GM class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A car owner has filed a class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC.
- Why: The plaintiff alleges GM sold cars with a dangerous engine defect that causes sudden power loss in vehicles equipped with L87 V8 engines, including the Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, Sierra 1500, Yukon and Escalade.
- Where: The GM engine defect class action lawsuit was filed in Michigan federal court.
General Motors sold cars with a dangerous engine defect that causes sudden power loss, according to a new GM class action lawsuit filed on Feb.18 in Michigan federal court.
The class action was filed by plaintiff James Powell II, who claims GM sold cars with an engine defect that can cause the vehicle to lose power, putting drivers at a serious risk of a crash.
According to the GM engine class aciton lawsuit, the defect affects GM’s L87 V8 engines, which were used in certain models of Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac vehicles from 2019 to 2024, including:
- 2019-2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- 2021-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2021-2024 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2019-2024 GMC Sierra 1500
- 2021-2024 GMC Yukon
- 2021-2024 GMC Yukon XL
- 2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade
- 2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade ESV
The vehicles were part of a preliminary investigation launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in January.
Powell says the defect involves the bearings in the engines, which can fail and cause the engine to seize or the connecting rod to breach the engine block. This can result in a sudden loss of power while driving, which can be especially dangerous at high speeds, the lawsuit states.
GM knew about the engine defect but failed to disclose it, lawsuit claims
Powell claims GM has known about the defect for several years but failed to disclose it to consumers before they purchased or leased the affected vehicles.
According to evidence presented, GM has been aware of the engine defect since at least 2022, and likely prior to 2022, the lawsuit alleges.
The GM engine defect class action lawsuit is suing for violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and similar state consumer protection laws for selling the vehicles without disclosing the defect.
Powell is seeking to represent all consumers who purchased or leased the affected vehicles in Illinois and several other states.
He is demanding a jury trial and is seeking damages for himself and all class members as well as an order requiring GM to fix the defect in the affected vehicles.
The lawsuit comes after GM announced a recall for more than 90,000 Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles due to a transmission issue that can cause the front wheels to lock while driving.
What do you think of the allegations in this GM engine defect class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Nicholas Coulson and Julia Prescott of Coulson P.C.; Kevin Green and Daniel Levy of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli P.C.; Christopher Petri of Byron Carlson Petri & Kalb LLC; and Mike Arias and M. Anthony Jenkins of Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team LLP.
The GM engine defect class action lawsuit is Powell v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-10479, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division.
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22 thoughts onGM engine defect class action lawsuit alleges sudden power loss at high speeds
I’m Theresa Hoft. I just purchased a Chevy Silverado trail boss 1500 LT 2024. Boyfriend found out it has a recall. We took it in two weeks ago and there it still sits. The maintenance people throwing their hands up in the air not wanting to do anything because “there’s no remedy,” they say to the fix. Well! What am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait. Let me know what I need to do. Just buy me out. I have three beautiful girls. I don’t want to take the chance in getting in another one or mine even with hearing that they’re replacing engines with engines that are just as bad.
My name is Gayle Speck, and I am writing to formally express my interest in being included in any current or future class action lawsuit related to mechanical failures and inadequate customer service involving the 2023 Cadillac Escalade ESV.
On July 4th, 2024, while driving with my family on I-10 in Louisiana en route to New Orleans, the engine of my 2023 Cadillac Escalade ESV (with approximately 23,000 miles on the odometer) suddenly seized without warning. This occurred in a construction zone with no accessible shoulder, creating a dangerously vulnerable situation for me and my family. Fortunately, traffic was light at the time, or the situation could have ended in tragedy.
I immediately contacted Cadillac Roadside Assistance, which failed to provide prompt service or a meaningful resolution after several hours. I was ultimately assisted by AAA, not Cadillac, which is unacceptable given the premium nature of the vehicle and brand.
This experience left me not only frustrated and concerned for my safety but also extremely disappointed in GM/Cadillac’s failure to respond appropriately to a serious mechanical and safety failure. I believe this incident reflects a broader issue that may impact other Cadillac or GM vehicle owners.
I am requesting to be considered for inclusion in any relevant class action litigation concerning GM or Cadillac vehicles—specifically those involving the 2023 Escalade ESV and its engine performance, reliability, and customer service failures
This is Bobby Wells I have a 2017 that has the ls motor and had a catastrophic engine failure at 80,000 miles had to pay for a new motor witch costed me $26,000 dollars to fix it would love to get compensation for this
Please add Scott and Theresa Laymon to you lawsuit we have a 22 Yukon Daniala Suv and 24 Daniala truck.
My husband and I have purchased a 22 GMC yukon Daniala and a 25 Gmc Daniala truck. I have already had to replace the motor in my Yukon and now this motor is not right. Please include us in your lawsuit.
I’m in Georgia, just last month had to put my GMC in shop fir check engine light. The engine was failing to perform normal. Leaks occurred and sounds after put in park. Cost around $1500.00 to repair.
Please add me in. Thanks
I purchased a 2021 Yukon Denali that had already received a new motor and lifters without my knowledge. The local dealership that is doing my repairs has had my truck back into the service shop several times now and still continue to have the same problem.
We’re in Texas and brought our 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 6.2L with the L87 engine in it stating we were notified by CARFAX (and we checked our VIN# at the NHTSA.gov site to further verify.
Our dealer said they cannot do anything yet until engines are available so we paid for the regular oil change and a tire rotation for $81.64 We also asked if they would show us the sticker that is on the engine so we could take a photo to know the details & identification information (we want to make sure when/if it is replaced that it really has been but the guys doing the oil change could not do it because they aren’t the mechanics that work on the engines! There is alot more wrong with all in the design and even instruction of what oil is used too (in Texas where it gets very hot is similar to other parts of the world such as the Middle East, we corresponded with a bot on a GM dealer site found by looking for dealers in Dubai and it recommended 5-30 synthetic! My husband bought this truck because he is a decorated and disabled veteran with alot of back pain and an automatic vs. our older 2007 Nissan 4wd Frontier with manual transmission causes too much back pain to shift and drive for him so we thought this would be great. It does not have a manual parking brake instead, it has a button parking brake that is dependent on electronics, if the electronics goes out and he needs to use an emergency brake, what will happen? If we could we would simply return it for a full refund plus the interest on the loan! We would like to be part of this class action because this truck will not last like the Nissan 2007 has with no trouble at low cost since we always service it and that is what we wanted!