GM's Recalled 6.2L V8s Are Still Blowing Up Even After Being 'Fixed'

Federal safety regulators are once again taking a look at General Motors’ 6.2-liter V8 after receiving dozens of complaints from owners who say their engines blew up even after the prescribed recall fix was performed.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation, 36 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires have been filed alleging engine failure in vehicles covered under Recall 25V-274, which was issued last spring.

In every case, owners report that the recall fix had already been completed before the engine failure.

Recall 25V-274 was issued in April of 2025 to formally address issues in more than 721,000 of GM's full-size SUVs and pickup trucks built between 2021 and 2024. The original campaign affected Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. GM's own internal investigation counted 28,102 reports of engine failure between April 2021 and February 2025, with about half of those failures happening while vehicles were in motion.

Specifically, there are two simultaneous problems. The first is rod-bearing damage from machining sediment left on connecting rods and in crankshaft oil galleries. The second issue is out-of-spec crankshaft dimensions and surface finish irregularities.

Dealers were instructed to scan for diagnostic trouble code P0016, which indicates crankshaft or camshaft misalignment. Vehicles that pass inspection were updated to a higher-viscosity 0W-40 oil, given a new oil cap and a revised owner’s manual insert before being sent out the door. Vehicles failing inspection were eligible for an engine replacement.

By November, NHTSA decided to probe an additional 286,000 GM vehicles equipped with the L87 V8 after receiving more than 1,100 reports of engine bearing failures on vehicles reaching back to 2019, outside the original recall scope.

NHTSA escalated to a full engineering analysis before deciding if the scope should be widened.

Before the results of the engineering analysis were publicly released, NHTSA decided to open a formal recall query to evaluate whether GM's corrective actions are sufficient. NHTSA says it uses the recall query process when there are concerns that a recall fix may not fully resolve the underlying issue.

The investigation does not mean a new recall is imminent, but it does certainly validate the cynics who quickly pointed out that switching to a higher viscosity oil would not magically fix fundamental machining issues or vaporize that malicious swarf floating around the oil galleries.

For now, owners of affected vehicles will be watching closely to see whether this next phase brings more clarity. GM manufactures the 6.2L L87 V8 engine at Tonawanda Propulsion, the company's longstanding engine assembly plant in Buffalo, N.Y.

OUR TAKE: Not surprised the oil thickness fix didn't work, but GM better get on top of this quickly before the damage to brand reputation becomes permanent. V8 truck and SUV sales are integral to the financial health of the company.

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