There is no shift to park recall. General Motors has not issued a formal safety recall for the shifter defect that triggers the “Shift to Park” dashboard message on certain 2016–2023 Chevrolet, GMC, and Buick models. Instead, GM directs dealerships to repair the problem under Technical Service Bulletin 19-NA-206, which is a service procedure rather than a free, mandatory fix. A class action settlement reached final approval in 2025, but it only covers buyers in Ohio and Tennessee. Everyone else is left to work through a dealership, document the failures, and consider lemon law or individual litigation if the repair does not hold.
Vehicles With the Defect
TSB 19-NA-206 identifies the following models and starting years:1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Technical Service Bulletin 19-NA-206
- Chevrolet Malibu, 2016–2019
- Chevrolet Volt, 2016–2019
- GMC Acadia, 2017–2019
- Chevrolet Traverse, 2018–2019
- Chevrolet Blazer, 2019
A separate 2023 lawsuit alleges the same defective shifter assembly carried into newer vehicles: the 2020–2023 Chevrolet Malibu, 2020–2022 Chevrolet Traverse, 2021–2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and 2020–2023 Buick Encore. The symptom is identical. A “Shift to Park” message stays on the cluster even after you have moved the lever into park, the vehicle will not fully power down, and the 12-volt battery drains overnight. There is also a rollaway risk if the electronic parking function does not engage properly, which is one reason safety advocates have asked NHTSA to force a recall.
Why There Is No Recall, and Why It Matters
A recall would legally require GM to repair every affected vehicle at no cost. A Technical Service Bulletin does not. It tells technicians how to diagnose and fix the problem when a customer brings it in, but it does not obligate GM to pay. Whether your repair is covered depends on your warranty status at the time of the visit, and many owners report the defect first appears after the factory warranty has expired.
Owner-reported out-of-pocket costs range from about $500 for a park switch and harness replacement to roughly $1,400 for a full shifter assembly plus a new battery. The spread depends on which parts the dealership replaces and whether a drained battery also needs to be swapped.
If you want to push toward a recall, file a complaint with NHTSA. The agency tracks complaint volume when deciding whether to open an investigation. You can file at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem or call the Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.2National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Report a Vehicle Safety Problem, Equipment Issue
Getting the Repair Done at a Dealership
When you book the appointment, name the warning. Tell the service writer you are seeing the “Shift to Park” message and ask the technician to follow TSB 19-NA-206. Describing it as a general electrical glitch invites a broader diagnostic workup you may end up paying for.
The bulletin lays out a tiered repair. The technician first tries to clean the park switch contacts by snapping the actuation rod back 50 times. If the message clears, no parts are replaced. If cleaning fails, the park switch is replaced and an in-line shifter wire harness jumper is installed between the shifter base connector and the console harness connector. A revised version of the bulletin goes further and directs the technician to replace the full transmission control assembly along with a new shifter harness and jumper.3General Motors. Service Bulletin 19-NA-206
Ask the service advisor to check your VIN against any special coverage adjustments or warranty extensions GM may have applied. Some owners have had the repair covered outside the standard warranty period, though coverage is not guaranteed and seems to vary by VIN and dealership. If the work is not covered, get a written estimate before you authorize it. A printed copy of TSB 19-NA-206 in the glove box is useful. Not every service writer knows the bulletin by number, and pointing to it keeps the visit focused on the known defect rather than a generic electrical diagnosis.4National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Technical Service Bulletin 19-NA-206 – Intermittent Shift to Park Message Displayed While Vehicle in Park
The Ohio and Tennessee Class Action Settlement
Jefferson and Riley v. General Motors LLC (Case No. 2:20-cv-02576) received final approval in 2025. The settlement is narrow. You fall within the class only if all three of the following are true:
- You bought or leased, new, one of these vehicles: a 2017–2019 GMC Acadia, 2019 Chevrolet Blazer, 2016–2019 Chevrolet Malibu, 2018–2019 Chevrolet Traverse, or 2016–2019 Chevrolet Volt in Ohio; or a 2017–2018 GMC Acadia in Tennessee.
- You sought a repair for the shift to park issue from a GM dealer during the warranty period.
- You received no repair, or the repair you received was not a silicon-free replacement shifter assembly or silicon-free shifter control wire harness.
Qualifying class members get a $500 cash payment. Owners who paid out of pocket can also claim up to $375 in reimbursement, for a maximum of $875 per vehicle. Class members who appeared in GM’s warranty data were paid automatically. Those who did not appear in GM’s records had to submit a claim form by August 19, 2025. If you missed that deadline, you are still bound by the settlement release for the covered vehicles.5Jefferson & Riley v. General Motors. Jefferson and Riley v. General Motors Settlement Website
If you bought your vehicle anywhere other than Ohio or Tennessee, this settlement does not apply to you and does not block you from pursuing your own claims.
Pending Litigation for 2020–2023 Models
Separate lawsuits allege that GM kept installing the same flawed shifter assembly in the 2020–2023 Chevrolet Malibu, 2020–2022 Chevrolet Traverse, 2021–2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and 2020–2023 Buick Encore after it knew about the defect. The theory is nondisclosure of a known defect and breach of express and implied warranties. These cases are still moving through the courts. No settlement has been announced for the newer model years. If you own one of these vehicles, save every repair receipt and note every time the dashboard warning appears, because that record is what any later settlement or individual claim will turn on.
State Lemon Law as a Backup
If the dealership has tried the TSB repair more than once and the warning keeps coming back, your vehicle may qualify under your state’s lemon law. Most states require a reasonable number of repair attempts for the same defect, typically three to four, though the exact threshold and the time window vary by state. Lemon law remedies include a buyback or a replacement vehicle, which is a far larger recovery than the class action settlement offered.
Documentation is what makes or breaks a lemon law claim. Every failed repair needs to be on a dealership repair order, with the same defect described each time. Independent shop records may not count toward the repair-attempt threshold in some states. If you are heading into a third or fourth visit for the same shift to park issue, talk to a lemon law attorney before authorizing more work. Many take these cases on contingency with no upfront fee.
What to Keep on File
Whether you are chasing reimbursement, preparing a lemon law claim, or waiting on the newer-model litigation, the paperwork is the same. Hold onto your 17-digit VIN and registration, every repair invoice with the date of service, parts replaced, and labor charges, and any written communication with the dealership about the shift to park warning. If a service advisor tells you the repair is not covered, ask for that in writing too. A denial on paper is worth more than a denial over the phone.
If the Car Will Not Shut Down
When the warning appears and the vehicle refuses to power off, owners have reported some success cycling the shifter. Engage the parking brake, keep your foot on the brake pedal, move the shifter firmly through its full range from park to low and back several times, release the brake pedal, and press the power button. This does not fix the switch, but it may let the car recognize park long enough to shut down. If it does not shut down, the battery will drain, so set the parking brake to prevent any rollaway and plan for a dealership visit.