Chevy Owners Sue GM Alleging Defect Forces Them to ‘Trick’ Their Vehicles Into Park, Lodge Class Action

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GM Chevy Shift to Park 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 Illinois federal court.

General Motors (GM) refuses to fix an annoying defect in its Chevys which forces drivers to “try to trick their vehicles” into recognizing they are in “park,” a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Lead plaintiff Ben Emmrich filed the class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC on Nov. 8 in an Illinois federal court, alleging violations of warranty law.

He says GM has manufactured and sold hundreds of thousands of Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Traverse, and Chevrolet Blazer vehicles from approximately mid-2015 to the present that have a major defect. 

The vehicles fail to detect that the driver has placed the car in “Park” and thus prevents the vehicle driver from shutting off and locking the vehicle, the class action alleges.

Instead, the cards display a “Shift to Park” error message even though the gear shift is already in “Park.” 

“As a result of the Shifter Defect, Plaintiff and members of the class are unable to shut off their vehicles and, to avoid battery discharge, are forced to resort to try to trick their vehicles to detect that the shift lever is in fact in ‘Park,’” the class action states.

GM Knew Of Shift To Park Defect, Claims Class Action Lawsuit

Emmrich, a Chevy owner, says GM had long knowledge of the defect, issuing the first in a series of service bulletins on Jan. 9, 2017.

“When customers press the issue, GM, through its Chevrolet dealerships, refuses to honor its contractual promises to fix the defect, forcing owners and lessees of the Class Vehicles to pay for the repairs at their own expense or forgo servicing the issue.”

He’s suing GM for breach of contract, breach of warranty, and violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

He’s seeking damages and restitution from GM, as well as notification to all Class members about the alleged defect. Emmrich says the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million.

He’s looking to represent anyone in Illinois who bought or leased a 2016-2019 Chevrolet Malibu, 2016-2019 Chevrolet Volt, 2018-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, or 2019 Chevrolet Blazer.

The class action comes just a couple of months after GM was slammed with a similar class action lawsuit in Michigan federal court alleging the “shift to park” defect.

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The plaintiff is represented by Shannon M. McNulty of Clifford Law Offices, Michael F. Ram and Marie N. Appel of P.C. Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, and Samuel J. Strauss and Raina C. Borrelli of Turke Strauss, LLP.

The General Motors Shift to Park Class Action Lawsuit is Ben Emmrich et al., v. General Motors LLC., Case No. 1:21-cv-05990 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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