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.
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2,106 thoughts on$42M GM Chevy Equinox Oil Guzzling Class Action Settlement Approved
we experienced the same issue with our 2012 equinox. We paid for the repair to the pistons to correct the issue, but not sure it is fully corrected. It is an inherent design flaw of the engine. We have not filed any claim, but would like to do so.
Bought a 2012 Equinox and first noticed the oil problem about 6 months ago. We were not due for an oil change, but had checked the oil and it was EMPTY. No warning light came on or anything. We have been buying and pouring in oil frequently. Obviously a problem. The dealership says their is nothing they can do because we didn’t buy the extended warranty.
We are having this same issue with our 2012 Equinox, severely to the point that it looks like the issue has caused even further damage far beyond the pistons. The vehicle will not run at all without blowing copious amounts of white smoke from the exhaust and oil dripping from the fuel lines. The dealer says they will not cover the repairs under this recall because we missed the cut off date and cut off mileage for the recall. We just purchased the vehicle in October of 2019 and weren’t even aware of the recall until now!!!!
Our mechanic has told us the recall has been extended to a later date and higher mileage limit.
I can’t find any specifics to get clarification.
Has the recall been extended? What should I do next to get this fixed under the class action recall settlement?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!!
I bought a 2011 Equinox brand new. It currently has just under 104,000 miles on it. The last year or so I have had to add 1-2 quarts of oil between oil changes. Just took to the dealer for check engine light coming on. They are recommending about $6,000 worth of repairs (parts and labor) to correct issues caused by the oil consumption problem. Is there anything I can do at this point?
I own 2013 chevy equinox, and it’s currently in the shop for the PCV valve failure and it blew my engine. How do I get information on this ? I didn’t not receive a notice.
I had bought a 2010 Equinox in 2015. I took it to a Chevy dealership to replace a sensor and they told me about the oil consumption problem. They did consumption tests and ultimately did the repairs. Now barely 50,000 miles later, it’s sucking oil worse and now has a loss of power. Any thoughts? Would it still be covered? Daughter is taking it to a dealership (different one because of power issue) this afternoon but I don’t trust this dealership. They tried to charge her for an ignition on a Cobalt, lol
Tenemos un equinoccio del 2012, con 84200 millas y un alto consumo de aceite. A quien debemos acudir para el reemplazo de los pistones aquí en Dallas Tx.?
Earlier this evening I was driving home (from out of town) after beginning to merge onto the freeway I experienced a loss of power. It was very frightening, and I dont feel safe driving this vehicle (2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2.4 ecotec) I had to get to the side of the freeway, and felt as if the cars transmission was going out. I noticed a message on the dash “Engine power is reduced ” along with the CEL illumination. I grabbed my OBD2 scanner and saw two codes, P0172 & P0191. I plan on taking it to a GM dealer to get it diagnosed further, I also received the notice in the mail about 1 week prior to all of this taking place. I do not trust GM as much due to this issue, sounds like I am not alone here. Something needs to be done ASAP to make this right.
I have a 2013 GMC Terrain that has these issues. I also think that the emissions that are coming out of the SUV are making me sick… What do I do next?
I purchased a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox with 40,000 miles on it from a dealer in Cleveland Ohio. I drove it for 10,000 miles and then had it towed to the dealers service department. I was then told that the timing chain and guides self-destructed due to the lack of oil and they wanted another six thousand dollars to replace the engine. I couldn’t afford that so the Equinox has sat in storage for three years at 50,000 I didn’t know I had to bye an extended warranty for a car with 40,000 miles and so now I have 3 more payments left till its all mine :) Please advise
We bought a 2013 equinox. We received a letter 1 week ago. I’m 5,000 miles over the limit stated on the letter. Have to add 1 quart oil every 1000 miles. Still owe 12000 dollars. Going to dealership and see if they’ll do anything to make this right. They sold us this 2016 probably knowing their was a problem. Also after buying refinanced but turned down the extended warranty from my credit union. Sometime later looked through paperwork for extended warranty and had another person on it.