‘Faulty’ Holden transmissions the target of class action lawyers

Class action lawyers are suing the owner of Holden over allegedly faulty transmission systems.

The lawsuit is calling for owners of 13 different Colorado, Commodore, Holden Ute, Trailblazer, Berlina, Calais and Caprice owners to sign up.

Lawyers will be pushing for the owner of Holden – General Motors – to compensate people who bought one of the cars between January 2011 and December 2024.

“GM does not comment on ongoing litigation,” a General Motors Australia spokesperson said.

“GM stands by its commitment to achieving the best outcomes for Holden customers.”

A design fault in the torque converter and torque converter clutch are supposedly the problem.

The defect allegedly produces intermittent transmission shudders, excessive vibrations, harsh gear shifts, leaking of transmission fluid, accelerated degradation of the transmission system, and greater servicing requirements.

Maurice Blackburn served legal papers on GM on Monday. The public call for class action sign ups went live on Thursday.

“The class action alleges that General Motors failed to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality under the Australian Consumer Law and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct,” Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer, Kimi Nishimura, said.

“The class action seeks to recover compensation for loss and damage on behalf of consumers who acquired the affected vehicles.

“It does not seek to claim compensation for loss or damage which is not related to the transmission system.”

Motoring holden transmission class action

The affected transmission systems are the GM 6L 45, 50 and 80, which are in large vehicles.

Litigation funder Balance Legal Capital is bankrolling the class action. The case is officially being pursued against General Motors Australia and New Zealand in the Federal Court of Australia.

General Motors announced it was ending the production of right-hand drive cars in 2020, three years after the last Holden was made in Australia.

Holden was purchased by General Motors in 1920, and the first Holden Car was made in 1948.