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
There's the problem. Kelsey-Hayes is a bargain basement parts manufacturer. GM was trying to save a few bucks and it's going to end up costing them millions. There are parts manufacturers out there who are far more reliable. They're more expensive but when it comes to something like brakes, they're well worth it.
The original inventors of anti-lock brakes, for example, have never even been sued -- because the brakes they build are quality brakes.