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 judgeโs order states. The defect necessitates the need for the car owner to replenish the carโs 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 judgeโs 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 judgeโs order reads.
The SCAs were put into effect to extend the class vehiclesโ warranty for piston replacement beyond the normal warranty expiration period, which was five years or 100,000 miles.ย ย
โThe 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,โ the judge states in her order.
The Settlement Class is defined as: โAll 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.โ
In addition, the judgeโs 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 โappropriate, fair, and reasonable.โ 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-ยญcv-ยญ14371, 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
How can I get my Equinox repaired? I called our dealership and they acted like I was crazy wen I mentioned the whole oil situation.
We bought brand new in 2012 equinox engine ran low on oil engine is ruined . Only 114,000 miles on the car . All GM offered us was $3000 towards a new or lease GM vehicle . We just got done paying this equinox off a couple years ago . I feel they should put a new engine in these vehicles they made the mistake not the customers. What should we do ?
Does anyone know if this lawsuit has occurred in Canada/applies to Canada? I have a 2010 2.4L that has all of the issues described above.
We have a 2013 Chevy Equinox and are getting the runaround from the dealer and zone manager. The best they offered us was 50% off a $4000 repair. That would mean it would cost us $2000 out of pocket. We feel that is unacceptable. THIS is how they treat us after buying 11 GM vehicles over a lifetime.
I am the third owner of A 2011 chevy Equinoxโฆ.was recently Verified the the pistons in engine & Catalytic converterโฆboth recallsโฆ..& complaints about O2 sensors that Weโve replaced.. I was told that I cant take my truck to get the IssueS fixedโฆ.I own my truckโฆ.I want to be safe in A vehicle for Me & my kidsโฆ.this is the only vehicle that we haveโฆthese Issues should be replaced free of charge & not out of my Pocketโฆ.Iโve already put over $4000 in repairs in this truck in less than 2yrs of owning itโฆ.I could have A bought A brand new vehicle with the $ already put in Truckโฆ.I need these Issues repairedโฆ.What do I do ?
We bought in June 2020 unaware is the issues with the car. Now experiencing issues with oil consumption. Any recourse?
I have also received this letter and I currently consumed about 2 quarts a month I drive a lot so I think I go through maybe a little more than others we couldnโt figure out where it was going until I got this letter. Iโm spending a lot of money in oil a month but I do not have a warranty on this to get anything replaced it would cost me out of pocket. I would love to know how I could go about getting them to replace my Pistons as it says in the statements above and maybe be reimbursed a little something for all the extra oil that we have to buy
I owned a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox with the 4cyl. It consumed oil. About a quart every month or every so many miles. The engine blew up! I still owed the credit union $7700 on the vehicle. I let them have the equinox back because the GM dealership was no help in trying to help with the situation. They said the catalytic converter went bad, only because they knew the oil messed the whole exhaust system up. But vehicle was taken, and sold at auction. Now Iโm stuck with $5000 plus of debt because they wanted me to put thousands of dollars that I donโt have to fix their screw up.
I am going through the same thing with my sons car right now. He recently purchased a 2013 GMC Terrain and is have this same problem. I have told them from the beginning about this issue and they refused to help. I received a letter in March 2021 about the excessive oil consumption so I am now trying to get a refund for all the money we have had to put into this vehicle. Normally we are GMC/Chevy lovers, but this experience has definitely left me feeling otherwise. I am hoping that we get this resolved soon, but I will be looking into it further if they refuse to help.
I own a 2013 Equinox and experiencing this exact issue and have paid out if pocket expense. This is the first time I have seen anything regarding this. Please send me any and all information on this matter ASAP.. Thank you