Lawsuit: Air Conditioning Systems Prone to Failure in GM Vehicles

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A proposed class action has been filed in Oklahoma against General Motors Company; General Motors Holdings, LLC; and General Motors, LLC over an alleged defect in several vehicle models that the lawsuit says can cause the cars' air conditioning systems to fail prematurely.

The suit claims GM “was aware of the Class Defect and neither warned prospective customers nor alerted those who had already purchased or leased” one of the following supposedly affected vehicles:

The alleged defect allows refrigerant to leak out of the above vehicles' air conditioning systems, the case claims. Without refrigerant, an air conditioning system's evaporator does not become cold, which causes the system to blow hot air into a vehicle's passenger compartment, the complaint explains.

The case claims that besides presenting health risks associated with being exposed to intense heat, the alleged defect also impedes drivers’ ability to de-fog their front windshields, reducing visibility on the road.

Furthermore, because so many vehicles have been affected, the suit claims, repair parts are “nowhere in sight,” causing many drivers to wait an unreasonably long time to have their air conditioning systems fixed. Worse, many proposed class members whose vehicles are no longer under warranty are forced to pay out-of-pocket for repairs.

“Unfortunately,” the complaint reads, “customers who suffer this failure after the vehicle is out of warranty are required to purchase and pay for the installation of these new parts, thus having to pay twice to obtain a functioning air conditioning system.”

The plaintiffs claim they spent $444.00 and “approximately $1,300.00,” respectively, to have their GMC Sierras repaired and would not have purchased their vehicles – or would have paid less for them – had they been aware of the alleged defect.