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 GMC Terrain that shakes and has a knocking noise that the dealer can not figure out what the problem is. However, when I change the oil the sticker will say next oil change at 55000, miles but I check the oil level at 52385 and the stick comes out with just the first line wet, I changed the oil this past saturday which was 12/14/2019 and now the sticker states next oil change is 58,535
I have a 2012 that’s been broke down since June 2019 because the pistons blew and the engine is shot. Cheapest replacement I could find was over $3000. A warning light never went off, the dipstick was still showing full. One minute my car was fine and the next day it started clacking at a red light and before the turn could be made into the street, it turned off and wouldn’t restart. It is being repossessed today. It’s so frustrating that myself and so many other people are dealing with this exact issue and nothing was ever done by the company.
I purchased a 2013 GMC Terrain with 2.4 L engine on 11/11/2019 in Minnesota. On 12/11/2019 the rear seal blew out due to pressure buildup from clogged/frozen PCV. GM has agreed to cover part of the cost but leave me with a $1300 bill on a car that I barely had for 30 days and less that 1000 miles. First payment is not even due and I owe GM another $1300 in addition to my purchase of the car and an extended warranty. Extended warranty excludes prior existing issues and design defects are definitely prior existing issues. So worry free warranty that I purchased is useless for this and any other condition that high oil consumption that gives you no warning in diagnostics or engine lights. Never saw it coming.
Complained to GM and got file number 9-5700579831 assigned to me. No resolution yet as my VIN is not on “the list” of vehicles covered by the GM Service Bulletin 14882. They could not say why. If it had been on the list, I would have had 100% coverage for the issue.
The issue is caused by “high oil consumption” vehicles. How is that even a thing? Is this the 70s? I thought it was designed/built in 2013 not 1970.
yes own a 2010 that needs piston and rings replaced have owned it for 5months
I have a 2013 Equinox that guzzles oil, crankcase,intake system,throttle, gasket issues.
How do I file a claim because I have a 2011 GMC Terrain thats drinking more oil than gas and the engine sounds bad
This is EXACTLY my problem with the same vehicle! I’m afraid the engine is just going to die while my wife is out with it one day! I’ve reached out to GMC on Facebook and so far they are no help at all…I suggest everyone flood GMC on Facebook until they respond!
This is THEIR fault, they need to make good!
I have a 2012 Equinox that requires oil every week! Had one seal replace and just had camshaft work done this past week.
I have early 2013 GMC Terrain with this problem.
I own a 2013 Equinox with the 2.4liter that we purchased new. I noticed the engine making noise and checked the oil level. It wasn’t on the dipstick. I drained the oil from the pan and only got 2 quarts out. No indicator lights came on at any time. The oil filter has a lot of debris in it. I assume my engine has catastrophic damage. It hasn’t ran the same since. How will we be notified when we can take our vehicle in to be tested and repaired under the new SCA?
I have a 2012 Equinox, never received a letter regarding the SCA. Had the timing chain replaced due to it going out from low oil and our GM certified dealership never mentioned any oil consumption SCA. Had an oil consumption test done and low and behold, it was consuming oil. They wanted another $1,200 to replace the piston rings since GM would only cover $1,400 of the repairs since the SCA had expired. This is after we spent $2,000 on the timing chain repair. We are so over GM vehicles at this point.