Lemon Law Blog

In the wake of the massive Toyota recalls comes some stressful news from Nissan and General Motors.  Both manufacturers are announcing pretty extensive recalls on some of their most popular models.

Let’s start with Nissan, who has announced a recall of 539,864 vehicles due to faulty brake pedal pins and fuel gauge components.   Those models affected by the brake pin recall include 2008-2010 Nissan Titan, Armada, Quest and the high-end Infiniti QX56.There have been three reported instances of brake pedal pins partially disengaging, causing a loss of normal braking activity and Nissan has centered the problem on the supplier’s part.  All Nissan vehicles currently on sale are free of this problem.

The fuel gauge recall affects 2005-2008 Nissan Titan, Armada, Quest and Infiniti QX56 models, as well as an Nissan Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra models produced between January and March 2006 or between October 2007 and January 2008.  Vehicles at higher mileage may have fuel gauges which incorrectly indicate the amount of fuel in the tank.  This may result in the vehicle running out of gas even through the gauge does not read empty.

Owners of all recalled Nissan models will be notified in March.  For more information, contact Consumer Affairs at 1-800-NISSAN1 for Nissan or 1-800-662-6200 for Infiniti.   In the meantime, if you have previously reported these problems and the issue was never repaired properly, feel free to contact us to determine if you are entitled to remedy under State or Federal Law.

On the General Motors front, the manufacturer is recalling 1.3 million vehicles due to faulty steering systems.  This comes as no surprise to us as we have received countless calls, and have resolved well over a thousand cases, pertaining to faulty steering systems in Chevrolet, Pontiac and GM models.

The recalled models include 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalts and 2007-2010 Pontiac G5 models.   The sudden loss of power steering can occur at any time and consumers are urged to not wait for the recal notice if the problem happens.  They are to report to an authorized manufacturer’s dealer immediately for assistance.

When the power steering problem occurs, drivers will hear a chime sound while a power steering indicator lights up on the dashboard.  The vehicle will be difficult to steer, especially under 15 miles per hour.  The problem has so far resulted in 14 reported accidents, although we have seen many occurrences of this.  For more information on the GM recall, call 800-222-1020.

If your power steering goes out three or more times during your original or extended manufacturers warranty, you have rights and it is important to look into them to determine the remedies you are entitled to.  For more information, please call us at 1-800 LEMON LAW (1-800-536-6652) or send us an e-mail.

Popularity: 16% [?]

The New York Times is reporting that the National Highway Traffic and Safety Adminsitration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation regarding the electric power steering system in 905,000 Chevrolet Cobalts, model years 2005-2009.

NHTSA says more than 1,132 complaints have been filed by Cobalt drivers, with eleven accidents and one injury reported.  Most of these incidents have occurred within the past six months.  Drivers complained that once the power steering system failed, it became difficult to control their car and keep it in the traffic lane. 

General Motors has said they will answer any questions posed during the investigation, and the case will either result in an analysis of the power steering engineering or the matter will be closed.

Kimmel & Silverman frequently receives calls from distressed drivers who have complained about power steering in their Cobalts, as well as other GM vehicles including the Imapla and Malibu.  That being said, we have found that General Motors is a very responsible company and takes consumers’ issues very seriously.  Most power steering issues we have brought to the company’s attention have been resolved efficiently to the consumer’s satisfaction.  Most claims we open start with power steering noises, where steering shafts have been lubed or steering columns have been replaced.

If you find yourself experiencing problems with your power steering, and have been back to an authorized GM dealership three or more times to report the problem, or the vehicle has been in the shop for an extended period of time while the service team investigates the matter, you may be entitled to remedy under State Lemon Law or Federal Warranty Law.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact us for more information.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Late last month, we worked on an investigative report with WTAE TV reporter Paul Van Osdel, uncovering which cars provides the most headaches for drivers throughout the Keystone State. Paul obtained a list from PENNDot (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) and according to their records, from 2003-2008, Chevrolet led the list of lemons in Pennsylvania. Their list is as follows:

Chevrolet (their story featured 1-800 LEMON LAW client Sarah Griffith of Monroeville, who received a complete buyback after suffering problems with her Trailblazer)

Ford
Dodge
Nissan
Suzuki
Jeep
Hyundai
Cadillac
Volkswagen
GMC

We find this list to be rather incomplete, as it only covers vehicles that were purchased back from the manufacturer and officially titled as lemons. The list does not include vehicles where consumers received thousands of dollar in monetary damages and were able to keep their cars.

Being that we are the oldest and largest lemon law firm in Western Pennsylvania, Paul asked us to compile a list of the cars we see the most in our Pittsburgh caseload. Although he didn’t have time for the information in the story, we thought it would be interesting to give our top 10:
Chevrolet Cobalt
Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Silverado
Chevrolet Malibu
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Liberty
Chevrolet Equinox
Kia Sedona
Pontiac G6
Saturn VUE
Jeep Commander
Jeep Wrangler

and of course, to view the cars that receive the most complaints nationally per sales, check out the 2009 Car Complaint Index.

Popularity: 17% [?]