GM Faces New Class-Action Lawsuit over Defective 6.2-Liter V-8s
The full-size trucks and SUVs were part of a massive recall that included the Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade, GMC Sierra 1500, and others.
General Motors is facing a new class-action lawsuit over its defective 6.2-liter V-8 engines.
The lawsuit claims GM knowingly sold vehicles with bad engines, which were involved in a massive recall.
The recall involved 721K total GM full-size trucks and SUVS, including the GMC Sierra 1500, Cadillac Escalade, and Chevy models like the Silverado and Tahoe.
In the wake of this April’s major recall of 598,000 full-size trucks and SUVs (721K worldwide) due to issues with their 6.2-liter V-8 engines, General Motors is now facing a new class-action lawsuit. The case was filed on Monday, May 19, by Seattle’s Hagens Berman law firm in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The plaintiffs allege that GM knowingly sold vehicles containing a defective engine, fully aware of the safety hazards that decision presented.
The lawsuit, featuring plaintiffs from Washington and California, details familiar issues with the L87 engine, specifically in vehicles manufactured for model years 2021–2024. As outlined in that April recall, the engines may feature sediment on the connecting rods or in the oil galleries for the crankshaft, which can lead to rod-bearing damage. GM has also acknowledged that some engines may feature a crankshaft that is out of production spec. Any of these issues can result in a catastrophic engine failure.
The engines were installed in popular pre-2025 models like the Chevy Silverado 1500, Tahoe, and Suburban, the GMC Sierra 1500 and Yukon, and the Cadillac Escalade.
Beyond the safety issue, the plaintiffs allege that this situation is causing financial harm due to decreased vehicle values. They further claim that replacing the defective powertrains with new L87 V-8s doesn’t properly address the bearing issue, leaving owners at risk of further issues.
While that sentiment is understandable, GM maintains that the faults have been remedied for the 2025 model year. The automaker’s internal investigation was able to locate a specific manufacturing defect that reportedly only impacted engines built between March 1, 2021, and May 31, 2024. That said, the lawsuit specifically includes 2019-and-newer Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500s in its list of impacted vehicles.
