Owners of 2007 and 2008 Chevrolet Impalas have brought a class-action lawsuit against General Motors for what they allege were improper maintenance policies.
The Associated Press reports that the Impalas were said to have a defect with the spindle rods, which connect the rear wheels to the suspension. A defective spindle rod means the wheels of a car can become misaligned, chewing up the tires much faster than normal.
General Motors was reportedly aware of the issue, the lawsuit alleges, and instructed their dealers to fix the part free of charge, as well as replace the tires. There's just one problem - they only told them to do it for police officers using Impala-based cruisers.
The police got their cars fixed and a brand new set of tires courtesy of GM. If they had already replaced the tires, dealers were authorized to provide reimbursement. However, the thousands of consumers who bought Impalas had no recall issued. They still had to pay to get the problem fixed and get new tires put on.
With 423,000 Impalas on the road from 2007 and 2008, GM could be on the hook for a multi-million dollar settlement if true.