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GM May Have Overstated Fuel Economy Estimates on Two Million Vehicles

At the beginning of this week, General Motors had to issue a stop-sale order for several full-size vehicles of the 2016 model year.
2016 Buick Enclave Tuscan Edition 1 photo
Photo: General Motors
According to the memo sent by GM to its dealers, the fuel economy ratings of these cars were misprinted, so they could not be sold as they were. The affected cars were the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave.

These three models had window stickers that promised a higher EPA-estimated fuel economy rating by 1 or 2 MPG than the actual figures. Owners of the affected models will be informed by General Motors of the improperly printed MPG estimates.

Meanwhile, Consumer Reports looked into the matter and discovered that GM might have overstated fuel economy estimates on over two million vehicles, instead of the original 60,000 units that were thought to be the only ones affected.

While General Motors has not confirmed the discrepancies, the story on Consumer Reports seems to add up. This would mean that GM has been doing this for years. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether this is an intentional difference or if it appeared because of a repeated mistake.

As Consumer Reports points out, the revised fuel economy estimates for the three full-size SUVs from General Motors are lower than those of the 2015 models of the same vehicles. Typically, automakers do not build less economical versions of the same engines as years go by, so the discrepancy might involve more cars than initially expected.

General Motors was asked directly about the possibility of newer models having lower fuel economy estimates than the ones they replaced, and their representatives declined to provide an answer regarding any substantial changes that might bring this effect.

The Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse also have a platform brother, the discontinued Saturn Outlook. Since the last shares the powertrain and technical architecture with the former, it is highly likely that this model also has been sold with an incorrectly stated fuel economy.

General Motors is not the only automaker to have mistakenly overstated fuel economy claims, as Hyundai and Kia suffered the same fate in 2012. They were fined by the EPA and had to pay customers a severance for the estimated additional fuel costs based on actual miles driven.

If this report turns out to be true, General Motors might have to compensate the two million owners of the affected vehicles, which would prove costly.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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