— A General Motors L87 engine class action lawsuit alleges V8 engine problems are caused by defective bearings which cause engine failures.
According to the lawsuit, these vehicles are equipped with defective L87 engines:
- 2019-2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- 2021-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2021-2024 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2019-2024 GMC Sierra 1500
- 2021-2024 GMC Yukon
- 2021-2024 GMC Yukon XL
- 2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade
- 2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade ESV
The engine lawsuit was filed by Illinois plaintiff James S. Powell, II, who purchased a new 2023 GMC Yukon Denali in October 2022. His vehicle came equipped with an L87 engine, and in October 2024 he took his GMC Yukon to a dealership after the check engine light activated.
The class action alleges his GM L87 engine had metal in the oil and the engine block had been damaged due to the connecting rod bearing.
His L87 engine was replaced for free, but he filed the class action for more than $5 million because the replacement engine is supposedly just as defective as the original.
The General Motors L87 engine lawsuit was filed about four weeks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into L87 engine problems.
Out of 877,710 GM vehicles equipped with L87 engines, NHTSA had received 39 complaints and a number of field reports.
GM owners complain they had no warning before the L87 bearings failed and caused the connecting rods to puncture the engine blocks. Some of the complaints say the L87 engines seized at very low mileage, and many allege the failures occurred at highway speeds.
The class action says the engine problems make driving the vehicles dangerous, especially when the engines seize at high speeds. And the L87 engine problems and dangers allegedly decrease the vehicle values.
General Motors has allegedly known about the L87 engine problems for "several years" but failed to warn owners and lessees of the Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles how the engines can fail.
And as the plaintiff alleges about his own vehicle, General Motors allegedly replaces defective L87 V8 engines with equally defective engines.
The GM L87 engine failure class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division): James S. Powell, II v. General Motors, LLC.
The plaintiff is represented by Coulson P.C., Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., Byron Carlson Petri & Kalb, LLC, and Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team, LLP.