Lawsuit against Holden over possible transmission fault

Australian-made Holden Commodores and the Colorado ute are the subject of a class-action suit for alleged transmission troubles. That’s according to Australian car news site, Drive.

The action is being taken against General Motors Australia and New Zealand for what seems to be a transmission fault in Commodore and Colorado models. It also affects some models based on these vehicles.

The fault evidently affects three automatic transmissions, labelled GM 6L45, 6L50 and 6L80. They appear in VE and VF Commodores, among others. These include Calais, Caprice, Colorado 7 and Trailblazers of the era. 

All affected models were sold from January 1, 2011. However, anyone who has acquired one of these vehicles up to December 24, 2024 can register for the class action.

A spokesperson for the law firm behind the suit believes “hundreds of thousands” of Holdens may be affected.

The transmissions supposedly “are defective due to a design fault in the Torque Converter and Torque Converter Clutch,” according to lawyer familiar with the case.

“Because of the alleged defect, car owners have experienced problems with their vehicles including intermittent transmission shudders, excessive vibrations and harsh gear shifts” she added.

“Owners of the affected vehicles have also reported leakage of automatic transmission fluid, accelerated degradation of transmission system components and greater servicing requirements.

“The class action alleges that General Motors failed to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality under the Australian Consumer Law and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.”

A General Motors spokesperson said that the company does not comment on litigation matters. 

Two related cases taken against Ford and Toyota in recent years have resulted in payouts to the complainants. 

The full list of affected Holden vehicles:

Model Model Year Transmission

Colorado 7 MY12-MY16 6L50

Colorado MY17-MY20 6L50

Trailblazer MY17-MY20 6L50

Commodore VE   MY11-MY12.5 6L45, 6L50, 6L80

Commodore VF   MY13-MY17 6L45, 6L80

Berlina VE   MY11-MY12.5  6L50

Calais VE   MY11-MY12.5   6L45, 6L50

Calais VF   MY13-MY17 6L45

Holden Ute VE   MY11-MY13 6L45, 6L50, 6L80

Holden Ute VF  MY13-MY17 6L45, 6L80

Caprice WM Series II   MY11-MY12   6L45, 6L50, 6L80

Caprice WN MY13-MY15 6L45, 6L50, 6L80

Caprice WN Series II MY15-MY17 6L80