GM Instrument Cluster Settlement (Zwicker v. GM) Lawsuit

GM Instrument Cluster Settlement (Zwicker v. GM)

The GM Instrument Cluster Settlement is a 2008 U.S. class action settlement that resolved claims brought by owners of certain General Motors vehicles whose instrument panels developed problems with speedometers and gauges that dimmed or failed while the vehicles were in motion. The consolidated litigation is commonly known as Zwicker v. General Motors. It was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and ended in settlement in 2008.

Product and manufacturer

General Motors is the automaker behind the Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Hummer brands. The class covered the instrument clusters — the dashboard assemblies housing the speedometer, tachometer, and warning gauges — installed in model years 2000 through 2007 across several GM lines. Among the vehicles listed as covered were the Cadillac DeVille, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; the Chevrolet Avalanche, Impala, Silverado, Suburban, and Tahoe; the GMC Sierra and Envoy; and the Hummer H2.

The alleged defect and the harm

Owners reported that gauge displays and speedometer needles would dim or behave erratically during driving, at times making it hard to read the vehicle's speed. No deaths or injuries were ever attributed to the erratic gauges, but owners treated the problem as a safety hazard and described practical consequences as well: paying for out-of-warranty cluster replacements, and in some cases receiving traffic citations or seeing insurance costs move after speed readings they did not trust. Before the lawsuit, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had been collecting complaints about erratic speedometer and gauge readings from drivers of numerous GM makes and models.

Litigation

Kevin Zwicker, an owner of an affected vehicle, filed the class action against General Motors in federal court in Seattle, seeking replacement of the affected instrument clusters, reimbursement for owners who had already paid to have defective clusters repaired, and recovery for owners who had paid speeding tickets or faced higher auto insurance rates because of a faulty speedometer. John Hall, who had paid out of pocket to replace the instrument cluster in his 2003 GMC Envoy SLE, filed a nearly identical suit in a federal court in Oregon. Both plaintiffs were represented by the same Seattle law firm. The Seattle case was assigned to Judge John Coughenour, who certified the lawsuit as a class action, and the matter proceeded under that certification toward resolution.

Outcome

The litigation ended with a settlement in 2008. Under the settlement, GM agreed to let class members have their instrument clusters replaced through an adjustment to the factory standard warranty, with the scope of coverage — parts and labor, or parts only — depending on the vehicle's age and mileage measured from the date it was first placed in service. Owners who had already paid for a failed speedometer repair before the settlement could file a claim for reimbursement, with recovery capped at the cost a GM dealership would have charged for the work. The settlement closed the case; it is recorded here as a resolved matter.