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.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
2,106 thoughts on$42M GM Chevy Equinox Oil Guzzling Class Action Settlement Approved
We have a 2011 Terrain 2.4 that literally eats 2 quarts of oil a week. Aa far as this lawauit goes, we have to pay out of pocket to fix the piece of shit then put in for reimbursement instead of doing the normal thing of taking it to a dealer to have it fixed… Wonder why so many foreign vehicles are on our roads today. After 40 years of driving GM products, I know what I’ll be buying next. Time for a major change I guess.
I have a 2011 Equinox. 3 yrs ago, I had to take my SUV in and get two “oil leaks” repaired when my engine started sputtering on me. Come to find out my engine was bone dry and had no oil in it. Had to pay out of pocket to get these repairs done since they weren’t covered under the any warranty. This was at 97k miles. Literally nine months later, 22k extra miles added to my engine, and 5 oil changes after these repairs, same problem happened again. This time the dealership, after I told them about the excessive oil comsumption service bulletin, replaced the pistons assembly for free. With the knowledge of the oil consumption issue, I feel as though I didn’t have an oil leak earlier in the year. I think the parts failed due to the lack of oil in my engine and the built up pressure in the engine due to the lack of oil caused the ruptures to make it seem like I had “oil leaks”. I feel that these faulty piston parts that were causing my excessive oil consumption had an effect on and were the cause of the other engine parts failing when I had to get repaired/replaced due to the “oil leaks”. When are going to get our $4500 service payments from GM? That would be my reimbursement for my “oil leak” repairs.
I purchased a 2011 gmc terrain with only 47k miles on it this past July from a local major dealer. It burns oil very quickly. Am i able to be a part of this lawsuit so that i can get the pistons replaced or whatever causes this? I can’t be going through oil like this. If anyone can let me know id greatly appreciate it.
We received a letter today. Will let you know what it says later. This is our second notice. We have to change oil every week. We’ve had problems with our 2012 GMC Terrain from the beginning.
My 2011 GMC Terrain has been having oil consumption issues for the past couple years. I haven’t had to pay for any repairs yet but I don’t want to either. How do I go about getting this issue addressed?
We have a 2011 Equinox with 107,000 miles. My wife drives it on a rural mail route and had no visible issues until it started drinking oil Nancy in early November of 2019.
At this point, I have just been feeding it oil on a weekly basis and have not had repairs made.
What option do I have?
Our 2012 equinox probably needs a new engine now… This problem has been going on since we purchased it a few years ago. Loss of oil, random shaking and sludge build up, what can we do?
I have a 2011 GMC Terrain.Whst do I need to do to get this fixed.
I have a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox ltz that is showing every sign of piston ring failure/wear. White smoke, sporadic deceleration when foot is applying pressure to the gas pedal and constant oil consumption. I took it in to the shop last year and they thought it was an oil pan gasket issue that was causing the oil issue. They replaced it but we still find ourselves having to replenish the oil. I stopped driving the vehicle today. I was unaware of this issue and wasn’t even told about this issue when I bought the vehicle used a couple of years ago. I even asked them if there were any recalls on this vehicle. I am currently at 128,000 miles but I was within the 120,000 mile limit when I started having these issues last year. What are my options here. I just received a letter this morning about the litigation and after doing research everything makes sense as to what is going on with my vehicle. Please give me some guidance here on how to handle my situation.
What information do I need to put together to get my reimbursement?