Drivers say repairs are costly, slow, and often ineffective, while GM allegedly lacks enough replacement parts
May 20, 2025
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Lawsuit claims GMs 6.2L V8 L87 engine can fail without warning, potentially affecting nearly one million vehicles.
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NHTSA has launched an investigation amid over 1,000 reports of sudden engine failure.
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Drivers say repairs are costly, slow, and often ineffective, while GM allegedly lacks enough replacement parts.
General Motors is facing a proposed class action lawsuit over its 6.2L V8 L87 engine, which plaintiffs claim is “dangerously defective” and prone to catastrophic failure.
Affected are premier models including the
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500,
- Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban,
- GMC Sierra 1500,
- GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and
- Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV.
GM has promoted these vehicles as dependable workhorses, but the suit claims that the engine defect significantly devalues them and leaves owners stranded.
Filed in federal court, the 22-page complaint describes a widespread issue that could affect nearly one million Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles produced between 2019 and 2024.
Repairs often ineffective, the suit claims
According to the lawsuit, the engineintroduced in 2019can fail with little or no warning, rendering vehicles inoperable and requiring complex, expensive, time-consuming repairs. In many cases, the complaint asserts, repairs do little to resolve the underlying issue.
Some drivers allegedly experienced engine failure just days after purchase, with one incident occurring after only four miles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began investigating the issue in January 2025, as reports of failure mounted. The agency has since received more than a thousand consumer complaints, pointing to what the lawsuit describes as a major quality control issue.
Per the filing, the engine failure is tied to internal engine component failure caused by either the improper installation or complete omission of wrist pins and circlips, crucial parts that help secure the engines moving components. Their failure can lead to the connecting rod breaking loose, which in turn causes complete engine shutdown.
The eight-cylinder, 420-horsepower engine is the object of a massive recall launched by GM earlier this month, affecting nearly 600,000 vehicles.
GM allegedly knew
The plaintiffs allege that GM has known about the defect since at least 2021 but has failed to take adequate action, instead leaving affected customers to wait weeks for repairs. Worse still, GM reportedly told service centers it does not have enough replacement parts to fix all affected engines.
The class action seeks to cover all individuals in the United States who purchased a vehicle with the L87 engineexcluding those who bought for resalebetween 2019 and the present.
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