GM Speedometer lawsuit filed
Suits filed over GM speedometers
By David Bowermaster
Seattle Times staff reporter
Kevin Zwicker knew something was wrong when the speedometer on his 2004 Chevy Suburban indicated he was going 10 mph, even though he was driving at or near the speed limit on Interstate 5.
Zwicker's speedometer failed completely in April 2006. But General Motors did not replace it for free because the truck was outside the standard three-year, 36,000-mile warranty period.
Zwicker had purchased an extended warranty, so he paid $100 for a new speedometer rather than the usual $400 to $500.
But now Zwicker, who lives in Snohomish, is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit seeking damages on behalf of potentially thousands of people. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle, could potentially cover all Washington residents who purchased GM trucks and sport-utility vehicles from 2003 to 2007, and who have had to replace defective speedometers.
Zwicker, 48, considers himself a "savvy driver," but said it was uncomfortable driving without knowing how fast he was going.
"I don't think it's fair that a major manufacturer such as GM can let something like this go by and not give it some serious thought," Zwicker said.
A nearly identical suit was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Oregon on behalf of John Hall, who paid $427.50 in January to fix a defective speedometer on his 2003 GMC Envoy LE.
The lawsuits in Washington and Oregon are seeking class-action status, according to Beth Terrell, an attorney with the Seattle law firm of Tousley Brain Stephens who is representing Hall and Zwicker. The suits cover five Chevrolet models: Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe and Trailblazer; four GMC models: Denali, Envoy, Sierra and Trailblazer; and the Cadillac Escalade.
Additional suits could follow in other states, but there are currently no plans to consolidate the cases into a single national suit against the world's largest automaker.
By David Bowermaster
Seattle Times staff reporter
Kevin Zwicker knew something was wrong when the speedometer on his 2004 Chevy Suburban indicated he was going 10 mph, even though he was driving at or near the speed limit on Interstate 5.
Zwicker's speedometer failed completely in April 2006. But General Motors did not replace it for free because the truck was outside the standard three-year, 36,000-mile warranty period.
Zwicker had purchased an extended warranty, so he paid $100 for a new speedometer rather than the usual $400 to $500.
But now Zwicker, who lives in Snohomish, is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit seeking damages on behalf of potentially thousands of people. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle, could potentially cover all Washington residents who purchased GM trucks and sport-utility vehicles from 2003 to 2007, and who have had to replace defective speedometers.
Zwicker, 48, considers himself a "savvy driver," but said it was uncomfortable driving without knowing how fast he was going.
"I don't think it's fair that a major manufacturer such as GM can let something like this go by and not give it some serious thought," Zwicker said.
A nearly identical suit was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Oregon on behalf of John Hall, who paid $427.50 in January to fix a defective speedometer on his 2003 GMC Envoy LE.
The lawsuits in Washington and Oregon are seeking class-action status, according to Beth Terrell, an attorney with the Seattle law firm of Tousley Brain Stephens who is representing Hall and Zwicker. The suits cover five Chevrolet models: Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe and Trailblazer; four GMC models: Denali, Envoy, Sierra and Trailblazer; and the Cadillac Escalade.
Additional suits could follow in other states, but there are currently no plans to consolidate the cases into a single national suit against the world's largest automaker.
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Comments
My Odometer stopped working at around 31,000 in 2006. I brought it to the Chevy Dealership in Palmdale Calif. Rally Chevy.
They not only replaced the part, or repaired it, I never got a true answer as to which, but they also gave me a loaner car to use at no charge.
The part was known to have a defect then in Feb. 2006 when mine stopped working. Apparently the manufacture that was making the part could not keep up with all the orders. It took 7 days before my Tahoe was ready. It only took a couple of minutes to remove the part.
I posted a message about this on the Recall Site letting people know. How ever Chevy as far as I know never did or has recalled the part. They are waiting for the problem to occur and in some cases it sounds like hoping that it happens when the vehicle is out of warranty.
I think that you have a legitimate lawsuit. Chevy should have recalled this part as they knew it was and is bad. :lemon:
I hope that this helps out who ever was charged for this part as I think that is ethically wrong.
I have got the same problem w/my 2004 Z71 Tahoe....I haven't had it fixed yet, waiting on either a recall or some legal action. My problem began around 38,000 miles.
It w/work sometimes, but most of the time it register "0" or it w/go up to 70 MPH and then stick there for several days.....I had it checked and it's in the speedodometer head, as I was told.
I made an appointment when I got back to have it repaired, and it resolved itself the day before the appointment. It has since worked sporadically, with not apparent trigger for the problem. It is very odd, seems like it should be an all or nothing type of problem, not a come and go issue.
Dealer told me that my entire instrument cluster would need to be replaced. I think I'll wait and see how GM responds to this obvious design problem.
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You can count on that....
:confuse:
I have a 2004 Trlblazer LT.
My hour meter when I brought in to the dealer had 1058 on it and when I got my Tahoe back it had 779 hours on it, 279 hours less. Once the hour meter reached 1600 hours with the repaired part it reset it self to 0 hours. So I'm starting to think that maybe the dealer or people that they sent the part to gave me some one elses odometer and lied to me when they said that they repaired it. Why would it have 279 hours less on it? Your not suppose to be able to reset the hour meter. Then after putting 821 hours on the repaired odometer the hour meter reset itself and went back to 0 hours? I've have kept a gas log since day 1 when I bought my Tahoe with all the DIC readings so I know exactly how many hours, etc I have on my odometer.
went to Dealer that i bought truck from and they still had to verifie that it was BROKE and VIN.
then said they would have to order part in and would call me . Its been 5 days and NO Call !!! :confuse:
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Five days....??? GM probably doesn't even have the order in their complete system yet. There will be thousands of units replaced so you better be patient.
"Received Recall notice yesterday, for failure within first 7 years or 70,000 miles"
veh up to 7 yrs or 70,000 miles. He is going to fax me a claim form to get reimbursed. I'll believe it when I see the check.......w/keep this BB updated.
Sounds like GM took the cheap way out on a known problem, maybe they had analysis to show if the failure did not occur within 70,000 miles it never would, or maybe they just thought they would quiet the current batch of squeaky wheels with this half [non-permissible content removed] approach instead of a full recall.
Customer Service 866-996-9463
Reimburesement 800-204-0261
I have a 2004 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4x4, built in Janesville, WI. I have driven it 55,000 trouble free miles. Still looks like new, great service at my local dealership. Can't complain.
Good luck...
I'm glad you are pleased with your vehicle. I am for the most part, but it will be the last GM vehicle I purchase. I have had multiple problems, all pretty minor but it has been an absolute nightmare getting things fixed.
When my rear window hinge broke (if this has not happened to you, it will), the dealer I normally used said they had never heard of this problem. I asked the rep. to look it up on the internet and he said "he didn't have internet access". I called GM and they connected me to another dealer who said they were fixing two to three of these a week. They wanted $800 for the new window and told me since I didn't use them for regular service they would not help me in anyway and suggested that I call my "normal" dealer back and telll them they were full of sh1t. I did this and once again they said they had never heard of the problem and therefore could not help me. I called my insurance company, used their glass repair service and had it done for $450. I called GM 4 times and after they realized this was my 3rd Suburban/Yukon in 10 years and I also own a GM truck they gave me a $400 service credit for oil changes and tire rotations.
I have also had issues with paint peeling on the dash(fixed underwarranty but now peeling again). Water leaks (we're in a drought so I really don't know if this has been fixed), my rear A.C. blower motor was replaced (and has started making the same whinin nosie again), "flickering" lights (the dealer can't seem to replicate this one becuase they don't work on cars at night) and a whiny power steering pump which after replaced has worked ok. All have been repaired, for the most part, and under warranty. But each time the dealer has had the vehicle for more than a day and most times it took two trys to fix them and usaully they give me a song and dance about having to get approval from GM to fix the problem.
This is unacceptable. I have a Toyota (1990 truck) and my wife drives a Lexus. The biggest difference in the products???? Toyota/Lexus stand behind their product when I've had problem, they admit it, fix it and offer a loaner if I'm incovienanced. I started buying GM again back in 1994 because the suburban was the only vehilce of it's type available and because my state (georgia) passed a lemon law. My 1994 was pretty good, I sold it with 120,000 miles on it. My 1999 was not quite as good, traded it with 90,000 miles because I could not sell it. I'd like to keep the 2004 for a few more years but my patience is really running thin.