GM Class Action Says Chevy Silverados, GMC Sierras Cheat Emissions

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A class action alleges that automotive manufacturer General Motors LLC  installed “defeat devices” in its diesel Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles.

The complaint asserts that GM committed unfair and deceptive trade practices by misleading consumers about its “clean” diesel engines.

The Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra diesel defeat devices class action lawsuit states that GM sold those vehicles promising a “whopping reduction” in emissions but keeping “great power.”

Despite those promises, the class action asserts that GM vehicles use similar “defeat devices” as those recently found in Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler vehicles. The diesel Silverado and Sierra actually have emissions levels so high that they fail EPA standards, as well as “the levels set for the vehicles to obtain a certificate of compliance that allows them to be sold in the United States,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit contends that the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra actual contain three different defeat devices, which allowed them to cheat on emissions testing. The first reduces the emissions cleaning system when the air temperature is above 86 degrees, which is also higher than the normal range for testing facilities. The second defeat device does the same thing when temperatures are below 68 degrees. When temperatures are outside of that narrow band of between 68 and 86 degrees, emissions from the diesel engines are anywhere from 2.1 to 5.6 times higher than the testing standard.

But the third defeat device is “a step more nefarious,” the class action argues. This third device “reduces the level of emissions controls after 200-500 seconds of steady speed operation in all temperature windows, causing emissions to increase on average of a factor of 4.5.” The complaint contends that due to these three different devices, Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras are actually outputting more emissions than the standard 65 to 70 percent of the time.

The diesel defeat device class action asserts that GM knew it had to promote lower emissions in its diesel vehicles to attract consumers and therefore intentionally misled them on this issue. And the Silverado and Sierra are not the only vehicles facing a class action on these defeat devices. A lawsuit filed in February alleges that the Chevy Cruze (also manufactured by GM) contains a defeat device that cheats on diesel emissions tests.

Here, the defeat device lawsuit requests certification of a Class of “all persons who purchased or leased a model year 2011-2016 GM Silverado 2500HD or 3500HD, or a GM Sierra 2500HD or 3500HD.” The complaint alleges violations of state consumer protection laws and federal racketeering. The class action seeks restitution and damages, including punitive damages.

The plaintiffs are represented by Steve W. Berman and Jessica Thompson of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, E. Powell Miller and Sharon S. Almonrode of The Miller Law Firm PC, Christopher A. Seeger of Seeger Wiess LLP, Robert C. Hilliard of Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP, and James E. Cecchi of Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello PC.

The GM Silverado and Sierra Diesel Defeat Devices Class Action Lawsuit is Andrei Fenner, et al. v. General Motors LLC, et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-11661, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

UPDATE: On Aug. 1, 2018, more than a dozen claims were trimmed from a GM emissions cheating class action lawsuit that looks to hold the car maker accountable for allegedly using defeat devices to trick emissions testing in its Silverado and Sierra vehicles.