Another class-action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors over the ‘Shift to Park’ error message that appears in certain vehicles equipped with its electronic shifting mechanism.
According to Car Complaints, this class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of two plaintiffs in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and includes “all persons or entities in the state of California who bought or leased a 2016-2019 Chevrolet Malibu, 2016-2019 Chevrolet Volt, 2018-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, or 2019 Chevrolet Blazer.” The suit says the problem has reduced the value of plaintiffs’ vehicles, as the problem is fairly common and reduces affected models’ usability.
The plaintiffs allege their vehicles, a 2017 Chevy Volt and 2019 Chevy Blazer, fail to detect when the gear selector has been shifted into Park. The driver information center will then display a message reading ‘Shift to Park’, with the vehicle unable to be put back into gear or shut off once this sequence has occurred. Plaintiffs allege they’ve been left stranded due to this issue and have been forced to call a tow truck to have their vehicle moved.
The ‘Shift to Park’ issue is fairly widespread and is also commonly experienced by 2017 to 2019 model year GMC Acadia owners. GM published a post addressing the issue on its own Techlink website in October of 2019, which indicated the problem “may be the result of a build-up of material on the contacts of the Park switch when it is activated in the transmission control (shifter) assembly.”
“The excessive material may cause a higher than expected resistance in the signal circuit to the Body Control Module (BCM), and not allow the BCM to electronically see that the vehicle is in Park, even though the vehicle transmission is in the Park position,” the Techlink post also said.
In addition, GM has issued a handful of technical service bulletins for this issue, which date back to January of 2017. Despite these TSBs, the California lawsuit filed this week alleges that dealers deny the existence of the problem and force customers to pay out of pocket to have the necessary repairs completed. The suit also claims the repairs are performed using faulty transmission modules and parking switches, guaranteeing the problem will surface again in the future.
The aforementioned GM Techlink post suggests dealers install an in-line shifter wiring harness jumper in affected vehicles, which can reduce the sudden inrush of current that causes excessive build-up on the contacts. It also provides instructions on how to clean the electrical contacts by constantly depressing and releasing the shifter actuation rod.
A handful of other similar suits have been filed against GM over this issue, including in Michigan, Illinois and Tennessee. GM Authority’s original post on this matter has also generated nearly 900 comments and counting as of this writing.
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Bring back the mechanical column shifter, and stop this electronic nonsense.
Your right Walt,and we never want the customer to walk
Not unlike the days of early NC machine controls. We could often find the signal was present but not going anywhere. A simple reseating of the circuit board would often clean it and restore operation. Nowadays they say ‘what’s a circuit board?’
Sounds like they maybe spilled coffee,soda,tacos,chips.take your pick. And the switch got gummy.
Why is an electronic shift mechanism even necessary? Computers and electronics have their place in automobiles, but are they needed in a mechanism that seemed to work fine when it was mechanical? Some vehicles have had mechanical shifting issues, especially with corrosion, but I don't see the need for electronic controls in this application. Maybe I'm wrong and if so someone explain the functionality or necessity of the system.
Since some cars have a dash-mounted shift knob to make them less likely to be contaminated from spills - GM should implement what Stelantis (Fiat-Chrysler-Peugeot) is doing.... Cheaper, and creates much more added usable space near the driver, since there is no longer any mechanical need for the BIG shift lever.
Had a recent similar problem with my 2019 Bolt electronic shifter.
Ok let’s get some context here. I had one of these so I can give you some first hand experience.
This is not do to drinks, spills or corrosion. There is a small micro switch that tells the car is in park. There is some resistance in the wires that does not send enough power to set the switch to tell the body control module the vehicle is in park.
The harness plug GM has bypasses the switch and avoids the issue. Some people have just used a paper clip to short out the switch to by pass it.
This is a fairly easy fix but the labors to get to it can take some time.
GM should just have recalled this but never did. Most went out under warranty so most were fix for free but those outside warranty have to pay.
There are several class actions out on this but they are of no value to the owners as they are just lawyers looking to make a buck.
The reason these are electric is because transmissions today are electrically shifted. There are no cables or linkage externally anymore. You could put a shifter on the column but it will still be electric. Same for throttle as they are all electric today and no cables.
I have a newer Acadia now and they are now buttons so it is no longer an issue. The buttons work well once you get used to it. My in laws have a knob on their car and I hate it as I never can hit the right gear.
My 2018 Acadia had the shift problem. Took it in under warranty, and less than 2 hrs later it was ready. No issues ever since. That was about 1 year ago.
My 2017 Acadia had this problem, twice. No spills, no excess dirty environment. Took about 2 years to show up each time. The first "fix" was covered by warranty. The second fix was to my $428 expense. Different "fixes" were made each time. There are many YouTube videos of homemade fixes. Regardless, it looks like a PITA getting to the offending component. At least the dealer said he would warranty the work for 2 years. Guess who's going to trade their Acadia in before 2 years is up? Pity the new owner. Lawsuit after lawsuit has been dismissed on technicalities. I hope the California lawyers are smarter than the Michigan, Illinois, and Tennessee lawyers were. I'd like a $428 refund settlement. And it would be sort-of nice to have a permanent fix.
Here we go again. Two more "cry babies" that want to sue GM. It's a piece of machinery; mechanical and electronic. Any given component could fail at any given time. Nothing is guaranteed to last forever without defect. Ultimately, service repair and/or part replacement can be rendered without cause. But these two jokers choose to file yet another frivolous claim. Hope this one ends up in the trash can as well. These two "squeaky" wheels need to be be "wacked" by the court...not "greased".