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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461 thoughts onGM class action claims Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and other vehicles have defective paint
I have a 2015 Cadillac SRX that has the same paint problems! It looks like the clear coat was not applied correctly.
My 2016 Escalade has a faded hood/roof. However when i informed a salesman at ken batchelor they said it was “normal”
From the texas heat.
This is not just for these Chevy vehicles. The paint issues are a problem with my Impala as well. I’ve never had a vehicle’s paint job deteriorate this terribly. It’s worse than my older vehicles.
My 2922 is having paint issues, it’s dulling already and rusting around the door jams
I have a 21 Escalade (Black). The paint on the hood looks extremely thin and appears to be getting “Microcracks” in the paint. The car is fully garaged and meticulously maintained. It has only 17,000 miles on it. If this car was used as a daily driver, parked in the sun etc. The paint would surely fail.
I have 2016 escalade esv and have the same problem on the hood and top of the car. I had been recently looking into having it fixed and it is a costly expense. When I go around for quotes it seems to be a known issue with these cars
I’d like to be included in this General Motors ClassAction case, because.I bought a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country, and I’m experiencing similar body work issues. Subsequent to my purchase, when washing my truck I can see deteriorating body work, just in front of my rear left tire weld. It is not solid, and this sort of damage was attempted to be minded with some other material which isn’t smooth – but cracks and chips, and looks painted over. And, I am the original owner of this truck. So, add me in on this matter.
I have also had issues with this for my 2019 Cadillac Escalade.
I have a 2007 Chevy Tahoe Ltz with the same issues and 2012 GMC Terrain SLE. Please add these years
I have a 2009 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab SLT. The paint is coming off in chunks, and we do not live in a salty area. I can’t even wash it anymore. The paint comes off in huge pieces. I read somewhere that GM had a batch of vehicles that were painted but there was something about them not allowing the paint to cure correctly or something. So if they knew about it, why aren’t they fixing it? can you check on the older GM vehicles?