BECM (battery energy control module) issues and inconvenience — class action?

24996 Views 122 Replies 40 Participants Last post by phattyduck, 2 mo ago

zimmerdale

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2022 (Edited)

I'm not an attorney, but given the repeated stories and similarities in our experiences, I'd like to see what the pulse may be for some sort of class action.

I specifically shopped for a GM Certified car in Nov. 2021 because I believed the warranty would be important. Three months later, the BECM was diagnosed as bad. The warranty covers repairs, but I've been waiting more than a month with no ETA on a part. Some online suppliers seem to have the part in stock, but the dealer says they can't use a part that's purchased elsewhere. The warranty provides courtesy transportation, but the dealer claims there are no loaners. They won't return my calls. I complained to GM, and they said they would look into it, but I haven't heard anything back yet.

The 2018 warranty explicitly states: "A part not being available within 10 days or a repair not being completed within 30 days constitutes a significant inconvenience."

If anyone else who has not received adequate service when their battery energy control module failed would be interested in looking into a class action, please PM me or email me (zimmerdale at yahoo dot com) with your name, phone number and/or email, your state, year of your Volt, and a brief overview of your experience, I'll try to compile a summary for circulation to see whether anything can come of this.

Reactions: 2

81 - 100 of 123 Posts

teddy5049

· #81 · 7 mo ago

zimmerdale said:
I'm not an attorney, but given the repeated stories and similarities in our experiences, I'd like to see what the pulse may be for some sort of class action. I specifically shopped for a GM Certified car in Nov. 2021 because I believed the warranty would be important. Three months later, the BECM was diagnosed as bad. The warranty covers repairs, but I've been waiting more than a month with no ETA on a part. Some online suppliers seem to have the part in stock, but the dealer says they can't use a part that's purchased elsewhere. The warranty provides courtesy transportation, but the dealer claims there are no loaners. They won't return my calls. I complained to GM, and they said they would look into it, but I haven't heard anything back yet. The 2018 warranty explicitly states: "A part not being available within 10 days or a repair not being completed within 30 days constitutes a significant inconvenience." If anyone else who has not received adequate service when their battery energy control module failed would be interested in looking into a class action, please PM me or email me (zimmerdale at yahoo dot com) with your name, phone number and/or email, your state, year of your Volt, and a brief overview of your experience, I'll try to compile a summary for circulation to see whether anything can come of this.

I am in the exact same boat here in Virginia

zimmerdale

Discussion Starter · #82 · 7 mo ago

The case is finally filed.

www.courtlistener.com

Complaint – #1 in Miller v. General Motors, LLC (E.D. Mich., 2:22-cv-12739) – CourtListener.com

COMPLAINT - Class Action filed by All Plaintiffs against All Plaintiffs with Jury Demand. Plaintiff requests summons issued. Receipt No: AMIEDC-9126368 - Fee: $ 402. County of 1st Plaintiff: Out of State - County Where Action Arose: Out of State - County of 1st Defendant: Wayne. [Previously...

www.courtlistener.com

If you think your situation is similar (see my posts earlier in this thread), and you are interested in being added to the case at some point, I can connect you with the lawyers in charge.

Reactions: 2

Steverino

· #83 · 7 mo ago

The class action was a fun read, thanks for the link. Keep us posted, please.

Reactions: 1

snic

· #84 · 7 mo ago

Steverino said:
The class action was a fun read, thanks for the link. Keep us posted, please.

The one thing I didn't agree with was the bolded word "GM was engaged in an aggressive marketing campaign to promote the Volt and attract customers".

Thanks to zimmerdale for doing this! Hopefully it at least prompts GM to increase BECM production and issue a recall. Given the high proportion of Volts that have faulty BECMs, and the dangerous nature of the defect (paragraphs 90-98), I'm surprised GM hasn't been forced to do a recall.

Reactions: 1

Steverino

· #85 · 7 mo ago

snic said:
The one thing I didn't agree with

There is a whole bunch of "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" in the suit. Assertions are not facts, they are claims and the attorney definitely put as much spin on it as possible.

The core issue is the car is unusable until the replacement part comes in. That is taking about 3-4 months. The rest? Lawerly artistic license in my view. But if all it accomplishes is to shorten the delivery time, that'll be great.

Reactions: 1

obermd

· #86 · 7 mo ago (Edited)

There are two claims in this case.

1) GM hasn't done anything to resolve the BECM failures, resulting in a breach of warranty contract.
2) GM advertises their Roadside Assistance program heavily in their advertising but if you look at the fine print this is left up to individual dealerships, which aren't owned by GM.

I'm not sure I'd say the BECM is a design flaw. Based on what's been posted here (GM-Volt) I'd say it's a manufacturing flaw. The Roadside Assistance program, on the other hand, is flat out false advertising because GM doesn't provide such a program; their dealerships do. GM doesn't own the dealerships.

zimmerdale

Discussion Starter · #87 · 7 mo ago

Attached is a bit of coverage (a summary basically) of the suit from a legal news service. It's behind a paywall for us regular folks.

"GM Battery Defect Brings Chevy Volts To A Halt, Suit Says"

Reactions: 2

zimmerdale

Discussion Starter · #88 · 7 mo ago

topclassactions.com

Chevy Volt class action says battery defect causes vehicles to suddenly stop

General Motors sold model year 2016-2019 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid vehicles containing defective battery energy control modules, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

topclassactions.com

obermd

· #89 · 7 mo ago

zimmerdale said:
Attached is a bit of coverage (a summary basically) of the suit from a legal news service. It's behind a paywall for us regular folks.

"GM Battery Defect Brings Chevy Volts To A Halt, Suit Says"

Leave it to the media to completely screw up basic reading comprehension. First, there are no new Volts for sale. Second, it's not a battery defect but rather an improperly manufactured computer.

Reactions: 2

playloud

· #90 · 7 mo ago

Very interesting to catch up on all these posts. My 2017 Volt LT was diagnosed for the BECM on 9/1/22, and I was told there was a national back order.

I have not experienced an issue while the car is driving, I have only had occasional issues getting it to start, so I continue to use it daily. Entering winter in Wisconsin, I'd rather not get stuck somewhere.

Maybe I will start putting more pressure on the dealership.

kchida

· #91 · 6 mo ago (Edited)

zimmerdale said:
The case is finally filed.

Complaint – #1 in Miller v. General Motors, LLC (E.D. Mich., 2:22-cv-12739) – CourtListener.com

COMPLAINT - Class Action filed by All Plaintiffs against All Plaintiffs with Jury Demand. Plaintiff requests summons issued. Receipt No: AMIEDC-9126368 - Fee: $ 402. County of 1st Plaintiff: Out of State - County Where Action Arose: Out of State - County of 1st Defendant: Wayne. [Previously...

www.courtlistener.com

If you think your situation is similar (see my posts earlier in this thread), and you are interested in being added to the case at some point, I can connect you with the lawyers in charge.

Excellent! My car was recently diagnosed with a bad BECM. Dealership advised that there are others with similar issues ahead of me who have been waiting for months so it's likely that I will be in the same boat. I'm interested in this class-action. Here is the TSB originally filed June 24, 2018 and updated March 2022: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10209256-0001.pdf

kchida

· #92 · 6 mo ago (Edited)

acnyack said:
Hey everyone.

3+ months waiting for a part. I am gathering my info for a lawyer.

contact Matt @ IAE Law

they are partnering with Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, PLLC | Attorneys With a Passion For Justice

Chevy is sending me 50% of what my car payment would be. But its not enough to cover a rental car.

Are you planning a class action? I'm still early in the process but the folks at my dealership admitted verbally that other customers are waiting months as well. There's a very high chance that my Volt will still be a brick in my driveway throughout Q1 2023. I live in a high-traffic area where I regularly need to dart into the HOV/toll lane and match the flow of traffic quickly. Also, I'm required to park in a very hilly area where inconsistent propulsion can easily result in an accident. I've already had a few close calls -- perhaps this will get better over time as I get used to the intermittent acceleration. I disagree with the dealership that this vehicle is safe to operate for months on end.

kcirwin

· #93 · 6 mo ago

Sorry to see these problems is this basically 2017-2018 volts that are having this issue? I have 2013 and it been solid was thinking of upgrading to a 2019 but now I'm on the fence.

snic

· #94 · 6 mo ago

kcirwin said:
Sorry to see these problems is this basically 2017-2018 volts that are having this issue? I have 2013 and it been solid was thinking of upgrading to a 2019 but now I'm on the fence.

Most reports of BECM failures are 2017. But 2016 and 2018 also pop up occasionally. I'm not sure about 2019.

Reactions: 1

Steverino

· #95 · 6 mo ago

Seeing more reports of BECM's coming in under a month...

Reactions: 1

marcusm

· #96 · 6 mo ago

My 16 was done and picked up nine days (today) after I dropped it off, which was the same day they ordered the BECM, so something good is going on to speed up the process now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reactions: 2

Steverino

· #97 · 6 mo ago

marcusm said:
My 16 was done and picked up nine days (today) after I dropped it off, which was the same day they ordered the BECM, so something good is going on to speed up the process now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

More positive reports coming in. Hopefully the new norm.

Reactions: 2

kcirwin

· #98 · 6 mo ago

Well that's some good news but I'm a dodge guy and that new hornet sounds interesting 30 miles electric and 75 mpg on the ICE motor is not bad .. mind you the 2019 volt gets double the miles at 65 miles or so. But then I'm dealing with an expensive BECM issues which I heard is 4500 dollars or is this under warranty??? Either way I buy cars for the long-run I don't know now... My 2013 solid volt almost 120,000 miles on it and still rolling good.

Steverino

· #99 · 6 mo ago

kcirwin said:
But then I'm dealing with an expensive BECM issues which I heard is 4500 dollars or is this under warranty???

Note that you are in the Gen 2 Volt Problems forum. Gen 1 Volts have not been having this issue.

kcirwin

· #100 · 6 mo ago

Steverino said:
Note that you are in the Gen 2 Volt Problems forum. Gen 1 Volts have not been having this issue.

Yep I understand I have a Gen1 but if I pickup another one 2019 volt that's where I'm wondering...

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