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
I own a 210 Chevy Equinox purchased in 2020 what is cutoff dare for the settlement. My vehicle sucks oil like you wouldnt believe and previous owner said it was never taken for any recall? Can I get mine fixed for free?
I had a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. In February 2021 I was driving down the highway when the engine quit. No warning lights or warnings of any kind. Towed it to a garage. Mechanic said the engine was blown. Mechanic also said there was no way I wold have known that I had lost significan engine oil and this was a common problem with the vehicle year and model. Garge wanted 6K to replace the engine. I traded the car and got very little trade in vaile for it. I had not planned to trade the car for several months. Is there any compensation I can receive for my loss?
I bought my 2014 equinox a little over a year ago and now the motor is shot . It was not even time for an oil change yet and I never received any recalls at all . What can I do since I still owe 7,000.00 on the car and they want 5,000.00 to replace the motor ? Any help would be greatly appreciated , this is not cool .
I have a 2011 Chevy equinox that has in this past year began having oil consumption problems. I took it to a dealership to get diagnostic and it is pistons. It will cost me over $3800.00 to fix. I had no idea about this recall! Never received anything. I’m at 122,000miles but I never knew about this until car began giving problems and had to keep putting oil in. What can I do to get covered?????
I own a 2010 Chevy Equinox and same issues an problems. What do I do or who can I contact?
I owe a 2013 Chevy equinox, and I want in on this class action.
I have a 2013 equinox and was unaware of recall because I bought it used. I have paid for numerous repairs dealing with oil leaking over everything. How can I be reimbursed?
Did you happen to find out how to get in on a law suit? I am from Ohio and have the same oil consumption with my 2013. Both notices sent by Chevy we’re conveniently right after date or miliage was exceeded!!!!
We have a 2010 Equinox with the 2.4 engine that we purchased in August of 2019 not knowing of these problems. It has been using oil since we have had it. Last week the motor shut down no lights no nothing. Now has a knocking noise in engine. We towed it home have not tried to start it back. Anything we can get warranty to cover under this class action
My mom owns a 2013 Equinox with only 78,000 miles. She has serviced this car like clockwork since buying it. Last week she took it to get the oil changed and was told the dipstick showed no oil. No oil light was on, nothing. She was actually early on getting it serviced, so she was confused how this could happen. Fast forward 5 days and while driving the cars dies. It has to be towed to a mechanic. Bad news….the engine is blown due to the timing chain breaking and then getting caught up in the motor. A car that has 78,000 miles on it?! A car that my mom paid cash for with her retirement money! I have no words except, CHEVY NEEDS TO FIX THIS!! A new motor will cost her $4500-$5000. In this economy, who has extra money to spend on a car that clearly has known mechanical issues.
I had a 2010 equinox that kept clicking sound. Nitro Chevrolet said nothing wrong with it. I traded it in at 66000 miles I couldn’t afford to keep it and not feel safe from breaking down. and timing broke when people tried it out less than 8 miles down the road king coal Chevrolet told me.I had nothing but problems with that equinox. I’d never buy another I got in on class action lawsuit but have never received a dime.
My 2013 Chevy Equinox broke down just yesterday, I had it towed to my mechanic. He called me only to say I have bad news! He stated that my engine blew! I felt sick to my stomach. He asked me what happened did I have any indication that something was wrong, I said it shut off and never started back up.My mechanic said to me there was no oil. I was shocked, I never got a check engine light, never showed low oil nor did the need oil light come on! My window oil sticker changed showed I had about 1800 miles before my next oil change! One thing I learned from my father, with my first car. My father said to me; the life of your car is always get your oil changed. That stuck In my head over the years. I never had problems keeping up on my oil changes. Now, this happened. I need a New Engine! Extremely upset! So unfair!!! My suv will be sitting in my driveway until I figure out how to pay for this ridiculousness. Not to mention, I still have a outstanding balance before this suv will be paid off! Ugh!!!