GM defective paint class action overview:ย
- Who: Four owners of vehicles made by General Motors are suing the company.ย
- Why: The plaintiffs say General Motors used defective paint on its vehicles. It was prone to cracking, clouding and delaminating.ย
- 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 vehiclesโ 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.ย
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.ย
โAlthough 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,โ 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 vehiclesโ 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 vehicleโs paint. Despite his efforts to polish the car himself, the problem continued. A professional detailer later diagnosed it as a โclearcoat issueโ and buffed the car. Lyman says that only provided a โbandaidโ fix.ย
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 carโs value.ย
GM likely knew about the defect, plaintiffs allege
The lawsuit alleges that the problem is not unique to Lymanโs Tahoe. Many other General Motors customers suffer from the same defect. Itโs allegedly repeatedly leading to peeling, cracking, cloudiness, flaking, bubbling, erosion, and microblistering of the clearcoat.
The plaintiffs say they expected their โluxuryโ 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. Theyโre 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.ย
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.ย
Are you affected by this GM defective paint lawsuit? Let us know in the comments!ย
Steven W. Ritcheson, Taylor C. Bartlett, and Jeanie Sleadd of Heninger Garrison Davis LLC represent the plaintiffs.ย
The GM defective paint class action is Bryon Lyman et al v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-05786ย in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.ย
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455 thoughts onGM class action claims Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and other vehicles have defective paint
I have a 2016 Yukon Denali it is embarrassing driving around a vehicle with the paint partially removed starting from the hood going up towards the top of the whole vehicle. I have attempted to go through warranty at the dealership with no luck. It is an expensive repair that I donโt find fair having to pay with a vehicle only being 6 years old.
I have a 2015 Chevy suburban and my hood and top are doing the same thing. Hood is fading along with the top and looking cloud.
My 2017 Pepperdust Tahoeโs roof and hood clear coat failed in 2021 and is cloudy and cracked. The car was purchased in Florida. Will I eventually become part of this class action in California?
My 2016 Black Cadillac Escalade has a very faded hood and roof. I bought this brand new and only have 59k miles on it today. Also have the touchscreen cracking and starting to come off. Transmission shifts abruptly at times. The glued rear window defrost wire keeps falling off.
Am dealing with faded paint on the hood and roof of my black Yukon. It started about 3 years ago and keeps getting worse. With known issues on defective brake lights that stop working.
I bought a 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 and in 2024 the paint started peeling, took to dealership and was told nothing they could do because of the class action lawsuit. You pay 80,000 for a vehicle that going to last and this happens. They donโt stand behind their vehicles.
Not in the described affected vehicles, but my 2017 GMC Acadia is chipping all over the vehicle. Paint started bubbling in 2022 after I purchased it used in 2021. Initially it was just on the hood, but now affects the entire vehicle. The bubbles started cracking and there are several areas of exposed metal. Unfortunately upwards of a 10,000 fix likely.
Not in the described affected vehicles, but my 2017 GMC Acadia is chipping all over the vehicle. Paint started bubbling in 2022 after I purchased it used in 2021. Initially it was just on the hood, but now affects the entire vehicle. The bubbles started cracking and there are several areas of exposed metal.
My 2017 navy Tahoe has good/roof pain issues.
I have a grey 2015 Cadillac Escalade ESV and the hood and roof paint is cracked and cloudy. Also had the touchscreen crack and start coming off. Have had to replace the engine and transmission having issues.