Some GM trucks and SUVs that already went in for an engine recall are failing again. NHTSA opened a new engineering analysis, EA26005, on August 20, 2026, covering 997,743 Chevrolet and GMC trucks and Cadillac SUVs built with the 6.2L L87 V8. The trigger: reports of engine failures showing up after the original recall repair was supposedly done.
What the new investigation covers
The L87 has been under NHTSA scrutiny since GM recalled roughly 597,630 vehicles in April 2025 (campaign 25V274) over connecting rods and crankshafts that could fail from a manufacturing defect. That recall offered two fixes depending on whether a truck's engine had already been damaged: a full engine replacement, or, for engines that passed inspection, a swap to a new oil filter and cap plus a switch from 0W-20 to a thicker 0W-40 oil, backed by a 10-year, 150,000-mile extended warranty.
The new probe exists because that fix doesn't appear to be holding for every truck. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation logged 191 failure reports in engines built after May 31, 2024, the cutoff date of the original recall, pushing the total count of new failure reports to 690. Some of those are engines that got the oil-service remedy and failed anyway. Others are brand-new replacement engines installed under the recall that failed too. That's what pulled 2025 and 2026 model year trucks into scope for the first time: engines built after the original recall window closed are showing the same failure pattern.
The scope jump is large. The investigation started smaller in January 2025 and has grown step by step as more failure reports came in; NHTSA's own filing now covers nearly a million vehicles across the 2021 through 2026 model years.
Which trucks and SUVs are covered
The L87 is GM's 6.2L V8, offered on higher trims of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Tahoe, and Suburban, the GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV. It's not the engine in every listing for these nameplates: base and mid trims mostly run the 5.3L L84, and only the 6.2L-equipped versions (RST, High Country, Denali, and similar top trims) are in scope. Production spanning March 1, 2021 through May 31, 2024 was the original recall window; NHTSA's new filing extends that watch through the 2026 model year.
These are high-volume used vehicles. CarScout's August 23 snapshot shows how much inventory sits across the affected nameplates for the 2022 model year alone, spanning every trim and engine option CarScout tracks for each:
| Model | 2022 MY listings | Price range |
|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 4,853 | $12,500 to $65,000 |
| GMC Sierra 1500 | 2,256 | $15,495 to $69,975 |
| Chevrolet Tahoe | 1,453 | $18,195 to $67,999 |
| GMC Yukon | 721 | $30,284 to $69,676 |
| Chevrolet Suburban | 504 | $21,000 to $67,937 |
| GMC Yukon XL | 437 | $20,980 to $67,999 |
| Cadillac Escalade | 358 | $41,990 to $115,000 |
Multiply that across four model years in the original recall window, and it's a large slice of the full-size truck and SUV market that a buyer needs to check trim and VIN on before assuming an engine is clear.
What to check before buying one
Trim level narrows things down, but it doesn't confirm whether a specific truck was actually repaired, or which of the two remedies it got. A seller saying "the recall's been taken care of" doesn't tell you if that meant a full engine swap or just an oil and filter change, and that distinction is exactly what NHTSA is now investigating.
Get the VIN before you commit to anything. Run it through NHTSA's recall system or a free VIN-based recall lookup, and ask the seller directly which remedy was performed if the truck shows up as affected. If it's a 2025 or 2026 model year truck, don't assume it's in the clear just because it postdates the original recall: that's precisely the range the new investigation added.
An open engineering analysis isn't a recall yet, and GM hasn't announced a new fix. If NHTSA's investigation leads to a second recall, expect it to prioritize engines that already went through the oil-service remedy rather than a full replacement.
FAQ
Is my used Silverado, Tahoe, or Yukon part of this investigation? Only if it's equipped with the 6.2L L87 V8, which comes on higher trims like RST, High Country, and Denali rather than base and mid-level trims. The affected model years run 2021 through 2026, with the original 2025 recall covering trucks built between March 1, 2021 and May 31, 2024, and NHTSA's new investigation extending scrutiny to engines built after that window too.
Does a completed recall repair mean the engine is safe now? Not necessarily, according to NHTSA's own investigation. The agency logged 690 new failure reports in L87 engines, including some that already received the recall's oil-service fix and some that were replaced entirely under the recall. Ask which remedy a specific truck received rather than assuming "recall completed" settles it.
What should I do before buying a used GM truck or SUV with this engine? Pull the VIN and check it against NHTSA's open recalls before any money changes hands, and ask the seller which fix was performed if the truck comes back as affected. A full engine replacement and an oil-service-only remedy aren't the same level of reassurance given what NHTSA is now looking into.
Checking a specific VIN before you buy takes a couple of minutes with CarScout's recall lookup tool, which pulls the full NHTSA record for free.