by Reinvestigation of GM Engines
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has once again drawn attention to the General Motors 6.2-liter L87 engine. This occurred after the company had already recalled 598,000 units of this powerplant due to a previous investigation. However, new cases of engine failures, which were not included in the recall pool, are causing serious concern.
Not the First Time Under Scrutiny
Vehicle recalls are inconvenient, expensive, and embarrassing for manufacturers, but usually, after acknowledging the problem and fixing it, they can move on. However, GM is once again under the federal microscope due to reports of V8 engine failures, despite having already recalled nearly 600,000 pickups and SUVs to address this issue.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) announced last week the start of an engineering analysis of the General Motors L87 powertrain – the 6.2-liter engine installed in models such as the Chevrolet Silverado and Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. Investigators are concerned that failures of the engine’s lower bearing are leading to the destruction of powertrains installed in 2019-2024 model year SUVs.
ODI staff have encountered this problem before. They already opened an investigation, or a preliminary evaluation, into the L87 in early 2025, and that investigation led to GM recalling 597,630 vehicles in April of this year.
However, regulators continue to receive reports of engine failures, many of which this time are coming from pickups and SUVs that were not included in the spring recall.
Is GM’s Solution Sufficient?
GM has also been hit by a wave of class-action lawsuits claiming that the original recall is insufficient. The plaintiffs allege that the engines have a fundamental design “defect in the connecting rod or a crankshaft engine component,” which can lead to engine seizure or the connecting rod blowing out through the side of the engine block.
They claim that the company’s idea for solving the problem – replacing only certain engines and sending others out with new oil – is not a long-term solution.
Since the problem is clearly not going away, the ODI has brought out a more powerful microscope and escalated the level of its investigations to a full engineering analysis.
It is at this stage that investigators stop pushing paper and pick up tools to get to the root of the problem. Depending on what they find, the L87 recall, which GM considered already completed, could turn into a much larger problem.
The renewed investigation could have serious consequences for General Motors’ reputation and its financial performance, especially given the popularity of the models equipped with these engines. Furthermore, it could impact consumer trust in the brand and lead to additional legal challenges. The engineering analysis will determine whether the problem is a manufacturing defect or related to operating conditions, which could lead to a revision of maintenance procedures and warranty obligations.
