 Traverse March of 2021 and just this week I have experienced the “shift to park” issue 4 times. Prior to this, I have experienced my car hesitating going into gear. I bought the extended warranty and will be furious if they try to tell me this is not covered under warranty. I have read numerous articles and this appears to have been a problem for a while now. I will not hesitate to get a lawyer. I refuse to pay over $30,000 for a vehicle for it to have 40,000 miles on it and be experiencing this kind of problem. I take it next week to the dealership. We will see what happens.
I’m going thru the same thing, just bought Acadia a week ago and the shift to park happened.
I took the Acadia back to the dealer and said fix this or I’m returning this vehicle.
I have yet to hear it’s been a day.
I just took my ‘19 traverse in for the shift to park a week and a half ago. I was charged $130 for them to run the diagnostics then $180 to replace the part. It’s been 9 days and my shift to park message is back on!