The lawsuit filed against GM for allegedly and knowingly selling vehicles with defective transmissions entered a new phase as Eastern District of Michigan judge David Lawson granted it class action certification.
The judge certified the Speerly vs. GM lawsuit on Monday, March 20th, the Detroit Free Press reports. The suit was originally filed over a year ago in January 2022 on behalf of 39 plaintiffs in 26 U.S. states.
The class action lawsuit claims the its 8L45E and 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions in thirteen different GM vehicle models produced between 2015 and March 1st, 2019 are defective. The models included in the suit are listed below.
The lawsuit alleges that the affected transmissions are a safety hazard because they can “slip, buck, kick, jerk and harshly engage” from time to time. This, according to the plaintiffs, “causes the vehicle to perform erratically, such as with sudden or delayed acceleration” and sometimes makes it feel as if another car collided with the vehicle when the transmission shifts.
Attorney Ted Leupold of Cohen Milstein claims GM “knowingly sold over 800,000 eight-speed transmission vehicles, which they knew to be defective,” citing the subsequent issuance of more than 60 service bulletins related to the transmissions as proof.
Leupold also alleges “dealers were directed to tell the customers that harsh shifts were ‘normal’ or ‘characteristic'” and described The General’s actions as “highly irresponsible and emblematic of what GM believes it can get away with.”
No injuries or deaths have been connected to the “startling” transmission shifts. The sudden, violent shifts and other problems allegedly result from excess friction in the torque converter caused by internal transmission fluid starvation.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for allegedly excessive payment for defective vehicles or payment for the expenses of transmission replacement. Speerly vs. GM also demands that GM reform its warranties to address these transmission problems and also issue a recall for affected vehicles.
If the torque converter problems result from a design defect and not a manufacturing defect, they are not covered by GM warranties, which currently only provide coverage against manufacturing defects. GM sought to have a similar lawsuit dismissed in August 2021 based on the problem being a design defect.
Maria Raynal, a GM representative, said in response to Monday’s class action certification that “we respectfully decline comment, as is generally our practice with ongoing litigation.”
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Being a GM guy, now retired, I have found not all dealers are equal. Some provide the correct info while others make excuses and are only interested in selling you service. Searching for the truth takes initiative and time. First I checked GM Authority and located helpful articles. Then, I went to three dealerships. I obtained hardcopy GM Technical Service Bulletins from one, so I understood the issue and remedy. Then located a dealership who fixed my transmission issue at no cost to me. Randy Wise, Clio Road, Flint, MI rocks!
Here are a couple of links that might help:
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/08/tsb-seems-to-fix-8-speed-automatic-gm-transmission-problems/
https://gm-techlink.com/?p=11127
Good luck. Hope this helps...
I have a 2017 Chevy Colorado V6 , bought it used , it Had the Sutter thing going on, took it to a muffler shop, had the Restricted stock muffler and Resnator removed an replaced with a flow thur turbo muffler, by doing that it lowered the Transmission fluid temperature, took care of my problem, run's a lot better also,
I really hope gm fixes this issues not only on the 8 speed but also the 6 speed trans has the same issues that bang in the shifting is messed up I know and they also have the balls to say that "it's normal"? Yea right,thats not normal.
Ram has an 8 speed trans and it shift beautifully so no I couldn't say that gm 8 speed hard shifting is normal,it is abnormal for sure
My 2022 GMC Sierra 4 cylinder almost breaks your neck from whiplash when it goes from first to second gear ,it has a 2 second pause and then slams into second . It does it every time I crank it . Dealer said they all do it! Sure enough I test drove three more and he was right they all did the same thing going from 1st to second gear.
I bought a 2017 Silverado Z 71 with the 8 speed tranny . Tranny went out in Nebraska on I 80. It did everything every one is saying then it straighten out and ran for about 50 more miles then blew up. Ended up getting a ride on flat back tow truck. Almost 5k later and loss of work time and that money it was fixed. Now it’s doing some of the hard shifting and gear slamming I’ve every heard. Tranny went out at 133,517 miles and now i have 156,000 miles. Tired of Chevy and will never ever but another
Almost 5000.00 to replace it and know with 156000 miles the new one is hard shifting and slamming into gears making you think you hit something. Reported it and my Chevy shop said it is normal. Say what you want about ford and dodge they don’t have these issues.
Well heck ! I just spent $8,000 on a brand new transmission for my GMC Sierra, and its on the list . hope to find out more about this recall lawsuit, and throw my name in the hat. I felt ripped off after purchasing without a warrenty and driving 3,000 miles into a dealer shop ..
I bought a 2020 Trailboss. Normally i would not buy a warranty, but i did this time. I have 41k on the truck, and have a 100k warranty. I just used the 4 month 4k mile dealer warranty to replace the radio.
I have a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 6.2, love the truck but I feel like I paid 10k dollars more than I should have with a transmission that shifts like it was made in China, I've owned a 1980 C10, 1998 CK series, 2012 Silverado 1500 and a 2014 suburban all of the transmissions were perfect, why with all the new technologies and modern engineering should I get this garbage?
I have a 2017 Colorado had to have torque converter replaced at 47k miles truck still shifts hard and studders when at shift points.
I to have a Chevrolet Impala 2016 I bought in 2017 within 30 days The Transmission Out 2022 again The Transmission Out are there any Recalls or Pending Court Case ?
I have a 2015 Silverado, about a month ago I had my transmission go out on me. My warranty has been expired for some time now and I was left paying 4300$ out of pocket.
How do I get reimbursed for GMs mistake?
How many miles on the truck?