New bulletin/Campaign 6.2 L87

GETGONE · May 6, 2025

Ugh! GM now saying 0W40 could void your warranty, even though they are telling you to switch to it ONLY if your truck is one of the effected ones!

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2025/05/should-you-use-0w-40-oil-in-your-non-recalled-gm-6-2l-l87-engine/

MrLeadFoot · May 6, 2025

5 hours ago, tbtxaz2025 said:

New member here - just signed up to track this issue.

I have a 2022 Sierra with the 6.2. VIN search on GM recall website shows the recall.

I called my dealer today, VAN GMC in Scottsdale, AZ, and my service guy said their instructions were to do nothing at this time. Apparently regardless of the fact that they are supposed to implementing some kind of test. So that's at least a sample size of 1 saying the dealers don't know what to do with respect to this latest bulletin.

So far I've had zero problems with my truck in 46,000 miles. Love the vehicle. Not really sure what to think about all this. I take road trips to CO, NV, and CA a fair amount (daughter is starting college in CA this fall). Not thrilled about the idea of the motor going out in the middle of nowhere.

Staying tuned...

I think that the reason they are instructed not to do anything is because the first bulletin, that says they will do an "inspection", which is really only looking for a p0016 code, was released simply so that gm could show nhtsa they had steps in place for the recall by the deadline that was set for them. GM knows darned well that the code will be present if an engine has been compromised, but they still don't have a real plan on how to deal with the motors that haven't yet thrown the code or seized yet, because they know it is a very real possibility that every single one of these engines within the specified date range have the bad components, whether they be crankshaft, connecting rod, or actual engine case. Because of the way things are playing out on this thus far, it is likely that the only way to know which vehicles have the bad components is to open up these motors, but because the problem is in the short block, there is SO much involved to completely tear these engines all down, hence the talk of replacement instead. Less cost to replace, less cost in labor hours, and less risk of something going wrong putting everything back together properly at the dealership level.

As to oil, 40w oil can insulate and help keep temps down a little longer if there is slightly too little clearance somewhere, or something misaligned that could also cause more friction. This could theoretically buy more time for them to get through replacing all the engines out there, as they start with dealership inventory and the trucks that actually break down because they surely can't do them all at once. Even if they had enough engines lying around, their dealer network simply can't support replacing 500k+ motors in succession (within a reasonable amount of time), let alone all at once.

There is so much going on here, beyond the engine problems themselves. There's the possibility they can't get to them all in a timely manner, which could bring more liability if more engines start seizing resulting in related accidents that include injury or worse. Imagine those lawsuits. Imagine also the lawsuits for perceived loss of value by people who may want to trade-in or sell their trucks but new motors can't be sourced and installed in time for them to do so, and no one wants to buy a used truck with an open recall. It's not necessarily whether GM loses (or wins) a suit that's the issue, because lawsuits like these will cost millions in fees alone!

It's possible that GM is weighing all of this right now, and no doubt considering if it might be smarter to do buybacks instead of trying to replace 600k motors and risking all those lawsuits.

Remember VW's Dieselgate? VW ended up buying back a LOT of cars. Maybe GM will do something like that, or come up with an alternative for customers with affected vehicles to be able to trade into a different truck (like diesel or 5.3) with a guaranteed allowance, who knows? But, the fact remains that GM knows they don't have much time to come up with something because everyday there are undoubtedly more engines seizing up.

If you don't think GM can absorb a cost like this, think again. Whoever manufactured the bad parts can chip in to help fund this, but there is also the insurance GM and its suppliers carry for stuff just like this.

No matter what happens, this is huge because it's a known issue, and there are even risks of lawsuits for mental and emotional anguish customers will feel because of what many members have already voiced: not being able to drive these trucks comfortably without worrying of possibly breaking down in the middle of nowhere leaving people vulnerable.

This recall is actually worse than Dieselgate because doctoring emissions of VW engines wasn't going to physically hurt someone, whereas GM motors actually seize, so people can indeed get hurt either directly or indirectly from a motor failing under operation.

Here's a real pic of what is involved with swapping out a motor that's happening right now on a new Ford. This pic was taken in a dealership service bay a few days ago. I apologize for the quality. If it's hard to make out, the entire body of the truck is lifted up off the chassis, and you can see the engine on the ground in the foreground. Never mind replacing the motor, or "only" dismantling it to just inspect the crankshaft or connecting rod, or whatever inside the bottom of the motor. Either way, do you think this truck will ever be the same, or do you think it's possible that this job will end up introducing new rattles, squeaks and vibrations even with a new, better motor installed, because not every single thing was put back correctly? Something like that would be yet another headache GM might face, even with complete swaps of all the motors, which is another reason why buybacks may be being discussed internally.

Yep, this recall is a serious issue for GM, and for us. I, for one, hope that not every motor has bad parts because I don't think service departments can put every truck back together properly. That said, from the way this entire ordeal has unfolded, I think GM knows exactly what's wrong, and that it does indeed affect every motor in the specified date range, otherwise things would have been completely divulged by now, and a solid plan would already have been put into place. Considering the two bulletins released thus far have completely different procedures, it looks more and more like they indeed need a multi-phase approach, as @newdude postulated, if they have any chance of rectifying something of this magnitude. Can you imagine how many loaners they would have to give out if they were to replace every single 6.2 that people bought over 3-4 years that are still within their warranty? Wow, just wow!

Edited May 6, 2025 by MrLeadFoot

Grumpy Bear · May 6, 2025

4 hours ago, GETGONE said:

Ugh! GM now saying 0W40 could void your warranty, even though they are telling you to switch to it ONLY if your truck is one of the effected ones!

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2025/05/should-you-use-0w-40-oil-in-your-non-recalled-gm-6-2l-l87-engine/

[Quote] However, for those vehicles that are not affected by the recall, owners should not switch to the new 0W-40 oil spec. Using an engine oil viscosity other than what’s recommended by the manufacturer (in this case 0W-20 Dexos Gen 3) could void the vehicle’s warranty.

This distinction is crucial. While GM has validated 0W-40 for use in select engines that pass inspection under the new recall, the decision is based on a targeted response to potential internal wear or tolerance variation and does not reflect a change to lubrication standards for all L87 engines. [Close quote]

:bs:

Yep, in a week since the NHTSA go hold of this they did a 'study' (has validated) ....really? Not! See that word in bold underline above? I want that fight. First off they don't spec the light oil anywhere in the world but North America and as the recall is world wide we are certain that the motor build is identical no matter where it is sold. The Magnuson-Moss Act places the burden of proof on the warranty holder, the OEM, not the buyer and it will cost you nothing unless you loose your claim and you won't if you don't lie. So don't lie. COULD is a word used to intimidate or bluff when they haven't a card to play. Almost everyone will fold and they know it.

You also have recourse via lemon laws. That one you may have to pay for. :dunno: Yea, most fold on that one too.

Snow White · May 6, 2025

denying a warranty for using 40 oil, I would expect the opinion of a tribologist to be a lost position by the manufacturer with oil analysis to accompany it. In my opinion, which is not worth much, it wouldn't even make it to arbitration and I'm going to 40 oil with my 100,000 mile warranty and I'll fight them if it blows and they try to deny.

10% of ecodiesels failed for similar reasons, crank manufacturing issues and main bearing issues, they recalled all of them and changed the oil spec..... thats it. nobody got a new engine unless it blew AND it was under a warranty. if it blew outside of warranty there was no recall for a date range to get a new free engine.... GM>STOLEANTICS

Edited May 6, 2025 by Snow White
typos

Andrew Martens · May 6, 2025

I did a factory order of my truck in October of 2020 and it arrived at the dealer end of January 2021. So my 21 model year 6.2 falls before the recall vin range. My engine just blew up at 38000 miles. Dealer took the oil pan off and said it was the thrust bearing that went wrong. Still under the power train warranty they did rent me a truck to drive and my truck is supposed to be finished this week. The dealer did phone GM and was told to only use the 0W20 oil in my new engine. I did phone the GM customer care line just to say that they have engines blowing up outside the range of vehicles recalled.

The service manager told me that GM does not check what oil was used in the engine, what they do look at is how clean the engine looks inside as to frequency of service the engine might have had. My engine looked brand new inside other than the one bearing.

MrLeadFoot · May 6, 2025

12 minutes ago, Andrew Martens said:

I did a factory order of my truck in October of 2020 and it arrived at the dealer end of January 2021. So my 21 model year 6.2 falls before the recall vin range. My engine just blew up at 38000 miles. Dealer took the oil pan off and said it was the thrust bearing that went wrong. Still under the power train warranty they did rent me a truck to drive and my truck is supposed to be finished this week. The dealer did phone GM and was told to only use the 0W20 oil in my new engine. I did phone the GM customer care line just to say that they have engines blowing up outside the range of vehicles recalled.

The service manager told me that GM does not check what oil was used in the engine, what they do look at is how clean the engine looks inside as to frequency of service the engine might have had. My engine looked brand new inside other than the one bearing.

Sorry to hear of your experience, and thank you for sharing. Would you are to elaborate on what you experienced when it happened? And, did you have any warning signs?

Edited May 6, 2025 by MrLeadFoot

customboss · May 6, 2025

This ain’t hard. It’s not about viscosity!

1) GM suppliers screwed up their own engines. SWARF = glass beads, metal shavings, bonding , soaps, solvents scrap in the mix I bet. Didn’t get it cleaned out properly. Fabricast of old type problem.

2) GM admits the problem

3) GM band aids DEFECTIVE engines still operating with a poor band aid 0w40. Makes customers focus on that for good feelings!

4) takeaway if your engine is not the defective batch run the appropriate viscosity if you want warranty.

NO 0w-40 OIL WILL STOP THE DEFECTIVE BEARINGS FROM EVENTUALLY FAILING

disclaimer: I did expert witness work for 45 years in court cases and never was on losing side.

Grumpy Bear · May 6, 2025

16 minutes ago, Andrew Martens said:

The service manager told me that GM does not check what oil was used in the engine, what they do look at is how clean the engine looks inside as to frequency of service the engine might have had. My engine looked brand new inside other than the one bearing.

Oh, now that is interesting indeed.

MrLeadFoot · May 6, 2025

46 minutes ago, customboss said:

NO 0w-40 OIL WILL STOP THE DEFECTIVE BEARINGS FROM EVENTUALLY FAILING

I don't think they're saying that. I think their initial thought was to help the motor last a bit longer until they can replace it, hence why bulletin 2 specifies to replace all the motors.

customboss · May 6, 2025

43 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Oh, now that is interesting indeed.

Depends on dealer. Dealers are NOT owned by GM. They are independent contractors with some franchise ability.

My dealer here in Alamosa is changing 2-5 6.2’s a week. No questions asked.

customboss · May 6, 2025

1 minute ago, MrLeadFoot said:

I don't think they're saying that. I think their initial thought was to help the motor last a bit longer until they can replace it, hence why bulletin 2 specifies to replace all the motors.

Thats what I’m saying.

PunchT37 · May 6, 2025

1 hour ago, customboss said:

This ain’t hard. It’s not about viscosity!

1) GM suppliers screwed up their own engines. SWARF = glass beads, metal shavings, bonding , soaps, solvents scrap in the mix I bet. Didn’t get it cleaned out properly. Fabricast of old type problem.

2) GM admits the problem

3) GM band aids DEFECTIVE engines still operating with a poor band aid 0w40. Makes customers focus on that for good feelings!

4) takeaway if your engine is not the defective batch run the appropriate viscosity if you want warranty.

NO 0w-40 OIL WILL STOP THE DEFECTIVE BEARINGS FROM EVENTUALLY FAILING

disclaimer: I did expert witness work for 45 years in court cases and never was on losing side.

How can defective bearings choose which size engine to fail in?

Andrew Martens · May 6, 2025

The engine actually had to me what sounded like the belt squealing when the engine was cold. As the engine warmed up the noise gradually went away. Full operating temps you would have never known it had a problem. No knocking, no drivability issues. I myself put a new belt on, no change in noise. I took the truck to the dealer and they changed the water pump under warranty. They said that the water pump was leaking and dripping on the A/C belt. Even though I never had to add coolant, never saw the coolant leak when I changed the belt, and also I always check my fluids on a regular basis. No change in noise with new water pump. With the main belt off of the engine the noise went away. The dealer had to phone their tech line and the engineer did think that it was the thrust bearing making that noise. But GM would not authorize an engine replacement until the dealer took the oil pan off to inspect inside the engine. Well, I never made it to that appointment as I was driving one day and the truck started to buck and jerk, it really banged hard at each jerk. My truck has only been down about 2 weeks.