GM Dishes Out Debit Cards to Owners of Crossovers With Misstated MPGs

Owners of GM crossovers with overstated mpg claims will receive debit cards as compensation.

The move was expected after the American automaker issued a stop sale on the crossovers last week saying that the Monroney Sticker had the wrong mpg figures on it. GM expects the payment offers will be made to about 135,000 retail customers “who may pay more for fuel than they expected after viewing the incorrect window label when they purchased or leased their vehicle.” The affected vehicles include the 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.

The debit cards will be worth $450 to $1,500 and serve as compensation for buying the vehicles with overinflated mpg claims. The company will begin notifying dealers of the plan today and will send customers letters via FedEx starting next Wednesday.

SEE ALSO: GM Issues Stop Sale on Crossovers with Overstated MPG Labels

Buyers will be offered the choice of either a debit card or an extended warranty while lessees will only be offered the debit card. The extended warranty is for 48 months/60,000 miles compared to the factory 36 months/36,000-mile warranty.

“We want all of our customers to have a great ownership experience, so we designed this reimbursement program to provide full and fair compensation in a simple, flexible and timely manner,” a GM spokesman said in a statement.

It is still unclear whether the overstated mpg claims affects more vehicles outside the 2016 model year. As Consumer Reports pointed out, it would be strange that GM updated its crossovers for the 2016 model year with lower fuel economy performance considering the older models now have better stated fuel economy figures despite any significant changes to the crossovers.

[Source: Automotive News]

Discuss this story on our General Motors Forum