General Motors Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over 2.4L Engine Oil Consumption
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General Motors is facing a new class-action lawsuit in Canada that alleges vehicles equipped with its naturally aspirated 2.4L Ecotec four-cylinder engine have a propensity to burn oil.
According to Car Complaints, the plaintiff in the lawsuit owns a 2012 model year Chevy Equinox crossover equipped with the 2.4L Ecotec four-cylinder engine. In September of 2017, the vehicle’s engine stalled and was later diagnosed with a complete engine failure. The problem was allegedly traced back to excessive oil consumption, with the plaintiff claiming affected engines consume as much as 0.946 litres of engine oil per 1,600 kilometres of driving.
Like other GM engine oil consumption lawsuits we’ve covered, this suit says the piston rings fail to maintain sufficient tension to keep oil in the crankcase, allowing the oil to sneak past the rings and fall into the combustion chamber. This can allegedly foul the spark plugs and also create carbon buildup on the pistons and cylinder walls. If the oil levels reach a certain point, engine components may become damaged and the engine may overheat, eventually leading to total engine failure.
Car Complaints’ reports this lawsuit also lists a number of other problems with affected 2.4L Ecotec engines, including defective spray kets, defective active fuel management system, defective PCV systems and defective oil life monitoring systems. These other issues compound with the defective piston rings to exacerbate the problem, the suit indicates.
Other oil burning-related lawsuits filed against GM in the United States have been thrown out, as GM’s warranty does not cover design defects, only manufacturing defects. The problems with these engines can be traced back to design defects, the automaker has argued previously, so its factory warranty is not applicable to these problems.
We’ll provide an update on the Canadian oil burn lawsuit against GM as it progresses through the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the coming months.
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maybe check your oil more than once a year? This guy is going to spend so much money trying to fight this then lose, it will be an expensive lesson. Manuals call out how much oil consumption is ok, it will probably be found as being in range and a lack of maintenance caused the issue.
The oil consumption is well beyond excessive. They lost the class action suit in the US. A quart once a week with no leaks is not a lack of maintenance issue.
A thousand miles a week is a lot of driving. A thousand miles a month yeah, maybe, but not per week. Very, very few people drive that much (a thousand miles (1600km) a week.)
How do I find out more information about this lawsuit?
Im out 6000 as i already changed mine…piss me off since i still owed 20000 on car 😡
Mackenzie Lake Lawyers in London Ontario
I need info on this my terrain 2012 pistons and rings were redone year and half after I purchased it owned it for two months and. Was driving my piston went into my crank shaft and blew a whole threw my block oil empty out and vehicle started on fire with me and two children in it. I only drove it 5000 km and need a new engine passed warranty or recall piston and rings and. Passed km from dealership I bought it from these 2.4 l eco motors are to small over revs and blows out piston and rings I’m out 15 thousand cash and new motor 10 grand.
Are you Canadian?
GM allows for 1 quart every 3200km. I have records to show mine was burning 1 quart every 500km checked by the Chevy dealership and the GM District Manager told me to kick rocks. I ended up just repairing it myself like I should have in the first place since I wouldn’t trust them to carry out a major repairs like that anyway unless they were going to just swap the engine. It doesn’t burn a drop in between oil changes now as it should be.
What was the repair that you did yourself to fix this consumption issue. I also have a similar consumption issue and would love a fix for it. It is frustrating as the dealers act like this is the first time they have ever encountered this issue.
I’m a diesel mechanic. I ended up doing the repairs recommended in their bulletin and replaced several other suspect components. Cost me about a third of what a replacement engine would have been and took three days labour over the weekend. An engine replacement from a reputable shop will be cheaper than having GM repair what’s in the bulletin and having them fire the parts cannon at it after the repair fails because it’s not just rings and pistons. That’s just a band aid to get you out of their hair until the warranty expires.
The solution? Buy Toyota! LOL!!
What was your repair? I may try it
If you contact Mackenzie Lake Lawyers in London, Ontario and add your name at the very least if won perhaps you’ll get your $ back.
Doesn’t matter if someone checks their oil regularly or not. Gm has put these engines in several different model vehicles in both GMC and Chevrolet brands while knowing the rings, PCV system, and oil monitoring systems are either faulty or just downright crap. Yes people can goto small claims but if more people band together under a single determined law firm don’t you think everyone would benefit. There is a reason they lost this same case in the US. There is a reason the didn’t put the faulty engine information data tagged to each VIN. A Carfax check, or check by Joe Shmo repair shop wouldnt know. And yet a GM dealer has access to an Intranet where every VIN has various maintenance service bullitens attached to it. Hmmm….shadey ‘no?’
If this were a first model off the line issue I’d see your point but a recall should have been issued or at least the knowledge of the problems attached to the VIN so any used dealer or oil change shop would see it.
I spoke with an older gentleman today has the same model 2011 terrain as me. Bought brand new…he said coincidentally he noticed it used more oil over the last 6 months.
The service bulletin for 2011 terrains ended roughly end of 2018. Mine March 2019. His time is up and get he has only driven 110k. People are being screwed while a company deliberately knew they were selling crap.
I pd 9000 for mine 3 months ago with 143k but 4 weeks ago had the engine light come on, and also noticed the low oil level at 75% oil life. I failed the oil consumption test at 2 litres over 2000km. Quotes 5000 for the repair. GM also knows the problems don’t start until around the time the warranties are up…again….hmmmm.
It’s a shady practice that they’ve been doing for years these vehicles are purposefully designed to fail at a designated point they charge you more for the vehicle then when the damn thing fails they want to charge you an absorbent amount of money to fix it that’s all it is it’s all about making money GM used to be about their customer now it’s about the investors but the same could be said for just about every manufacturer out there so unless you can engineer build and manufacturer your own car you’re pretty much screwed
Mine 2012 same thing. Didn’t report recall or warranty work and engine repair of piston mine just started on fire. With me and kids blew parts of piston through my block are you part of class action these motors need to be recalled. Me and my two kids were in a burning vehicle and could of got in accident I was just about to pass and this blew
My car was purchased used. No knowledge of class action suit at that time. My pistons blew out of my engine the fuel and oil caught fire on exhaust and I also had all 3 of children in the car … 1 was a baby in a car seat. The entire car was engulfed like a comet. Once I pulled off I was able to get all out. Now what?
Canadian?
Call Mackenzie Lake lawyers in London and tell them this story. Ask for lead Council on GM oil consumption case. George???
519.672.5666
Exactly same situation as me didn’t notify car fax. And 60 k on it have to get pvc and rings. And then fixed it enough so warranty on that fix was out and I’m stuck with vehicle bought two month ago. For 15 k cash and.piston went hit crank shaft and blue piston n rings out my block. Carfax says service not ducking engine repair
Yes, I totally understand, and agree that GM should be responsible for people safety, and no excuse why they don’t half to fix it the right way! I myself have been fixing mine myself. I am a good honest Mechanic! I have brought up all of these concerns, and have mentioned that these typically problems are far from being safe! People are losing their lives, jobs, and long story short they just don’t care! Very sad!!! I have put on a new valve cover, oil catch can, new exhaust manifold, and much more! Just so you know that if your manifold is leaking! Its cracked from the start of failing PCV! Keep a good air recirculation filter on that located inside of your glove box!!! Will cause headaches, could pass out from carbon monoxide, and much more! I have changed everything for as little as $ 600.00 bucks! I’m still going after them!!!!!!
Agreed with Mark we have to move in group for law suit against GM I have 2012 Chevrolet Orlandos having same issue burning excessive oil.
Same thing here bought mine used has 140,000 miles check oil often go out of town next thing I know check engine light comes on and then the engine starts knocking and loses power end of the road apparently after 100,000 miles they build up a lot of sludge from bad rings causing valve sensors to fail thus making the timing chain fail
Had 120,000 when I bought it
Same thing here bought mine used has 140,000 miles check oil often go out of town next thing I know check engine light comes on and then the engine starts knocking and loses power end of the road apparently after 100,000 miles they build up a lot of sludge from bad rings causing valve sensors to fail thus making the timing chain fail
Yes Canadian
Then call Mackenzie Lake Lawyers in London Ontario.
Add yourself to the growing list…
1.844.672.5666
2013 equinox going through oil constantly..venice fl. Still owe lots of money on it. What to do?
Can you tell me exactly what you did , because I’m about to just drop in a new engine .
You still shouldn’t have to put a Qt of oil every 1000 miles of driving, no matter how long it takes to drive the 1000 miles. That’s beyond excessive.
It was originally about half a quart between changes and I didn’t think anything of it at the time.
Every time I’ve looked at gm literature, from decades ago to fairly recent, 1qt per 1000 miles was always “acceptable”.
I have a 2015 Kia Forte with 95,000 miles on it, I go 6000 miles between oil changes (7500 is spec) and it won’t use half a quart in that distance. I had a 2004 Hyundai Accent with 144k miles on it that also didn’t use oil. Original owner to both.
One would think GM would have learned from the 80s that customers are not a given.
I drive my car on average 300 miles every 2 weeks and oil is changed every 3000 miles. I still have to add ½-1 qt of oil every week
Reminds me of the oil use drama of the Vega. I had one of those and it burned 17 quarts in 300 miles. Mary’s lower case gm must long for the old days of product quality. I’d love to see a real number of prior gm owners who will never again make that mistake as a result of being blown off due to “design defects”. gm is not being very bright on this front. A happy customer comes back and an abused customer does not.
We have a 2014 Terrain with the same problems. We checked and monitored the oil with the dealership but our warranty ran out in time for it to possibly qualify. Now to properly repair it , it will cost us $3200 and this “fix” is only warranted for 1 year or $20,000 km. Special eh?
Where do you live?
A quart once a week WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED UNDER WARRANTY OR TSB you moron. By the way, GM’s coverage for oil consumption is better than even Toyota, a company that insists that it’s normal for Toyota vehicles to guzzle down 1 quart every 1200 miles.
Dealer had my Equinox for three days after closing off the work order , and warranty was over three days later . Said sorry our door rate is $110.00 a hour if you need us to work on same problem. Had a call If I was planning on trading it in and using my 10,000.00 car voucher I said how about GM using that voucher to fix my vehicle properly. Told them what GM can do with there voucher.
How do you contact them cause my 2010 equinox has the oil problem
Call Mackenzie Lake Lawyers in London, Ontario
My 2017 Renegade needs a new engine Bc the pistons broke off in the engine. Also, parts for the oil pump recall were on back order for months which didn’t allow me to get them fixed. During that time, my warranty expired B/c I exceeded 60,000 miles. At the time I attempted to get the recalls fixed my car was still under 60,000 miles. The engine is clearly defective and I will fight it also.
I was losing 2+ Quarts per 1,000 miles on my 2011 Terrain with the 2.4 engine. Had a rebuilt engine put in in June and now have to replace the upper converter because of all the oil that was burnt. I’ve been talking to GM since the engine light came on in June and they aren’t going to do anything about it.
Canadian?
We have a 2012 Equinox that has the same problem. And they tried to repair it under the car warranty. It worked for about 20,000 miles than it started all over again and still does it. So it is not a design problem. And they replaced everything that is in the article. We live in Ohio in the USA. Our courts just side with big money. We have no just system in the United States. The election steal proved that.
There wasn’t any election stealing, it’s all in Trumps mind
It was in Trumps mind and every honest Americans mind . The forensic recounts will show huge fraud. Why do you think dems are fighting the recount so much? 103 dem lawyers in Marcipa county Arizona so far
These people are so incredibly stupid to believe that. The GOP filed more than 60 lawsuits. They had EVERY opportunity to actually provide evidence yet did not provide any. They’re betting on the fact that if they say something repeatedly enough times there will many who will start to believe it WITHOUT EVIDENCE. Again, the EVIDENCE the could have presented to win any one of those 60+ lawsuitels yet failed to provide ANY evidence… Even once.
Glad I drive a 35 year old hooptie…doesnt burn oil…leaks more than a streetwalker in Detroit after pulling a 5 guy train.
I have the same problem with my Chevrolet Orlando. Checking oil level regularly.Changing oil regularly.I carrying 1 litre of oil in my car all the time. But With all this problem I love my car.
If you’re Canadian call Mackenzie Lake Lawyers in London Ontario. My sister also has an Orlando and recieved recall letters but no service bulletin and now she has the issue too
If you believe that, you are an illiterate, intellectually stunted idiot that should have never dropped out of school.
At least he has a mind…not like old ass Joe…doesnt know where he is all the time. Watch what happens within a year of him abandoning citizens in Afganistan. We are in deep doo doo.
Please to stick the engine problems etc.
2013 Chevy Captiva…..engine problem…coolant gets into the engine oil. Can’t be fixed. Only option is new engine or trade in. I won’t ever buy another Chevrolet product again. I heard from my mechanic they recognize there is a defect years ago but has not issued a recall.
Apparently you never owned one of those engines. I did. The oil is black and full of sludge and only half full on the dipstick after 2000 miles. That was at 47000 miles. My girlfriends car. Traded it in last year thank god .That would mean the crankcase would be empty by the time the junker is do for an oil change. I am an older mechanic and do not ever recall a car besides the chevy vega from the 70s that was such a piece of junk. I only buy toyotas and if u cant understand why that is then you probably shouldnt be commenting on an article about engines.
Toyota 2.4 had the same problem..
Just saying..
LOL oh you only buy Toyotas… the same company that has also been wrapped up in complaints for major oil consumption, lost a lawsuit over it, and then re-wrote their warranty to claim that it’s “normal” for Toyota engines to guzzle down 1 quart of oil every 1,200 miles. They have had constant problems with oil consumption and blown head gaskets for the last 15 to 20 years.
You clearly never owned one ! I had a Malibu and it would burn 2 quarts of oil in a matter of a month ! Gm needs to stop making cars pure junk !
You need to stop waiting so long to change your oil. It doesn’t matter if you use Ultra Platinum Super Synthetic Mega Oil Plus engine oil, the single biggest reason that modern engines burn oil is because idiots buy “full synthetic” engine oils that tell people “hey you can go 10,000+ miles between oil changes with this high end oil” and then proceed to believe the lies. Sure the oil tests good at higher mileages, but lab tests don’t accurately show sludge buildup, fuel dilution, or highly abrasive carbon soot suspended in the oil. Full syn oil sludges up, carbon trapped in the sludge, and that abrasive buildup clogs pistons and wears the rings/bore. You can while all you want. Toyota, Honda, BMW, GM, Ford, etc all have large volumes of complaints for oil consumption. 99 times out of 100, it’s because the owner is an idiot that waits too long to change their oil and does a ton of short trips.
Most car companies say a quart of oil used per thousand miles is acceptable….if it’s their engines doing it. Lot of Toyota and Honda owners would agree I guess.
Sorry but not true. I have a 2014 equinox. It loses 1-2lt every 1000km-1500km. GM specs say 1lt per 3000km. They were going to pull my pistons and rings when I still had warranty. They found a bulletin for this problem apparently and didn’t change there mind till I showed up for the original eng tare down. It slowed the problem till warranty was up. Then was loosing more than ever. After two oil consumption tests by the dealer they were they offered some deal that had no guarantee they would pay for anything but it could cost me 1400$ with an eng torn apart that still would need rebuild on my dime. Terrible offer.
Call Mackenzie Lake Lawyers in London Ontario. I’m sure they would be interested in knowing this. They have already won 1 class action against Gm…
Do you by chance know where I can find the bulletin on the 2014?
I own a 2015 Equinox and have run nothing but Dexos 2 synthetic oil in it, changed every 5000 km. My engine is experiencing this very set of symptoms. This IS a real problem.
I will tell you what is going on. Bought my wonderful 2011 Chevy Equinox in 2015 at a car dealer. Think the owner knew about the oil issue. Smart move. Dealer said no issues with the car when I decided to a loan 7 years. First 2 months car at dealers most of the time. They are at a lost to what is going on. Take it to a gm dealers. Oh this car needs the pistons replaced. So I am thinking ok if this is done no problem. My mistake I should have gone to an attorney general when car was still under mileage .By then everything went wrong, timing change etc……. Car was a lemon and after a while no staying fixed. Need new engine but none of the engines are any good. They had a settlement that came out in 2019. I checked of course I am out because car over mileage. I have read that many people are still waiting for there money. So anyone that has one of these and are under mileage see if you can go after them. I still think at least in New York if a car is over a certain amount and under mileage an attorney general can help because the car can not be repaired. Good luck to all.
We have a 2010 Equinox, this has absolutely nothing to do with “check your oil more than once a year”. Your out of line with that comment. With ours we’ve had a oil change done and within 1 week it would be 3 qtrs low with absolutely no warning to let you know it was low (i.e on the dash). We had a new timing chain put in Feb. By July it already needs a new one. We were burning just about 2 qrts a week. And we still owe $4000 on ours and the engine is practically junk now.
You sure it’s not a Vega? I had one of those and it used 17 qts of oil in 300 miles. A real GM homerun.
So typically I’d inquiry about your opinions basis, however in this case I know there is not any- its more the case that for some reason or another haven’t learn how to properly read or a comprehension issue. But either case you dead wrong. Now I am not going to go in great detail how since for one, you seem the kinda guy that let’s his ego influence your spoken words. So most likely I’d spend the effort in educating you just so you would just dig your heels in- no thx. So I instead I’ll just point the two errors.
1. Of course the maintenance book recommends of any make or model to routinely check oil levels and most commonly at 1500 ( older models) or 3000( younger/newer). However the caveat here is that’s with your typical brand of oil. But if you keep up with the times you’ll discover SAE 5w30 and also the constantly changing standards it must meet every year which is simply makes every 6mo. Or so. Oil obsolete. So that’s the first so you might want to get up to date with such.
2. The second error is actually abit of ignorance on your point and comedy for the rest of us. Because apparently the very article points it out. The issue does not have anything to do with any negligence, but rather how gm is playing Symantecs as they hide behind a term within their own warranty which is actually crap but that they do not cover any design issues….
So in closing my friend I highly recommend more time understanding the fundamentals of reading before trolling k
You obviously don’t own one of these vehicles.. try once a week.. the lack of oil doesn’t even matter.. the engines are junk..
There is a HUGE problem with the 2011 also! I check and add oil OFTEN.! It’s rediculous, every other week is NOT ONCE A YEAR…..and now my REAR SEAL has gone out and I’m not even done paying for the vehicle! No no no there ARE bigger issues and the COMPANY needs to step up …I have brought this to the attention of my dealer and pretty much received shrugged shoulders, not once but twice before my warranty went out. So don’t be so quick to blame the owner for a product they DID NOT BUILD!
Its really simple! Bad design period!!! PVC
VALVE was the stupidest design I have ever seen.
Not everyone is stupid when it comes to maintenance lol. Change oil every 2,000 miles for a reason. Relocation of PVC VALVE is a great start to save rear main seal. Flush your transmission fluid at a reliable shop, and after that just pull the plug every 20,000 miles.
You have absolutely ZERO idea of what you are talking about. I can say that because I own a 2015 GMC Terrain for the last 9 months. My daily driving to work only consisted of about 1o miles. Never noticed too much. I transferred 3 months ago 26 miles from home, driving about 60 miles per day. Then we noticed, kept a close eye on it. Long story short the engine is blown – goodbye $13,000. I will never own another GMC product again. For them to allow this to continue to occur is nothing short of horse$hit. The epitome of corporate greed. I take excellent care of my vehicles and they are maintained at all times. So blow that our your common sense. Perhaps you should google before opening your pie hole! I wish I had!!
The vehicle owner is obligated to check oil levels. Since they did not check the oil level, very obviously, probably since the car was new, they were ignorant of the fact that all engines do burn off some of the oil. In past legal cases where a liter of oil is consumed in the 1,000 kilometers, it is the customers obligation to notify the dealer. If, if, if they did notify any new car dealer, the service advisor would have told the owner to check the oil levels often and make a record of it. One that data has been documented by the dealer service advisor, he will then contact GM to try to make it an issue. The customer DID NOT DO THIS as any intelligent responsible person would do. I have no sympathy because somebody is ignorant or stupid about a vehicle. In my province of Ontario and county of York ( Toronto ) a Small Claims Court action only costs $75 to file but it can take up to 18 months before it gets to court. The party being sued in Small Claims Court must respond in 21 days in writing to the court. The SCC max amount of claim is $25,000 plus a max of $500 for a lawyer or legal fees. That’s more than enough to cover a new engine and all labour costs and car rental while the car is in the shop. GM is much more likely to settle a SCC action out of court within a few weeks, to keep lawyers from having to go to court. Learn this lesson, wherever you live.
I think the LESSON folks are learning here is not to buy a GM vehicle. Seriously, some of the oil consumption figures that I’ve seen some “fans” try to excuse are downright laughable. Yes, an owner should check the oil level, but it isn’t reasonable to have to check it every time one gets gas. There are DOCUMENTED flaws with this engine. GM should stand behind their product and generate some good will and positive word of mouth. Instead they put the screws to someone and require them to fork over thousands for a major repair or force them to sell it at a substantial loss thus ensuring that Toyota has a new customer for life.
Great comment, I’ve owned both domestic and foreign leased in 2015 a Ford f150 and left me never to lease and never to own a domestic. I have hondas and toyotas great vehicles.
HAHAHA uh… both Toyota and Honda have been wrapped in lawsuits for major oil consumption issues over the last 10 to 20 years. Toyota engines have had such horrific oil consumption that Toyota literally re-wrote their warranty to claim that it’s “normal” for their junk engines to burn up to 1 quart every 1,200 miles. Your Toyota can drink 4 or 5 quarts between oil changes and even if you complain to the dealer, they’ll tell you to pound sand because Toyota says that’s “normal” for their engines. Honda lost a major lawsuit over oil consumption as well. To make things worse for Honda, their Dream engines have the tendency to pour unburned gasoline into the crankcase. Some customers had so much fuel in their crankcase that the engine stalled out or locked up. Honda told dealers to simply drain the gasoline-oil mixture out, add new oil, and give the vehicle back. Customers were IRATE considering gasoline with a little oil added to it makes for a poor lubricant to an engine. Honda laughed them off. They’re currently being sued for their junk engine design.
HAHAHAHA!!!
TOYOTA??? They literally were sued for the exact same oil consumption complaints. The 2AZFE was an oil burning POS since its inception and that didn’t improve with newer engine designs. In fact, Toyota engines are such sht these days that Toyota officially changed their warranty to claim that their engines will “normally” guzzle down up to 1 quart every 1,200 miles. It’s bad enough that their engines have struggle with head gasket issues and oil line failures for the last 15 to 20 years, they can’t even figure out how to make engines that don’t start to “normally” drink multiple quarts between oil changes. Good luck with that oil burning, head gasket eating, rust rotting ‘yota LMAO
Here are the facts.
GM had some ring issues on the 2.4 in the Box and Terrain in the first couple years. It was not all engines just some of them and most likely due to supplier issues with the rings. This is no secret and well known issue as it has been an issue since they brought these models to market. up till about 2012. Again it is not every single one.
Checking oil would not prevent this issue.
Most engines use low tension rings today and the margins of error is small. This ring issue had nothing to do with the excessive oil use. Now if they drove it till it blew up then yes they should have checked the oil. Either way there was an issue.
The harsh reality is for anyone looking at this law suit thinking they will get much forget it as class action suits do little to nothing for the consumer. Most end up just making the law firm bringing it rich and you get a few oil change or a discount on another car for a couple hundred dollars at best.
These oil use issues are nothing un common today. A number of MFGs outside of GM has has oil use issues with some engine. Subaru alone was well known for oil issues for years. Honda’s have had oil bringing issues on Civic head, Ford head gasket issues on their turbo 4 Eco engines. Chrysler, well take a pick of their 4 cylinder issues. Toyota also has seen issues. Hyundai same. Everyone has had issues with engines at some point.
Not sure what GM is doing now but back in the day many on the forum for this vehicle were getting new short blocks.
The bulletin says to replace the pistons and rings and inspect the pcv orifice. It’s a bandaid to get these customers out of their hair until the warranty is up and that’s only if the customer is lucky enough to have them actually perform the work.
Or to sell and or trade it off with no oil issue.
We get it this engine had issues. It is not an Isolate event and $hit happens. Is not a common thing or just a GM thing but it happened.
We get you are upset, we never saw you here before this and most here are not going to be swayed one way or another.
No matter the issue class actions are horrible for the owner as they get screwed on the vehicle and by the lawyer.
Best to get the fix dump it and move on.
If you want a life with out a mechanical issue become Amish and hope the horse doesn’t die.
It’s common enough that they’ve already lost the class action suit in the US which the article failed to mention Several reports of people having the issue return after the work is completed by the dealership. I’ll run mine til I get tired of it and scrap it. There’s a special place in hell for a guy that’d sell that to the next guy throwing a bandaid on it and knowing of the issue.
The original suit was fcking idiotic. The plaintiff was an owner would have been covered under warranty/TSB if they would have brought their Equinox in for an oil consumption test. They received letters in the mail making it clear that GM would cover it and explaining the process for repairs under warranty. Instead of following the instructions for coverage, the owner threw a fit, told GM they refused to do the test, and filed a lawsuit. You can complain that the fix is pistons and rings, but that’s the industry standard repair for oil consumption issues. Toyota and Honda had identical lawsuits over engines from the same era and the repair was also identical: new pistons and rings. Where GM has maintained that engines burning more than 1 quart every 2,000 miles, Toyota was so sleazy and pathetic that their warranty now states that they won’t cover engine repairs for oil consumption unless the engine is burning more than 1 quart every 1,200 miles.
lol GM obviously hired you for this ridiculous comment… imagine paying 20,000-30000 for a vehicle that burns excessive oil after a long trip and wondering if your engine is going to blow… thats my current situation. i just got the rear main seal replaced 3000$ and the timing chain replaced another 1000$ now i’m dealing with oil consumption issues after only driving 300kms… literally was dry on oil and vehicle says 69% oil life… just got it out of the shop…i’m sure there are some models that are worth it but but gtfo…
Or, it could be the fix that cures it if done right.
There’s already plenty of people reporting that theirs has started to burn oil again after GM replaced pistons and rings.
Could also be the case that “plenty of people” are idiots that go too long between oil changes, rev the crap out of their engines, or simply just love to whine when in reality, their engine uses less oil than many other brands of engines. I’ve seen guys throw huge temper tantrums when their Silverado burned a quart between 6k mile oil changes, oblivious to the fact that Toyota would tell them that their brand new Toyota will drink up to 5 quarts of oil between 6000 mile oil changes and it’s NORMAL. Ford is selling Mustang GT’s with a 5.2 V8 that they admit will drink up to 2 quarts every 1,000 miles. Car and Driver confirmed that they do indeed drink that much oil. Even their 5.0 Coyote is an oil drinking addict.
Doesn’t matter if someone checks their oil regularly or not. Gm has put these engines in several different model vehicles in both GMC and Chevrolet brands while knowing the rings, PCV system, and oil monitoring systems are either faulty or just downright crap. Yes people can goto small claims but if more people band together under a single determined law firm don’t you think everyone would benefit. There is a reason they lost this same case in the US. There is a reason the didn’t put the faulty engine information data tagged to each VIN. A Carfax check, or check by Joe Shmo repair shop wouldnt know. And yet a GM dealer has access to an Intranet where every VIN has various maintenance service bullitens attached to it. Hmmm….shadey ‘no?’
If this were a first model off the line issue I’d see your point but a recall should have been issued or at least the knowledge of the problems attached to the VIN so any used dealer or oil change shop would see it.
I spoke with an older gentleman today has the same model 2011 terrain as me. Bought brand new…he said coincidentally he noticed it used more oil over the last 6 months.
The service bulletin for 2011 terrains ended roughly end of 2018. Mine March 2019. His time is up and get he has only driven 110k. People are being screwed while a company deliberately knew they were selling crap.
I pd 9000 for mine 3 months ago with 143k but 4 weeks ago had the engine light come on, and also noticed the low oil level at 75% oil life. I failed the oil consumption test at 2 litres over 2000km. Quotes 5000 for the repair. GM also knows the problems don’t start until around the time the warranties are up…again….hmmmm.
My wife had a 2010 we bought brand new, and it would burn 2 quarts on a 2 hours trip, or approximately 180 miles. The Equinox only had 22,000 miles on it too when we finally punted it. It sounded like hell too. Never again.
GM’s acceptable oil consumption level is 1qt every 1k miles. If you would have took it in and started an oil consumption test, they would have determined the consumption was excessive and replaced the pistons for free. I don’t get why people think vehicles are perfect. There are Warranties on them for a reason, use them, that’s what they’re there for.
I don’t think you realize how difficult it is to navigate a service department, and the service advisors. Most of the time, advisors jump to the conclusion that it’s just a ‘wear’ problem, and it’s on the consumer. They proceed to say that it’ll be so-so $$ to have the problem diagnosed, and if it’s not under warranty, or if it’s a problem derived from the consumer/driver, they’ll be stuck with a ~$400 diagnostic fee. Then when you pay the diagnostic fee, how does the consumer know exactly what you’re going to check, that you’re fully understanding what you’re testing, for how long, or if you’re even testing it at all? Consumers come in with the idea that they’re going to be financially ‘f**ked’ regardless, because we all know a dealerships only intention is to make as much money as possible, and to extract as much as they can out of uninformed consumers. I’ve had issues with my 2014 1.8L Chevy Sonic in 2018. Check engine light came on, and even with the emissions warranty, the dealer was reluctant on replacing the Catalytic Converter! All dealerships need a SINGLE, Streamlined, Same Experience, Process in place for these types of repairs, diagnoses, and problems!
I’ve encountered parts counter guys with more knowledge of the parts in an engine than Chevy service advisors. They had no idea what I was talking about in some cases for basic stuff. Doesn’t exactly scream we can do engine work.
“GM’s acceptable oil consumption level is 1qt every 1k miles.”
Uh no it isn’t. It’s 1 quart every 2k miles. You’re a “certifiedtech” and you don’t even know that basic kind of information???
I do all of my own oil changes. I was the original owner a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu with 96,000 mile on it and noticed it was losing 1/2 quart of oil every 1000 miles. There was an oil leak at the front crank seal, which was covered under warranty. Nevertheless, the 2.4 Liter still used about 1/2 quart every 3000 miles.
The vehicle owner is obligated to check oil levels. Since they did not check the oil level, very obviously, probably since the car was new, they were ignorant of the fact that all engines do burn off some of the oil. In past legal cases where a liter of oil is consumed in the 1,000 kilometers, it is the customers obligation to notify the dealer. If, if, if they did notify any new car dealer, the service advisor would have told the owner to check the oil levels often and make a record of it. One that data has been documented by the dealer service advisor, he will then contact GM to try to make it an issue. The customer DID NOT DO THIS as any intelligent responsible person would do. I have no sympathy because somebody is ignorant or stupid about a vehicle. In my province of Ontario and county of York ( Toronto ) a Small Claims Court action only costs $75 to file but it can take up to 18 months before it gets to court. The party being sued in Small Claims Court must respond in 21 days in writing to the court. The SCC max amount of claim is $25,000 plus a max of $500 for a lawyer or legal fees. That’s more than enough to cover a new engine and all labour costs and car rental while the car is in the shop.
I had a 2004 Silverado that never leaked a drop , oil changed every 5000 miles, and I never checked the oil, why because it didnt leak so the oil level should stay put. My friend is still driving that truck with well over 200,000 on it. No vehicle should use or burn oil…
Your 04 silverado wasn’t forced to comply with modern CAFE fuel efficiency requirements, nor is it running on 0W20 or 0W16 like modern engines are spec’d for.
GM has been a LLC since 2009
They can’t be sued in the conventional way.
They are owned by China as well. No more the American co. That probably has alot to do with it
I think it’s great that mentally deficient people like you are allowed to explore the internet. Don’t let mental ineptitude hold you back little guy!
@ Louis Oniga
That’s absolutely not true. Being an LLC means that the owners (stock holders) are not personally liable for the debts and liabilities of GM.
I have 2014 ecotec 4 cl burn oil ampty befor due for oil change and week manifold
This used to be an issue of the past. It should’ve been resolved by know, is not rocket science.
By the way that’s so I heard was the reason than Felix Wankel took the licence for the Rotary engine away from NSU and gave it to Mazda…….
Wankle rotary is basically a 2 stroke. They will all burn oil. Apex seals just don’t live very long. Emissions are why we don’t get rotary goodness any more.
1, change your oil frequently. New engines burn oil once it breaks down and is too thin as new rings produce less friction, but are optimized for the perfect oil viscosity.
2, don’t use dirt cheap oil (found that out on my first car, Walmart mineral oil wears the rings, swapped with a junkyard motor of same miles, used quality oil, no problems 100k miles latter
Any car, yes even Toyota’s will break down with the wrong oil…. well not a stove bolt Chevy 6. A YouTube was curious on how bulletproof those were drained out all the oil and put 3k miles on it.
Not only will Toyota’s break down, Toyota also lost a lawsuit over their engines being massive oil burners. Any Toyota made in the last 15 years or so are prone to it. So much so that Toyota revised their warranty, claiming that it’s “normal” for their engines to burn up to 5 quarts of oil between 6000 mile oil change intervals. If your brand new Toyota starts sucking down 1 quart every 1500 miles and take it to the dealer to complain, the dealer will laugh at you and tell you to pound sand. It’s the same with Honda, Subaru, Hyundai/Kia, Ford, etc.
Its very obvious that most of the comments must be from gm employees defending the company. I am a mechanic let me be clear NO engine should use ANY oil when it is new or its junk regardless of the brand… I don’t care what gm engineers say or whoever says otherwise I have seen to many flaws in products over the years in all brands. Time for Gm to pay up they don’t have no problem asking a kings ransom for a new vehicle then don’t try to ignore the issues when they arise
You are aware the cylinder walls get coated with oil as the engine runs right? And the seal between the rings and the cylinder walls is FAR from perfect when first installed, thus the break in to wear the rings to the crosshatch. Inherently ANY engine will burn at least a little oil, because if it doesn’t it’ll chew the walls to bits or seize a piston from lack of lubrication. Granted there’s a point where it’s just not excusable but the fact remains.
You haven’t been a mechanic for very long if you don’t know that neither GM nor ANY vehicle manufacturer makes their own piston rings.
Look into it and you’ll find that GM sources their rings from Sealed Power and Hastings, and all of these new engines have low friction piston rings, 2/3rds of an engine’s frictional loss comes from the piston rings, that’s why they developed low friction rings, it’s an attempt to raise mileage.
New cars have to be looked after more than one’s from 20 years ago for this very reason, people are just too used to running vehicles until they break and then they want to blame it on everyone except themselves, 40 years of being a mechanic has taught me that.
It’s excessive consumption. Not regular consumption. Even half a quart in a engine built this century between oil changes is excessive. Good way to fry catalytic converters and manifolds telling your customers that oil consumption is normal.
This was just filed with the supreme court…
Plaintiffs need to contact Makenzie Lake in London
ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE Electronically issued Délivré par voie électronique : 14-Sep-2020 London B E T W E E N: MICHAEL BELL and GENERAL MOTORS OF CANADA COMPANY and GENERAL MOTORS, LLC Proceeding under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 STATEMENT OF CLAIM TO THE DEFENDANTS Plaintiff Defendants A LEGAL PROCEEDING HAS BEEN COMMENCED AGAINST YOU by the Plaintiff. The Claim made against you is set out in the following pages. IF YOU WISH TO DEFEND THIS PROCEEDING, you or an Ontario lawyer acting for you must prepare a Statement of Defence in Form 18A prescribed by the Rules of Civil Procedure it on the Plaintiff, and file it, with proof of service in this court office, WITHIN TWENTY DAYS after this Statement of Claim is served on you, if you are served in Ontario. If you are served in another province or territory of Canada or in the United States of America, the period for serving and filing your Statement of Defence is forty days. If you are served outside Canada and the United States of America, the period is sixty days. Instead of serving and filing a Statement of Defence, you may serve and file a Notice of Intent to Defend in Form 18B prescribed by the Rules of Civil Procedure. This will entitle you to ten more days within which to serve and file your Statement of Defence. IF YOU FAIL TO DEFEND THIS PROCEEDING, JUDGMENT MAY BE GIVEN AGAINST YOU IN YOUR ABSENCE AND WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE TO YOU. IF YOU WISH TO DEFEND THIS PROCEEDING BUT ARE UNABLE TO PAY LEGAL FEES, LEGAL AID MAY BE AVAILABLE TO YOU BY CONTACTING A LOCAL LEGAL AID
That’s one of many reasons I will be sticking to 2000s vehicles.
Where I don’t have to throw away money on overcomplicated, unreliable piles of disposable junk that are new vehicles.
I have a 2017 Equinox with 35k and have never had any problems with oil consumption.
In fact we like it so much we bought a 20. Perhaps not using correct oil. Need Dexos which is a synthetic oil.
Tell that to Toyota. Their engines have been infamous for guzzling down oil for the last 15+ years. They even re-wrote their warranty to state that it’s “normal” for their engines to burn up to 1 quart every 1,200 miles. Ford says their 5.2 Voodoo will normally burn up to 2 quarts every 1,000 miles. The 5.0 isn’t far behind it in oil use. Honda has a similar oil consumption warranty as Toyota. By comparison, GM’s warranty and TSB’s state that they’ll cover repairs for engines that burn more than 1 quart every 2,000 miles. Sounds a hell of a lot better than the industry standard.
Hey f-biden, what kind of car do you drive?
I can only imagine how happy Sam was/is to report this story about a General Motors product having what appears to be a quality issue.
In the land of frivolous lawsuits we have a writer who is frivolous with his disdain towards GM.
Digging on you!
GM VEHICLES AND DODGE R NOT RELIABLE VEHICLES COMPARES TO TOYOTA. WE EDUCATE OUR CUSTOMERS WHAT VEHILCES NOT TO BUY AT OUR SHOPS
HAHAHA Toyota and Honda have recently been sued for the exact same issue affecting their engines. Toyota’s warranty says that it’s normal for their junk engines to guzzle down 1 quart every 1,200 miles. GARBAGE.
It is long known this is poorly designed engine and with low quality oil rings (cheap manufacturers choice) it will consume excessive amounts of oil.couple this with a simple choice not to have an oil level monitor sensor equals more than average engine failures due to low oil problems. GM chose to go the cheap route and should pay to correct the issue.
I have a 2006 Cadillac SRX 3.6 L and uses one litre every 2000 Kilometres, so just not the Chevy engines, check the oil every weekend and add a litre of oil.
WOW what an idiotic statement. It has NOTHING to do with the design of the engine. It has everything to do with modern piston rings. GM isn’t the only one with this EXACT SAME ISSUE. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, BMW, Hyundai/Kia, Ford, etc have all had lawsuits over oil consumption in recent years. Toyota gave up and just revised their warranty to say that their engines will “normally” drink up to 1 quart every 1,200 miles. That’s 5 quarts of “normal oil consumption” between 6k mile oil change intervals. PATHETIC. Even GM says that they’ll warranty engines that burn more than 1 quart every 2k miles. By contrast, Toyota will tell you to fck off if you complained that your new Toyota is drinking 1 quart every 2k.
It has everything to do with the design…they have admitted it is faulty piston rings. Which is why the new assembles are of different material, grade, engineering. This isn’t the first time GM has known of a design flaw in their engines. The older Cadillac CTS had a known issue that they knew couldn’t be fixed and yet they put it into production anyway.
Get an new oil cap…drill a 3/8 ths hole in it…attach a 4 inch piece of copper tubing thru the cap..attach a 4 foot rubber hose to the tubing..let it hang down near the battery…problem solved…pressure relived..no seals blowing out…no back pressure.
Because that’s the solution to a 40k vehicle?
I like Chevy. My grandpa was a mechanic for them for over 35 years. But I loathe this 2.4L motor. Our 2010 Equinox visited the dealership way to often before reaching 60k. The dealership replaced some of the internal components after discovery it consumed too much oil. My wife finally gave up on it after it crossed 110k, same damn problem! This motor was bad from birth! GM, time to pay the piper on this one.
Ugh your all idiots. Gm has sucked since they allowed computers to control the automobile. But just to be straight they have yet to get the vvt and active fuel management motors correct. I am a owner of 07 Tahoe ly5 top end rebuild and active fuel management delete at 300,000 miles. But had to check oil and add every fill up since About 150,000. No help from gm on any issue I ever had. Oh and FYI I have had an aotbag recall since 08 just got the conformation in mail my parts are available call dealer to schedule April of 2021. P.s. seafoam was my secret to 300,000.
Ray, have you been guzzling that “seafoam’?
I should be.
Just finished going through this bullsh with my 2013 equinox. They deemed it a lack of maintenance because I was missing a few receipts for the oil changes I did myself. I’m a mechanic by trade. Ended up doing the repairs myself and will make sure everyone I know stays far away from GM. And just a heads up for those of you who’re dealing with this, you will probably need a catalytic converter and exhaust manifold if you’ve been driving like that for any extended period. You should install an oil catch and remove the plastic pcv line because it will freeze up from condensation in the winter and you will blow seals. Your timing set should be looked at as well while they’re in there since it takes a second and the guides are well known for breaking and there’s an obvious knocking on start up it’ll make. I also had an issue with the oil pump but couldnt say for certain if it was related. They will try to get away with replacing the pistons and rings only even though blow by due to bad rings will cause damage to everything in the engine and exhaust components.
“Your timing set should be looked at as well while they’re in there since it takes a second and the guides are well known for breaking and there’s an obvious knocking on start up it’ll make.”
If you’re going through timing chains and guides that early, its because of your garbage driving habits. Short trips will damage any engine and dilute the engine oil with gasoline, leading to timing chain stretch and eventually, broken guides. You short trip any vehicle too much and the result is the same.
You’re like a sack of potatoes cept the potatoes got more working cells in em.
Also your article doesn’t seem to mention the $54 million class action lawsuit that GM lost regarding this same problem. Guess that goes under the rug and the suits that CUSTOMERS lost get the forefront. Getting yourselves in some right hot water there screwing so many of your customers over like that.
I’ll add I’ve only ever owned Chevy. Time for a change once I get sick of repairing this POS.
LOL go ahead and fck off then you whiny B. Go buy an oil drinking Toyota and tell us how much better it drinks oil.
Lol GM hard at work putting those Defective engineered parts together With precision quality , Nothing to see here 😅🤣😂
Ford does it so much better. 30 years in and they still can’t get timing chains and cam phasers right. Now their overboost little I4’s and blow head gaskets left and right. Then there’s Toyota, sliding in under the radar, blown head gasket galore and they manage to avoid the negative PR. They even tell their customers that their engines will normally burn up to 1 quart every 1200 mils and the sheep still talk about “legendary reliability”.
I’m a car dealer in Ohio and I will not buy anything with that engine. They burn oil and timing chains. I look for repeat customers and these vehicles you will lose them.
Half of this is the use of cheaper piston rings, from about 2010 to around 2015 or so the production quality of the rings used in the ecotec motors where poor at best.
The other side to this is that no one knows how to break in a set of rings anymore, failure to adhere to a break in procedure can cause excessive ring and cylinder wall wear on top of excessive oil consumption due to the larger clearances caused by that wear.
It’s not a break in problem, it’s not just the rings that are poor quality and this isn’t the only major issue with a major component they’ve been dealing with over the past decade. Expect major repairs before 200k km if you own any GM older than a 2009.
“it’s not just the rings that are poor quality” – Wow you are a fcking idiot lmao
Say what you like but I have a 2003 Pontiac Bonneville that begs to differ, 212k miles and it’s never had anything more serious than an ignition control module or a set of injectors, still doesn’t burn more than half a quart between oil changes (that’s every 3000 miles so we’re clear) and runs like a bat outta hell.
Its not just the equinox, the traverse did the same thing.
Who cares were they get there parts thats not our problem it’s there’s they sold it to me they said it was all good to go and they new about it and still sold them so that’s a very wrong thing to do to a customer knowing that they are selling a defective product and then saying well it wasn’t us it was the rings we didn’t make those so to bad for you thanks for your money and see you latter I only bougth one gm product and sold it as fast as I could never again they are just a nigthmare and there service sucks to there sales man are under the gun to sell and they do no matter what so think about it the next time they need goverment bail outs to do this to the people whos tax dollars saved them remember that
My 06 Toyota RAV4 2.4 drinks 1 qt every two weeks and Toyota said it was Normal. They added oil, let me drive 1500 miles, it only needed 1.5qt and they said it needed to meet a criteria of 2qt to have the engine repaired…my 1995 Honda Civic and 2002 Sequoia do not drink oil at all. So these new GM and Toyotas “defects” are to force people to get new vehicles sooner…
EVERY MANUFACTURER HAD THIS ISSUE in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. EVERY ONE OF THEM. GM, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, BMW, Hyundai/Kia, etc. They were all sued over it. Toyota even revised their warranty to claim that their engines will burn up to 1 quart every 1,200 miles so they didn’t have to warranty millions of 2010 or later Toyota vehicles that are burning oil.