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Chevrolet Volt Steering Defect Leads to a Class Action Lawsuit Against General Motors

General Motors' biggest venture in plug-in hybrid electric motoring has been with us since December 2010, but the Volt was recalled on more than one occasions for a set of faults. This time around, a number of Volt owners alleging steering defects led to a class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC.
2011 Chevrolet Volt 1 photo
Photo: Chevrolet
Apparently, a yet to be discovered glitch in the steering system of the pre-2015 model year Chevrolet Volt makes the steering wheel freeze intermittently while driving. This is no laughing matter, especially if it were to happen while cornering at higher speeds.

Filed at the New Jersey District Court earlier in December, the proposed defective automotive class action lawsuit involves over 100 owners and lessees of the 2011 to 2014 Chevrolet Volt.

According to plaintiffs Tara Follari-Johnson and Christopher Johnson, claims amount to a hefty $5 million

Follari-Johnson and Johnson said in an official statement that “when class members present to GM’s authorized dealerships complaining of the steering defect, the dealerships recommend repairs such as replacing the steering rack or steering gear assembly. However, these repairs only temporarily mask the problem.”

Alleging that GM violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, this lawsuit boils down to a breach of warranty of merchantability, express warranty and common law fraud.

“Complaints that consumers filed with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and posted in discussion forums demonstrate that the defect is widespread and dangerous and that it manifests without warning,”

Judges of case number 2:14-cv-07924 will tell in a matter of months if GM knew or should've known about the alleged fault with the steering system, but continued to sell or lease the aforementioned model. To boot, replacing a defective steering with a similar rack isn't a real solution to the freezing of the wheel, innit?
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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