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.
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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
Blowed motor I 2013 ecquinox on star said vvt was going bad. With in the first month of buying. Took to Kia of somerset ky. Chief tech. Clear the code. And said that the car is fine, I said and the gas smell in the oil head tech said ” it fine it should smell some gas the new oils are that way. An this is with a one year 12000 mile warranty on vehicle an I’ll call you if the warranty is good. Never the less vehicle is blowed up. Kia of somerset ky. Hangs up on me.
They knew it bad as sale went out the door.
I purchased a 2012 GMC Terrain EcoTec back in February 2019 and my vehicle requires an oil change every 5-6wks. My vehicle is still under 100K miles. I have not received any notice regarding the excessive oil consumption. I have recently received another notice for the recall. My address has been the same prior to even purchasing the vehicle. I am starting to get concerned regarding this issue.
correction: I have received another notice for a different recall
I have a 2011 gmc terrain that I need help with please. I have called the dealership and they did not help me at all
I just recently found out about this issue when my 2013 Equinox only had a liter of oil and my mechanic found this issue…Never received a letter about this and called customer service and was told one letter was sent out to an address that I hadn’t lived at for over 10 years yet I had received another letter for a recall earlier this month at my correct address I have been at for 9 years…Asked if I could have the letter sent to my correct address, I was told no and when I asked to talk to a supervisor I was advised I would be told the same thing and there is nothing they will do for me…Like I told the rep, you know there is a major issue and my vehicle is one affected but GM is unwilling to be of any assistance…Beyond annoying!!!
JUST DENIED NOV 10 2020 MY LAWSUIT GMC 2010 TERRAIN 2.4L . EXCESSIVE OIL. DUE TO
DEFECTIVE PISTON CAUSED MY TIMING CHAIN TO BE REPAIREDS. APPEALING NOW
How did you know you were denied. I still haven’t heard anything.
WOW!!! I had to sell my 2011 chevy Equinox as a dead engine and the dealership quoted 8k to repair!! I was not getting my mail to my correct address – therefore missed out on this whole lawsuit! I am wondering if there is something else..?
Just received my denial letter indicated I had the repairs perform outside of the SCA time limit for the 2011 vehicle which is 7 years 6 months from the date of purchase. Repairs off by 4 months.
We recently received our denial letter as well, this past Monday, Nov. 16. I called the local dealership and the CSA said he couldn’t, or more accurately wouldn’t, comment on the car due to the legal action. Horse apples – the settlement has been reached; now the consumers are petitioning for their cut. So I kept the CSA talking, and although it’s slim pickings, I have him verbally stating that the excessive oil consumption was most likely due to faulty piston rings to the exclusion of anything else. I’m putting that in our petition for reconsideration. I mean really! What else could it be? Most of us receive the September 2014 letter, I imagine, that promised free replacement of the piston rings. If that’s not recognition of the root cause of all this, I don’t know what is.
I had no idea that this was even an issue, because I never received anything about the issue. So early July the timing chain broke and my car has been sitting in the shop since then. We all know the world issues right now so I called Chevrolet. They just told me that they would call my local dealership to see if they could assist me, because they could not. They never mention this being a legal issue. Now unemployed with No car. Might mention Last Chevrolet I drove for 350,000 with just minor tuneups.
We just received our letter as well denying the claim. I was actually hung up on by Analytics Consulting LLC. I wasn’t being mean or ugly, she wasn’t understanding my question, I asked to speak with a supervisor and she didn’t have one, I asked to have her operator ID or a way to identify her, she explained she did not want to give out any information because she did not know who I was. I explained you just had me verify my name, address, and claim number, she knew exactly who I was. She hung up.
My timing chain broke, the dealership told me there was no oil in the engine and that is why the timing chain broke, because there was no oil lubricating it.
I’d love for another set of attorneys to take this on! I expected better from GM!
Denied for compensation. Blown motor due to excessive oil consumption, verified by chevy dealer, warranty through the bank installed a new/used engine, same issue, on motor number 3. Out of pocket expenses +3k. Still denied payment for out of pocket expenses. Dealership confirmed the issue, warranty company granted 2 new/used motors because of the issue but the lawsuit that won in court didn’t pay me out. Once again only the attorneys seem to win.