Posted On: March 27, 2008 by Craig P. Niedenthal

General Motors Settles Class Action regarding Dex-Cool Coolant

It took almost 5 years of litigation, but GM has finally decided to pay up for a significant problem it created in its cars. GM used an engine coolant in about 30 models of its cars which caused significant engine problems in these vehicles. As a result, owners were having to pay for repairs which were caused by a product GM choose to put in these cars. It started with model year 1995 and includes popular models Olds Cutlass and Chevy Impala. It is reported by the plaintiff's attorneys representing the class that each consumer will recieve back about 50% of the cost of the repair due to the problematic engine coolant.

My only thought on this is why did this have to take so long? Almost 5 years of litigation when surely GM knew early on it had a problem it had to fix. And yes, it is reported that the plaintiff's lawyers involved in this litigation will receive a fee that will be split among many lawyers and law firms of up to $16.5 million. But I promise you, the firms involved in defending GM, billing by the hour, at an hourly rate of at least $250 per hour, made gobs and gobs of money off this litigation. So don't let that old standard line about the only winners in this litigation is the plaintiff's attorneys fool you. The lawyers representing GM and the corporate world, with tens, if not hundreds of lawyers working for them on just this litigation, make out like bandits. And behind closed doors they will tell you they rely on litigation like this to make the huge incomes necessary to keep the lawyers for GM going.

Comments

Hi I'm looking for some help. my truck is currently in the GM shop for yet another problem with blown gaskets due to this coolant. I paid $1830.79 in Dec. 2006 was told coolant was leaking into my rear differential, because of blown gaskets. I had to have a rear differential overhaul.
Then again in Dec 2007, My vehicle was overheating. When I checked my radiator, I noticed a thick black sludge on my radiator cap. I was told I had a manifold gasket leak which ended up costing me $2085.
My engine light came on monday.Aug. 11th I checked my radiator and it had the same black sludge as before. I was near an auto parts store , close to my home, whom ran a computer diaognostic and said i had a blown head gasket but it was safe to drive to a repair shop as soon as possible. I took my truck and dropped it off at the dealership that night.
I am now told this was not the same gasket and will not be repaired with out an additional $1800.00. I am towing my truck home in peices. Please help me

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)