A class-action lawsuit filed against General Motors in Oregon has been allowed to continue through the courts after GM’s motion to dismiss the claim was denied.
The American automaker had a class-action lawsuit filed against it in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division in February of 2020. The plaintiff in the suit, William Martell, alleges the 5.3L LC9 V8 engine in the 2011 Chevy Silverado pickup he purchased new in 2011 has various issues related to excessive oil consumption. The suit is nearly identical to numerous other class action proceedings filed against GM in recent years, which allege certain engines in the 5.3L Vortec V8 engine family have several issues that cause them to burn oil at a higher than usual rate.
According to Car Complaints, Judge Michael H. Simon denied GM’s request to have the Oregon class action suit thrown out last week. GM had attempted to a warranty breach claim dismissed as the suit apparently did not mention any engine defects that would be covered by the automaker’s express warranty. The automaker’s express warranty coverage only applies to manufacturing defects, and GM has in the past successfully argued that the oil consumption defect is related to the Vortec V8 engine’s design and not a manufacturing defect or faulty component. The judge denied GM’s claim this time after scrutinizing the language in its implied warranty for “about 10 pages,” Car Complaints reports.
The judge also dismissed other motions filed by GM to have the suit thrown out, which were related to a claim of fraudulent concealment and a claim under the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act.
GM has had several class-action lawsuits filed against it over alleged oil consumption issues with the Vortec V8 engine. The majority of these suits have been dismissed by judges, including a nationwide class action suit filed in Ohio in 2019.
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I got a 2000 Silverado 5.3 engine .l bought with 80,000 miles in 2004 it has almost 400,000 miles on it.never any problems and I still drive everyday to work 60 miles roundtrip in Ocala florida.i love the truck.
My 2001 Silvy 5.3 had the valve rattle which was another issue GM refused to acknowledge or fix. Louder than my 2 subsequent diesel trucks. It did go 100k miles rattling the whole way. After a 2008 Duramax I went Ram. Can't see myself ever going back. The attention to detail on the Ram is very high. GM is very low.
I have a 2014 Silverado Ltz 5.3 55000 miles no issues proper maintenance best engine ever !
I had a 2009 and a still have a 2011 neither one burned any oil between oil changes Maybe people are using poor quailty oil or pouring in these terrible oil additives and probably poor service maintience thown in there also
I know it's an older design but I have a 03 Silverado 5.3 vortec non flex fuel and Im currently at 276,000 miles on it. Knock on wood everything runs like a dream the only thing I would complain about would be the 4L60E trans those are junk. Other then that solid truck( except the rust those years lol ) and would suggest to anyone to purchase!
Just sold my 03 1500 Silverado with 156k miles and will miss her. I agree with the tranny statement and now have 4l80E 2500 van with 197k that runs just fine.
I've wrenched on all brands of vehicles and feel it's up to the owners to figure out what's best for them.
Yugo's are not on my list :-p
Patrick, what went out on the 4L60? 3-4 gears? I had mine go out with an 09+5.3. The transmission itself is good, but has that stupid “shuttle valve” that’s a BB in a can it can punch right through. Got mine rebuilt with the valve delete kit, corvette servo and boosted pressure valve. I like my upgraded 4L60e better than the 6 speed honestly. If they would just have deleted that shuttle valve these would be halve a million mile transmissions.
Well at the milage it has and earlier on in ownership I've dropped 2nd and 3rd and your completely right about that check ball/BB I also have a 05 6.0 with a 4L80E that I tow with all the time and have never had a problem with that so I guess at the end of the day it's just preference
There is clearly an issue with SOME 5.3 Vortec engines. I had a beautiful 2014 Silverado LTZ, LOADED, I bought it in 2016 with 20K miles on it from my neighbor who meticulously takes care of his vehicles. The oil level dropped down 2 quarts one time when my brother was using it and doing a lot of highway miles. Dash lit up like a Christmas tree, thank God. He added the 2 quarts and I had the oil changed. I bought a device from Rangetec that plugs into the diagnostic port under the dash. This device disengages the AFM ( Active fuel management ) and keeps the truck in 8 cyl mode at all times. This may have solved the issue to some degree as one of the issues with oil burn on these can be when the truck is in 4 cyl mode. I didn't stick around long enough to find out. I sold the truck in 2019 and took a beating on it. It was a great truck with a poorly designed engine. I always loved Chevy pickups for many reasons. I likely will not buy another one. U would think that they would run these engines in 4cyl mode for a long period of time before they produce them to see what would happen or not happen. This ESPECIALLY in light of the decades ago Cadillac V 4-6-8 debacle. !! Those Caddys had a 368ci engine that ran great when the 4-6-8 feature was disconnected. IT'S RIDICULOUS THAT THEY WOULD DO THIS AGAIN. I bought a Ford Bronco Sport.
Everything anyone needs to know about the credibility of your post is shown in your last sentence. These newer motors most have no issues and AFM is not a significant role in those few that do have issues.
I have tried various oil weights and brands on my Silverado and discovered that each dissipated at different rates. I just stuck with what works the best and kept a quart behind the seat just in case.
I was fully loaded with 1000+ lbs from Colorado to Florida and didn't need to add a drop.
I drive like the old man that I am but on some occasions I like to run it like I stole it.
Ive owned several gm cars and never had an.oil consumption issue. I drove an olds with the 5.0 285,000 miles and the key is maintenance religiously.
It holds true for any manufacturer today .
Most 5.3 and 4.8 after 2006 are going to have that problem
Some 5.3 and 4.8 after 2006 are going to have that problem.
Fixed that for you...
Just like any other kind of vehicle or any kind of engine,they all will burn oil at higher temperatures which is pretty common the higher the RPM an engine goes.My late father always had GM trucks and so do I.He sometimes had problems but he fixed it himself even though he wasn't a mechanic.Maintenance is one thing many people just don't do.My paternal uncle who's in his mid 70's has been a mechanic for most of all his life and retiring soon.Out of his experiences repairing or rebuilding parts of or sometimes rebuilding a whole vehicle,he says it's just how well you take good care of your vehicle is all it takes to get the most out of your vehicle.He too has always had GM vehicles.He says they're easier to work on,repair,their parts aren't too expensive and they're always usually out of his shop in no time,quicker than most other kinds of vehicles because they're parts are less expensive and are pretty much always available at most any parts stores.I understand that we all are different in many ways.Some of us many vehicle owners today are not experience in working on our own vehicles and some of us do.So some of us just don't really know what goes on under the hood.I'm a multi trades,residential,commercial and industrial and not a mechanic but I do work on my own vehicles.If you just take time out for your vehicle,after awhile you begin to really figure out your vehicle.You'll know just when your vehicle will need attention on a certain part.Best of all,anything you need know about anything,like about your vehicle,it's all on Youtube.Thanks to Youtube for providing pretty much most of everything we,do it yourselfers,all need to know.👍👌
The 5.3 uses a high psi oil pump, when it reaches the pcv valve through the pushrod from the hydraulic lifter oil is introduced through the pcv. The pcv is under a vaccume and there is no deflector to prevent oil from being picked up and sent to the intake. GM did relocate the pcv, but I do not know if this was addressed and if it worked.
I have had 2 5.3 Vortec never ever used oil my 2005 Sierra is still the same performance as new. I use Dexos 1 5w30 Quaker State. When their are Quality complaints the OEM must step up to determine if it from a design change. Or non conforming parts from the Suppiers, that can be a material or process such as heat treating or a dimensional or surface finish non conformance. Also an assembly discrepancies from not following the written procedures. Their are many root cause and corrective methods that should be used such as the 5 Why RCCA using the ISHIOWA Fish bone diagram or the 8D RCCA. GM should take ownership. For me I will always be a GM car buyer. I have given you an over view from Quality Engineer. These companies can no longer use the good old boy system they use the Quality Managing Systems TS16949, ISO9001-2015 that requires them to use PPAP and First Article Inspections. Part of the pre production approval process is testing of the PPAP samples before the Supplier is allowed to go into production.