Several law firms across Canada acted together for the plaintiffs in a national class action against General Motors of Canada Limited and General Motors Corporation. The claim alleged that the defendants manufactured, in the 1995 – 2004 model years, motor vehicles with a defective intake manifold gasket (IMG).
The IMG regulates the flow of air and fuel into the cylinder. The allegation is that the IMG degrades prematurely causing coolant to leak into the engine. In particular, the plastic used to manufacture the IMG facilitated corrosion because it permitted leakage from the coolant system. The IMG did not properly seal the engine, causing leaks to occur. Among other consequences, the coolant mixes with engine oil making the oil ineffective and damaging the engine. In some cases engines overheat and seize completely, creating a danger to the operator and occupants and requiring complete engine replacements.
A settlement was reached with General Motors with respect to the cost of repairs to certain General Motors vehicles as a result of the failure of nylon intake manifold gaskets, intake manifolds, upper intake manifold gaskets or throttle body gaskets.