Shift to Park Lawsuit Transferred to Tennessee

Ohio class action now joins Tennessee lawsuit to settle the GM Shift to Park lawsuits.

Shift to Park Lawsuit Transferred to Tennessee

Posted in News

— A General Motors Shift to Park lawsuit which began in Ohio has been transferred to a Tennessee federal court to consolidate the case with a separate Shift to Park lawsuit filed by some of the same lawyers.

The Ohio Shift to Park class action lawsuit alleges the following vehicles are defective:

  • 2017-2019 GMC Acadia
  • 2019 Chevrolet Blazer
  • 2016-2019 Chevrolet Malibu
  • 2018-2019 Chevrolet Traverse
  • 2016-2019 Chevrolet Volt

According to the GM lawsuit, the vehicles do not detect when drivers shift the transmissions into PARK. This will cause a message to appear that warns the driver to "Shift to Park."

GM drivers contend when the message appears, they cannot shut off the vehicles even though the gear shifters say the vehicles are in PARK. Drivers also complain the doors cannot be locked in this condition, which forces drivers to jiggle the gear shifters.

According to the GM owner who filed the class action lawsuit:

"To get his vehicle to detect that the shifter was in fact in the 'Park' position, Plaintiff was forced to repeatedly wiggle the shifter, shift it through its gears, or start the engine and then shut off the engine."

The plaintiff filed the Ohio Shift to Park lawsuit in March 2021, but before that another Shift to Park lawsuit was filed against GM in Tennessee, titled Jefferson v. General  Motors.

The parties reached an agreement in principle to settle the Ohio and Tennessee lawsuits, which is why the Ohio case has now been transferred to Tennessee.

Prior to the transfer, the Ohio Shift to Park settlement agreement included these specific customers.

"(1)  Initial purchasers and lessees of new Class Vehicles—2017-2019 GMC Acadia, 2019 Chevrolet Blazer, 2016-2019  Chevrolet  Malibu,  2018-2019  Chevrolet  Traverse,  or  2016-2019  Chevrolet  Volt vehicle—who purchased or leased their vehicles in Ohio; and who (2) sought a repair from a GM dealer regarding the Shifter Issue during the warranty period; and who (3) were not provided with a silicon-free replacement part."

As for the previous Tennessee Shift to Park lawsuit, it includes initial purchasers and lessees of new 2017-2018 GMC Acadia SUVs who purchased or leased their vehicles in Tennessee.

The GM Shift to Park lawsuit settlement will be hashed out at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

CarComplaints.com will update our website when additional details are released about the GM Shift to Park lawsuit settlement.