Settlement Reached In Class Action Oil Burn Lawsuit Against GM
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Earlier this year, a class action lawsuit was filed against General Motors over claims its 2.4-liter LEA Ecotec four-cylinder engine burned excessive amounts of oil due to a design flaw related to faulty piston rings.
Now the judge presiding over the case has approved the settlement terms between GM and owners of affected vehicles, which will allow them to have the 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles inspected and repaired if needed. The customers will also be able to receive reimbursement from GM for repairs they paid for out-of-pocket in an attempt to remedy issues with the engines.
The last time we checked in on this case, Judge Robin L. Rosenberg had put it into a holding pattern after customers objected to GM’s settlement terms. Judge Rosenberg wanted GM’s lawyers as well as customers’ lawyers pursuing the class action suit to agree to more “robust” settlement terms, as the initial settlement would not allow them to receive full engine repairs or replacements – only piston ring assembly repairs. The new settlement has more specific terms that will allow for “reimbursement for repairs and/or replacement of engine components that are or were required and solely caused by excessive oil consumption due to piston ring wear.”
Judge Rosenberg also wanted GM to personally reach out to owners of affected vehicles who had previously opted out of the settlement due to being unhappy with its terms. According to Car Complaints, GM will mail claim forms to 1,709 customers who opted out of the settlement, giving them another chance to participate in the revised settlement. Other owners of affected Equinox and Terrain models will also receive letters in the mail notifying them of the settlement.
The class action suit started out as three separate cases, which later consolidated into a single case that was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. It alleged that affected vehicles with the 2.4-liter LEA Ecotec engine may burn a quart of oil for every 1,000 miles the vehicles are driven. It also claimed the engines may have faulty spark plugs, low oil pressure, damaged timing chains and might produce a knocking sound. In some cases the engines would fail completely, according to court documents.
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Source: Car Complaints
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I am in this lawsuit and sent in All the needed information in Jan 2020. I want to know is anyone has a contact number that I can call to confirm that my I formation was received. I have heard nothing 😬
How did u sign up ?
I have been emailing. Nothing has been sent yet [email protected]
My neighbor has a terrain and her engine blew at 150,000 km . regular oil changes and regular matinence. Can someone tell me where to poing her to get compensation?
You can’t- the deadline was back in May 2020
My mechanic said that my car is burning lots of oil and that this Class action Lawsuit is open until Monday to join. Is this true?
What do I need to do?
I belive the class action deadline was May 2020
I feel like I submitted this claim forever ago! Does anyone have a number I can contact them at? I submitted like last year
letters going out this week, I can see mine was denied on informed del but have not read the letter details yet so I am not sure . Keep checking this thread because we had to replace a timing chain and then the engine so we are not just accepting a denial. We will sue the company denying the claim if need be.
I had to replace my timing chain twice in two years.
I just received a denial in the mail. I sent all receipts and the mechanics explanation that it was because of the faulty piston rings causing excessive oil consumption. My lawyer said we can sue the law firm that sued GM and sue GM again. If you get denied when you gave all the documents please get ahold of me. I believe the company that sued are keeping the funds. Please reach out to me. Thank you
I have a letter showing on my informed delivery. I can see through the envelope its a notice of denial. Please email me at [email protected]. I will let you know what the denial says and our next steps.
received my denial today as well. They needed proof of lownoil due to piston ring wear prior to repairs and that was impossible for me since my motor seized with very little to no warning
We took our car to the same mechanic that tested the oil consumption rate. Would a statement from a mechanic suffice?
Same here Kristina, I’m in md. Please call or text me at +14106039377 I’m Candace Burnette. I have added all documentation and all. Have replaced two timing chain belts and oil has to be topped off every two weeks. They need to replace our cars.
Denied as well.
Timing chains replaced twice in 2 years. I have my oil changed every 2000 miles and have to add 2-3 quarts per week.
Get a letter from the mechanic stating exactly why the engine was replaced. My mechanic wrote it was excessive oil consumption because I had just had an oil change and 3 days later my engine seized due to no oil. If it doesn’t work I will be making a case to sue the law firm that sued GM I was also told GM can sue to the law firm that sued them too
Yes it was may 2020
All the owners of 2010-2013 GMC Terrain Vehicles
With 2.4 engines
And 2010-2012 Chevrolet Equinox Vehicles with the 2.4 engines.
All the owners of this vehicles are in the lawsuit sattlement and a notice along with a claim form with instructions was sent by mail on January of this year 2020
Got my denial letter, I sent in everything they asked for..i seen on the fb group people ad mechanics letters stating exactly what the issue was with the oil consumption still being denied..what a joke what do they need to have to be accepted
We need new lawsuit with better lawyers.. how come they include only the first 7 years !!how come they put a specified mileage!?? Are they insane ?? They sell garbage cars to us and they comeback with non logical conditions !! WE NEED NEW LAWSUIT AND NEW CASE AND NEW ATTORNEYS
I changed the whole engine it costed my about 4000$.
I’m not mentioning the excessive oil change and pistons !!! Someone explain to me why we give them the right to accept and deny whoever they want ?!!! It’s our Money not theirs … we are suing them not them!! Who is responsible for this situation ?!!
We need new attorneys !!! Why they accepted their conditions !!! Who agreed on that !!! I didn’t agree I need my money back
Have anyone went to a chevy dealership to get your engine work done or a none dealership mechanic….I’m guessing analytics would trust your claims from getting your engine repair or replace from a chevy dealership mechanic rather than a none dealership mechanic.
All my work was done at the dealership, I even bought the car (used) at that dealership. I told them I was filing the claim and they helped me prepare it. Still CLAIM DENIED.
I got mine (entire engine) repaired at a Chevy dealership and still got denied. 😡 I sent in my contested response and now waiting for reply.
I just got a letter of denial for this. It said that I must send a written statement with reasons and grounds of why I want to contest the denial. And, it could take up to 45 days to review. WOW!!!
Hello everyone, here is some update for my case. I filed the claim in April 2020 and today I received the mail but it’s the notice of claim denial. The reason is “The documentation provided with your claim does not reference or provide any indication that the expense reimbursement sought in your claim was due to engine oil consumption caused by excessive piston ring wear. Accordingly, the expense you sought in your claim are not eligible for reimbursement and your claim is denied.” I spent $1400 to replace my timing chain in local mechanic shop, I was told the timing chain damage was caused by the excessive oil consumption and most likely the excessive oil consumption was caused by the excessive piston ring wear however the shop didn’t tear the engine apart to inspect/replace the piston ring because it would be much more expensive than just replacing the timing chain. Now I realize that the “c/o Analytics Consulting LLC” set the condition/language for reimbursement very strictly so that they could deny as many claims as they can. We have to prove that the expense you claimed is directly due to the engine oil consumption caused by excessive piston ring wear, otherwise I don’t see anyone could get the money back. Any suggestion from legal or technical perspective? I have 10 business days to contest this denial by mailing back with detailed written statement and supporting documentation. Thanks folks and appreciate your advice.
We also received a denial letter . It cost us close to $7000.00 to replace our engine and we are getting denied. I truly think the money is being kept by the company. The more people they deny the more they keep. What do we do next if the need an answer within 10 days of receipt of the letter we received on Monday the 16 th
We are seeking legal advice and I’m mailing a letter tomorrow to be sure our window stays open our mechanic clearly stated the problem in our original paperwork
Thank you Holly
I think that this should be opened back up for those of us who didn’t know about this issue like myself and bought a 2012 terrain in February and not even 5,000 miles into buying the car from a hun dealer I’ve had to add almost four courts of oil! I have a friend who owns dealerships who told me to contact a consumer reports attorney to go after the dealer but I’m also going to ask them about going after GM because this is ridiculous
Write your denial letters and make sure you reference that the expense was due to engine oil consumption caused by excessive piston ring wear I’m gonna have it in my contested denial letter about six times… lol in addition to all of my original paperwork that I still have copies of everything from my mechanic I will send it out certified mail so I know when they receive it and go from there
I’m going to do that also
We also were denied this week, after waiting all this time. I feel they sought a way to word the problem to deny as many claims as they could.. totally not fair.
I received my letter today Nov/17/2020 of denial saying my repairs were completed outside the time. Specifically , the Sca time limit for my 2010 vehicle. Because the repairs were completed after the SCA period had expired. My vehicle was within 10 years old and under the mileage. I submitted the service repair in which the Vehichle died and was towed into a dealership last December 11, 2019 so 12/11/2019. They say the date was 12/14/09 SCA so it was in before that however, it was not fully finished until 1 month later 1/28/2020. My vehicle wasn’t even 10 years old and had 105, 544 miles on it. Mailed the form on 02/02/2020. The total was 2171.75 then another 177.03. I got the vehicle last yr and not even 6 months after owning it all that happen. It did say tech found engine not running / excessive engine damage due to lack of lubrication due to engine oil consumption. Disassembled engine and found oil pump and pan full of debris sent head to machine shop and reassembled engine. Engine tech found special coverage for pistons and chains per coverage 14159 tech found chains broken and all valves bent tech replaced pistons and chains. Vehichle was documented in shop on 12/11/2019. I sent pictures with original documents and proof of my vehicle. Its a 2010 Chevy Equinox my vehicle was less than 10 years old and brought in before the sca date why would I get a denial letter stating sca period had expired. Hence my claim is not eligible for reimbursement and is therefore denied. If I wish to contest it have 10 days. I just received this letter today. I called every two weeks until a week ago talked to the same man there told me to call back in two weeks since March. I need to pay the loan I had to get a 35% loan on to get the vehicle out. This lawsuit is over. But, the car was not 10 years old i cannot understand this at all. Isn’t there something that can be done? Its was in before this sca date of 12/14/2019. What else can be done or who can you talk to? Don’t understand.. sca date the vehicle is a 2010 its 2020 thats all that should matter for 10 yrs. And, my vehicle was in the shop on 12/11/2019 the sca date is 12/14/2009 so I, was in for that reason and I got denied because they didn’t finish it until 1/28/2020? Why?! Can anything be done here?!!!
I just got a denial as well. I had to change the timing chain twice and put a new engine in because of this stupid thing! I’m trading the hunk of junk in today I don’t even want to drive around in it anymore.
I’m curious were ALL the vehicles manufactured of this make and model affected ?