Feds Widen Probe into GM’s Problem-Plagued 6.2L V8 Engines

Federal safety regulators are escalating their scrutiny of General Motors’ 6.2-liter L87 V8 engine, launching an Engineering Analysis after receiving nearly 500 complaints of post-recall engine failures. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed it is expanding its investigation to include engines produced after May 2024, citing 191 additional failure reports. The probe now covers 997,743 vehicles—up from the 600,000 recalled last year—spanning six GM nameplates: the 2021–2026 Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, and GMC Yukon/Yukon XL. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation reports 499 complaints of engine failures in vehicles allegedly repaired under GM’s recall, which offered either higher-viscosity oil or a complete engine replacement. Of those, 473 received the oil fix while 26 got new engines. Separately, GM has logged 6,953 post-remedy complaints, including 191 failures in post-May 2024 engines. The automaker’s own investigations traced the root causes to supplier manufacturing and quality issues, such as out-of-spec crankshaft dimensions and rod-bearing damage. GM’s L87 saga began in 2022, with four separate NHTSA inquiries culminating in last year’s recall. Over half of the 28,102 field complaints cited loss of motive power, raising crash and injury risks. The expanded probe underscores persistent reliability concerns even as GM rolls out next-gen V8s.