DETROIT — A lawsuit claims General Motors treated the police better than it did average citizens when taking care of a defective part in 2007 and 2008 Chevrolet Impalas.
The lawsuit alleges that Impalas from the two model years have defective spindle rods, which connect the suspension to the rear wheels. The defect causes the wheels to misalign, which makes the tires wear out faster. The tires could also wear out unevenly, increasing the risk of a blowout.
GM fixed the part on police versions of the Impala three years ago but didn’t correct the same problem in hundreds of thousands of other Impalas, according to the lawsuit filed by Donna Trusky of Blakely, Pa., last week.
According to the lawsuit, GM sent a bulletin to dealers in June 2008 telling them to replace the spindle rods and tires on affected police vehicles. It also authorized dealers to reimburse police who had purchased replacement tires as long as the reimbursement request was made before July 31, 2009. The Associated Press; General Motors photo
