Dollar General Class Action Says DG Auto Motor Oil Harms Vehicles

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Dollar General Corporation was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging its company-branded motor oils were potentially harmful to customers’ vehicles.

Plaintiff Howard Horgan of Vermont alleges that Dollar General’s store-brand motor oil, called DG Auto, was “obsolete and potentially harmful” to customers’ motor vehicles.

According to the Dollar General class action lawsuit, the DG Auto motor oil was sold using misleading sales and marketing tactics. For example, Dollar General reportedly placed DG Auto motor oil adjacent to premium-quality motor oils, leading customers to believe the DG Auto motor oil was suitable for modern vehicles.

Horgan also accuses Dollar General of failing to adequately warn consumers that its DG Auto motor oil is not suitable for use in the majority of its customers’ vehicles.

Horgan says he began purchasing DG Auto SAE 10W-30 beginning in 2013, and put the motor oil in his 2007 Chevrolet Suburban approximately every 3,000 miles. In 2016, the Suburban’s motor burned out and, according to the Dollar General motor oil class action lawsuit, the cost to repair the vehicle was estimated to be $5,500.

“Motor oils designed to protect engines from earlier eras do not protect, and can harm, modern-day engines,” the Dollar General motor oil class action lawsuit states. “Thus, motor oil that would be suitable to use in an engine manufactured in the 1980’s or earlier is not suitable for use in modern-day engines.”

The DG Auto class action lawsuit notes that current motor oils are “backwards compatible” and suitable for engines manufactured in earlier years.

Horgan asserts that DG Auto SAE 10W-30 and DG Auto SAE 10W-40 motor oil products are manufactured to the API service category SF specification, which is allegedly not suitable for use in vehicles built after 1988. DG Auto SAE 30 motor oil is allegedly manufactured to the API service category SA specification, which is not suitable for motor vehicles manufactured after 1930.

Because Dollar General includes labels on its DG Auto motor oil products that are similar to other modern motor oil products and places the DG Auto products adjacent to the premium products, reasonable consumers expect that the DG Auto motor oil is appropriate for their modern vehicles, Horgan states in the Dollar General class action lawsuit.

DG Auto motor oil does include a warning in small print on the back of the label indicating that the motor oil products may not be suitable for vehicle engines built after certain years. However, Horgan says customers are unlikely to read the warnings before purchasing the motor oil.

Average consumers are not aware that obsolete motor oils exist and that they can harm their vehicles, according to the DG Auto class action lawsuit. Therefore, they do not have reason to check the small print on the back of the label to make sure it is safe for the vehicle.

The DG Auto class action lawsuit asserts that Dollar General should have known that its marketing tactics were deceptive and that it has violated Vermont’s consumer protection laws, which are intended to protect consumers from deceptive advertising.

Horgan seeks to represent himself and a Class of people in Vermont who purchased DG Auto SAE 10W-30, DG Auto SAE 10W-40 and/or DG Auto SAE 30 since 2011.

Horgan is represented by Kristin A. Ross of Van Dorn Curtiss & Rousseau PLLC, Mitchell Breit of Simmons Hanly Conroy, and Allan Kanner and Cynthia St. Amant of Kanner & Whiteley LLC.

The Dollar General Motor Oil Class Action Lawsuit is Howard Horgan v. DOLGENCORP LLC d/b/a Dollar General Corporation, Case No. 2:17-cv-00107-WKS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont.

UPDATE: On Aug. 29, 2018, consumers in a Dollar General class action lawsuit regarding motor oil recently asked a federal court to certify them as a Class since many of their claims are identical.

UPDATE 2: On March 21, 2019, a federal judge approved Class certification for consumers in 16 states involved in a lawsuit alleging that Dollar General sold motor oil that was useless in modern cars.