Nature of the Action
The within proposed automobile defect multi-jurisdictional class proceeding involves certain model and model year General Motors vehicles defined below as “Affected Class Vehicles”, engineered, designed, manufactured, assembled, tested, marketed, advertised, distributed, supplied, leased and/or sold by the Defendants, General Motors, LLC (“GM LLC”) and General Motors of Canada Company/Compagnie General Motors du Canada (“GM Canada”), in Canada, including the Province of British Columbia, installed with the L87 6.2L V8 gas engines (“Class Engine” or “Class Engines”) that contain defective connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components resulting in breaching of the engine block and/or engine seizure so as to cause a loss of motive power while the vehicle is in operation, all of which poses a real, substantial and imminent risk of harm or injury to vehicle occupants and catastrophic engine damage (“Engine Defect”).
“Affected Class Vehicles” refers to the following model year General Motors, vehicles installed with the Class Engines, engineered, designed, manufactured, assembled, tested marketed, advertised, distributed, supplied, leased and/or sold by the Defendants, GM LLC and GM Canada, in Canada, including the Province of British Columbia, with the Engine Defect:
The connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components in the Class Engines have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage or failure. Engine teardown analysis performed by the Defendants, GM LLC and GM Canada, has identified two primary root causes of the Engine Defect: (1) rod-bearing damage from sediment on connecting rods and crankshaft-oil galleries; and (2) out of specification crankshaft dimensions and surface finish.
The Engine Defect is latent in nature. Without warning and shortly before failure of the Class Engines, drivers of Affected Class Vehicles will experience: (1) knocking, banging, or other unusual engines noises; (2) illumination of the check engine light; and/or (3) engine-performance issues, including hesitation, high revolutions per minute (RPMs), abnormal shifting, reduced or complete loss of propulsion or a no-start condition. As such, drivers of the Affected Class Vehicles are given a limited opportunity to safely remove their vehicles from the road or take other protective or preventative action. There is no detectability prior to engine failure.
On or about April 24, 2025, the Defendant, GM LLC, issued a recall of approximately 597,630 Affected Class Vehicles in the United States for the Engine Defect. Similarly, at the same time, the Defendant, GM Canada, issued a parallel recall of approximately 49,848 Affected Class Vehicles in Canada for the Engine Defect. The recalled Affected Class Vehicles in both the United States and Canada share a common defect stemming from improper crankshaft dimensions and surface finish, and connecting rod bearings that are not durable enough to withstand heat and friction generated in the Class Engine.
Furthermore, the Defendants, GM LLC and GM Canada, issued Technical Service Bulletins (“TSBs”) in April and May 2025 acknowledging the Engine Defect and providing a purported remedy and/or fix.
The purported remedy and/or fix for the Engine Defect being implemented by the Defendants, GM LLC and GM Canada, involves a visual “inspection” of the Affected Class Vehicles by their authorized dealers. Although it is not entirely clear what this visual inspection will entail, at a minimum, authorized dealers will be checking for a particular diagnostic trouble code (DTC) that indicates misalignment between the crankshaft and camshaft. Affected Class Vehicles with this particular DTC that fail inspection will then be quarantined for future engine repair or replacement. Affected Class Vehicles that pass the visual inspection—those vehicles that will not receive immediate engine repair—will be outfitted with a new oil filter and cap and further, owners and/or lessees are advised that moving forward their Affected Class Vehicles will require a higher viscosity motor oil, which according to the Defendants, GM LLC and GM Canada, offer an increased further level of protection necessary to avoid future engine failures.
As explained below, the visual inspection to determine whether or not to replace the Class Engine in the Affected Class Vehicles is inadequate as it does not identify all Class Engines primed to fail or prevent future engine failures.
Further, the purported remedy or fix involving the use of a higher viscosity oil fails to adequately protect the Class Engines from engine failure or malfunction and additionally, it leads to an increase in fuel consumption in the Affected Class Vehicles.
The Engine Defect poses a real, substantial and imminent risk of harm or injury to vehicle occupants as result of loss of motive power while in operation, and though consumers have complained about it, the Defendants, GM LLC and GM Canada, have failed and/or refused to adequately remedy and/or fix the Engine Defect.
There exists a manufacturing defect in the Class Engine, which is substantially certain to fail and/or seize, forcing putative class members whose Affected Class Vehicles passed the inadequate visual inspection to incur, inter alia, out-of-pocket costs to repair and/or replace the Class Engine, costing thousands of dollars.
Class
This action is brought on behalf of members of a class consisting of the Plaintiff, all British Columbia residents, and all other persons resident in Canada, who own, owned, lease and/or leased any one or more of the Affected Class Vehicles (“Class” or “Class Members”), excluding employees, officers, directors, agents of the Defendants, and their family members, class counsel, presiding judges and any person who has commenced an individual proceeding against or delivered a release to the Defendants, concerning the subject of this proceeding, or such other class definition or class period as the Court may ultimately decide on the application for certification.
*Please contact our office if you own one of the Affected Class Vehicles that is the subject of this litigation.
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