Ashley Milano  |  April 12, 2016

Category: Consumer News

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GM Chevy Cruze class action lawsuitA federal court judge has partially granted General Motor’s motion to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit that accuses GM of concealing an alleged mechanical defect that causes antifreeze to leak from the radiators of Chevy Cruze vehicles.

While U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres allowed limited warranty and deceptive-practices claims to proceed, she tossed claims for express warranty, ruling that GM’s promotional statements amount to “puffery” and are insufficient to create an express warranty between the plaintiffs and GM under New York, Michigan, and Florida law.

Plaintiff Sheilah Feliciano initiated the class action lawsuit against General Motors in 2014. Feliciano purchased her 2011 Chevy Cruze in 2013 and within the first month claims she saw leaking antifreeze. On top of that, Feliciano says there was a strong smell of antifreeze inside her car.

The putative class action lawsuit says Feliciano repeatedly took her Chevy Cruze to a dealership for repairs and while various repairs were made, nothing was done about the leaking antifreeze or the smell.

Feliciano claims in the lawsuit that General Motors tried to hide a defect with the radiator that allows antifreeze to leak. Further, the lawsuit says GM issued two technical service bulletins to dealers in the past, informing them of the problems with the Chevy Cruze, but GM failed to inform the buying public.

The Chevy Cruze antifreeze lawsuit claims the affected cars include the 2011 and later Chevy Cruze models, and although GM touts the Chevy Cruze as one of the most safety-tested in history, GM must have skipped the testing manual on coolant systems.

The lawsuit further states that Feliciano was offered less than $5,000 to trade in her Chevy Cruze, $10,000 less than what she originally paid. Additionally, the complaint claims that consumers would never have purchased the Chevy Cruze if they would have known about the alleged antifreeze defect.

The complaint was amended to include additional named plaintiffs Leslie Wilbanks, Patrick Murphy, and Yulia Milavanava.

“Because Wilbanks, Murphy and Milavanava claim that GM has ‘failed and/or has refused to adequately provide the promised remedies within a reasonable time’ and ‘has not repaired or adjusted, and has been unable to repair or adjust, the Chevrolet Cruze vehicles’ materials and workmanship defects,’ the court finds that plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that the limited warranty failed of its essential purpose,” Judge Torres stated.

Judge Torres also trimmed claims for implied warranty, negligence, fraudulent concealment and unjust enrichment.  Additionally, Feliciano’s claim that GM was in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and Milavanava’s claims under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act were also tossed.

“Plaintiffs have failed to meet the heightened pleading standard for fraudulent concealment. The fraud claim is based on a material omission, but no plaintiff identifies the person or persons responsible for the failure to disclose, nor the context of the omission,” Judge Torres ruled.

Judge Torres further denied the plaintiffs’ opportunity to replead, stating that since the plaintiffs’ have already amended the complaint three times, any amended pleading would be “futile.”

The plaintiffs are represented by Robert Ahdoot, Tina Wolfson and Bradley K. King of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC and Paul C. Whalen of the Law Offices of Paul C. Whalen PC.

The Chevy Cruze Antifreeze Class Action Lawsuit is Feliciano, et al. v. General Motors LLC, et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-06374, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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25 thoughts onChevy Cruze Antifreeze Class Action Gets Partially Dismissed

  1. Cynthia manus of Mississippi.. lordstown Ohio manufactured car says:

    I’m so sick of the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze 1.4 L turbo.. I even almost had a lawsuit on GM.. but mysteriously my car started properly working again after replacing a gas canister four times purge valve four times the Cadillac converter system I’ve cleaned the throttle body several times.. now my water pump hose is leaking and my fan relay fuse has blown as top off along with another fuse so my fan is not kicking on which has happened four to five times.. I’m sick of repeatedly replacing parts I even mentioned something to the Chevrolet dealership and they had to call GM head repair specialist and they still couldn’t figure out what was wrong with my car.. they chalked it up as it was a fuse put in the wrong spot which is a big fat lie.. my gauges are not showing that I’m running hot but I am running hot.. my car ticks when running which sounds like the canister again.. my battery is not getting good connection along with my radio in my auxiliary pops every time I open my door or unplug the auxiliary cord.. I tried to sue for the lemon law and being that I wasn’t the first owner I could not do the lemon lawsuit. the first person that had my car the motor blew up in 30,000 miles.. my motor only has about 50,000 ish.. and I’m going through the same bull crap over and over and over and over and over again… I’ve also replaced the lifters.. I’ve replaced the battery several times.. now I’m losing power in acceleration… I am calling GM Monday.. does anybody know of any lawsuits within GM that covers 2013 Chevrolet Cruze 1.4 L turbo cars being a faulty car.. I’m out of money and still stuck with this lemon of a car.. GM ought to be ashamed of themselves.. I believe they should have to reimburse everyone that has bought one of these lemon cars.. as middle class Americans we cannot afford to keep pouring money into parts on our cars for the same parts over and over and over and over again that should not be going out numerous times.. I am a Fed up individual..

  2. Willie Robison says:

    Wednesday, June 8, 2022

    Same problems with my 2014, Cruse LT Turbo. Reservoir constantly needing fluid, check engine lights illuminating, and a multiplicity of other “piss me off” dilemmas going on. I took it to Gateway Tire, on Hacks Cross, in Olive Branch, MS. They messed up three times installing the oil cover gasket and replacing the top oil cover. The last time on the return from the first two times they intentionally screwed in the wrong bolts and misaligned the screws. That caused a huge and continuous oil leak out of the back side of the oil cover. My daughter was on her way to Chattanooga, TN., when she notice her oil pressure gauge indicating no oil. She pulled over in Corinth, TN., where a local police had to help her unscrew the oil fill cap it was on so hard. When he opened the hood the engine was flooded with oil. She ended up spending $60.00 on oil between that small town and Chattanooga. I was outraged at that low down Gateway Tire Company. I called their corporate offices. They investigated and they did the appraisal and decided that they would pay to have the oil cover and gasket replace. However, when Reader Chevrolet, in Knoxville, TN., performed a diagnostic on the engine it revealed that ignition coil needs to be replaced, needs can solenoid seals, front crank seal leaks and needs a belt, Oil pressure sending unit needs replacing, and valve cover re-seal needs gasket with longer bolts. Total including the diagnostic: $130. 00, Tax $204.56, shop charge: $20.00 is $2416.00. I did not show the costs for the individual items. Gateway’s insurance company is willing to pay only $402.00 for the oil cover and gasket replacement. Since their insurance company is refusing to pay the total amount; which resulted in the other parts going haywire, which was not an issue prior to the defective and poor workmanship of all the other automotive components I had to secure a consumer protection attorney. If the Cruse had the issues that the appraisers say it did prior to Gateways defection and poor quality of work, she could not have even started the car; not to mention drive all the way to Chattanooga. Now, we are going to see what Gateway’s insurance company have to say after we take their tight, cheap butts to court.

    I will never purchase another Chevy anything again…cheap suckers.

    1. Alanna Borders says:

      I have a Chevrolet Cruze 2011 and it’s currently in the shop for these exact reasons, antifreeze and coolant leaks. The mechanic has lost his mind because he can’t figure out why? I have spent over $1000 dollars trying to fix these problems. The mechanic said that he can’t understand why the antifreeze is bubbling back into reservoir. I have replaced my radiator and hoses fixed in hopes of remedying the problem, to no avail. What can I do? Can I take it to a licensed dealership and get it fixed for free because they have recalled them because of these problems?

  3. Robert J Goudin says:

    add me

    1. Ms. Ferrell says:

      I purchased a pre-owned 2011 Chevrolet Cruz from a dealership in 2014. The car did not have any problems outside of regular maintenance until May 2019. Since then, it has been a nightmare and in and out of the dealership in 2019 because of antifreeze leaks. I have had the water pump replaced, the surge container replaced 2 times, and the coolant hoses were replaced each time. Now (February 2020) the vehicle is at the dealership for another antifreeze and another oil leak and supposedly the antifreeze leak is because of a problem with the engine. The vehicle was repaired for the first oil leak In December 2019. I was told that the oil leak was at the valve cover gasket and leaking into the spark plugs and that is why there was not a visible sign of an oil leak. Now (February 2020) there is another oil leak!

      The Chevrolet Cruz should be rated 2 thumbs down!?

      1. Alanna Borders says:

        I even had a brand new transmission put in..a mirage of other problems since then starting 3 months ago..

    2. Jodie Howard says:

      Add me too

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