General Motors will be paying at least 135,000 customers over their crossover SUV vehicles after discovering that the car manufacturer overstated the fuel economy of some of their cars.
Auto Blog reported that General Motors will offer debit cards to the owners. The reimbursements will be between $450 and $1,500 to all the 135,000 costumers. Owners will also be provided with an extended warranty free of the charges if and when they choose this over the debit card.
General Motors has overstated the fuel economy on around 170,000 vehicles by one to two miles per gallon, The Motley Fool reported. This was reportedly caused by an "inadvertent error" that resulted from not factoring the impact of emissions-related hardware into the window-sticker figures.
The General Motors models affected are the Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave. The car manufacturer had to make a temporary stop-sale on these models before they switched the correct window stickers on at least 60,000 vehicles. All deliveries for the three SUV models were also halted.
The letters and the debit cards related to the matter will start to be sent out by next week. It is estimated that this error will cost the company around $100 million.
General Motors spokesman James Cain said in an email that the option of extending the warranty will cover a 48-month protection plan, which could cover 60,000 miles. This option will be offered only to purchase customers. Lease customers will only be offered with the first option, the pre-paid debit cards, Digital Trends reported.
"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," Cain said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could file penalties against the supposed clerical error of General Motors but since the carmaker has been proactive regarding the matter and has kept the agency on the loop, penalties might not be raised.
The emissions scandal largely affected Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, and many more.
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