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
I have a 2014 equinox n Feb 2021 I had the oil change n March an it was 3 quarts low n blow up I took it to a dealer they said it had metal shavings all through the motor timing chain is out n I had the oil change regularly now as of now I’m stuck with a yard art I owe almost ten thousand on it still
I own a 2012 Chevy Equinox and indeed it burns oil excessively, I have to refill 2 quarts of oil in between oil changes. To try mitigate the problem, I have been using the more expensive synesthetic oil, Dexus2 spec, but it does not help. Due to this issue, the timing chain has been damaged. I have spent quite a bit in repair bill trying to have this vehicle running. It’s a money pit.
I just bought a 2012 Equinox. How do I go about finding out about repairs and this article?
I just bought a 2012 Chevy Equinox a few weeks ago. How do I add my name to this lawsuit ? Are the Chevy dealers required by law now to accept recalls to correct the oil consumption issue ?
2012 Equinox. Burns through synthetic oil like water. 45 days and my oil level is 18%. Is there something I can do?
2011 chevy equinox drinks oil about a quart every 500-600 miles dont know what to do
Gm sent us a recall letter for oil consumption brought it to the dealership. We were told it’s not covered because the car has salvage title. Help
Mine is a 2016 Chev Equinox and we were told by the mechanic that replaced the motor that the vehicle was using oil lots of it. And this is what caused the engine to need to be replaced. Is there any way to be included in this lawsuit??
I never got a paper for this law suit. I need to know what to do. 2013 chevy equinox. We bought it 04/09/2019. We have had repairs, oil leaks, and putting oil in before we are half way our oil change.
We have a 2012 GMC Terrain that goes through a lot of oil. I never received a letter about the class action. Is it to late to get this problem fixed in my Terrain.
My mom and I bought a 2013 chevy captiva with the 2.4l ecotech motor. She bought it in 2018 and her motor blew due to not having any oil 1500 miles after her oil change. It only had 93,000 miles. I Calles GM told them it was the exact same motor and they said it didn’t matter that the Captiva was not included in the lawsuit she only had it for 6 months. My equinox has the same issue we bought it in 2016 I called the week I received the letter and they said I had to pay the dealer for the oil Consumtion test and then if it failed they would fix it. I called the dealer we bought it from and they said it was a $1000 test and because I was 2 000 miles over theyre extention no one would help me. Now after 173000 miles and 2 extra quarts of oil in-between every 3000mile oil change my oil light never comes on when its low ive gotten use to checking it every 500 yes 500miles you burn about 1/4 of a court of full synthetic $13 a quart oil. You have to keep checking the oil it won’t tell you it needs any. My issue is now after all that money in oil since 2016 because I’m on disability I can’t afford a 300 a month car payment im careless because now my timing chain is slapping and they want $1600 to fix it. 700 a month on disability aint paying that. The response I get is we might be able to help you if you take it to the $1600 dealer. I can’t afford the word might Might as well say I’m going to lie to you take it to the dealer and we’ll help because when you rack that bill up theyres nothing that your little self can do to prove I said that and you’ll be stuck making payments on a blown up car due to the builders neglect.