General Motors has taken plenty of criticism over its handling of the 6.2-liter L87 V8 engine. While the company did issue a massive recall on over 700,000 trucks (globally) and SUVs playing host to the motor, lawsuits were filed alleging that the automaker knowingly sold vehicles with bad engines, negatively impacting their resale values while endangering owners. Subsequent suits have claimed GM has likewise failed to address the problem properly.
In May, Seattle’s Hagens Berman law firm issued a claim in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Plaintiffs from the West Coast alleged that GM sold them defective vehicles, tanking their resale value. This was followed by additional suits that primarily focused on how ineffective the planned repairs happened to be.
The April recall stipulated that some L87 motors could have accumulated sediment on the connecting rods or in the oil galleries for the crankshaft, potentially damaging the rod bearings. General Motors also suggested that some crankshafts could have been manufactured out of spec. Vehicles were to be inspected to determine which vehicles would need a new motor. Those assumed to be in real trouble would have their engines swapped. But the rest would just see the manufacturer recommend pivoting to a heavier oil (e.g. 0w-40 instead of 0w-20).
While we’ve covered the assumed dangers of automakers utilizing thinner oils to improve fuel economy, suggesting that thicker lubricants may improve longevity in certain applications, the subsequent lawsuits typically focus around claims that the proposed fix is insufficient. Customers have bemoaned the L87 for having bearing issues for years, with some arguing that swapping to thicker oil is like putting a Band-Aid on a severed limb. They also faulted the fixes with decreasing fuel economy (e.g. McNamara et. al. v. General Motors LLC) and forcing maintenance routines that were more aggressive than GM originally recommended.
A lawsuit filed late in May by Robert Houchin proposed that the oil fix was hardly a valid solution and likewise claimed that the motors being used to replace defective 6.2-liter V8s weren’t any better. Now, there’s a new suit making similar claims while accusing the manufacturer of shenanigans.
Filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the new suit posits that GM knew that the engines were defective (prior to the NHTSA investigation) and sold them to customers anyway. Plaintiffs have also alleged that the rod bearings are prone to failure, seizing the engine when they go — meaning all the proposed fixes are just buying time before that happens.
According to the legal documents, this is dangerous since motors could destroy themselves while owners are driving down public roads. This is being used as grounds to argue the vehicles pose a “constant risk of harm while operating or while a passenger.”
Furthermore, the suit asserts that the swap in oil viscosity does absolutely nothing to address issues relating to “out-of-specification crankshaft dimensions and surface finish.” In truth, thicker oil is typically better at maintaining a protective layer of film between moving parts on less than ideal surfaces. This is why older vehicles can sometimes benefit from them. However, they certainly won’t improve the surface finish or parts that were incorrectly manufactured.
Based on the files pertaining to the initial recall, it looks as though there could have been a dozen crashes relating to the issue, more than a few of which were alleged to come with injuries. Additionally, over 40 fires were speculated to pertain to defects associated with the L87 motors.
With so many legal challenges now circulating, it’s unlikely we’ll hear General Motors say much of anything about them. That’d be unusual for any manufacturer at this stage and the outcome of each of the cases could very easily impact the rest. The NHTSA is likewise still conducting its investigation into 877,710 models it believes may be affected. But at least L87 motors produced in 2025 are supposed to be alright.
[Images: General Motors]
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