GM defective paint class action overview:Â
- Who: Four owners of vehicles made by General Motors are suing the company.Â
- Why: The plaintiffs say General Motors used defective paint on its vehicles. It was prone to cracking, clouding and delaminating.Â
- 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.Â
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.Â
“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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Are you affected by this GM defective paint lawsuit? Let us know in the comments!Â
Steven W. Ritcheson, Taylor C. Bartlett, and Jeanie Sleadd of Heninger Garrison Davis LLC represent the plaintiffs.Â
The GM defective paint class action is Bryon Lyman et al v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-05786Â in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.Â
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460 thoughts onGM class action claims Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and other vehicles have defective paint
I don’t think is just those!
My Silverado has the same problem with paint.
2016 tahoe had to paint the roof
I don’t think is just those!
My Silverado has the same problem with paint.
I had a 2018 Yukon Denali XL black exterior paint and for a $90k luxury truck I expected to have no trouble. It was always in the shop for engine or paint issues.
This problem had been going on for a long time. I bought a new 1990 Chevrolet Camaro and the paint bubbled and peeled. I was told there was a recall on some vehicles but mine wasn’t one of them. The dealer I bought the car from wouldn’t do anything to help me. But another dealer painted the car for me no charge and you get what you pay for it was a terrible paint job. I eventually traded it in on another problem vehicle. Was a waste of a lot of time and money.
2016 Cadillac Escalade ESV. I had to repaint my vehicle.
I have a 2008 GMC Yukon Denali doing the same thing. The paint has bubbled, cracked and peeled, down the the metal, It just not with the new vehicles the older ones are doing it too.
Yes, I own a 2009 GMC Yukon Denali and my vehicle’s paint has been doing this since 2013. General Motors also has a known defect involving the dashboards cracking. My GM service writer said they’ve known about the problem but refuses to gix it or issue a recall because of the fines. General Motors brand is starting to go downhill!
This does not happens to be just started with these new vehicles that’s been going on ever since they put out the 2007 tahoes it should have been class action suit for those people too think about it
I have a 2017 Suburban with the Pearl Tri-coat. I am wondering how long it will be before mine starts
Texas, 2015 Black Cadillac Escalade ESV currently experiencing paint issues.
2002 Saturn has the same problem. I keep cars a long long time and this is the first one with the problem. It started in 2007 and I was told it was because it was outside in the hot South Carolina sun all day when I was at work. That’s BS because co-workers with cars older than mine that were parked every workday in the same parking lot didn’t have that problem.