Fla. Woman Files Chevrolet Traverse Airbag Defect Class Action Lawsuit

In one of the first known pieces of litigation involving a well-publicized part defect in General Motors vehicles, a Florida resident has filed a putative Chevrolet Traverse airbag defect class action lawsuit.

According to the class action lawsuit, Joni Precht bought her Chevy Traverse, a midsize sport utility vehicle capable of seating at least eight passengers, in 2011 from a Florida dealership. She noticed that a warning light had come on indicating problems with the airbag and brought it in for service at 65,000 miles, after the warranty had expired.

The airbag warning sensor was malfunctioning, she was reportedly told, but the device was working properly. However, Precht says the warning light came on again after 75,000 miles. According to Precht’s class action attorneys, she is far from alone in her experience with the Traverse airbag defect.

Within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Office of Defects Investigation examines reports made by vehicle owners and conducts probes as necessary. According to the class action lawsuit, reports that included notifying General Motors began in at least 2012, and the dealer at the time was unable to diagnose what caused the failure. General Motors reportedly began an investigation in January 2012.

However, it was not until 2013 that the company issued a warning, noting that when electronic devices such as smartphones were in close proximity to the dashboard, the airbag warning sensor could be triggered. However, drivers and passengers having such devices “is all but a certainty among consumers … [and] the notion that the proper functioning of the airbag system is adversely impacted by the presence of personal electronic, yet no recall has been issued, borders on absurd.”

The class action lawsuit also notes that a second warning provided by the company indicates that connectors and other airbag parts were susceptible to being dislodged. It is this, along with other potential Traverse airbag defects and those for other General Motor vehicles, that may have led to the publicized report that more than 300 deaths may be attributed to these airbag defects, although Precht has alleged no injury herself.

Precht seeks to represent a putative class that would either include all current and former owners nationwide of the Chevy Traverse and vehicles that contained the airbag defects. If that is pared down, than the sub-class would be the same members who reside in the state of Florida.

Precht and the putative class are represented by class action attorneys Jon Herskowitz of Baron & Herskowitz and Charles LaDuca and William H. Anderson of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP.

The Chevrolet Traverse Airbag Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Joni Precht v. General Motors Corp., Case No. 14-cv-20971, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: General Motors filed a motion to dismiss the Chevy Traverse class action lawsuit on Aug. 1, 2014.