GM Hit With Eight-Speed Automatic Transmission Lawsuit
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GM is facing another class-action lawsuit related to the performance of its 8LXX eight-speed automatic transmission.
This latest lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and involves 2019 to 2022 model year Chevy, GMC and Cadillac vehicles that were purchased after March 1st, 2019, according to Car Complaints. Plaintiffs claim the 8LXX transmissions in their GM vehicles are prone to jerking, hesitation, surging and lurching while the vehicle is in operation and that GM has been aware of these alleged issues since as early as 2013.
8L45 transmission
Plaintiffs in this suit say GM has also worked to actively cover up the alleged problems and won’t honor past warranty agreements, despite the transmissions being covered by the automaker’s express warranty. Fine print in the warranty indicates GM’s warranty covers all manufacturing defects except for those related to “slight noise, vibrations, or other normal characteristics of the vehicle due to materials or workmanship occurring during the warranty period.”
This lawsuit applies to owners of the following GM products who purchased their vehicle before March 1st, 2021:
- 2019-2022 Chevrolet Camaro
- 2019-2022 Chevrolet Colorado
- 2019-2022 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2019 Chevrolet Corvette
- 2019 Cadillac ATS
- 2019 Cadillac ATS-V
- 2019 Cadillac CTS
- 2019 Cadillac CT6
- 2019 Cadillac CTS-V
- 2019-2022 GMC Canyon
- 2019-2022 GMC Sierra
Numerous class-action suits have been filed against GM over its 8L45E and 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions in recent years. GM Authority has covered these reported issues with the GM eight-speed transmission extensively and even called on GM to address the purported problems in an op-ed published back in 2019. Some GM vehicles have ditched the eight-speed transmission in favor of the newer GM 10-speed it co-developed with Ford, however certain models still use this transmission, like the 2022 Chevy Camaro, Colorado and Silverado, for example.
Four plaintiffs are named in this lawsuit, including three individuals that own a 2020 or 2021 model year GMC Canyon and two separate owners of a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 and 2021 Chevy Silverado 1500.
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The best part is they continue to use it even though they have a better option, all in the name of hopefully we can upsell to a higher trim because $5.
The 6 and 10 speed are solid. 6 speed for cheap work trucks and 10 for everything else and just move on. JFC.
The 10 is coming and was not just a bolt in in many cases.
The latter year issues are generally limited to a glazed converter but they are not common based on complaints on forums.
Before the new fluid complaints were common in many long threads. Today it seldom comes up on the. Colorado forum.
My 2022 Camaro RS Vert has the 10 and I love it so smooth you don’t feel the shifts.
I have a 2018 Colorado. It does the same thing. I’ve been telling them about it every since I bought it at each service. How do I get in on the lawsuit?
So is someone else going to say it or should I?
The A8 transmission issue starts in 2016 and carries over to 2019 as far as the TSB is concerned.
So the fact I bought my A10 SS in February of 2021. Does that mean I’m covered as well?
Long Story Short: GM knew about the design flaw and tried to cover their arse ahead of time.
#sarcasm
’17 CT6 with the 8 speed here, first car with the 8 speed, I’ve had the 6 and the 10, both great.
The 8 is a pile of dog doo, herky jerky and doesn’t suit the car at all, that 1-2 shift is real ugly at low throttle.
YM 17’s we’re in the middle of the fluid recall. One side affect that is not looked at as much is the the new 8&10’s, heck the 6 speed does this a little bit, are continuously measuring the shift quality and adjust to avoid clutch failure. Your otherwise well calibrated shift map got moved as the transmission suspected clutch wear and delayed shifts, increased boost force, and most importantly, newer transmissions apply pressure gradually to ease shift quality, so your transmission trying to adjust to what it perceived as clutch wear went back to 4 speed style hard shifts, but this time without accumulators.
Yeah 2017 Liz Silverado same
So when can I expect my check…
The financial pain on the auto industry is just beginning.
Have you seen Lordstown Motors? Goodbye to another failed EV startup. Cultist Investing has consequences.
I’m a firm believer that class action lawsuits need to be made illegal. 10 years ago I would have thought differently, but too often you get law firms with down time so they wrap up some clients all together with a promise of a quick buck and throw class act suits till one sticks. To me, that’s theft.
The 8 speed is a good transmission. Bad fluid has been an issue in 3 speeds, 4speeds 5,6,7, 8’s ETC. I got a 2019 traverse, 140k miles (high mileage for work) and did a fluid flush at 115 just to guarantee it will make me 300,000 miles. The dealership put crap fluid in it, voila, the 9T65, a transmission known for not doing the “Chevy shudder” now shifts like crap. Changed the fluid myself to ensure high quality fluid was used, bam! Fixed. Not a transmission issue however.
Yes these legal cases are just money generators for the legal firms.
They take a problem and claim to be for the consumer . They don’t expect to win they just want to settle then they take much of the settlement for their services.
Here is the truth on the 8 speed. The main issue was a fluid that did not work. That has been corrected and fixed most of these issues.
As for the 8 speed no it is not the smoothest at times but many trans missions are not. Even the best Turbo 400 had firm shifts and back in the day we wanted it.
I have an 8 speed and it was flushed for free by GM. No hassles not cost. Today it shifts very smooth accept when cold and the first 1-2 shift is firm but after about a half mile it is as smooth as the other changes.
Is it the best transmission. No but it is not worse than a number of others that also have shudder and erratic shifting. Honda, Toyota, Audi, Ford, Chrysler and more all have seen issues.
The adding of gears, moving to more electronics and the changes and additions of fluids has just complicated the transmissions today and it has left many issues for a number of years. Used to be we had 3 gears and two fluids.
This is all due to the mfgs trying to meet emissions and mpg regs.
If anything the EV cars may have other issues but transmissions to this point is not one.
@ Jake & C8.R
If you don’t like it leave my country communist, people have right in the USA move to china communist.
Himm if the name fits?
There are websites and Facebook ads advertising for people to join lawsuits . Yes it’s an industry , find the most minor complaint via bots that monitor social media and the. Recruit people to join your class action lawsuit. For a while I would earn $5 here , $10 there by joining these lawsuits advertised online. My one standard was I needed to actually use the product . Many of these lawsuits you don’t even need to provide proof of purchase.
I think if we had tort reform to where it is like in England. You can take it to court but if you lose you pay the legal cost of the other person.
This would stop the lawyers that take cases just looking for settlements and put a stop to them.
With legal cost so high to fight these fake cases they find it too often cheaper to pay them to go away, It is corporate black mail.
Care to quote Shakespeare?
Agreed, Mobil has had a problem with the fluid for a while now and was going to get replaced as factory fill but, they have had a history with GM and did some smooshing and change was nixxed.
The chevy shudder…is remedied by boring out the 2 needle valves in transmission pump and sleeving it in steel with 2 new steel pins to alleviate fluid bypassing the worn aluminum housing.
Gee, I’ll get right on it tomorrow…..??
After I had the latest full empty and new Mobil 1 fluid put in my ’16 SS Camaro with the A8, it shifted awesome! Never had an issue since, no more shudder, no more issues!
GM not honoring warranty, big surprise!
I gave on buying GM products decades ago and have been happy ever since.
Kinda funny to post that in a GM forum.
I’m just tired of GM’s it’s “NORMAL” routine for everything from burning oil, to jerky transmissions, to electronic bugs, etc.
2016 Camaro RS 8 speed, transmission at first was shifting hard in low gears, then chevy replaced transmission fluid. After one year transmission harness was replaced out of warranty… $1000.
My 2019 Silverado RST has the 8 speed transmission
Its been back 4 times for slipping and hard shifting
It’s been to three different dealers all say is we reprogrammed it. And no problem found. Its getting
Old.
Try the Mobil 1 fluid. My Vette is now as smooth as my Buick!
The Flush works as long as the converter is not glazed, If it is that should also be under the 5 year warranty.
The flush fixed most of the issues reported. It should also be on the 5 year warranty.
I have a 2017 GMC 4×4 doublecab. It has the 6 speed automatic transmission. What a piece of crap it is. Two transmission overhauls in less than 12000 miles. They should be recalled. I will never buy a GM product ever again.
2017 1500 Silverado 60,000 miles and from dead stop at light let off brake engine hesitation to drift forward and as soon as you apply gas pedal it JERKS into 1st gear also now no longer able to set cruise control.
I am experiencing the same issues with my 2018 Chevy Equinox brought with under 100 miles. Issues started around 20,000, just hit 38,000. All GM has said is they don’t have fix. It’s clearly electronics. Issue are clearly connected to the stop start system which cannot be shut off. Right about now I would welcome a class action suit. Lemon law Attorneys are a joke out for themselves only not the consumer..
Equinox is the 6 speed – never heard of an issue with the FWD set up. Is yours the AWD configuration?
Using the correct fluid is one thing . . . computer programming is another. The Charger R/Ts I’ve rented, the ZF 8-spd worked flawlessly with many imperceptible shifts. Have to see them on the tach rather than feel them! The GM Silverado 8-spd (same trans) fells nice, feeling only the first few upshifts. If GM is really having an issue, it is really in the PROGRAMMING of the computer rather than the transmission itself, by observation. PLUS how they modulate the lock-up torque converter! Seems to be too much buffering in the ECM of engine/transmission inputs, which can generate some flaky performance issues.
I got rid of my 2ss and purchased a Mustang GT. That’s how bad they were!.
Allison….or 3 pedals… that’s it
Did you have any of the fluid changes done? What abiut TCM reprogramming?
Sure the 8 speed has its issues and everyone is quick to blame the product and gm. But has anyone ever stoped to think maybe the person doing the work just doesn’t know what he’s doing or care. We all know at any job no matter what industry, there are those who just don’t care about their job and do crap work. I work at a cadillac/gmc dealer and we get quite a few 8 speed concerns. Gm releases repairs and updated parts and we just follow procedures. After repairs transmissions rarely ever come back for the same concern. Quality work has a lot to do with it and not just blaming the product and gm. Just saying
GM – Gruesome Murderer – designed, manufactured, sold Killer Ignitions, and then GM litigated against the families of the people they Killed, Millionsand Millionsin Lawyer fees, all while pretending they had no idea there was anything wrong. GM’s Special Killing Ignitions Killed at least 125 Americans for a decade.
I have been to three different dealerships same response from all three no problems found reprogram it and send you on your way so there are bad techs
At all three dealerships.
I have a 2017 Camaro ss with the 8 speed auto , I have taken it 3 times over the past 4 years of ownership for the transmission, I get the hard 1-2 gear shifts , as well as the shutter at high speeds , and the hard jerking when put into reverse along with the knocking when downshifting at deceleration. All three times the fluid has been changed which remedies the hard 1-2 gear shift in certain situations but it always happens again , you have to continually press the throttle until you hit 2nd gear , the transmission harness was also changed , I dropped it off for a 4th time 2 weeks ago because of the hard jerking in reverse began to make a loud knocking noise, the dealer confirmed the fluid had metal shavings and had torque converter shutter and recommended a new transmission. So now it’s at the dealer for the same issues again . The problem is not all GM vehicles are affected the same , some people just have the shutter at high speeds , some like myself have experienced all issues , the thing is once you get your car back it drives fine until 1-2 weeks later, some folks don’t have a transmission problem ever again. GM could make this right by offering a trade rebate or incentive for people affected by this .. I don’t see why they don’t. I’ll keep my Camaro until the next generation mustang comes out then I’m going to make the switch over to ford.
Its almost as if GM is daring Americans to sue them…
And it’s fun to watch.
I enjoyed watching GM CEO Mary Barra LIE under oath to Congress about how many Americans GM Killed. She earned her $20 Million Dollar Bonus for that performance. Interestingly, Meryl Streep is paid $20 Million for her acting too, but real Americans aren’t Killed.
I believe GM like most corporations responds to how a problem looks in the media. Compare the transmission issue to the Bolt battery issue. I don’t have the exact numbers, but there were no more than two dozen battery fires or about 0.05 percent of the Bolts. It is hard to say how many more Bolts were waiting to erupt in flames. GM was pretty much dragged kicking and screaming, but within about two years GM and the battery maker LG Chem agreed to spend several billion Dollars to replace every Bolt battery. Why?, probably because six o’clock news footage and YouTube videos of scary conflagrations makes a big impression. Balky, juddery transmissions don’t get the press sympathy because the story isn’t visually compelling. GM downplays the transmission issue because it hopes the bulk of prospective purchasers will not have heard of the issue. GM disregards customer satisfaction at its peril, however, because word of mouth product reputation still counts.
No no no no no. Tell me this – if an automatic transmission is a sealed hydraulic system, then why does the fluid need to be changed or “flushed”? It’s not burning hydrocarbons like an engine and it’s not breathing in air or outside contaminants like an engine. So the only fluid “contaminants” must be from the transmission itself, namely the worn off friction material from the clutches and bands. So if the clutch packs and bands have shed all this friction material, why isn’t the transmission slipping or shuttering? Because that friction material is now carried within the fluid itself where it is still doing its job and still a vital component of the entire system. So then what happens when you drain the existing fluid and it’s accumulated friction materials and replace it with slick new fluid to work alongside the worn clutch packs and bands in your aging transmission? Surprise! The transmission suddenly begins to slip and shudder as the clutches engage. I’m sorry to break it to you but you’re shuddering problems and nothing to do with the type of fluid used. The fluid flush nonsense is a borderline criminal service pushed by the quick change industry and the idea has become so pervasive that it’s become a wildly held belief as as automotive knowledge in general has faded amongst the broader public.
I worked at a quick change oil place to pay my way through college. The correlation between transmission flushes on vehicles over 60,000 miles and subsequent shuttering became impossible to ignore. As I researched the issue I began to ask around “Why are we recommending this service?” I soon realized that this recommendation wasn’t actually based on anything other than a desire to upsell services. The mileage recommendations are completely arbitrary and chosen by people at a desk with no engineering degrees. I occasionally helped out at other short staffed stores and noticed that those that didn’t offer ATF flushes (didn’t have the equipment) oldly didn’t show automatic transmission flushes at a required service interval on the computer screen or customer paperwork. So the stores capabilities somehow impact recommended services for vehicles?
If you want your transmission to last 300k miles, get a transmission cooler, don’t let the transmission get above 210 or 215 degrees while towing and NEVER change your transmission fluid after 20 or 30K miles. I have a Chevy Avalanche with 350k and have spent the past 7 years towing a 28ft 9000lb camper all over the country. The transmission is as good as the day I bought it. Temperature kills trannies (transmission fluid more accurately) not dirty fluid. Remember, it’s a sealed hydraulic system.
This actually reminds me of a time last summer I stopped into a family owned quick lube place out in the middle of nowhere on a camping trip when the oil screen on our 5.3L was causing oil pressure to drop. The workers were really down to earth people that actually knew about cars (not just high school kids reading off a computer screen). Out of force of habit I commented that we did not want a transmission flush recommendation. I was surprised when they replied “Oh no, too mamy miles, we never recommend that on a car over 40k.” I followed up with them about this recommendation and they basically communicated to me that when the ATF flush service hit the quick lube industry they bought all the equipment like everyone else. What they found was the cars and customers they’d serviced for years we’re coming back in with transmission issues shortly after the ATF flush. Keep in mind that this is not a national chain, it’s a small town family owned quick lube with customers they know and that trust them. At a national place customers are a number and an ATF flush is an upsell quota that must be reached. For a local rural business customers are friends that literally put food on your table and ruining their vehicle transmissions for a $60 upsell is suicidal and unconscionable.
I own an auto repair shop. We do transmission flushes. The manufacture recommends them if you check the service requirements, you would see that. I have repaired many transmission problems by doing a flush on them. The filter does get dirty and restricts fluid from flowing through them properly. I personally owned a chevy truck that would not shift at all at times, because of a dirty filter. replaced filter and fluid, “fixed”. It had many miles on it. About 100,000. Transmission fluid does get broken down and dirty. Do a little more research and you would see that. BG products will guarantee your transmission if you use there product and do regular flushes. Depending on your mileage. Start doing the flushes before 50,000 miles, and they will pay you if your transmission fails. Also before 100,000 miles, but not as money if you start before 50,000 miles. But you must follow there guidelines. I’ve been in business for 40 years, and always want to do the right thing. Transmission flushes help more than they don’t. Same thing would happen to an engine, if you fail to change oil for a long time, then change it, it can cause problems to your engine. Transmissions that fail after a flush, just expose a problem that was going to happen eventually, most of the time. Open minded research, not biased research is more helpful.
Your correct my transmission issues started at 5000 miles on the transmission on a new truck I now have 21,000 miles still having issues.
Been to three different Chevrolet dealerships same thing at all three .
They say we put it on the computer all good see ya. Same BS
2015 gmc sierra denali 8 speed shudder and swifting problems went to 3 mechanics says its fine on there computer last time ever buying gmc i even took it to dealership told me no problem to it bs and expect us to pay 70k to 90k for the newers one hell no 😒
Good fluid from the start is key. Dump Mobil as factory fill.
My Silverado LTZ is a 2015. It also has the jerky shifts . More so I believe its has to do with active fuel management system. There heck of a bang and clunk when feathering or light throttle then when needing power stepping on the pedal . Theres a lag between shifting down and bringing cylinders back on board. I think this should not be happening in city driving conditions. The active fuel management should not activate. I find if I switch to 6 speed mode on the selector the problem is gone.
I have a 2019 GMC Sierra. Love everything about the vehicle EXCEPT the transmission. I have complained to the dealership on every service but they say “we have several complaints but there are no service bulletins and nothing can be down”. What?…. The problem is between first and second gear. Upon putting the vehicle in drive, it jerks. Then when you are driving and have to slow for stopped creeping traffic, it jerks, like it does not know what gear to be in. I now go to low, and manually put truck in second to keep this from happening until traffic starts moving. I just turned 20,000 miles, mostly highway miles. I would like to join this lawsuit as GMC made a faulty transmission. I’m more aggravated about the nonchalant attitude of GM. The dealership only recorded one of my complaints and every time I complain they give the same answer.
I have a new 2022 Silverado Trail Boss 8 speed and same issues as reported after I turned 2,000 miles on this thread. Dealer says after all 5 visits computer says all is good but they do see what I am talking about after test drive but no bulletin is out to fix it. I want to join the lawsuit!! It drives like crap. What a scam.