California Lemon Law News + Info

General Motors’ Power Brake Failures Put Pick-Up Drivers at Risk

A blue car's front bumper and headlights are destroyed, exposing interior components. If the message “Service Brake Assist” or “Service ECS” appears on the dashboard of your GMC pickup, it means that your power brakes could soon fail.

When this occurs, drivers may need to manually brake hard or hold the emergency brake. Roughly 1,700 drivers complained about experiencing this issue whenever they used the OnStar app to start their vehicles. This defect surfaced after the drivers received repairs during a GM-issued recall.

Consumer advocacy and safety groups criticized General Motors’ delayed response to this particular brake defect. General Motors told Detroit Free Press that it cannot alert customers without notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration first. However, some advocacy groups do not believe GM.

“Once you discover that it is the brakes, you do everything you can to notify everyone and that shouldn’t take (CEO) Mary Barra to weigh in,” Jason Levine, executive director of Center for Auto Safety, told Detroit Free Press. “That’s a low level decision.”

Source: Detroit Free Press


Lemon Law Help by Knight Law Group is an automotive lemon law firm that exclusively practices in California. If you are a California resident who purchased or leased a defective vehicle from a licensed dealership in California, we may be able to help you get rid of your potential lemon and recover significant cash compensation. Model year restrictions apply: 2020–Present vehicle models only.

However, we cannot help those who reside outside of California or purchased their vehicle outside of California unless they are active duty members of the Armed Forces, nor will we be able to refer those to a lemon law firm in their states.

To learn more about the California Lemon Law and your legal rights, visit our guide on the California Lemon Law for more information.

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