SILVERADO OWNERS COMPLAIN PROBLEM CAUSES ENGINE DAMAGE, FUEL CONSUMPTION

Girard Gibbs LLP filed a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of all California owners and lessees of 1999-2003 model year Chevrolet Silverados equipped with 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 or 8.1 liter engines. This class action lawsuit alleges that General Motors Corporation (“GM”) has a secret adjustment program that provides a free General Motors Protection Plan (“GMPP”) to some, but not all, owners and lessees of these Silverado models who complain about an engine knock condition.

Consumers describe the engine knock as “piston slap,” “piston noise,” “cold engine knock,” “rough idle,” “piston skirt slap,” “piston noise,” “cold start engine piston slap,” “cold piston slap,” “cold piston knock,” “piston slapping noise,” “tapping,” “ticking,” “slapping,” “pinging,” “rattling,” “vibrating,” “carbon in the piston,” “sounding like a diesel engine,” or “engine knock condition prevalent in Chevy trucks.” The lawsuit further alleges that GM’s failure to tell all California owners and lessees of these Silverado models that they might be eligible for a free GMPP violates California’s consumer protection laws.

Piston slap occurs when the clearance between the piston and the cylinder wall is too great, causing the piston to hit the cylinder wall producing a loud knocking or ticking noise. Customers complain that piston slap damages the engine, and causes excessive oil and fuel consumption.