GM turns to park class action lawsuit to be argued in Ohio

September 28, 2024 — A GM “steer-to-park” class action lawsuit in Ohio alleges that five models fail to detect when drivers steer their vehicles into “park.”

GM drivers reported seeing a “Shift to Park” message on their dashboard when the problem occurred.

This prevents the driver from turning off the vehicle and locking the doors, forcing the driver to crank the gear lever and use “all kinds of tricks” to get the vehicle to detect that it is parked.

The GM Turn Park class action lawsuit includes:

“Any person or entity in Ohio who purchases or leases a 2017-2019 GMC Acadia, 2019 Chevrolet Blazer, 2016-2019 Chevrolet Malibu, 2018-2019 Chevrolet Traverse or 2016-2019 Chevrolet Volt vehicle.”

As a result of GM’s alleged illegal conduct, the automaker benefited by evading warranty obligations “while consumers were harmed at the point of sale because their vehicles had a shifter defect that GM could not repair.”

General Motors Turn Park Class Action Lawsuit – Plaintiffs

Ohio plaintiff Mark Riley purchased a new 2017 GMC Acadia in June 2017, but he said the vehicle had a “steering-to-park” defect.

“In order for his vehicle to detect that the shifter was actually in the ‘park’ position, plaintiff was forced to repeatedly wiggle the shifter, shift through the gears, or start and then shut down the engine.” — GM turns to park class action lawsuit

The plaintiff said he complained about the “shifting” issue to the dealer and was allegedly told it was a known issue, but no recall notice was issued.

The lawsuit alleges that in July 2018, the plaintiffs were told to come back to the dealership for an inspection at a later date, and in November 2018, plaintiffs’ attorneys sent a letter to GM describing the shift problem and why it had not been fixed.

The GM dealer eventually performed a repair per TSB 19-NA-206, but it did not resolve the shift-to-park issue.

According to the plaintiff, he had to “repeatedly swing the gear lever through the gears and start and stop the engine.”

The class action lawsuit was filed in March 2021 and is still pending in court.

The General Motors Turn Park class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Eastern District): Mark Riley v. General Motors LLC.

The plaintiffs are represented by Chandra Law Firm LLC and Sergei Lemberg.