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
Hello i own a 2013 equinox
I received the oil consumption letter from Chevy back in 2020.
Ironically I have been complaining to Portsmouth Chevrolet in NH since 2017 I would burn 2 -3 quarts of oil every 1500 Miles.
Back in 2018 I believe was the first time I had heard about Chevy knowing they had a problem with that engine. I go back to Chevy they tell me the lawsuit does not apply to me or my vehicle. Frustrated I leave and don’t really follow up again. I continue to just keep filling the oil.
2020 receive the letter head to Chevy they tell me you have to many miles on your car 156000
To qualify to fix the problem
They run oil consumption checks for about 2 months . Long story short my engine blew last week!
Does anyone have any advice??
KM
I bought a used 2012 with the 2.4 eco flex fuel with 11,000 miles and new car smell in September 2012 (manufacture 8/11). I had a work vehicle so I did around the town driving and long trips to Florida or Ohio. I started having issues with my vehicle within a few years (approx 2014). I have replaced all 4 solenoids, the double timing chain kits, 3 gas caps, plugs, broken manifold and attached oxygen sensor, and other small items. I noticed I was having oil consumption issues and paid for my car to be in the repair shop multiples times on trips to Florida. I also had a friend and a BIL who are both mechanics fix items on it. I got regular oil changes but Chevrolet dealership said I had to pay for the oil changes every 1000 miles for about 5-6 changes. I read where people were being told it wasn’t using “too much” and would deny the issue. I had sent many emails with copies of the google searches for oil consumption, vehicle stalling while driving (sitting at red lights), ect to GM corporate telling them this was a RECALL issue for 2010-2013 models. I never got a reply from them at all. Once the lawsuit happened I sent in the paperwork and was told those repairs were not covered. However it is DUE to the massive amount of oil that was visible when the cover was taken off that I know it is related. In July 2020 I HAD to pay over $3100.00 to fix the o rings and pistons. Then in November 2020 I had to take it back and pay almost 200.00 to change something related to a value AND have the throttle body clean (Again). My vehicle was still sounding rough and I noticed it was STILL using oil even though the “Issue” had been repaired. I have had to continue to buy and add oil both before and after the P&O were replaced. On March 22, 2021 while driving up a hill my vehicle made a dinging and the a message “Low oil pressure – stop engine” came on and I had to pull over. I had to towed to my house and my BIL said the engine was blown. I had him check and it would be another $3-4000 to get it replaced. Within a few days to a week I received a NEW letter from Chevrolet dated March 2021. This letter states that there are issues and they will replace the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor and if you have a list of symptoms including the message Low Oil Pressure -Stop Engine. It said to contact a dealer and the mileage and time limit is 150,000 miles or 10 years from date of manufacture. My vehicle was manufactured 8/11 so I am good there and approx 134,000 miles so I am good there. I had it towed a week ago to a dealership and they ran a diagnostic. I was advised if I can show proof of the last 20,000 miles of oil changes then they will replace the engine free. I was able to get a copy of my receipts from AutoZone corporate (9/2019), O’Reilly’s corporate (2/2020), and walmart (12/2020) for 3 of them. The fourth (7/2020) when the Pistons and O’rings were replaced. I have emailed them and I am waiting for their approval to fix my vehicle for free. Please make sure to keep ALL records with Mileage and receipts if self purchased. I will also be submitting the repairs I have made including the July 2020 piston and o ring replacement for a reimbursement with this new letter. Thankful to have received this letter when I did!
I have a 2013 equinox. Bought it from single owner was well maintained. after 5 months with only 72k miles on it it just stopped running with no warning in February 2021 and said no oil pressure turning off. had it towed to dealership and they said engine is blown. they also said there is no coverage for repairs. If i had known the issues I would not have purchased this vehicle. Bought the vehicle for 9k and it was all I had and my only vehicle. Now what do I do. Vehicle is still sitting in my driveway cause I couldn’t afford to have it repaired.
You may want to check again with Chevrolet. I received a new letter March 2021 and you can read what happened in my post.
Could you send me a link to your post? Thanks
How do i proceed to have my Equinox repaired under this settlement?
This is happening to my 2013 Equinox. Please include me in class action lawsuit
Have. 2010 Chevy equinox and it has finally stopped due to oil, Timming chain and valves! It’s been the worst suv I’ve ever had but when I see if there is calls on mine there never are! This suv used so much oil I would get a oil change then the next week I had to add more.
GM has refused to recall it. You may want to check with a dealer and have them run your vin and see if there is an open issue. I got a new letter dated March 2021. The letter arrived after my engine ended up blown on March 22 and when I called the dealer after reading the letter on March 31st.
Have had a Terrain since 2012 and it is a shame that we just received this letter. The truck has called for additional oil for the past 5 years. But with limited options… we just kept replacing. Now that we are over 150000 miles, they are offering a fix. What about those who have put additional oil in their vehicles because they were told that there is nothing to be done. If any help exist for this situation, please contact me. Also why are they sending letter out 2021 if this was approved in ’19
I have a 2012 Chevy Equinox LT. I bought it with 600 miles on it in 2015. I received the notification but did not have to do anything as my car was running fine. Then in 2017 I noticed I had to be putting 4 quarts of oil each month. Each & every month for the past 3+ years I have had to put in 4 ways of oil in the car. My mechanic even checked got a leak, to no avail. Then the engine started to rattle and idle very low and would shut off at every red light and I could not drive it in slow traffic. The sensors were replaced in 11/2019 and everything was fine until this past October 2020. I drove it from Miami to California without a problem. I was traveling the West Coast with my family & pets and were left stranded in March 2021 in a Chewelah, Washington when the engine began to idle extremely low, the engine would shake, the car was trembling and I got a message saying reduced power to engine. I took it to the mechanic in town and he told me I needed to replace the engine because it was damaged. He told me these cars had this issue & that he had another customer with the exact same issue who also needed an engine replacement. The new engine cost me $7500, labor included, plus I needed to rent a car to get around. I contacted the 1/888-970-0698 number referenced above to find out how to file a claim and they told me that the deadline passed, that it expired 07/16/2020 and there was nothing I could do about it. I am shocked at the fact that I am forced to spend on an engine replacement due to an issue caused by bad GM design and add insult to injury, I am basically screwed out of at least 10k because I am past the expiration date!? Really!?? Can you guys help me with this? Is there anything that can be done? Maybe we need to sue them again!
Thank you.
2013 Chevy Equinox experienced piston ring problems in 2019. Oil consumption test performed (first one done improperly by dealer) , rings replaced twice.
I have a 2011 Buick Regal with a 2.4 liter engine. On Dec 30th 2020 while I was driving on the freeway, the car simply shut off and I managed to coast to the side of the freeway without being hit. The car was way low on oil and my mechanic said the engine needed replacing. I purchased a used engine which the mechanic said was bad so I had them install a second engine which started knocking and went bad in March 2021.
Now I have spent about $5000 and my car is not running . Can you help?
2012 Equinox that burns through oil at a rate of 1 quart per 2 fill-ups.