— A GMC Yukon tail light recall allegedly should have been issued long ago for 2017-2019 Yukons equipped with tail light assemblies that allegedly cause the brake lights to fail.
According to the GM class action lawsuit, the automaker has issued bulletins and special coverage programs for the Yukon SUVs but failed to order an official recall to fix the problems.
The tail light lawsuit includes 2017-2019 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Yukon Denali and Yukon Denali XL vehicles that allegedly should have been included in a special coverage adjustment (SCA) for 2015-2016 GMC Yukons.
SCA N182180270 was issued in November 2019 entitled “Tail Lamps Inoperative,” but was limited to 2015-2016 Yukon vehicles only. GM replaced the inoperative tail lights for free, reimbursed Yukon owners and lessees who paid for repairs and covered the replacements for 6 years or 72,000 miles.
The 2015-2016 Yukons are not included in the GM class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff who sued says a Yukon tail light recall should be ordered because tail light assembly failures are serious safety hazards and increase the chances of rear-end crashes.
A GMC Yukon tail light recall is also allegedly needed because the tail lamp assembly may have faulty LED strips that cause the brake or tail lights to fail. Additionally, there may be a faulty connection inside the tail light assembly or defective circuit board assembly caused by a weakness in the circuitry of the tail light.
According to the lawsuit, the tail light assembly failure "can be a direct result of the defective design of the alloy base circuit used to maintain continuity."
"[T]he alloy’s inability to expand and contract due to the current design causes the Tail Lamp Assembly Defect, whereby the alloy breaks, interrupts the current from maintaining continuity, and results in failure when the circuit trace inside the housing cracks. The tail lamp assembly should have had expansion and contraction points to prevent premature failure." — GMC Yukon tail light lawsuit
The GMC Yukon class action also alleges the tail light assembly can fail due to condensation which occurs when the air inside the tail light assembly reaches the “dew point.”
When this takes place, the moisture in the air within the tail light assembly condenses and creates a fine mist or white fog on the inside surface of the tail light lens.
General Motors and GMC dealerships allegedly refuse to cover the cost for 2017-2019 Yukons that have the same tail light problems as the 2015-2016 models.
By allegedly concealing the Yukon tail light problems and failing to issue a recall, the lawsuit says the automaker sticks Yukon owners and lessees with the consequences of known defects.
According to the GMC Yukon owner who filed the class action, the tail light assemblies fail even though they should last the life of the vehicles.
The tail light assembly is a fully sealed unit and was not designed to be repaired, causing an owner to pay more than $800 cost to replace the Yukon tail light assembly.
The Yukon tail light lawsuit alleges the problem is so bad customers report replacement parts are backordered nationwide.
The GMC Yukon tail light lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida: Rhonda Small, v. General Motors LLC.
The plaintiff is represented by Freidin Brown, P.A., Pomerantz LLP, and Justice Law.
