General Motors’ Vortec engines have come under legal fire again for its alleged excessive oil consumption.
A recent class action lawsuit alleges that Chevrolet and GMC vehicles equipped with Generation IV 5.3-L V8 Vortec 5300 LC9 engines have defective piston rings that cause oil leaks and excessive oil consumption, mirroring claims made by a similar class action lawsuit filed in early 2020.
- 2010–2014 Chevrolet Avalanche
- 2010–2014 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2010–2014 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2010–2014 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2010–2014 GMC Sierra
- 2010–2014 GMC Yukon
- 2010–2014 GMC Yukon XL
The active fuel management system and the faulty piston rings often lead to excessive oil consumption, causing low levels of oil, poor lubrication and, ultimately, internal engine damage.
The system’s oil pressure relief valve sprays oil at the piston skirts, allegedly overloading the piston rings. The piston rings allegedly fail to keep the oil in the crankcase. Meanwhile, oil that made it past the piston rings can burn or accumulate as carbon buildup on the combustion chamber, and foul the spark plugs.
The vehicles’ oil life monitoring systems allegedly fail to warn drivers of low oil levels until it’s too late. While the oil pressure gauge warns of low oil levels, the class action suit claims it does not warn until oil levels are already low enough to cause engine damage.
Consumers claim that repeated oil changes do little to fix the issues that plague the engines, and that the automaker knew about the issues since 2007, but offers repairs that either do not provide long-term help or introduce new problems.
Source: CarComplaints.com
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