A second lawsuit seeking class-action status has been filed against General Motors, claiming an engine defect has damaged the value of certain trucks, Dow Jones reported.

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The report said the lawsuit, filed in Oklahoma City, claims the company failed to properly redesign engine pistons when it attempted to reduce friction in the engines during a reconfiguring for the 1999 model year – lawyers say a loud, knocking piston-slap noise that GM refuses to fix is the result.


“In reality, if they fix the problem it would go a long way to resolving this entire case,” lawyer William B. Federman, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Oklahoma City resident Troy Smith, told Dow Jones in an interview, adding: “Our clients are not looking for something they’re not due.”


Smith reportedly noticed a problem with his 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck after driving the vehicle for 11,000 miles but several attempts to get the truck fixed were met with the same result: GM officials told Smith the noise was considered normal, and wouldn’t correct the issue, the lawsuit claims.


Federman told Dow Jones that the piston slap noise makes a regular truck sound like it has a diesel engine, and the lawsuit claims the problem wastes fuel and results in higher emissions.

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The news agency noted that the first lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed in November, and claimed, like the latest one does, that GM sold 800,000 trucks with the defective engines.


Dow Jones said the lawsuits, if granted class-action status, could be a problem for GM, which is attempting to remake its image – the company has said there is a gap between the actual quality of GM cars and trucks and the poor perception people have of the brand.