GM Oil Consumption Class Action Settlements and Payouts

Three separate GM oil consumption class action settlements have paid or are paying owners of 2010–2014 Chevrolet and GMC vehicles whose engines burned oil at abnormally high rates. The largest, a $150 million deal covering 2011–2014 trucks and SUVs with the 5.3-liter V8, received final court approval on October 8, 2025, with checks beginning to go out December 23, 2025. A $24.88 million Oklahoma-only settlement covers the same vehicles for Oklahoma buyers. An earlier $42 million settlement for 2010–2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain owners pays for repairs rather than cash.

Which Vehicles and Owners Are Covered

Eligibility depends on which engine your vehicle has, what model year it is, and where you bought it.

The $150 Million Siqueiros Settlement (5.3L V8)

This settlement covers 2011–2014 Chevrolet Avalanches, Silverados, Suburbans, and Tahoes, and 2011–2014 GMC Sierras, Yukons, and Yukon XLs equipped with the Generation IV 5.3-liter V8 Vortec 5300 “LC9” engine manufactured on or after February 10, 2011.¹

To be in the class, you must have been a current owner or lessee as of May 23, 2022, and the vehicle must have been originally purchased or leased new in California, Idaho, or North Carolina. Vehicles that already received upgraded piston rings under warranty at no cost are excluded.¹

The $24.88 Million Hampton Settlement (Oklahoma)

Owners of the same 2011–2014 models with the same LC9 engine who bought their vehicles in Oklahoma are covered by a parallel settlement, Hampton v. General Motors LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. A final approval hearing was scheduled for September 15, 2025.²

The $42 Million Berman Settlement (Equinox and Terrain)

This earlier settlement covers 2010–2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles equipped with the 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine. Final approval came November 19, 2019, from U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg.³⁴

How Much You Get

Payments vary sharply by settlement.

Under the Siqueiros settlement, each of the roughly 43,000 class members is guaranteed a minimum $2,700 payment before deductions for fees and administrative costs. After those deductions, the estimated floor is $2,149 per class member, and plaintiffs’ counsel reported the actual average payment worked out to over $3,300 per vehicle. The $150 million fund is non-reversionary, so GM cannot recover any unspent money.⁵⁶

Oklahoma class members under Hampton are estimated to receive about $815 per vehicle before deductions, though one news report put the likely net payment closer to $500.²⁷

The Berman settlement does not pay cash to every owner. Instead, GM must replace piston assemblies free of charge at authorized dealerships for qualifying 2010–2013 Equinox and Terrain vehicles. Owners who had already paid out of pocket for covered repairs could file for reimbursement during a 120-day window after approval.³⁴

When Payments Arrive and Whether You Need to File a Claim

For the Siqueiros settlement, most class members do not need to file a claim. If you received a notice that did not request a North Carolina identification form, you are entitled to a direct payment automatically.⁶

Checks for class members who had already submitted a W-9 tax form began going out on December 23, 2025. Payments to class members who had not submitted a W-9 followed on January 9, 2026, with 24% federal backup tax withholding applied.⁶

For the Berman repair program, eligible 2010–2013 Equinox and Terrain owners can take their vehicle to a GM dealer for a free piston assembly replacement if the oil consumption meets the NHTSA technical service bulletin threshold of more than one quart of oil every 2,000 miles. Coverage runs for up to seven years and six months, or 120,000 miles, from the date the vehicle entered service.⁸

What Is Actually Wrong With These Engines

The 5.3-liter LC9 V8 used low-tension piston rings that struggled to keep oil sealed inside the crankcase. Oil leaked past the rings into the combustion chamber, where it burned off or formed carbon deposits that further degraded the rings’ ability to seal.⁹

Two features of the engine made the problem worse. The Active Fuel Management (AFM) system, which shuts down four of the eight cylinders during light driving to save fuel, sprayed pressurized oil onto the piston skirts through oil pressure relief valves. GM’s own technical service bulletin acknowledged that extended high-speed driving combined with components at the upper end of manufacturing tolerances led to excessive oil spray, overloading the already weak rings. The Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system could also pull oil directly from the valve train into the intake manifold.¹⁰

GM addressed the design in 2014 with an improved sealing ring package, an AFM shield, and the reintroduction of an oil level sensor that had been absent from the 2010–2014 models. The successor Generation V Vortec 5300 engine dropped the low-tension oil rings entirely.⁹

The 2.4-liter Ecotec in the Equinox and Terrain had its own version of the problem: premature piston ring wear that allowed oil into the combustion chamber. If the oil was not replenished frequently, pressure could drop low enough to damage pistons or cause complete engine failure. The oil pressure warning system meant to alert drivers was also alleged to be unreliable.⁸

GM never issued a formal recall for the 2.4L oil consumption issue. It did release a Special Coverage Adjustment in 2015 covering 2011 model year vehicles for piston assembly replacement, and extended similar coverage to qualifying 2013 models as part of the Berman settlement.⁸

What These Settlements Do Not Cover

Several GM oil consumption situations fall outside the three settled cases, and owners should not assume they are covered.

The Siqueiros settlement is limited to vehicles originally purchased or leased new in California, Idaho, or North Carolina. If your 2011–2014 Silverado, Tahoe, Sierra, or Yukon was bought anywhere else other than Oklahoma, you are not part of either LC9 settlement.¹

Later Equinox and Terrain models with the same 2.4L engine are not covered by Berman. A separate case, Buchholz v. General Motors LLC, was filed in January 2023 in the Western District of Missouri alleging the same defect in 2014–2017 Equinox and Terrain vehicles. That case has not been settled or certified, and the law firm that originally filed it indicated it is no longer pursuing the litigation.¹¹¹²

Owners of newer GM vehicles with the 6.2-liter L87 V8 are also not covered by any of these settlements. A consolidated class action, Powell v. General Motors LLC, is in its early stages in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which appointed lead counsel in November 2025 to handle twelve separate actions over low-mileage L87 engine failures.¹³

A proposed Canada-wide class action covering both the 2.4L and 5.3L engines was discontinued by order of Justice Nicholson in December 2022. As part of the discontinuance, GM agreed to contact affected 2.4L engine owners about its Special Coverage Program but offered no comparable benefit to 5.3L owners. The discontinuance did not release individual claims, and the limitation period was tolled for the duration of the class proceeding.¹⁴

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