--- title: "GM transmission lawsuit: The saga continues" url: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/" publisher: "Pickup Truck + SUV Talk" content_signal: "search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=no" author: "Jill Ciminillo" published: "2021-01-08T17:28:48+00:00" modified: "2025-07-23T15:17:10+00:00" image: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2018-Chevrolet-Silverado-HighCountry-012-scaled.jpg" --- # GM transmission lawsuit: The saga continues By Jill Ciminillo Published: 2021-01-08T17:28:48+00:00 Updated: 2025-07-23T15:17:10+00:00 ![Featured image]() ![gm transmission lawsuit]() The 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (Image courtesy of General Motors) We’ve begun working on a reliability series that will eventually (hopefully) cover every pickup and SUV on the market. One of the first stories I worked on involved the Chevy Silverado, and [the biggest issue I found]()pertained to the GM 8-speed transmission. But the issue is much bigger than just Silverado. In fact, the Hydra-Matic 8L90 and 8L45 transmissions at the root of the problem have been used in 15 different GM products since 2014 – including everything from the Chevrolet Corvette all the way to the Cadillac Escalade. So, it should surprise no one there is lawsuit pending. It was originally filed in April of 2019, but as [CarComplaints.com reports](), that lawsuit is in the news this week because there were some partial dismissals. The gist of the lawsuit is that these transmissions have a known, common defect. Specifically, [as detailed on DocketBird.com](), point No. 2 of the introduction states: *“Drivers attempting to accelerate or decelerate their cars feel a hesitation, followed by a significant shake, shudder, jerk, clunk, or ‘hard shift’ when the vehicle’s automatic transmission changes gears.”* GM, of course, is trying to get the lawsuit dismissed, including the express warranty claims, arguing the plaintiffs allege *all*these transmissions are plagued equally with the problem (which GM says isn’t true) and are talking about a design defect, and not something covered by the warranty. Though the judge has said most of the lawsuit allegations can move forward, there are two items that were dismissed: - A claim for class-wide money damages under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act - Implied warranty claims of all plaintiffs under the laws of Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin What the judge didn’t dismiss: The claim that GM acted fraudulently by selling vehicles it knew were defective. You can see [the complete list of vehicles covered]() by this lawsuit on CarComplaints.com, but the trucks and SUVs involved include: - 2015-2019 Chevrolet Silverado - 2017-2019 Chevrolet Colorado - 2015-2019 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV - 2015-2019 GMC Sierra - 2015-2019 GMC Yukon - 2015-2019 GMC Yukon XL - 2015-2019 GMC Yukon Denali XL - 2017-2019 GMC Canyon ### **The bottom line on the GM transmission lawsuit** We’ll keep an eye on this lawsuit, but don’t expect a resolution next week – or probably even this year. These things tend to drag on. But, frankly, it doesn’t look like it’s going to end well for GM. As noted by CarComplaints.com, the judge specifically stated “plausible inferences may be drawn that GM had substantial knowledge” of the transmission problems *before*any of the plaintiffs purchased their vehicles. Oops. **Related posts:** > [Ford F-150, Ranger mired in new fuel economy lawsuit]() > [Is the 2014-2018 Chevy Silverado 1500 reliable? One year to avoid]() > [Consumer Reports 2021 least reliable full-size trucks]() ## Structured page information ~~~json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/#article", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/" }, "author": { "name": "Jill Ciminillo", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/#/schema/person/17a307b2bd8654a0efc57d38f2e79df8" }, "headline": "GM transmission lawsuit: The saga continues", "datePublished": "2021-01-08T17:28:48+00:00", "dateModified": "2025-07-23T15:17:10+00:00", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/" }, "wordCount": 475, "commentCount": 23, "publisher": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/#organization" }, "image": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/#primaryimage" }, "thumbnailUrl": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2018-Chevrolet-Silverado-HighCountry-012-scaled.jpg", "keywords": [ "Cadillac Escalde", "chevrolet colorado", "chevrolet silverado", "GM lawsuit", "GM transmission lawsuit", "GMC Canyon", "gmc sierra", "gmc yukon", "GMC Yukon Denali XL", "gmc yukon xl" ], "articleSection": [ "News" ], "inLanguage": "en-US", "potentialAction": [ { "@type": "CommentAction", "name": "Comment", "target": [ "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/#respond" ] } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/", "url": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/", "name": "GM transmission lawsuit: The saga continues", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/#primaryimage" }, "image": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/#primaryimage" }, "thumbnailUrl": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2018-Chevrolet-Silverado-HighCountry-012-scaled.jpg", "datePublished": "2021-01-08T17:28:48+00:00", "dateModified": "2025-07-23T15:17:10+00:00", "description": "Though a couple of items were dismissed in the GM transmission lawsuit, the bigger allegation of fraud will continue.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/#breadcrumb" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "potentialAction": [ { "@type": "ReadAction", "target": [ "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/" ] } ] }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "inLanguage": "en-US", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/01/gm-transmission-lawsuit-the-saga-continues/#primaryimage", "url": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2018-Chevrolet-Silverado-HighCountry-012-scaled.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2018-Chevrolet-Silverado-HighCountry-012-scaled.jpg", "width": 2048, "height": 1293, "caption": "2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country. 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Previously, Jill has been the automotive editor for the Chicago Sun-Times News Group as well as Sinclair Broadcast Group. She is also a past president for the Midwest Automotive Media Association and has the distinction of being the first female president for that organization. Jill is also currently a juror for the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) and Women's World Car of the Year (WWCOTY).", "sameAs": [ "https://www.instagram.com/jillciminillo/", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillciminillo/", "https://x.com/https://twitter.com/jillciminillo", "https://www.youtube.com/jillciminillo" ], "url": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/author/jillc/" } ] } ] ~~~