A judge in Florida federal court has put her stamp of approval on a $42 million settlement agreement which resolves three lawsuits claiming that General Motors sold vehicles with an oil consumption defect.
Plaintiffs Ellen Berman and Dayana Guach allege that General Motors model year 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain cars that have 2.4-liter Ecotec engines suffer from the defect that consumes oil at a very high rate.
The primary cause of the defect is malfunctioning piston rings, which are prone to premature wear, the judge’s order states. The defect necessitates the need for the car owner to replenish the car’s oil more frequently.
The plaintiffs filed suit in September 2018, claiming that General Motors breached their written warranties under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Two other class action lawsuits were subsequently filed, based on similar allegations. The judge’s approval of the settlement resolves the claims in these three cases.
Starting in 2014, General Motors issued Special Coverage Adjustments (SCAs) for the model years 2010-2012 of the class vehicles, the judge’s order reads.
The SCAs were put into effect to extend the class vehicles’ warranty for piston replacement beyond the normal warranty expiration period, which was five years or 100,000 miles.
“The SCAs provided that owners of Class Vehicles could take their vehicles to a dealership and undergo an oil consumption diagnosis. If the diagnosis indicated excessive oil consumption, GM would replace the piston rings for free, if the vehicle was within certain time and mileage limitations,” the judge states in her order.
The Settlement Class is defined as: “All persons within the United States who purchased or leased, at any time before the Preliminary Approval Date, a new retail or used model year 2010, 2011, 2012, or 2013 Chevrolet Equinox or GMC Terrain vehicle equipped with 2.4 liter Ecotec engines, manufactured prior to the Production Change, and who have not executed a prior release of claims related to Class Vehicle oil consumption or resulting piston or engine damage in favor of GM.”
In addition, the judge’s order states that, for model year 2010-2012 class vehicles, owners will be able to get a free replacement of piston assemblies at authorized dealerships.
Also, Class Members who already paid for covered repairs but who did not already submit a claim under the Special Coverage Adjustments will have 120 days to submit a claim.
For model year 2013 class vehicles, Class Members will receive free piston assembly replacement. Also, those who previously paid out-of-pocket for repairs can file claims for reimbursement of expenses.
Each Class representative will receive $4,500 as a service payment, which the judge determined to be “appropriate, fair, and reasonable.” This award is being paid by General Motors separately from the funds being made available via the settlement agreement.
Also, the attorneys for the plaintiffs will receive fees of $3,390,351, which is eight percent of the settlement value. Class Counsel will also receive reimbursement of $109,649 for litigation expenses.
Do you own one of the class vehicles mentioned as part of the settlement? Leave a message in the comments section below.
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 plaintiffs 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 Lawsuit is 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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2,106 thoughts on$42M GM Chevy Equinox Oil Guzzling Class Action Settlement Approved
Please let me know If I qualify for free piston repaint 2012 Equinox. I purchased August 2020 and was unaware. I’m going through oil.
where do i sign up i have a 2010 equinox only 100k on it burns oil timing rattles
I have a 2010 model, and it uses oil like crazy. I can get a oil change and within 3 weeks later i am having to put 4 bottles back in car. My car is in the shop now with 19 codes for things that needs to be fixed. I have kept this car with oil changes, plugs, filters etc when they needed to be changed and i still have a lemon. Its not right that these Suvs are being sold at all. If someone could point me in the right direction on what I need to do at this point. here is just a few things ive had to do to car
timing chain
o2 sensors
manifold
gaskets
abs sensor
gas pressure sensor
list goes own and own and codes are still saying some of these need to be replaced when there new parts. And after all this being fixed still 19 codes, something has to be wrong this picture please help!!!
Hi Tina, seems like our cars were a lot alike. It started with the engine and starter, then abs brain, transmission, manifold, sensors, etc. I would get out of it while you can. I ended up putting 18,000 into a car that after putting 3k?? on a new transmission started to fail. And GMC had the gall to tell me they would not even honor the warranty on it and I had to pay THEM to figure out why a new transmission failed. This lawsuit is closed and I doubt I’ll get a dime but I do hope someone else sues because this company knew and lied and continues to lie about how far spread this truly goes. Not only that but unless I hadn’t googled I would of never found the lawsuit. I think they gave out bad addresses to the lawyers because they sent the form to an address I had moved from BEFORE I even bought the car.
My trans went out at 30000 which is ridiculous …….maybe we need to peruse law suit for transmission………
Has anyone received checks for new engines…..we were suppose to receive mid August and when I called the line they said due to covid mid Sept…..here it is mid Oct. hope GM is happy I will never buy a GM car and I have deterred numerous people from buying GM…….word of mouth re bad business habits can def play into GMs profits
GM should have been responsible for contacting everyone that has these 2.4l ecotek engines. I now need a new engine because of their neglect. I would be all for joining a new lawsuit, or if someone could tell me what to do
I have a 2013 equinox that literally consumed the oil and gave no indication of such. My check engine light came on, one hour later my engine was dead. I am just now learning of this class action suit. I need any help I can get.
Why just 2010 to 2013 engines? I have a 2015 Equinox with the 2.4l engine that burns a quart of oil every 1000 miles. What recourse do I have under this class action? Do I have to initiate another suit to get this fixed?
Just received an email regarding the oil consumption lawsuit stating that reimbursement checks and status letters have been mailed out.
Who did the email come from. I have not received an emailed, I don’t think I have
Kris – From who? No one ever mentioned anything about sending an email regarding checks/status letter. I must’ve missed that part.
Letters were mailed out over a year ago and the claim form was sent out in the spring specific o your VIN for our vehicle printed on it.
I received a claim form earlier this year. Mailed all documents before March of this year. I was wondering about an email sent regarding status/reimbursement checks sent out. Per kris comment.
I own a 2010 GMC Terrain that I have had to spend a great amount of money on for repair. How can I find out if my vehicle is part of this class action suit?
I filed a claim but did not keep duplicate copy… I am assuming this is the class action but have not heard from them. Is there more than one suit or is it being appealed?
I just spoke to someone and she told me they will be mailing stuff out on Thursday and Friday but could not provide details of what is being mailed out whether it is just more information or payments. I called 1-888-970-0698 and finally after calling for 3 days multiple times a day was able to talk to a human.
How can you check to see if your claim was approved?
I emailed [email protected] to inquire if my claim would be reimbursed yesterday. I received an automated reply stating that a claim agent would get back to me as soon as possible with a reply.
have you heard from anyone yet. i called yesterday and they said checks will go out this week. or you will get a letter for additional info
ann- have you received anything yet.
i called yesterday and was told the end of this week. seem like they keep telling us the same info lol
2015. Chevy and I’ve been battling the dealerships for 6 months. My camshaft position sensor keeps getting clogged and my oil burns empty at 60%
3 oil consumption. Tests were done but they said GM wasn’t covering what needed to be covered and after 2 months of then having my car they didn’t fix anything. It’s the pistons and every mechanic not GM has said it.