GM and LucasVarity Sued for Anti-Lock Brake System Problems

10/04/96

Reuters has reported that 10 people filed a class action suit against General Motors and LucasVarity, alleging that the companies knew about problems with an anti-lock brake system (ABS) they were selling, but didn't fix them or warn consumers. The suit involves thousands of GM vehicles built with Kelsey-Hayes anti-lock brake systems between 1989 and 1995, and was filed in a Manhattan federal court on behalf of all owners of such vehicles. Kelsey-Hayes is a unit of LucasVarity, GM's co-defendant in the suit.

The lawsuit alleges that GM and LucasVarity knew about severe problems with the quality and reliability of the Kelsey-Hayes ABS from at least 1990, but never satisfactorily resolved the problems, or warned consumers about them. The suit says that consumers bought the vehicles with the bad ABS after reading advertisements and promotional materials that stressed quality and safety.

The lawsuit says that the Kelsey-Hayes ABS is designed so the brake pedal falls rapidly to the floor of the vehicle during hard or emergency braking situations, giving the appearance of complete brake failure, which leads to a "foreseable panic reaction" that has caused and will continue to cause accidents.

The suit indicates that internal documents show GM acknowleged the "pedal to the floor" phenomenon, stating it gives the "perception" of the total loss of brakes.

A spokesman for General Motors said the company had no comment yet, as it has not yet seen the suit.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel