A class action lawsuit against GM that alleges the automaker did not warn Chevy Impala owners that E85 fuel could not be used all the time has been dismissed in Illinois.
According to a recent report from Car Complaints, the class action lawsuit consists of all Illinois residents who purchased a GM Flex-Fuel vehicle, new or used, on or after a date three years prior to filing of the action.
According to report, plaintiff Michael Fleury purchased a used 2016 Chevy Impala from a GM dealership in October of the 2019 calendar year. The plaintiff states that the incentive to purchase the vehicle was its ability to run on E85 fuel, as well as gasoline. Fleury began using E85 regularly in 2022 following an increase in gasoline prices, and consulted the owner’s manual to ensure that there wasn’t an issue in using the E85 fuel.
Fleury’s Chevy Impala later displayed a check engine light and warning while driving in temperatures above 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The sedan apparently lost power and could not be driven safely. A local dealership discovered that the fuel pump needed to be replaced under bulletin 18-NA-072, with technicians identifying repeated use of E85 fuel as the root of the issue. Technicians told the plaintiff that he should be alternating fill-ups between E85 and gasoline.
Fleury’s Chevy Impala later failed emissions, and required a new mass airflow sensor due to ongoing failure of the high-pressure fuel pump.
Now, however, Judge Virginia M. Kendall has dismissed the class action lawsuit, finding that the plaintiff failed to identify false or deceptive statements from GM. The judge states that the only representations which Fleury allegedly relied upon when purchasing his Chevy Impala were the E85 window sticker and online advertising regarding the sedan’s Flex-Fuel capability, neither or which were found to be false or deceptive. Additionally, the judge found that the plaintiff failed to allege that the Chevy Impala’s inability to run E85 exclusively was in fact a defect.
The class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division). The plaintiff is represented by Edelman Combs Latturner and Goodwin, LLC.
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Comments
Sounds like they need to appeal to a higher court! tomg
Sounds like the dealership techs had no idea what they were talking about. There is no reason why you can’t run the car on E85 all the time, some of the time, or not at all.
I haven’t seen no e85 I use 89 in my car.
E85 is a type of fuel. It is 85%ethanol (alcohol) and 15% gasoline. The 89 you are referring to is an octane rating. That may be made up of anywhere between zero and 10% ethanol and the rest gasoline.
Alcohol is more corrosive than gasoline. That is a given, however, alcohol also absorbs more water than gasoline. The combination of both exacerbates component problems, especially in cold weather.
Sounds like GM is weaseling their way out of a problem. Either the engine can use E85 safely or it cannot. Looks like a case of sneaky small print.
I have a 2015 Chevy Impala I purchase this car from a dealership I test drove it ,it drove real good after a week my engine light came on and my stilibilty light came on I took it to a dealership where I live they did some work on it but that still didn’t solve the problem ,so I finally call the dealership where I bought the car from I talk to the head man he told me to bring my car in so they can fix it fuel injector and carbon build up it was having misfire.