Lawsuit Investigation into GM Wireless Chargers

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether a class action lawsuit can be filed in light of complaints that the wireless chargers that come pre-installed in certain General Motors vehicles are not working.

What’s the Issue with the Car Chargers?  

The Gen I charger, which is a pad that rests on the console between the driver and front passenger seats, comes standard in the vehicles listed above. All a driver needs to do to charge their phone is to place it on this pad. Some GM customers, however, are reporting that the chargers are not working because they are incompatible with their phones.

In fact, it is suspected that the following phones do not work with the wireless pads despite their widespread usage at the time the Gen I charger was introduced.

This list may not be exhaustive.

In May 2018, GM announced that a new second generation charging kit was available “to accommodate the latest smart phones” in certain vehicle models.

One driver reported that his replacement wireless charging system was nearly $500 with installation, despite the original charger never working in his vehicle.

Driver Complaints

The following are among the complaints posted online by drivers who had issues with their wireless chargers [sic throughout]:

The lightning bolt appears on the dash display for about 5 seconds and then turns off.  The iPhone X never says ‘charging’, like it's supposed to. I tried putting the phone directly on the black charging module, in every position and orientation imaginable, without the armrest bezel, without the factory rubber mat, and couldn't get it to start charging, even with it centered directly on the back of the iPhone X.”
— 2017 Suburban Owner, GM-Trucks.com

I find that both my Note 3 and the S6 edge will charge for only 10 minutes at a time and then stop. I have 3 other wireless charging pads and have had zero issues with them. I have also tried both orientations, pushed to the top and bottom. Same results.”
— 2015 Yukon Denali Owner, GM-Trucks.com

just bought a 2016 LTZ Impala on Wednesday myself, and I can't seem to get the wireless charging to work with my phone either. I have a Nokia Lumia Icon which has integrated wireless charging but no dice. I have a wireless charger at home as well and it charges fine on that with the case on it, but I did the same as you to include removing the rubber mat and I couldn't get it to work. I was showing my car to my girlfriend earlier tonight and her iPhone 6 should have wireless charging built in as well, and she put it on the mat but it didn't seem to work either.”
— USN17, ImpalaForums.com  

I just got an iPhone X and I haven’t been able to get it to charge in my 2017 Volt, with or without the rubber liner in place. I followed the instructions and faced the screen to the rear of the vehicle with the charging port both up and down but no luck. I am bummed, was hoping to be able to finally use it with an iPhone when I wasn’t using car play. Not sure why it doesn’t work when Apple said it uses the universal Qi standard. I was looking around on line to see if there was some setting to turn on the wireless charging, but found nothing.”
— Paratrp27, Reddit.com

Some drivers claim to have tried several “fixes” such as removing their phone cases or replacing the charging pad, only to have the same issue recur.

How Could a Class Action Lawsuit Help?

If filed and successful, a class action lawsuit could force GM to replace the wireless chargers for free and reimburse those who already paid for replacements.

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