If you’ve driven a GM vehicle with an 8-speed automatic transmission from the last decade, you might be familiar with the dreaded “Chevy Shake” or “transmission shudder.”

It’s that unsettling feeling of the transmission slipping, jerking, or hesitating, and it’s been the subject of a major class-action lawsuit against General Motors. And that lawsuit just cleared a big hurdle.

A federal judge, David M. Lawson, rejected GM’s attempt to throw out the case (Cole Ulrich, et al., v. General Motors), which is related to another similar lawsuit, Speerly v. General Motors.

This means the GM lawsuit, representing owners of a ton of different GM models with the 8L45E and 8L90 eight-speed automatics, is moving forward.

The lawsuit alleges that General Motors knew about the problem – a problem that plaintiffs say makes the cars feel like they’re being rear-ended when the transmission shifts.

Drivers have reported “numerous dangerous incidents” where they lost control, or almost did, because of the unpredictable shifting. The lawsuit blames the issue on too much friction inside the torque converter, caused by not enough transmission fluid getting where it needs to go.

List of Affected Vehicles

Below is the list of affected vehicles. They are all built between 2015 and March 1st, 2019:

• Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV (2015-2019)
• Cadillac ATS and ATS-V (2016-2019)
• Cadillac CTS and CTS-V (2016-2019)
• Cadillac CT6 (2016-2019)
• Chevrolet Silverado (2015-2019)
• Chevrolet Colorado (2017-2019)
• Chevrolet Corvette (2015-2019)
• Chevrolet Camaro (2016-2019)
• GMC Canyon (2017-2019)
• GMC Sierra (2015-2019)
• GMC Yukon/Yukon XL (2015-2019)

It was determined early on the “shudder” customers were feeling was coming from the clutch inside the torque converter.

GM Lawsuit: Moving Forward

The judge said there was enough evidence to suggest these transmissions made the vehicles unsafe. (Do you think that these were rushed?) While there haven’t been any reported injuries or deaths directly caused by the shudder, that ruling is a big win for the people planning to sue General Motors.

This doesn’t mean General Motors is automatically on the hook, but it does mean the case can proceed, heading towards either a settlement or a trial. If you’ve got one of these GM vehicles and have experienced that unsettling “shudder,” this GM lawsuit is definitely one to keep an eye on. It might be a win for the plaintiffs.