We have a 2012 Buick Verano. About 3 years after we bought it, the vehicle started consuming a lot of oil. Over the past three years, we have had to have oil changes at roughly every 4,000 miles, even though we put the higher grade synthetic blend which should last more than twice those miles. When it was getting closer to the 4,000-mile mark, the engine would start making a weird rattle noise. This issue was brought up to two different dealerships (Koons Tysons Chevy Buick GMC and Country Buick GMC of Leesburg), to which they both responded that this is the way the vehicle is and that it just means it needs an oil change. We take our vehicle to a local reputable shop, VA Tire & Auto, and when asked about this, they just claimed that a reason could be that the stop and go traffic in the area causes more oil consumption (sounds ridiculous) and they had heard that other 4 cylinder GM vehicles with similar engines do make noises like this when it needs an oil change.
The last oil change that we got was at 76,920 miles and only
1,180 miles later at 78,100 miles, the vehicle all of a sudden stopped working. We had to have it towed to a local shop and they said that there was no oil in the vehicle, and that they found it odd that there is no sign of oil burning through the tail pipe,
meaning that it must be getting consumed by the pistons or something inside the actual engine. This is the reason to why we have been needing to get oil changes so often and as to why the engine was making rattling noises when it got close to the time for an oil change. It also bears to mention that the low oil light
never came on. This is obviously a manufacturer's defect.
We called the Buick Customer Service line and informed them of this problem. The rep opened a case number and suggested that we take the vehicle to GM dealership for a diagnostic. We took it Koons Tysons Chevy Buick GMC (we actually purchased the vehicle from this dealership), so that they could verify the problem with the engine. Their diagnostic report stated that the vehicle needs a new engine. The service rep also stated that this issue was caused due to the low oil in the engine which damaged it. The Powertrain warranty period had expired (we had the vehicle for over 6 years), however, the miles have not. The Powertrain warranty covers up until 100,000 miles for defects due to material and/or workmanship to the powertrain components, for which it is obvious this is the case in our vehicle. The fact that the warranty time had expired when the vehicle broke down since we bought it (we are the first and only owners of this vehicle), is irrelevant since the mileage is still under 100,000 miles.
Needless to say that GM denied our claim. The customer service rep said that they denied it because we "had not established a relationship with the dealership." Now we had to pay $140 for the diagnostic in order to get the car towed out of the dealership. The GM customer service rep was initially informed by us that we did not get our oil changes done at a GM dealership, so why would they still push to get it diagnosed there when they already knew that they would be denying any claims based on "dealership relationship". So now we were out $140 and had to get a new engine at a different shop to have a running vehicle. This sounds like a scam to ensure that the dealership gets repeated business no matter how far or inconvenient it might for customers. This entire process dragged on for 2 months, we were out of a vehicle for over 3 months. GM wanted $10,000 for a new engine, but we got it for half the price elsewhere.
There are various cases reported with the same issue in other vehicles with the
same engine as the Buick Verano.
GM 2.4L Engines Burning Oil?! “Excessive Engine Oil Consumption”
Special Coverage Adjustment - Excessive Engine Oil Consumption - 2012 Chevrolet Equinox & GMC Terrain
Per the third link above which regarding
Special Coverage Adjustment, it is quite surprising that
we never received a letter from GM which would have allowed for the repair of this problem before the engine went out like this. The letter says “
General Motors is providing owners with additional protection for the condition described above. If this condition occurs on your 2012 GMC Terrain within 7 years and 6 months of the date your vehicle was originally placed in service or 120,000 miles, whichever occurs first, the condition will be repaired for you at no charge.” GM only covered the Terrain but ignored Verano owners. This would mean that our vehicle would technically still be under warranty.
Per the link below, the oil consumption issue is a recurrent with other 2012 Buick Veranos:
2012 Buick Verano Oil Consumption
It appears that, at least after the sale of the vehicle, GM knew or should have known that the Buick Verano 2012 engine is defective because of oil consumption problems and consequently should have issued a recall.
GM is not treating customers fairly and honestly. Seems like their claims department are just a bunch of robots that read scripts and their job is to deny anything instead of actually investigating it. We own and have owned various GM vehicles, as I am sure most of you guys do, so it is really quite surprising that they treat repeated customers like this.
Everyone needs to BEWARE of this oil consumption issue and should be checking their oil often to ensure it is not running low so that you don't have to get a new engine and be thousands of dollars out of pocket because GM will
not help you.
