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 purchased a 2010 equinox December of last year, the car has been one problem after another, less than 3 months of owning it the timing jumped from the oil running to low is what I was told, I wasn’t aware I had to check oil everyday. I’m on disability and live 20 min drive to get anywhere I wish I had researched more before being fooled by a used car dealership. This experience has caused me more stress than a car should in a lifetime.
I have a 2014 Equinox with the same issues. Its reallybgitten quite bad this year. We have no external signs of an oil keak but i found today I’m about 3 quarts down since September. I believe oil has gotten into my catalytic converter which appears to be failing as a result. How can I get in touch with the attorneys in this case?
I have a 2010 chevy equinox 2.4l ecotech that is sitting at the shop with a blown engine. It had the new pistons and other things put in several years ago at the chevy dealership. But apparently didn’t help much or anything.
I have a 2012 Chevy Equinox and have to add a quart of oil every 500 miles. Found out about the class action suit but G.M. says we are way past the time allowed to get it fixed for no cost by them. The previous owner didn’t do anything about it, just traded it in and then Apple Chevrolet sold it to me with no warning. Now I’m on the hook for $4,590 in repairs to fix the problem and the cars not worth that much! I think GM should still have to fix these KNOWN-problem cars or at least do them for a reduced price.
I have a 2012 Buick Verano that has the same kind of engine as those listed above an keeps burning oil and I have to add oil at least every 2000 miles + and it sucks cuz I took it to Buick an they did nothing but do an oil change an but two tires on it
I have 2013 Chevy equinox and consuming oil
I have a 2012 Chevy equinox that blew the engine because of oil consumption.
I have a 2013 Chevy equinox that I’ve had to replace motor in due to oil issues November 18th 2022
I currently financed my 2013 Chevy Equinox in 2021 and in 2 weeks of driving it my engine went out and the dealership had to replace the engine, they never told me how the engine got damaged or anything just said that I needed a new engine but right away they asked if I had bought and extended warranty, they tried to go to the extended warranty for the engine but it was still before the 30 day or 3000 miles warranty so the dealership had to replace it under their warranty. I am now here a year later and had recent repairs to it but was never old about this specific issue was going wrong with this particular model or of this class action against GM. I am now in need of yet another engine after putting repairs into the engine. It broke down and a big oil spill happened only for the timing chain to break, in under 24hours of receiving my 2013 Chevy equinox back from the dealership, they told me they are not sure if the repairs they done to it had caused damage to the engine or not they would need a few days to run further test to determine if this was the cause. they called me back and said that we are just going to need to replace the engine again in under a year. And I also experienced the frequent oil changes. I am currently without a car now due to this.
I have a 2013 chevy Equinox I bought used and found out 5 years later that it uses alot of oil and always refilling with oil you should never have to put oil in each week , I went through a oil pump and my engine sezed up I want to be in this settlement for all the lies that the dealer has told me and this is terrible .