Silverado and Sierra Recall and Engine Lawsuit: GM 6.2L L87 Engine Failures, Lifter Claims, and Settlements

On April 24, 2025, GM filed recall 25V274 with NHTSA for 2021 to 2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, and GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles with the 6.2L V8. NHTSA lists about 597,571 vehicles in the recall, which says the connecting rod and crankshaft may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage and failure. An engine failure while driving means a loss of power, which is a crash risk.

The remedy has two paths. Dealers inspect the engine. If it fails, GM replaces the engine free. If it passes, dealers switch to a higher viscosity oil, install a new oil fill cap and filter, and update the owner's manual. According to reporting on GM's filings, the thicker oil is 0W-40 instead of the factory 0W-20, and vehicles that get the remedy receive a 10-year, 150,000-mile extended engine warranty. Owner letters were mailed June 18, 2025. GM's own number for the recall is N252494000.

A recall repair is free and does not depend on any lawsuit. If you have not had the inspection, schedule it. See recall vs class action for how the two relate.

The L87 engine recall is the big one, but it is not the only Silverado or Sierra recall. Recalls are tied to specific build dates and options, so two trucks of the same year can have different open recalls. The only reliable check is your 17-character VIN, entered at NHTSA or on the Chevrolet or GMC owner site.

Examples from NHTSA's records show how narrow some recalls are:

• 26V530 (filed August 13, 2026): certain 2024 to 2025 Silverado 2500 and Sierra 2500 trucks with the enhanced towing option and 20-inch accessory wheels, where the tire label may list the wrong rear tire pressure. Dealers update software, apply a corrected label, and reset tire pressure monitoring. Owner letters went out September 17, 2026.
• 24V626 (filed August 21, 2024): an aftermarket supplier's recall of rear bumper brackets on certain 2024 Silverados that may not be strong enough for towing.

Every recall repair is free at a dealer, with no deadline, even if the truck is out of warranty or you bought it used. If you paid for a repair before a recall was announced, ask the manufacturer whether it offers reimbursement for that recall; many recall notices explain how to request it.

A recall is different from a class action. A recall fixes the safety problem going forward. A lawsuit seeks money for losses the recall does not cover, such as repair bills paid before the fix, lost use, or lower resale value. You can take the recall repair and still be part of a lawsuit.

Owners have reported engines failing after the recall repair. NHTSA has received 499 reports of engine failure after the recall remedy, 473 involving vehicles that got the oil remedy and 26 involving replacement engines, and its expanded review covers an estimated 997,743 2021 to 2026 model year vehicles. Investigators are also looking at failures in engines built after the production cutoff GM used for the original recall.

That matters for two reasons. First, a finding that the remedy is inadequate could lead to a new or expanded recall. Second, the lawsuits argue the recall does not make owners whole, and post-remedy failures support that argument. An investigation is not a finding of a defect, and GM has said the recall was approved by NHTSA.

If your engine failed after the recall repair, file a vehicle safety complaint with NHTSA and keep the complaint number. Those reports are what drive investigations like this one.

Case	Engines	Status
L87 class actions, E.D. Mich.	6.2L L87, 2021 to 2024	Pending; GM moved to dismiss June 2026
Harrison, E.D. Mich. 2:21-cv-12927	5.3L, 6.0L, 6.2L with AFM or DFM, 2014 on	Pending since December 2021
LC9 piston ring case	5.3L LC9, 2011 to 2014	Settled; approved October 2025

L87 6.2L engine class actions

Owners filed class actions starting in 2025 in the Eastern District of Michigan, including a June 18, 2025 complaint by Fegan Scott, alleging GM knowingly sold vehicles whose L87 connecting rod bearings and related parts fail. In June 2026, GM moved to dismiss. GM told the court that only about 3 percent of affected engines had problems, argued that supplier manufacturing issues rather than a design defect caused failures, and said its free recall and 10-year warranty extension make the lawsuit unnecessary. The court had not ruled on that motion in anything we could review as of September 2026.

Harrison lifter case

Harrison, et al. v. General Motors LLC, No. 2:21-cv-12927-LJM-APP, pending in the Eastern District of Michigan, covers 2014 and newer Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicles with 5.3L, 6.0L, or 6.2L V8s using Active Fuel Management or Dynamic Fuel Management. It alleges valvetrain and lifter defects cause misfires, stalling, and loss of power. In March 2026, the judge denied a request to split the case in two, keeping it as one proceeding.

LC9 piston ring settlement

In October 2025, a judge approved a settlement over excessive oil consumption from piston rings in the 5.3L LC9 V8 in 2011 to 2014 Chevrolet and GMC trucks and SUVs. It covered about 43,000 owners in California, Idaho, and North Carolina, with an average payment of about $3,380, after a jury had earlier awarded $2,149 per owner.

GM's roughly 3 percent figure deserves context. Applied to the recall population of about 597,571 vehicles, even a few percent means thousands of engines. The plaintiffs argue the failure rate is higher once post-recall failures and later-built engines are counted, which is exactly what NHTSA's expanded review is examining. How the court handles that dispute will shape whether owners without a failure can stay in the case, since GM argues they have no injury, and whether a class of owners can be certified at all.

• L87 cases: owners and lessees of the recalled 2021 to 2024 models with the 6.2L. Owners with an actual failure, especially after the recall fix, have the strongest claims. GM argues owners without a failure have no injury, which is one of the main issues on its motion to dismiss.
• Newer L87 vehicles: NHTSA's expanded review reaches 2021 to 2026 model years. If your 2025 or 2026 truck with the 6.2L failed, document it even though it is outside the original recall.
• Harrison: 2014 and newer GM V8 trucks and SUVs with AFM or DFM that had lifter or valvetrain failures.
• Not covered: diesel and turbo four-cylinder trucks, and 5.3L trucks outside the Harrison vehicle list, unless another case applies.

If a class is certified or a settlement reached, the court will define exactly who is included. For how that works, see what class certification is.

If you are shopping for a used 2021 to 2024 truck or SUV with the 6.2L, ask for proof that recall 25V274 was completed and whether the engine passed inspection or was replaced. A completed recall and a clean record of oil changes with the updated oil grade are worth asking for before you buy. If the seller cannot provide them, a dealer can look up the VIN.

The L87 recall already provides a replacement engine for failed inspections and a long engine warranty. The lawsuits seek more: reimbursement for out-of-pocket repairs, towing, rentals and lost use, and damages for diminished value. GM argues that the recall remedy is enough. No amount has been agreed.

The 2025 LC9 piston ring settlement averaged about $3,380 per owner, the clearest recent benchmark for a GM V8 engine class case. That case went to a jury before settling, which is rare. Most vehicle defect settlements reimburse documented repair costs and extend warranties rather than pay large sums to every owner. See how class action money is divided.

• Express and implied warranty. Owners allege the engines were not fit for ordinary use and that GM failed to honor its powertrain warranty. The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act allows suits over written and implied warranties.
• State consumer fraud laws. Claims that GM knew about the defect and did not disclose it.
• Lemon laws. A new truck whose engine fails repeatedly during the warranty may qualify under your state's lemon law, separate from any class case. See our lemon law guide.
• Federal safety law. Manufacturers must recall vehicles with safety defects and fix them free; NHTSA can open a recall query when a remedy appears inadequate.

Engine cases often turn on whether failures come from one common design problem or from scattered manufacturing variation, which is exactly the fight in GM's motion to dismiss. That question also affects whether a court will certify a class.

Deadlines for GM truck owners

• Recall 25V274: no deadline for the free inspection and repair. Reporting on GM's program says the extended engine warranty runs 10 years or 150,000 miles; confirm your dates with a dealer.
• LC9 settlement: resolved in October 2025 for the covered states.
• Pending cases: no claim deadline because nothing has settled.
• Your own claims: warranty and consumer claims each carry a statute of limitations, and lemon law claims are tied to the early warranty period, so document a failure right away.

Recall 25V274 has no deadline, and the inspection and any engine replacement are free.

1. Check your VIN for recall 25V274 and get the inspection done if it is open.
2. If the engine failed, ask the dealer to handle it under the recall and extended warranty, and get the diagnosis in writing.
3. Keep every record: repair orders, oil changes, towing, rentals, and time without the truck.
4. File an NHTSA complaint if the failure happened after the recall repair.
5. Do not sign a release in exchange for goodwill payments until you understand what you are waiving.

Related pages cover GM rear window water leaks and Jeep 4xe battery fires. If your GM engine failed and the recall did not make you whole, independent attorneys who handle auto defect cases may want to review it. A free case review takes about two minutes.