— A General Motors active grille shutter emissions class action lawsuit alleges GM ignores its California emissions warranty obligations regarding the active grille shutters.
The shutters are installed in these GM vehicles:
- 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2017-2019 GMC Sierra
- 2017-2019 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2017-2019 GMC Yukon
- 2017-2019 Cadillac Escalade
The GM class action alleges only certain states are included in the active grille shutter emissions lawsuit.
Namely, states that have adopted California’s low-emission vehicle "criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission regulations and Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulations under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act."
Those states include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
According to the GM class action lawsuit, the vehicles are equipped with active grille shutters which should have been covered under the 7-year 70,000-mile California emissions warranty as high-priced parts.
However, the plaintiff who sued contends coverage was denied due to GM failing to perform a high-priced analysis that complies with the California emissions warranty.
The GM emissions lawsuit alleges customers are stuck paying for active grille shutter repairs that should be covered under the emissions warranty.
Plaintiff Mario Briones Ortiz purchased a used 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 in September 2022. He says in February 2023 and when the truck had less than 52,000 miles on it. He took the vehicle to a GMC dealer in California which caused a diagnostic fee of $195.
GM technicians performed a free software update referencing technical service bulletin 18-NA-037, but the plaintiff contends the update did not fix the problem.
Then a technician found diagnostic trouble code (DTC) U1510, indicating a defective active grill shutter which was replaced for $331.50. The charge indicated a rate of $195 per hour to replace the active grill shutter, 1.7 hours of time.
"The repair record indicates that the part cost for the active grill shutter was $375.71. The repair record indicates that the total cost to diagnose and repair the active grill shutter was $902.21 plus tax." — GM active grille shutter lawsuit
The plaintiff says he shouldn't have been charged anything because the California emissions warranty should have covered the cost.
"GM failed to cover the repair or replacement of the grill shutter part under the California Emissions Warranty either because GM failed to perform any high-priced calculation for this part or because GM used the “warranty pay rate,” instead of the “consumer pay rate,” to perform the high-priced calculation." — General Motors emissions class action
According to the plaintiff, GM has been using the wrong standard for calculating the labor cost in determining whether a part is a “high-priced part” under California regulations.
GM vehicles equipped with active grille shutters allegedly should have been covered under the 7-year, 70,000-mile California emissions warranty as high-priced parts.
The GM active grille shutter class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Oakland Division): Mario Briones Ortiz v. General Motors, LLC, et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Pomerantz LLP, The Law Office of Robert L. Starr, and Frontier Law Center.