Action 9 helps car owners struggling to get reimbursed for safety repair

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Last year, drivers who own certain makes of the Cadillac SRX contacted Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke saying their headlights were getting so dim that they didn’t feel safe driving at night. Some also complained about moisture inside the lights.

During his investigation, Stoogenke found hundreds of complaints filed with the federal safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and three lawsuits against car manufacturer General Motors that had been settled.

At the time, GM told him it planned to contact customers about the issue, and it would also reimburse car owners for the cost of the repair.

But now, cars owners are complaining that GM has not reimbursed them for the repair.

Susie Small told Stoogenke she spent $1,364.25 on repairs and that she was having trouble getting GM to reimburse her.

“I thought it would be easy,” she said. “I made several phone calls and could never get through. I wasted like 30 minutes [each] time.”

More than 20 other drivers contacted Action 9 asking Stoogenke to help them get their money back.

He emailed GM about Small’s situation and the company contacted her the next day.

“It was just so good to finally get reimbursed for the money that I put up front and have the issue resolved,” she said.

Stoogenke emailed GM again on Tuesday to find out why other customers are having a hard time getting reimbursed. The company didn’t respond in time for this news report.

Just to be clear -- this is not a recall, which are usually fixed for free at a dealership. In this case, car owners can take their vehicle to any repair shop but they will have to pay out-of-pocket and get reimbursed.

Action 9: Drivers complain about dim headlights, worry about safety Action 9: Drivers complain about dim headlights, worry about safety

Cox Media Group