When you spend big money on a full-size truck or SUV, it’s reasonable to expect plenty of torque, smooth cruising, and solid durability. While late-model high-end GM trucks were great at the first two things, reliability on one engine left much to be desired. After months of investigation and years of posts from angry owners, GM has finally recalled nearly 600,000 trucks and SUVs with the L87 6.2-liter V8 for defective rotating assembly parts that can cause sudden catastrophic engine failure.
If you aren’t familiar with the L87, it’s GM’s 6.2-liter V8 with automatic stop-start and dynamic fuel management, the standard engine in Escalades, High Country Silverados, full-size Denalis, the trucks that people spend the big bucks on. It pumps out a stout 420 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque which can move an apartment building-sized slab of General Motors machismo to 60 MPH in fewer than six seconds, or it can just blow up.
See, over the past six or so years, owners of high-trim half-ton GM trucks and SUVs have reported engines conking out, sometimes at alarmingly low mileage. Lewin previously covered this issue, and I highly recommend clicking this link if you want to read reports of engine failure at alarmingly short intervals after pulling off dealership lots. Some owners report going through two engines in less than 30,000 miles.
Earlier this year, NHTSA launched an investigation into the 6.2-liter V8s in 2019 and newer Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, and 2021 and newer Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade SUVs. Normally, there’s a data submission deadline that can be extended if a manufacturer needs extra time, and the data deadline for this NHTSA investigation got extended twice, with the final partial extension approved for April 25. Well, April 24 came, and that’s when the defect report showed up. More than merely turning over data to NHTSA, this is an actual potential remedy for consumers with the L87 engine, but it’s frustrating that it took GM “three prior investigations into this condition in February 2022, June 2023, and July 2024” and a government investigation for the problem to be recognized, at least according to recall documents.
Now, that timeline already gets our spidey sense tingling, but the rest of the 573 Recall Report is just as monocle-popping. As the official recall document states:
GM’s investigation identified 28,102 field complaints or incidents in the US potentially related to failure of the L87 engine due to crankshaft, connecting rod, or engine bearing failure, of which 14,332 involved allegations of loss of propulsion. These field complaints were received between April 29, 2021, and February 3, 2025. GM identified 12 potentially related alleged crashes and 12 potentially related alleged injuries in the U.S.; all specifically alleged injuries were minor or non-physical, and most were not crash related. GM also identified 42 potentially related fire allegations in the U.S., but in the majority of these cases (a) the causation of these incidents is unclear and (b) the alleged fire damage is contained to the engine compartment and consistent with damage that can occur, in rare instances, during engine failure.
Whew, there’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s do just that. Firstly, nearly 30,000 reports of engine failure is a huge number. Remember when Toyota recalled its 3.4-liter turbocharged V6 for engine failure? That happened after only 824 warranty claims, including 166 field reports, meaning GM let its 6.2-liter problem get 34 times larger than Toyota’s V6 problem before pulling the recall lever. If all 28,102 field complaints are indeed related to this issue and GM claims 597,630 vehicles are affected, that would result in a failure rate of 4.7 percent, exceeding the failure rate of the dual-row version of Porsche’s dreaded IMS bearing roughly fourfold.
What’s more, these aren’t clear-cut cases of drivers harmlessly limping their trucks to service departments; these defective crankshafts and connecting rods may have led to 12 injuries. There may be a real human toll here, and that’s before we get into the potential psychological impacts of 12 “potentially related alleged crashes” and 42 possible fires.
Considering we were already seeing plenty of L87 V8 failures in 2021, it shouldn’t have taken this long for these 6.2-liter engines to be recalled, and it looks like not all examples are covered. This recall doesn’t include models made before March 1, 2021, and considering engine failures in earlier trucks have been documented, it wouldn’t be surprising if this recall gets expanded. As for the fix, GM’s specifying a higher oil viscosity for the L87 and a new oil filter in addition to replacing problematic engines currently equipped with defective crankshafts and/or connecting rods. If you own a vehicle with one of these affected engines built between March 1, 2021 and May 31, 2024, expect to hear from GM in early June about this fix. Otherwise, sit tight.
Top graphic credit: GMC
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
GM’s 6.2-Liter V8 Is Seizing Up At Highway Speeds And Leaving Owners Stranded
-
Toyota Screwed Up The Tundra So Bad It’s Replacing 100,000 Engines
-
How Ford ‘Fixed’ A Deadly Problem With A Sticker To Dodge The Biggest Recall In History
-
Kia Niro Recalled For Wiring Issue That Can Make Airbags Go Off Randomly
-
GM Just Recalled The Chevrolet Equinox EV Because Its Radar Cruise Control Might Not Hit The Brakes
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
Manufactures define “quality” differently than you or I. They define it as customer experience / satisfaction, not actual reliability or durability. It is a very American thing to provide the lowest quality product that the customer will accept.
I went to a Cadillac dealer to test drive an old Lexus LX 470. I asked about any Tahoes they had. The salesman walked me to the service area where at least four SUVs were getting engine out replacements. There were random engine blocks laying around the shop. He said he would avoid these engines like the plague.
Are any of GM’s current light truck engines not crap? The turbomax scares me for hauling too much weight around with a 4 cyl; the 5.3 has issues. What about the baby Duramax that they’re discontinuing? Discontinuing for a reason other than “people don’t buy diesels” (though I would if it were a good motor)?
They are killing the Duramax 3.0? Seriously? Shit, that sucks. That’s been their only interesting engine for quite a while now.
I was stopped near a white Silverado 1500 recently and thought “Damn, that thing is loud.” Then, I saw the Duramax badge. I was immediately then thinking “Carry on, good sir.”
The 2.7 four is a good motor. It’s built stout for truck use.
Hasn’t GM learned anything? Now they are deactivating all 8 cylinders?
The redesigned the idle start/stop system. Now, it’s just stop