A class-action lawsuit that was filed against General Motors over claims the 7.0L LS7 V8 engine in certain C6 Corvette Z06 is defective has been dismissed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
According to Car Complaints, the plaintiffs that filed this suit claim there is an improper clearance level in the valve guides in the 7.0L LS7 V8 engine. This, according to the plaintiffs, is evidenced by the alleged fact that GM developed a test for technicians to determine if there were valve guide problems in affected engines and abandoned the test procedure once it realized the test may result in a product recall. These plaintiffs also say GM has told them that excessive valvetrain noise in the 7.0L LS7 V8 is normal.
This suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was previously dismissed, however seventeen of the plaintiffs then filed a motion to appeal that was sent to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit dismissed the suit this week, saying the plaintiffs “have failed to produce admissible evidence that their vehicles actually contained the alleged valve guide defects.” The only evidence of the engine defects provided to the court were “expert declarations,” that were determined to be not admissible in court.
The 7.0L LS7 V8 engine is the only engine offered in the C6 Corvette Z06, which was produced between the 2006 and 2013 model years, and is good for an impressive 505 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. This engine was also used in the fifth-generation Chevy Camaro Z/28 and produced the same output in the limited-run sports coupe as it did in the Corvette Z06. The engine remains available to order through Chevrolet Performance as a crate engine today.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Corvette news, Chevy news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a 2022 Corvette C8.R IMSA GTLM Championship Edition. Details here.
View Comments (46)
So GM puts out a defective part in their engine which leads to the destruction of the entire engine… thousands of cars and owners are affected but the court system just let GM walk. This is the equivalent of the court system finding Jeffrey Dahmer innocent. But it’s a win-win for GM. They sold defective parts, then made millions more selling the improved parts back to the customers. Incredible.
Thousands of cars? Please provide data to support this. Offhand comments like this are what perpetuate myths
Jody, corvetteforum has lists of many LS7 with defective valves. The "myth" is that there is no issue.
vSpoke,
Thousands? I read the forum. Show me documented lists of thousands.
Jody, he didn't say 1000's of LS7's blew up - he is saying that 1000's of LS7 owners are affected by this issue. I know reading comprehension isn't taught much these days, do try to keep up. Thanks.
Hundreds not thousands!
These cars are 9-16 years old, the manufacturer isn’t responsible forever. That and I believe the guide issue was corrected in the later years. I would lean towards 75% of the current owners bought them out of the warranty period, and 95% aren’t the original owner.
The plaintiffs claims were unfouunded. I'm satisfied with the court's dismissal. GM engineering determines product design quality...not the consumer's misperception.
Same 9th circuit court that sides against the 2nd amendment almost every time.
"DanielJANUARY 15, 2022 AT 5:21 AM
So GM puts out a defective part in their engine which leads to the destruction of the entire engine… thousands of cars and owners are affected...."
huh? What "thousands of cars" are you babbling about?
You don't know your asshole from your elbow, moron. GTFO.
There were thousands of LS7 engines sold. This valve issue is real.
Beautiful vehicle powered by an outstanding engineered powerplant. Owner for six enjoyable years.
Outstanding until it grenades.
In other words, you've never run it to redline repeatedly for a 30 minutes track session during your doc years of ownership
Taking this case to the 9th circuit in California was your first and fatal mistake.
The first Fatal mistake was buying GM...
Their ignitions will really Kill you.
Had mine for 10 years and not a problem.
My 2009 Z06 had developed a “tick” in the top passenger side of its LS7 by 23K miles....Happily sold it @ that point in time
Gosh, didn't the lawyers realize this?
GM really has no business selling automobiles...
Self-destructing vehicles, Killer ignitions, it's amazing anyone is gullible enough to buy GM...
At least GM CEO Mary Barra gets her $20 Million Dollar yearly Bonus.
And idiots like you are the reason Joe Biden is president!
So I'm guessing you're one the idiots that voted for Trump?
Dream on dick
I work on GM engines exclusively we've only ever had 1 person out of 2800 LS7 corvette services ever recorded at my business ever query this valve train clearance issue. There was no such issue with his complaint and a rebuild was required due to other issue with aftermarket modifications