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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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142 thoughts onGM Oil-Guzzling SUVs Class Action Settlement Valued at $40M
2010 GMC Terrain here. Never notified of oil consumption issues when I purchased it used, with a little over 70,000 miles. The car died on me one day, while stopped at a stop sign. Then made a knocking sound in the engine. Checked oil- not even readable on the dipstick. Now I have to put a quart of oil in every 2 weeks or so. Took it to GM- they told me it would be $6k to fix. When will GM take responsibility for their crappy SUVs? I want in on this lawsuit.
The exact thing happened to me!!! I paid around $5,000.00. Plus I had to get a rental, plus the tow. They should have sent something in the mail. I’m sure you can find it on the internet as well.
I have and am still currently experiencing all the same issues with my 2013 equinox. I have taken to the dealership and every time I was charged and blamed for the low oil . GM should be ashamed to keep denying responsibility. How do I g t reimbursement for all the money spent on oil and dealerships expenses?
I have a 2012 Chevy equinox 124k miles and the engine completely blew while driving on the highway…I’m still paying on the car note as it sits in my driveway….Called Chevy and insurance company theirs nothing they can do….I’ve never been more devastated!
I have a equinox (2013) sitting in my driveway that I am making payments on. Dealership wants 5000$ or more to fix it. Unbelievable. Warn everyone-don’t purchase an equinox.
I hade a 2012 gmc Terrain And last about 2 years ago I was having to add about 3qts of oil in between oil changes. Didn’t seem right to me. Never had to do that before to any vehicle I’ve owned. I had received a letter about the oil consumption and to bring it in for oil consumption tests. They wanted me to bring it in every 1000 miles to check it. I went for 2 and gave up. I argued with my dealer to just fix the problem and they wouldn’t. Told me there was nothing wrong. BS. Last year my car at only 49,000 miles yes I don’t drive far started dying at lights and putting the car in reverse especially. Well the motor needed to be rebuilt. Then they wanted to try to make me pay for it because warranty was already expired. Luckily they are the cost but now my car is pretty worthless because of this issue I had with it. I’m trying to trade it in and no one wants to give me much for it even though it only has about 52k miles on it. Will never buy a GM product again. And I’m basically stuck with this POS car.
I have a 2012 Chevy Equinox and my husband can’t believe how much oil it takes and we use synthetic oil. He checks it every week and has to top it off. No recall ever sent to us.
This is just rediculous if gm doesn’t do something about this its horrible they have been aware of these issues for years without telling people. I havent heard from one person that says they were notified horrible. I will never buy a gm product ever again and i know many else who never will if they dont fix these issues. These cars are so unsafe at this point and we shouldn’t have to waste thousands extra on oil too.
I have a 2012 equinox and my car literally just died and there was no oil and no lights nothing came one. My car only has 78000 miles on it this should not be happening. I have been buying synthetic oilI too this is just rediculous and im even more upset as gm is highly aware of all this and i just talked to 3 other people with 2012 equinoxs who never received any noticed of any oil consumption problem. They had no clue. Now my whole engine might be done and its not even 8000. I talked to gm and they said there wasnt alot they could do and that i should of known. Im so upset never have i ever had this happen with buying a brand new car too.
We had the same issue with our 2010 and it had 94k miles. It just died at stop lights. I brought it in and it had less than a quart of oil and it was just changed less than a month ago. Mechanic said it would be 5k to fix…not worth it. Lost money trading it in. Money I couldn’t afford to lose. How do I sign up to get in on this class action lawsuit?!
I have a 2012 equinox and my car literally just died and there was no oil and no lights nothing came one. My car only has 78000 miles on it this should not be happening. I have been buying synthetic oilI too this is just rediculous and im even more upset as gm is highly aware of all this and i just talked to 3 other people with 2012 equinoxs who never received any noticed of any oil consumption problem. They had no clue. Now my whole engine might be done and its not even 8000. I talked to gm and they said there wasnt alot they could do and that i should of known. Im so upset never have i ever had this happen with buying a brand new car too.
Gm Who do I need to talk to start me a lawsuit my 2012 terrain is having the same issue
My motor went out of my 2013 Chevy Equinox a couple weeks ago, I made several calls to General Motors with no satisfaction, It took several days to get a call back, when I finally did the person I talked to was so rude, I asked to talk to a supervisor, I was told one would call me back and I never heard anything. I was told the repairs would be $9,000. I ended up getting a new vehicle and I will never buy General Motors again. My Equinox only had 80,000 miles on it. Customer Service goes a long way and General Motors service was awful. I will never recommend General Motors to anyone!
Did u ever hear anything