General Motors knew about V8 engine problems for years before giant recall, lawsuit claims

USA Today

04-05-2025

General Motors knew about V8 engine problems for years before giant recall, lawsuit claims GM is recalling thousands of trucks and SUVs. Some Americans claim GM's V8 engine has long been plagued with issues.
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Car recalls: Why they happen and what buyers should know
Why do car recalls happen? Here's what to know if your car has an open recall.
Recalls are a common occurrence for automakers but new info regarding GM's V8 engine is raising eyebrows.
The American 'big three' automaker is battling a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of a GMC SUV owner.
The lawsuit alleges GM replaced customer's faulty V8 with an equally defective engine. Complaints from other drivers echo serious concerns.
As of May 1, American automaker General Motors, which has a manufacturing plant in Tennessee, has recalled nearly 600,000 full-size SUVs and trucks (721,000 globally). This is the largest recall of 2025 in terms of affected vehicles. While mass recalls are big news, there's much more to this story than meets the eye.
The recall itself is cause for concern, but its timing has been even more troubling for some consumers who have long complained of engine issues, including a lawsuit filed months ago.
What GM vehicles are being recalled?
General Motors' recall extends to:
2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade (and Escalade ESV)
2021-2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
2021-2024 Chevrolet Suburban
2021-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe
2021-2024 GMC Sierra 1500
2021-2024 GMC Yukon (Yukon XL)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is providing a safety recall report detailing the issues. According to the report, "GM opened a product investigation following notification from NHTSA of its investigation into alleged engine failures in GM vehicles equipped with the L87 V8 engine."
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The product investigation was opened January 16, but according to a lawsuit, several automotive publications and Reddit forums, GM owners have been complaining about issues with the L87 V8 engine for months and potentially even years. One user on a GMC forum posted "lots of people have had this same issue with the latest GM V8 seizing up on them while driving" in response to a user venting about their GM V8 woes back in December 2024.
Earliest this month, GM Authority published a poll in regards to thoughts on the severity of L87 engine issues, calling GM "relatively elusive on the matter." Poll respondents voted in favor of L87 issues being serious opposed to minor.
General Motors faces lawsuit over V8 engine
The NHTSA claims that "vehicle safety developments helped raise the annual number of lives saved" over the last few decades. While vehicle safety has improved drastically in recent times, drivers still experience severe vehicle defects that can change their ownership experience entirely.
One such experience is detailed in a lawsuit filed Feb. 18, 2025 in the U. S District Court Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division on behalf of plaintiff James S. Powell II which seeks to be certified as a class action.
"On or about October 22, 2022, Plaintiff (Powell) purchased a new 2023 GMC Yukon Denali manufactured by GM and containing an L87 V8 engine," the lawsuit states. Powell took the vehicle to an authorized GM dealer after a check engine light came on in 2024. After inspection, Powell was informed that the engine was defective and would be replaced with another engine. Powell continued to have issues with the new engine following the replacement, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that vehicles equipped with the L87 V8 engine share a "common defect regarding the bearings in their engines which are prone to, and have experienced failure, resulting in breaching of the engine block by the connecting rod and/or engine seizure."
The April 24 NHTSA recall notice points to a defect involving "the connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components in these vehicles ... that can lead to engine damage and engine failure."
The lawsuit further alleges that "GM has known about the engine defect for several years but failed to disclose it" to at least 100 class members who leased or purchased GM vehicles.
The lawsuit cites numerous consumer complaints reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding vehicles equipped with the L87 V8 engine. It claims that "it is indisputable that GM has had knowledge of the engine defect prior to March, 24, 2023," which is years before a recall was issued. A similar lawsuit was filed earlier at the beginning of April in Georgia.
When asked about the lawsuit, a statement from GM said it's not their policy to comment on ongoing litigation.
What to do if your GM vehicle is being recalled
General Motors is taking the recall very seriously and will give individual attention to every L87 engine that arrives at dealers. When asked about the recall, GM said they will " inspect, and, as necessary, repair or replace the engine. Vehicles that pass inspection will be provided a higher viscosity oil, which will also require a new oil fil cap, an oil filter replacement, and an owner's manual insert."
So, If your vehicle is part of the ongoing recall, you should take it to an authorized GM dealer for service immediately to avoid any potential engine trouble. You can search for recalls on your specific GM model here using your vehicle identification number.
What does the recall mean for GM?
Reliability is a huge concern for car shoppers. After all, no one wants to deal with car trouble, especially if it could result in high mechanic fees or accidents. It's unfair to call GM vehicles unreliable based on the recall in question. That said, General Motors does have mixed reliability scores for some of its best-selling models. In contrast, Toyota produces all of the top five longest-lasting cars based on a study by iSeeCars.com.
Additionally, GM's recent recall isn't its only major recall in recent years. In 2021, General Motors recalled every Chevrolet Bolt model due to a fire risk. Reports of Bolt fires made this recall even more harrowing for the company and its consumers. Should GM have issued its recent recall sooner? There are plenty of angry consumers taking to forums expressing outrage regarding how long it took for L87 V8 engine issues to be addressed.
Charles Singh is an automotive reporter with the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at [e-mail], or on X, formerly Twitter: @CharlesSingh.