Lawsuit Says GM HD Pickups Aren’t Setup for US Diesel Resulting in Catastrophic Failures

A new class-action lawsuit alleges that many 6.6-liter Duramax diesel engines fit to General Motors’ heavy duty pickup trucks don’t run properly on U.S. diesel fuel, resulting in serious damage.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, August 7 in a federal court in Detroit reports The Detroit News, saying “hundreds of thousands” of trucks from the 2011 to 2016 model year were built with a high-pressure fuel injection pump from auto supplier Bosch that was not properly setup to run on American diesel fuel.

The lawsuit says that American diesel fuel is thinner and provides less lubrication than in Europe, leading to air pockets forming in the injection pump, ultimately causing metal to rub and shavings to be pumped into the fuel injection system.

This will eventually lead to the vehicle being disabled, as the “fuel injection system and engine component parts have been completely contaminated and destroyed,” says the lawsuit.

Below is a list of all the trucks named in the lawsuit:

  • 2011–2016 2500HD Silverado 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LML engines
  • 2011–2016 3500HD Silverado 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LML engines
  • 2011–2016 2500HD Sierra 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LML engines
  • 2011–2016 3500HD Sierra 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LML engines
  • 2010–2011 Chevrolet Express vans with Duramax LGH engines
  • 2010–2011 GMC Savana vans with Duramax LGH engines
  • 2010–2011 GMC Sierra trucks with RPO ZW9 (chassis cabs or trucks with pickup box deleted) with Duramax LGH engines
  • 2011–2012 Chevrolet 2500HD Silverado 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LGH engines
  • 2011–2012 Chevrolet 3500HD Silverado 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LGH engines
  • 2011–2012 Chevrolet 2500HD Sierra 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LGH engines
  • 2011–2012 Chevrolet 3500HD Sierra 6.6L V8 Duramax diesel trucks with LGH engines.

Both GM and Bosch declined to comment to the Detroit News. 

[Source: Detroit News]