General Motors is now the subject of an NHTSA investigation after more than a thousand complaints were logged over sudden and catastrophic failure of some of its “L87” 6.2-liter V8s—a core power plant for Cadillac, Chevy, and GMC trucks. It’s actually the latest in a string of uncommon but linked reliability problems to impact the 5.3- and 6.2- liter small block families over several recent model years—a notably bad run for what’s supposed to be an uncomplicated, naturally-aspirated V8 engine.
But whether the engine in question was bricked by bearing failure or a collapsed lifter, a dead motor is just the beginning of this ordeal for many GM customers. While many of these engines are in fairly new models— the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon and Sierra, and the Chevy Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban—and still under warranty, that does customers no good when GM dealer service departments have no replacement engines to offer. A company source confirmed to The Drive that right now GM can’t build components of its 6.2s fast enough to both meet the demand in new trucks and fix all the broken ones.
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