Holden faces class action over alleged transmission defects

A class-action lawsuit has been launched against Holden’s parent company, General Motors Australia and New Zealand, for an alleged faulty transmission found in Commodore and Colorado models.

Maurice Blackburn, the law firm behind the suit, claims hundreds of thousands of Holdens are affected, and owners could be eligible for compensation.

The action alleges that three automatic transmissions are faulty – the GM 6L45, 6L50 and 6L80 units – found across the Commodore VE, Commodore VF and Colorado ute, as well vehicles sharing major components such as the Calais, Ute, Caprice, Colorado 7 and Trailblazer.

All affected models were sold from January 1, 2011, but anyone who has acquired one of the affected vehicles before December 24, 2024 can register for the class action.

According to Maurice Blackburn, consumers are eligible to take action “if they have sold the vehicle, the vehicle has been written off, or they acquired an affected vehicle but have not experienced any problems with it.”

Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer, Kimi Nishimura said the transmissions were “defective due to a design fault in the Torque Converter and Torque Converter Clutch.”

“Because of the alleged defect, car owners have experienced problems with their vehicles including intermittent transmission shudders, excessive vibrations and harsh gear shifts,” Nishimura said.

“Owners of the affected vehicles have also reported leakage of automatic transmission fluid, accelerated degradation of transmission system components and greater servicing requirements.

“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.”