Judge Jesse Furman ruled on claims of "manifest defects," or what claims can proceed based on if the defect manifested itself to a customer. The consolidated lawsuit is a massive 1,700 pages of arguments that GM should pay any vehicle owner who owned a recalled car equipped with bad ignition switches.
If you own (or have owned) one of the affected cars, this judge says you should be able to sue GM even if problems related to the ignition switch never affected you personally.
Normally I’d say there’s no way that’ll hold up in court … but it just did.
This post originally appeared on ChevroletProblems.com.
]]>After nearly 1,000 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), GM recalled 91,000 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky cars.
]]>If you're thinking yep, that sounds familiar, you wouldn't be alone. The top complaint from Saturn Sky owners is how the airbag warning light is always on.
Specifically, the petition wants answers on why the passenger seat sensor mat kinks, folds, and eventually breaks.
]]>You've probably heard about Takata by now. They're the ones that made airbag inflators that explode with too much force and sometimes send metal shrapnel flying throughout the cabin. They're also the ones that have been linked to a number of deaths and injuries.
But wait, there's more ... at this point so many vehicles have been recalled that replacement parts aren't expected until later this year.
Needless to say, Takata isn't going to make anyone's holiday card list.
]]>The problem: GM says the key can be removed from the ignition when the ignition isn't in the "off" position, leading to at least two crashes and one injury.
The recalled vehicles: 2002-2004 Saturn Vue (202,115 in total)
The fix: Dealers will inspect the key binding and replace the ignition cylinder and key set, if needed.
Next steps: GM doesn't know when they'll be able to fix the affected cars, but if you think of them like a deli counter, you would have just pulled number 29,202,115. In other words, you'll unfortunately be waiting a while. In the meantime, GM is urging all owners to make sure their vehicle is in "park" before walking away. Or, if it's a manual transmission, that you're in the "reverse" gear with the parking brake set.
To make matters worse -- and yes, it can get worse -- GM's website is doing a horrible job at informing owners if their car needs repairs. Logic would state that you could use your vehicle's unique identification number (VIN) to find out if your car has been recalled. But logic has no place in GM's world, according to NHTSA who says that "anyone who used GM's website to check if their car had been recalled needs to check again".
Turns out GM's website wasn't working before. Which is appropriate, because neither are their cars. Frustrated yet? Give Saturn a ring at 800-553-6000.
]]>The transmission shift cable in the 2007-2008 Aura has a nasty habit of breaking, something that prompted a federal defect investigation in 2011. The investigation was upgraded to an engineering analysis -- a fancy term for "yep, this looks serious" -- in 2012. Now GM is recalling 56,000 vehicles to prevent this from happening again.
This must come as a relief for Aura owners who, for a long time, have been telling CarComplaints.com that with as little as 40,000 miles:
GM hasn't announced when the recall will begin. As you might have heard they have their hands full with federal investigations, class-action lawsuits and a whole slew of other recalls. Once things start moving along, dealers will replace the shift cable assembly and mounting bracket. Concerned owners can contact GM at 800-553-6000 and refer to recall number 14152.
In the meantime, remember to use your parking brake. And buy yourself an extra chocolate croissant, you deserve it.
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