We’ve been closely covering the drama around GM’s faulty 6.2L V8 L87 and its associated recalls and lawsuits, but it’s not the only V8 giving GM legal troubles. CarComplaints reports that a lawsuit settlement was just preliminarily approved regarding the 5.3L V8 LC9, which was first filed back in 2021.
According to the Oklahoma driver who filed the suit, the V8 in his 2013 GMC Sierra 1500 had oil consumption problems. The plaintiff alleges that the engine was damaged by bad piston rings. The plaintiff complains of a rattling noise prompting him to add oil between regularly scheduled oil changes.
The following models equipped with the 5.3L V8 LC9 and were purchased or leased in Oklahoma are included in the lawsuit:
The owner who filed the lawsuit will receive $15,000, and the maximum that other owners in the class action suit can be awarded is $2,700 if the lawsuit were to go to trial. The settlement will reportedly bring this payout amount to about $700. Trucks and SUVs that have already gotten piston replacements or upgraded piston rings under warranty aren’t included in the settlement.
The final approval hearing is on September 15th, 2025; no payouts will be awarded until the case is settled. Durwin Hampton vs. General Motors, LLC was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
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Duffer, the only reason those engines burned oil, (and most if not all of the valve lifter issues) was cheap oil and filters, and very poor maintenance schedules. Now some of the newer engines are an entirely different story, they’ll be coming up sooner or later. In this case I’d go after the guy that did the oil changes unless the scheduling was the problem.
That is completely false. I had a new 2011 Tahoe and it went through at least a quart every 1500-2000 miles and I only used Valvoline or Penzoil with Wix filters, and it was changed every 4000 miles regardless of how much was remaining on the oil life indicator. I am by far not the only one that took care of his car but had to deal with an engine that used way more oil than a Mazda with over 300000 miles and had a worn main seal.
I use Mobile 1 Dexos 20,000 mile oil in my 2012 Silverado and that has helped the oil burn rate but I still add oil twice between 5000 mile changes. My opinion is that the ring pressure was lessened to decrease cylinder wall drag and increase mpg but more oil slips by. Bought it new and I change the oil and filter religiously at at least 5k and it has used oil since new. Pennsylvania based crude oils like Quaker State and Pennzoil burn off faster than Mobile 1. I’m not buying the cheap stuff or skipping the maintenance. If I tried to run the Chevy recommended 7500 miles the engine would seize. GM engines didn’t used to be that way, my 09 G-6 uses almost nothing between changes same as my 19 Equinox turbo, nothing. So there was a problem (experimenting) going on during the 2010’s.
Tim Pickle, you owe Mel a beer because it’s a Widely known fact about the entire LS family used thinner rings than any SBC ever did @: 5/64”, 5/64”, & 3/16” transposed: 2, 2, & 4.76mm!! By the release of the Ecotec version (L83/L87) 1, 1.2, & 2.8mm ring package is used, nearly half as thick as the gen 1. If oil, filters & change intervals were to blame all vehicle brands & models would be included in the lawsuit because most make the same recommendations: 2.5k-3k miles for conventional oils, 3k-5k for partial synthetics & 5k+ for full synthetics…
Folks DONT DONT DONT use the oil life % your particular vehicle shows on the dashboard. That number goes down as the oil pump has to work harder to push oil through the filter aka it’s waiting for your filter to start to clog up w debris… filters are less than $10 don’t bet the life of your vehicle on the lifespan of a $10 part… oil doesn’t go bad it gets to dirty to do its job effectively so if you can’t afford to do an oil change at least change the filter & add a quart (to replace what came out with the filter) at above mileage intervals. The next interval do both oil & filter. Ask any of our fine troops who maintain our war machines how often they did oil changes during deployments, the last place & time you want a vehicle to breakdown…
Why are only Oklahoma bought or leased cars covered in this lawsuit? Do 5.3L engines burn oil at an excessive rate in say Connecticut or Texas?
Maybe Tim is on to something here, do they sell inferior oil in Oklahoma? Or maybe it is the weather there that is hard on the 5.3L motors.
Something tells me this is a bigger issue than just Oklahoma.
I know of two people who had v-6 Impalas from the 2010’s and both were oil drinkers. And my daughter had a Saturn coupe that used a quart about every 750 miles.
I've got a 05 Chevy Express 1500 with a 5.3 vortex engine 205.200 miles on runs an drives like new doesn't use a drop of oil original exhaust as well !! Why is gm suddenly having engine problems???
I have a 2013 Toyota Tacoma with 44k registered. Runs perfect, no repairs needed. We also have a Corolla 2015. same story. I am sold on Toyota !
than why you on a GM site?? Hmmmm
I also own two Toyotas for the time being but I'm still a GM fan and cared about the company. GM still offers unique vehicles like the V8 Silverado/Tahoe/surburban. Both can be true.
Problem goes back beyond the 2011. I had a 2002 Tahoe that was using enough oil that the dealership kept an oil consumption log on it. I always had to add oil in between changes. They say Chevrolet said that it was normal for that vehicle. I had a 2007 Silverado that a lifter just recently collapsed. They wanted more to rebuild the engine than it was worth. The Tahoe is still actually going. I did enjoy owning them.
My 5.3 motor failed at 170k due to the faulty (and well documented) problem with the AFM system. The dealer tells me over 22,000 of these motors gave failed (blown up) I've been a GM guy my entire life up until now, but I can't see myself ever owning one again after the way GM has handled this situation.
Same deal, 08 Tahoe, 5.3 ran flawlessly for about 80 k then in one 250 mile trip it burned 4 quarts of oil. soon after that the AFM system started failing one lifter kept truck for a year trying to fix it, sold it for a F150.
99 Silverado 5.3. Knock cold. Security system made me wait 20 min to restart. Dealer repaired 220$. 6 mo later same problem. Traded for 01 4.8 Silverado. Knocked cold. Stolen. Bought 01 5.3 knocks cold (14 years). None used oil
GM sent letter. Knock won't effect life of engine
Experienced ASE Technician told me that the ticking sound that sounds like lifter noise when cold is piston skirt slap due to design of pistons. Quiets after warmup. My 07 Yukon has 140,000 on a 6.2. Problem has been transmission.
Have heard lots of GM lifter tapping but no bottom end knocks. I do remember lots of old Fords with bottom end knocks when hot and low rpm after you let off the gas, but all held together.