2007-2014 Tahoe owners - would you do it all over...?

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DesertRat

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I bought a salvage titled 07 Tahoe 4x4 last year, just put the engine back in it after adding a cam, getting a valve job, adding a DOD delete kit, getting a tune and addressing a bunch of other small issues. Absolutely would buy again, I only wish I bought one 4 years earlier when I bought a different SUV.

While I'm not a big fan of the interior, it's space, power, parts availability and aftermarket support have made me a fan. It's my first GM product and after working on it for the past month, I've become an even bigger fan. I have a family and it ticks a lot of boxes for us.
 

miatawnt2b

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I personally would not. I bought a 2012 Escalade ESV for the wife about 3 years ago, and a few months after I got a 2012 Infiniti QX56 for myself. The QX is a much nicer ride IMO. I don't have to worry about motor mounts, crap suspension, cheap feeling interior. Everyone is different of course.
-J
 

avalonandl

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I drove an 08' with 135k and drove well. Drove an 11' really clean .... didn't like the brakes, but the vehicle was NICE- sold already.
 

Bigkevschopshop

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Well this is my 3rd gm suv… My wife had a 09 Tahoe ltz years back, it got wrecked, she got a Durango after.. I wished I had kept the Tahoe and fixed it some days, was clean all in all... I was driving a ram at that time anyways... Then I had a 11 Silverado for 2 years 6.2l that was a fine ltz truck...flat out strolled and towed... Then the oil industry crashed, I lost a lot of things but kept my house and my family... So I daily drove my 56 pickup for 6 months... bought a 03 4.8 lt Tahoe, barn door rear... It was dirty, beat up, and ugly... I turned it around, cleaned, and fixed most things wrong with it, drove it for 2 years, the lil 4.8 towed more than it should have... went places it wasn't meant to go, but did it man... She was a trooper... Then I found my current one. 1.5 years ago... 12 burb...had 97k on it, black on black tx edition lt... the 5.3 in the XL/burb with 3.08 gears leaves a lot to be desired for changing speed on the freeway, and towing... But it does it... Only thing I would do differently is either get a denalli xl, or esky esv… reason being the 6.2 l is nice... BUT I do like that my burb has less complicated crap to go wrong... Just a zw7 smooth ride package, so conventional springs and shocks, the air or mag ride stuff gets expensive... Im at 121k, just did a family vacation in the burb last weekend 500 miles... I drive 500 miles a week commuting for my job.. she goes every day down the fwy 75+....

Only complaints, dash cracked before I got it... Headlights are in need some some LED bulbs I think to get more out of em…

Yeah I would do it again, but probably try to find something with 3.42 or 3.73 gears stock... For the comfort, these trucks are on point, I drove some newer ones, cant justify 20k more money for a big screen in the dash and some more leather... I had looked at a 14 esky nearby... 24k for a esky with 58k on it... not bad at all... just going from long to short would suck and why I haven't done it. The longs ride better, the cargo room is amazing to have.
 

Spank13

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My 2007 Tahoe LTZ has frankly been the money pit of all money pits. Cat Converter, $1100. Twice I have had to do the rotors when the pads were replaced due to excessive warping (always used OEM parts) (about $600 each time). Replaced the airride suspension with a coil kit (my got does it drive better). Then the biggie, the engine and alternator at about 150k $9500. The AFM 5.3 is a terrible engine. I had a bulletproof 2000 Silverado with the 6.0L I should have never gotten rid of. It absolutely crushed the Tahoe on mileage. The only reason I have kept the thing is that it does have every feature I need, and with the repairs, runs smooth. I am just looking forward to the dy when I donate it to the bomb squad to be blown up.
 

bboyce10

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Looking at replacing my Jeep and started looking at the Tahoe. Seem to be pretty reliable - my main concern.
So the question is : having experienced one - would you do it all over again...?
Nope. Definitely not for the 2009-2011 range.
 

bboyce10

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My 2007 Tahoe LTZ has frankly been the money pit of all money pits. Cat Converter, $1100. Twice I have had to do the rotors when the pads were replaced due to excessive warping (always used OEM parts) (about $600 each time). Replaced the airride suspension with a coil kit (my got does it drive better). Then the biggie, the engine and alternator at about 150k $9500. The AFM 5.3 is a terrible engine. I had a bulletproof 2000 Silverado with the 6.0L I should have never gotten rid of. It absolutely crushed the Tahoe on mileage. The only reason I have kept the thing is that it does have every feature I need, and with the repairs, runs smooth. I am just looking forward to the dy when I donate it to the bomb squad to be blown up.
My 2009 has also been the money pit. Too many blend doors, brake switces, batteries, grounding issues, window regulators, various sensors, and a lower engine rebuild at 89K miles.
 

petethepug

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Starting to see a trend that the less taxed 6.2L seems a better mate to the 6SP 6L90 trans on the NNBS


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bboyce10

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I would for sure. Depending on the mileage, the thing to really look for is how well it was maintained. I've had a 2009 2500HD Crew Cab LTZ, 2011 Tahoe LT, and 2012 Avalanche LTZ.

Zero issues and very little maintenance required with the 2500, though it didn't have that many miles on it (<75,000).

I bought the Tahoe with about 80,000 on it, and the two things that I needed to take care of by 100,000 miles were the Steering Wheel Position Sensor and the Sway Bar Links. Other than that, just routine maintenance items - nothing more extensive than brakes until I sold it at about 150,000 miles.

No surprise - I had the exact same sensor and links issue on the Avalanche that I bought with 110,000 miles. It was clear after a while that whoever owned the Avalanche before me didn't take care of it at all. I bought it on a rainy/snowy day, and I didn't do the due diligence that I normally would, which I paid dearly for. Before I hit 130,000 miles, I had replaced the transmission, pretty much every bushing and front end or steering part, calipers, lots of nickel and dime stuff, and the Autoride compressor crapped out from leaking shocks shortly after I got it. And there were a couple broken exhaust studs. And it turned out that one of the door handles was expoxied together. And the first time I washed it, some paint started coming off on the rockers. Lesson learned there!

I've had a couple previous generation Suburbans/Yukon XLs that I drove until around 250,000 miles (and sold in good shape at that point), with only routine items having to be done - probably the most extensive was the front wheel bearings (unit) on a 2001 Denali XL at about 200,000 miles. That's only a couple-hour job for both sides, though, so no big deal.

TLDR version - just make sure the previous owner took care of it, washed it, and had some common sense!
What were the major engine issues? Only asking because the only engine issue i have had or really seen are the AFM/DOD.
I don't consider this a major issue. The engine platform is powerful, hardy and the parts are plentiful. For my use, packing a family of 6 in a car, hooking up a car trailer and taking it to a race track 100 miles away at times, no platform can perform as well, for the price.
Being a mechanic for 20 years, and speaking with other gear heads im not alone in saying these are easy to work on, and seldom require the work.
As for the regulators and BCM controlled systems, i got nothing other than brand loyalty

I had an 09 that was great. Bought a 2011 that was not so great. It had all maintenance on time according to the manual. The motor started running rough with no power. Limped into the dealer who said they had to replace the computer and rebuild the bottom half of the engine. I consider that to be major.

Also, Tahoe would just die while driving. Everything would go dead, lights, dash, engine, etc. Sometimes it would start and run again, sometimes it had to be towed. This is scary thing to happen at night or on the highway. Took to dealer, they changed out the battery, alternator, regulator, etc. It still kept doing it. Then I read in a forum that they had a weak ground, and I ended up fixing myself by beefing up all the ground wiring. Doesn't the mechanics read the forums? Anyway, its a ridiculous problem to have to begin with, and not be fixed by the dealer is downright depressing. It also had overheating issues, had to replace the catalytic converter, and plenty more. My maintenance folder looks more like a book.

The rest of it is all minor but still a pain because there was so much of it. On a trip and the cruise control quits working because of a faulty brake switch (replaced twice). Countless blend doors that quit working and suddenly heat is blowing in your face on the hottest summer day. Inside door handles that just snap off, window regulators, climate control thermostat, seat heaters, window switches, electric door locks that quit one by one. One day I pressed the button on the tailgate to open the rear window and the whole button assembly fell out in my hand - and that was the last straw.

It sounds like I was rough on it but believe me I baby my vehicles and always maintained them, always fixed things that broke. I never had steering or transmission problems (like others in this forum). Bottom line is that Tahoe's are WAY to expensive for this. Never again for me.
 
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petethepug

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I like your deal with it, fact based attitude about working with the 2011. So far our 08 Denali & 07 VW Bug convertible have been the best cars we’ve owned. They were purchased pre loved in 13/14. Go figure on the VW bug.

Our 90 VW Corrado & 02 allroad have, and always will require that step back and deduce EVERY and ALL the stink’n facts diagnosis method like your 2011. Having reliable daily drivers keeps me sane and makes diagnostics on the other cars somewhat enjoyable.


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swathdiver

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I had an 09 that was great. Bought a 2011 that was not so great. It had all maintenance on time according to the manual. The motor started running rough with no power. Limped into the dealer who said they had to replace the computer and rebuild the bottom half of the engine. I consider that to be major.

Also, Tahoe would just die while driving. Everything would go dead, lights, dash, engine, etc. Sometimes it would start and run again, sometimes it had to be towed. This is scary thing to happen at night or on the highway. Took to dealer, they changed out the battery, alternator, regulator, etc. It still kept doing it. Then I read in a forum that they had a weak ground, and I ended up fixing myself by beefing up all the ground wiring. Doesn't the mechanics read the forums? Anyway, its a ridiculous problem to have to begin with, and not be fixed by the dealer is downright depressing. It also had overheating issues, had to replace the catalytic converter, and plenty more. My maintenance folder looks more like a book.

The rest of it is all minor but still a pain because there was so much of it. On a trip and the cruise control quits working because of a faulty brake switch (replaced twice). Countless blend doors that quit working and suddenly heat is blowing in your face on the hottest summer day. Inside door handles that just snap off, window regulators, climate control thermostat, seat heaters, window switches, electric door locks that quit one by one. One day I pressed the button on the tailgate to open the rear window and the whole button assembly fell out in my hand - and that was the last straw.

It sounds like I was rough on it but believe me I baby my vehicles and always maintained them, always fixed things that broke. I never had steering or transmission problems (like others in this forum). Bottom line is that Tahoe's are WAY to expensive for this. Never again for me.

This is going to be typical of these highly optioned vehicles with so much technology in them. A '79 or '89 Suburban would not have a tenth of the features of these trucks or things that can go wrong. But I reckon ours are so much more comfortable, faster, fuel efficient and enduring powertrains.
 

Tonka44

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My 2011 has been great. It's slow and get bad mileage, but it's a 6k lb 6 speed SUV. I'd rather the 6.0's power but it's multiple MPG lower so that's probably not worth it, objectively

I would tell my 2012 self (bought used in Feb of 2012) to do it, full speed ahead

Cruise control going out is the only legit complaint I have
 

The Raven

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I just made the decision to keep my 10-year-old 80k mile Tahoe for at least another 3 years. I shopped extensively for new options and couldn't find anything I wanted to trade up for. So yeah, I have to say i'd definitely do it again.
 

EddieC

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Looking at replacing my Jeep and started looking at the Tahoe. Seem to be pretty reliable - my main concern.
So the question is : having experienced one - would you do it all over again...?

We had 6 Jeeps before discovering Tahoes. Jeeps got pretty bad once Chrysler took over. I'll never buy another Chrysler product.
Answer to your question; Have done it twice with no regrets.
Great tax writeoff if you're in business; full value.
 

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