GM has called for the dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed against the automaker in Ohio that alleges multiple Chevy and GMC vehicle models have a defect causing them to consumer an “excessive” amount of oil, citing lack of evidence to back up the claims.
Per a report by Car Complaints, The General also points out the plaintiff is still driving the 2013 Chevy Silverado she claims is defective, and has put over 100,000 miles on the odometer without any repairs related to the alleged issue being carried out.
Plaintiff Lisa Mae Jennings claims that her Chevy Silverado truck needed an oil pressure switch replaced, which she paid for because it was past warranty. Other reported repairs include replacement of an AFM lifter and a camshaft at various other times. She also asserts her husband has needed to add two quarts of oil to the truck between 6,521-mile oil changes.
Her suit is one of several related to allegedly excessive oil consumption and defective piston rings in the Generation IV 5.3L Vortec V8 engine. Jennings’ suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio during December 2020. The following vehicles are said to have the issue:
- 2010-2014Â Chevrolet Silverado
- 2010-2014Â Chevrolet Suburban
- 2010-2014Â Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2010-2014Â Chevrolet Avalanche
- 2010-2014Â GMC Sierra
- 2010-2014Â GMC Yukon
- 2010-2014 GMC Yukon XL
GM, in calling for the class action lawsuit’s dismissal, stated “the truck has not needed any other repairs, and plaintiff has never had an oil consumption test performed” on the allegedly affected vehicle. The company’s statement added “there is no evidence that any of the repairs to her truck had anything to do with excess oil consumption or a piston ring defect.”
Three similar lawsuits have been dismissed recently, including a suit in Alabama dismissed on the basis of the statute of limitations. A suit in Georgia was ended when the judge said the plaintiffs failed to produce evidence of their claims, while the dismissal of a Virginia lawsuit two years ago resulted from the plaintiff having “no injury in fact to support any of his claims” since the 2013 Chevy Silverado involved never had its oil consumption level tested.
If the allegations are true, the excessive oil consumption could critically reduce oil levels, allowing the engine to overheat and friction to occur, possibly damaging engine components.
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Comments
I have a 2012 5.3 with 200,000 miles. Not a single engine repair. Actually I’ve had to repair nothing other than wear out items – brakes, shocks and struts, tires, fluids… Spark plugs and wires if you don’t count those as wear items. Might do the water pump soon just to be safe.
I tow a boat every summer, I’ve hauled max many times, towed a dump trailer many times at max (or more…). Frigid winter cold starts, and hot towingin the summer.
Synthetic oil changes every 6,000 miles (10,000km).
Just did a Blackstone oil analysis on it, everything was perfect other than iron high side over normal, but attributed to towing. Recommendation on BITOG forum was to try a euro spec 5w40 in the summer and stick with 5w30 in the winter.
No observable oil consumption. Meaning at the end of the oil life the dip stick still shows full.
I had an 87′ Silverado that I kept until the November of 2007 with 219,986 miles until it was salvaged. I decided to sell it for $500 to a junk dealer as the transmission needed replaced; which was the first and last major problem it gad. The last 5 to 7 years, I needed to add a quart of oil every time I filled the gas tank. It didn’t bother me. I saved enough money to put 20% down on my house and start a retirement account.
Idk about the 5.3, but the chevy 3.6 in traverse use atleast a quart about every 2500 miles. Our 2011 used more than that and our 2021 uses atleast a quart with only 45k miles on the clock. If u wait to check the oil when the oil life says it needs changed it will be 2 or more quarts low!! And that will cause accelerated wear and possibly damage. I don’t see why the 5.3 would be any different. My 2003 6.0 2500hd also uses similar amounts of oil. Seems to just be the chevy way!
I have the 3.6 in My 2018 Chevy Colorado with 70,000, and it doesn’t burn any oil between oil changes, as the dipstick reads full.
I’ve had vehicles that or deemed normal with a quart in 500 miles. Also fuel dilution at 40 percent after 3k deemed normal. thats a dodge and a ford. The gm takes a quart for a 7500 mile oil change after 200k. fyi the dodge and ford didn’t stay around past 130k
I have a 22017 Equinox with the ecotec engine that consumes oil GM needs to recall the Terrain @ Equinox there service sucks
GM is only worried about profit not quality I had a new 2016 corvette, the rear differential and the torque converter had to be replaced and the radio scrambled once and it took 4 hours for them to reload the software. I sold it to a Chevy dealer two days before the 5 year warranty was up. Don’t care to ever buy another new GM vehicle.
Seems a lot of GM has oil consumption problems I had the engine blow on my 2016 Equinox GM should be liable for damages no warnings of low oil either on instrument panels they knew they were junk ecotec built in Mexico to save money they should have to recall the bad motors in Tennessee
I have a 17 equinox with now 174k miles. If your engine oil level gets to a certian point you will get a low level warning. 1 or 2 qts low is barely enough to set the message. Also if it was that bad your should start hearing engine noises and bring it to the dealer especially on a 2.4. If your not paying attention that is your fault. You are responsible to check engine oil every time you fill up. I started hearing engine noise and checked the level and it was a little low. Filled 1qt and brought it in. They fixed it up at 110k and now it’s been good at 174k.
2014 Terrain SLE. Had to do $5k worth of engine work in 2022. When I took it into the shop (not a dealer), engine was bone dry with no signs of leaks or indicators letting me know the oil was low. They told me about the carbon build up. Told me I needed to stay on top of my oil changes (3k mi or 3 mos) and to use a specific cleaner through them every other change. And I did. Got an oil change in Nov just before Thanksgiving. This past weekend (1/19), took it in because it wouldn’t start out of the blue and it was due to no oil in the engine. Now I have to replace the full motor or get a new car. No leaks that I could find. No indication my oil was low. Just went to start it up and boom, done.
You are not spending 9thousand dollars to fix this junk I’m 58 yr old woman this was to be my retirement vehicle wish I had bought a Toyota my son has one with 400000 no issues still runs good doesn’t use oil either GM sucks
Get a Toyota then. Just make sure you put oil in it this time.
GM builds junk. If you get a good one, hang onto it.i had a 17 Corvette new, the rear diff wasn’t assembled properly,the torque converter supposedly was assembled with either too much or wrong assembly lube , the radio screen scrambled,all within the first five years.i sold it back to a dealer two days before the five year warranty was up. There are just too many issues with the new GM products. Profit over quality.. my next vehicle will probably be a foreign make. Mary Barra needs to go.
So in 5 years you have 3 issues and you are complaining??? If 3 problems in 5 years is junk, what is good to you? I love how people think new cars shouldn’t have any kinds of problems. No matter what you buy you will always have some sort of issue down the line. I have 2 C7 corvettes and 1 had simillar issues. My friend works at the chevy dealer. Differential needed fluid exchange with additional friction modifier for the noise. Tranamission needed updated dexron hp fluid to correct shudder. Radio needed the display and software update. Have not had any issues since. The zr1 on the other hand has not had any issues so far at 17k miles.
Why did. I or should I have had these problems, quality control. How about the wheels that were cracking and bending, or the gas motors with lifter problems. Gm sources the cheapest parts they can.
That is every manufacture except high end exotics. They all source cheaper parts and in terms makes the overall price of the car cheaper. Can you imagine if everything was built in the US instead of being outsourced. A basic corvette around 50-60k would probably be near the 100k mark. Try buying a BMW and see how many problems you have
@ Pete Morris WAKE UP MAN….ALL companies do things as cheap as possible to maximize profits…are you living in Disney Land! Lol 😂 I work for UPS and let me tell you something if that company could automate every job they would get rid of the workers just to save a buck…but they will put a new engine in a twenty year old truck with a rotten frame yeah makes a lot of sense!
I had 6500 miles on that car in 5 years. That’s big problems for that low miles.
Makes sense to me. More cost effective to just put an engine in the truck. They pay somone 100k to just drive around delivering packages so they can’t afford new trucks 😂
Sounds like you hit somthing
Read about the wheels on the corvette forum, they were filing a class action law suit against gm.
Gm and others with their limited warranties apparently don’t think their vehicles are built to last.
A friend of mine bought a new Sierra with the straight 6 diesel, the tranny quit at 240 miles, it took the dealer 2 months to fix it.
My 17 equinox had 86,000 miles on it. No warning lights that oil was low. Reg oil changes until my teen was in car on wifi & randomly started car to save on battery. No revving of engine or long run time happened & yet the next day I tried to start it only to find it wouldn’t start again. Tow truck took it to Kenny Kent & there analysis was oil burned so much that threw timing which threw rod. Poof $15,000 still owed to bank & no vehicle to show for it. We’re middle/low class struggling family with a debt higher than we’ve ever had or could afford now. GM are scammers & refuse to take accountability for their actions. My teens terrain automatic lift gate closed on me a few times & almost broke my arm once.
my daughter has a 2017 and same thing, she was told today she is going to have to put a new engine in it. They just did a recall on this same issue thru the 2013 and have not included 2014 to 2018. There are class action suits. We are trying to find one for OHIO. This is ridiculus. She does not have the money either.
I have a Toyota and glad I did not purchase GM when my late husband wanted too.
What about the transmission problems
Chevrolet is junk as always
The eco tech is trash. Oil consumption then leads to blown main seal due to all the pressure in the motor etc. Catastrophic pile of garbage they keep building. Will never own another gm product period
Yeah Dick that’s why GM doesn’t and hasn’t built the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder for eight years now…it’s junk because it’s underpowered and non turbo. Rhonda50 Ford is the real junk they have more problems then any other car manufacturers!
I am a fleet mechanic, we have several chevy 2500 and 3500 in service. They are all 2020 or newer. We have drivers check oil everyday as we tow heavy, and these trucks use at least a quart a day. GM says normal consumption. Whereas our Fords never need more than a quart per 5K oil change. Sounds fishy to me.
Here we go again…. every time I have owned and still own several GM products I have never had oil consumption issues. This also goes along with routine maintenance, notice how at 100,000 thousand miles no tune up is done on the engine….it sounds to me like that person’s truck was driven hard at least where I live it’s like the Indy 500 with V8 pickup trucks. Anyway regardless if this person is telling the truth or not is up to the courts what happens.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Time and time again I see locked up engines or rods that came out the side of the block. When we check the oil level there is no oil in the engine. Then we take it apart and there is nothing but sludge in the engine. Zero maintenance was done then they raise hell and blame gm or the dealer for the engines failing just to try and get free repair. And i am refering to all engines not just eco tec.
I Read about the wheels on the corvette forum, they were filing a class action law suit against gm.
Gm and others with their limited warranties apparently don’t think their vehicles are built to last.
A friend of mine bought a new Sierra with the straight 6 diesel, the tranny quit at 240 miles, it took the dealer 2 months to fix it.
Rarely do CALS result in much. Lawyers make the money, everyone else get a free oil change.