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 bought a 2010 equinox on labor day of 21. It had 112000 on it and has 112950 now ca of Feb 9th. The motor has blown because the oil leaks consistently.
Seen where everyone is having problems out of the equinox so I decided to get a catch can for my 2017 2.4L doesn’t use oil or anything yet with 102K on it hopefully I don’t ever encounter this problem
I’ve got 2014 Equinox that just had the rear oil seal replaced at my expense,fighting with GM now to see if they will reimburse me.It’s a problem they knew about but won’t do anything about it.
Bought a Chevy Equinox 2013 in August 2021 from Autonation Scottsdale.
It broke down in November 2021, oil and engine. Have a Autonation Vehicle Protection Plan which they are not honoring. They want the mechanics to take apart the engine, which is a big job and we can’t afford that.
Never told by Autonation about any trouble with oil and engine. Which they should have known.
3 months we had the car. What can we do??
Hello, I’ve got a 2013 equinox not covered by the tech bulletin 14882. How do I join in the class action lawsuit?
My 2015 equinox runs a quarter of oil about every 120 miles with 130k on it
I bought a 2014 Equinox with the 2.4 engine new from a dealer. At 125000 miles it started using oil like crazy. I have contacted dealer about and said there was no recall on it but I could have them do a test that would cost $5000 to do, which I already knew it used oil. I changed the oil every 3000 miles by a certified mechanic and serviced everything on a regular basis. My husband had just check the oil and it was where it should be and was driving to our daughters place (20 miles from our house) and the engine BLEW for no apparent reason. My certified mechanic said it was due to poor parts in the engine and that the Equinox has the poorest engine in the car industry.
This has happened to me twice. It was the rear seal that blew. Mine os a 2017. Stay away from Equinox everyone.
I have a 2011 equinox have had problems since I got from a dealership I told dealership about it they said nothing they can do about it it has 140,000 miles on it I put oil in it Constantly
I also have a 2014 and iv had nothing but problems with it and it is going through oil like crazy and there is no recall on it
How do I get info on this I have 2014 Chevy equinox that is using way to much oil every couple of days.