GM class action claims Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and other vehicles have defective paint

GM defective paint class action overview: 

• Who: Four owners of vehicles made by General Motors are suing the company. 
• Why: The plaintiffs say General Motors used defective paint on its vehicles. It was prone to cracking, clouding and delaminating. 
• Where: The GM defective paint class action lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.

This new class action alleges that General Motors sold cars coated with defective paint. That causes the vehicles’ exteriors to peel, crack, become cloudy and delaminate.

Plaintiffs Bryon Lyman, Kelly McAteer, Jason Merkel and Mark Volk filed the class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC on July 9 in a California federal court. They allege violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

The class action refers to paint on 2015-2020 Chevrolet Tahoes, 2015-2020 Chevrolet Suburbans, 2015-2020 GMC Yukons, 2015-2020 GMC Yukon XLs, and 2015-2020 Cadillac Escalades. 

“Although the defect manifested over time, [General Motors] knew or should have known of those issues prior to sale of the [vehicles]; yet GM continued to put the latently defective class vehicles on the market,” the lawsuit alleges.

The Lawsuit alleges that the paint issue is an expensive fix

The class action contains many consumer stories about the issues with their vehicles’ paint jobs.

Lyman says he bought a used 2017 Tahoe LT in California in 2019. He alleges that In early 2022, he began noticing issues with the vehicle’s paint. Despite his efforts to polish the car himself, the problem continued. A professional detailer later diagnosed it as a “clearcoat issue” and buffed the car. Lyman says that only provided a “bandaid” fix. 

Lyman states that to repair and repaint the vehicle fully, he would have needed to spend over $10,000. This process would involve sanding the car down to bare metal. Lyman alleges that would significantly depreciate his car’s value. 

GM likely knew about the defect, plaintiffs allege

The lawsuit alleges that the problem is not unique to Lyman’s Tahoe. Many other General Motors customers suffer from the same defect. It’s allegedly repeatedly leading to peeling, cracking, cloudiness, flaking, bubbling, erosion, and microblistering of the clearcoat.

The plaintiffs say they expected their “luxury” vehicles to be of good quality and had no reason to anticipate the paint issues. Had they known, they would not have bought the vehicles or paid less for them. The lawsuit says General Motors knew or should have known about the defect due to the high number of customer complaints.

The plaintiffs seek to represent anyone in the United States who bought or leased a class vehicle in California. They’re suing for breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, fraud, and violations of state consumer laws. The plaintiffs are asking for class action certification, damages, fees, costs, and a jury trial. 

Meanwhile, consumers recently filed class action lawsuits against General Motors (GM) over claims involving alleged vehicle defects, unlawful data collection and sharing and hackable key fobs. GM also expanded a recall last month over concerns certain GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado vehicles contain tailgates that can inadvertently unlatch while the vehicle is parked. 

Are you affected by this GM defective paint lawsuit? Let us know in the comments! 

Steven W. Ritcheson, Taylor C. Bartlett, and Jeanie Sleadd of Heninger Garrison Davis LLC represent the plaintiffs. 

The GM defective paint class action is Bryon Lyman et al v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-05786  in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. 

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