GM Oil-­Guzzling SUVs Class Action Settlement Valued at $40M

General Motors has reportedly reached a settlement deal with consumers who claim that certain Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs possess defective engines that use too much oil.

The proposed GM class action settlement is worth between $40 million and $45 million, and will cover three related class action lawsuits over the engine oil issue.

Under the terms of the GM class action settlement, General Motors will establish a program to cover the costs of repairing affected SUVs after the warranty has expired, and to reimburse owners who paid out-of-pocket to repair damage allegedly related to the excessive oil consumption problem.

The settlement deal was struck to avoid the continued costs and risks of pursuing further litigation.

According to the drivers’ motion for preliminary settlement approval, “absent a settlement, the final resolution of the litigation through the trial process may require several more months or even years of protected , adversarial litigation and appeals, which will delay relief to the tens of thousands of possible settlement class members.”

The drivers went on to say that the GM class action settlement posed an opportunity for the drivers to receive more compensation than they otherwise would have, because reportedly, GM would attempt to have two of the related class action lawsuits — those filed in California and Illinois — dismissed, which would possibly result in Class Members receiving no compensation.

As part of the proposed GM engine defect class action settlement, General Motors will pay up to $2.5 million in attorney fees and expenses.

The three related suits that the GM oil settlement deal will cover claimed that the affected engines were in certain Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs.

One suit was filed in September 2018 by Florida residents Ellen Berman and Dayana Guach. They claimed that the SUVs have a defect that causes the engines to consume as much as 1 quart of oil for every 1,000 miles driven. Allegedly, drivers are not notified of this over use, so oil levels can fall dangerously low.

The Florida residents argued that the defect posed a substantial safety risk to drivers, and therefore “the class vehicles do not provide for safe and reliable transportation.”

Other class action lawsuits over the same issue were filed in California in 2017 and in Illinois in April 2018.

In the engine oil class action lawsuit filed in Illinois, drivers argued that the excessive oil use of the engines led to a range of problems, which reportedly included the engines shutting down and losing power unexpectedly.

Additionally, the Illinois drivers argued that the vehicles could stall and start fires unexpectedly.

The majority of claims brought forward by drivers in the California engine oil class action lawsuit were dismissed in June. A judge argued that the drivers had not sufficiently established that their vehicles were affected by a manufacturing defect that was, as the drivers claimed, covered by the vehicle’s warranty.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The GM vehicle owners are represented by Rachel Soffin, Gregory F. Coleman, Adam A. Edwards and Mark E. Silvey of Greg Coleman Law PC, Robert Ahdoot of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC, and Daniel K. Bryson and J. Hunter Bryson of Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP.

The GM Chevrolet Equinox SUV Oil Consumption Defect Class Action Lawsuits are Ellen Berman, et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:18-­cv-­14371, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida; Hindsman, et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 3:17-cv-05337, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; and Sanchez, et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 1:18-cv-02536, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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