CHARLOTTE — It’s been more than two years since Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke first reported on what many call the” Chevy shake,” and drivers are still reaching out to him saying their General Motors vehicles vibrate forcefully while they’re driving.
Consumers have complained to him about this issue more than any other -- except for problems having to do with the pandemic, such as stimulus checks and unemployment benefits.
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More than 280 drivers from 30 states and Canada contacted Action 9. One of those drivers, Ryan Helton, who owns a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500, sent cellphone footage.
“I would say anything within the 70 to 80 miles per hour range is when you will definitely feel the vibration,” he said. “I should not be having these issues with a brand new $35,000 truck.”
Helton said he contacted GM, but didn’t get any answers. As of Thursday, his claim has yet to be resolved.
“I don’t make a ton of money. I make a good living and I work hard and I want to have a good truck. And I pay a lot of money for it and I feel like I should have the [functioning] product at the end of the day,” he said.
GM hasn’t issued a recall so many customers are relying on the Francis lawsuit.
“We believe that and allege that, based upon what we’ve uncovered thus far, General Motors knew this well before job one. They tried to fix it. They couldn’t fix it. They still allowed the engines to be produced in a defective manner,” Theodore Leopold, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, told Stoogenke. “We still get anywhere from two to five inquiries a day from people around the country that are suffering from the same issues.”
He is asking the judge to make it a class action so it covers everyone who has this issue who drives one of these vehicles:
- 2015-2019 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2017-2019 Chevrolet Colorado
- 2015-2019 Chevrolet Corvette
- 2016-2019 Chevrolet Camaro
- 2015-2019 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV
- 2016-2019 Cadillac ATS, ATS-V, CTS, CT6 and CTS-V
- 2015-2019 GMC Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL and Yukon Denali XL
- 2017-2019 GMC Canyon
In the past, GM has said that its warranty does not cover design defects, and legally, new cars have to work but they don’t have to be perfect. Additionally, they claim the case does not meet the requirements for a class action.
At least one person suing is from North Carolina, so GM talked about North Carolina specifically. It says that in North Carolina, in this kind of case, you have to give the car company notice before suing, you can’t sue the manufacturer if you bought the vehicle from an independent dealership, and you have to prove you suffered more than just an economic loss. You have to prove someone got hurt or something got damaged. GM claims the plaintiff, or plaintiffs, in this case, didn’t do any of the three.
Stoogenke asked GM for its response this time. The company said, “Owners should visit their GM dealer (Chevrolet, Buick-GMC, Cadillac). Dealers have service and technical procedures they can enact to address this concern.”
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