6.2L or Duramax reliability

[raj07]

Hello, I am new to the forum and looking forward to the discussions here!

I am interested in the GMC Yukon Denali XL and wanted to hear your thoughts.

I have some reasonably priced options at a nearby dealership (I think I will go with non air ride option). At the same time, undecided on the 6.2L engine vs Duramax. Fuel economy is less of concern. I am more interested in reliability as I will be using the vehicle for long road trips with family. I have some read concerns about the 6.2L engine stalling and other concerns around being stranded on the road and taking forever to fix at dealership. Do you know if the newer builds have those issues fixed, now that it is on its 3rd year. The vehicles I am looking at are June/July23 builds.

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum.

I vote Duramax.

 

[Banks22]

If u have the option to get a duramax sitting on the lot (very rare) in the trim package you want then you should 100% get it

 

[Stbentoak]

If you don't know anything about Diesels and don't want to learn.. Stick with gas.
However, if you do know about them or DO want to learn. The Dmax is a far better choice.

 

[swathdiver]

For road trips, get the Dirtymax! Having a 700+ mile range is cool.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

My only question would be where are you located...The 3.0 Duramax is as close to a gas engine application as you can get (GM Designed it for daily driving).

That said, if you are possibly in a situation where you may face cold weather (I mean like Minnesota/North Dakota/Northern Wisconsin/Alaska type cold) and you will be regularly doing short trips (4-5 miles, then a park/cold soak for 10 hours, then 4-5 miles home, repeat park/cold soak) for weeks on end in the winter, like possibly driving back and forth to work in a small town...and you don't have a interstitial longer trip to allow the DPF to regen...then get the gas.

If the stuff in the previous paragraph doesn't apply, and you can get the Duramax, then get the diesel...everyone who I know that has it is very satisfied. I think reliability is good...on both engines, actually; but there have been some batches of bad lifters in the V8 gas w/ DFM (dynamic fuel management).

To be educated, probably worth asking the dealer what the maintenance schedules are and costs on both, and factor that into your decision.

There will be better reliability info on the Duramax powertrain in 5 years...but it has seemed to be a great package and option...

 

[raj07]

Thanks a lot all for the feedback. Much appreciated. To answer the question, I am located in CA Bay area so cold soak will not apply. Road trips will be mainly down south or east to Nevada/Utah. I am more inclined now towards Duramax and yes, there are rare to find. Will keep you posted .

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

Thanks a lot all for the feedback. Much appreciated. To answer the question, I am located in CA Bay area so cold soak will not apply. Road trips will be mainly down south or east to Nevada/Utah. I am more inclined now towards Duramax and yes, there are rare to find. Will keep you posted .

That should be a great choice for you...except the general aversion to Diesel in CA...not sure how the fuel pricing compares there between Diesel and Gas, and how easy it is to find Diesel there...here, virtually fuel station has diesel...so availability is not a problem. But, the fuel economy should probably outweigh any added $$...Remember, if you are comparing to the 6.2L gasser...you need to be comparing to Premium Fuel (91 Octane min)...so price diff probably really small.

 

[TollKeeper]

BabyMax all day. Any gas engine made by GM you should shy away from (at least currently)

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

 

[Miami-Dade]

Welcome from Miami Beach!

i also vote for the Duramax.

 

[steiny93]

I am more interested in reliability as I will be using the vehicle for long road trips with family. I have some read concerns about the 6.2L engine stalling and other concerns around being stranded on the road and taking forever to fix at dealership. Do you know if the newer builds have those issues fixed, now that it is on its 3rd year. The vehicles I am looking at are June/July23 builds.

From the above I read that reliability is the primary concern.
Absolutely don't buy a baby diesel.

Compared to either of the gas options (5.3 or 6.2) you are not getting a more 'reliable' option.
Right now in the garage I have a baby dmax and an ecoDiesel. Both of the diesels have been in the shop for numerous emissions based issues (dmax needed a full turbo assembly, took a couple months to get).

Of all the 5.3's and 6.2's we've owned (11ish of them); combined shop time is less then either of the diesels.

Would I buy another baby dmax; absolutely.
But not for reliability, I'd buy it for the range, for the mileage, for the novelty of it, but not for reliability.

 

[raj07]

Thanks a lot for the inputs and looking forward to contributing once I get my hands on the Yukon

About note earlier about CA aversion, that got me thinking. Great point. I think the availability of diesel and prices in CA does play a big role.

My main concern is reliability (not fuel economy) but if it is a wash, I am going to have my options open.

 

[Tinbadtin]

I’m also in the Bay Area and have had my baby max for over a year now. I have yet to run into any issues of not finding diesel, every major gas station has it. Diesel prices so far have been at or slightly above premium. I absolutely love the range, with 700 miles I can sometimes go a month without filling her up. I also regularly use it to commute 30 miles in Bay Area traffic and it’s amazing how good the fuel economy is even in stop and go traffic. Reliability so far has been good, but only 10k miles. It did have an episode where it stalled on me in stop and go traffic and was annoying (it restarted after a few cycles) however, this turned out to be nothing to do with the diesel but a bad transmission module, at least per dealer. They replaced it and no issues since. Good luck and you will not regret it!

 

[Polo08816]

BabyMax all day. Any gas engine made by GM you should shy away from (at least currently)

Yeah, I agree with this unfortunately. Seems like GM has not executed well on the naturally aspirated V8 as of late.

 

[TollKeeper]

Yeah, I agree with this unfortunately. Seems like GM has not executed well on the naturally aspirated V8 as of late.

Or their V-6's...
Or their 4 cyl's..

 

[Polo08816]

Yeah, I agree with this unfortunately. Seems like GM has not executed well on the naturally aspirated V8 as of late.

Or their V-6's...
Or their 4 cyl's..

I guess this is the story of the moving goal post.

"Hey we can't do gas engines good... so let's make a diesel and say we're ranked 1 (out of 1) for light duty domestic diesel powertrains".

 

[TollKeeper]

I guess this is the story of the moving goal post.

"Hey we can't do gas engines good... so let's make a diesel and say we're ranked 1 (out of 1) for light duty domestic diesel powertrains".

I think it was more like a planned obsolescence. Lets push everyone into EV's because electricity made by coal/gas powered plants dont emit carbons..

Say what?

 

[CAPantherFan]

Some here saying the diesel is junk and some saying the gas engines are junk. I don't know - just go with the engine that makes the most sense to you. Here's a write up on the reliability of the 6.2L gas.

6.2L EcoTec3 L86/L87 Engine - In-Depth Look at Design and Reliability

What is the 6.2L EcoTec3 L86/L87 Engine? Is it good or bad? Read about GM 6.2L EcoTec3 L86/L87 Engine design and features, its the most common problems and relaibility.

www.motorreviewer.com

FWIW I have a new 2023 Tahoe with the 6.2L and that engine makes it into a bit of a hot rod. I love it. Just take good care of it and it should take good care of you!

 

[OR VietVet]

As time goes by, the government is going to do their best to run your life(s) and price fuel as high as they can to steer you to the electric vehicle. IMO, I cannot justify a new rig and will keep my old one and sock away money for the fuel increases that are sure to come. Unless something great is on the horizon........