2015 RWD Tahoe Police with 108K miles / Appreciate Help With Some Issues

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Sparty047

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Son just bought this. Came with both CarFax and all the Motor Pool Work Orders. Appears it was the Zeeland Michigan Police Chief's Car and records show it was very very well maintained. Also unlikely it was ever involved in high speed chases or left idling for long periods. Oil/Filter every 3-5K, both batteries replaced every two years, radiator replaced at 3 year intervals!!??, coolant reservoir replaced at 70K d/t leak and thermostat replaced. New starter put in ~75K and rebuilt tranny installed at 79K in 12/2019. Only driven 4K in the last two years. Here's our things to do list:

1) We need to remove the interior panels from the back seat doors to reattach window controls and the door handle cables. Any advice, forum posts, or http links, on how to do this without breaking mount clips would be appreciated.

2) It is going to be used by Mom to run kids to school and shop locally - mostly 5 mile trips on paved roads and 30 mile trips for medical appointments. We are 15 miles South of Lansing Michigan so will have some snow storms to deal with. What's a good plan to deal with this RWD in snow?

3) Audio system has perfectly fine sound, but no blue tooth to stream music from smart phones. Any thoughts on how to add blue tooth?

4) Work order present from late 2020 to remove electronics ("to put in Chief's new truck"). There's a large bundle of wires tied together and laying on the floor below the center of the dash. Any advice on removal, leaving in place, or tucking away out of sight?

5) Third row seat was "deleted". Does this mean there's no built-in anchor points located beneath the vinyl floor in the back?

6) Any other "been there and did this" stories you'd share to make transition easier?




Thanks in advance.
 

Sparksalot

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@Sparty047 Congrats, and welcome to the cult. It's awesome that you have those records. Most of us PPV buyers are in the dark in that regard.

Youtube university has a wealth of info on trim removal and all kinds of other stuff.

I haven't seen anyone add the 3rd row in a K2 yet, but in the GMT900 the floor pan had the appropriate dimples and anchor points, just none of the brackets.

@Doubeleive seems to have a pretty good handle on the head unit/electronics stuff. He may have some advice on your bluetooth addition question.

I bet if you find a standard consumer center console, much of that wiring bundle gets tucked under it. Personally, I'd leave it in place. You, or a future owner, may want some of that wiring in the future to power up accessories, or camping equipment, or who knows.
 

Joseph Garcia

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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.

Pics of the truck, please.

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

Miami-Dade

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Welcome from Miami&NYC!

Your son was lucky to find a Police Chief PPV. In my neck of the woods all supervisor vehicles are maintained to the highest standard.
 
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Sparty047

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Thank you for your kind replies. Now I wish I'd saved the web site photos of this 2015 all black Tahoe. It only has 2-3 dings above the driver's side rear wheel well that look like someone repeatedly opened their door into it - otherwise shiny and flawless all around, with nary a scratch and no evidence showing where any signage may have been! No evidence of any body rust anywhere.

Ridiculously clean back seats and only expected mild wear on the driver's seat with no breaks in the upholstery. A nearly-new looking standard consumer center console had already been reinstalled (likely in 2020 when motor pool papers show all electronics were removed). Vinyl flooring throughout shows no abrasions and the back end mat is showroom new.

Carfax reports only one minor acident at the passenger's front corner "with no damage." We found a motor pool report that matches that date and shows the headlight assembly was replaced.

The spot light was removed; but the rubber boot and chrome mount remains; the pillar trim on the driver's side is loose at the top and has a 1/2" diameter hole. Our plan is to remove the trim and fill the hole with vinyl epoxy that is a near-match to the color. Removal of the unobtrusive metal bracket epoxied to the front windshield might be more trouble than it is worth! A few screw holes in the dash above the steering wheel can be groud smooth and filled with the same vinyl patch as the side pillar.

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?

The evening before we left early in the morning (ahead of that ice storm) to go look; I called the Zeeland, Michigan Police Department on a whim, to ask about the wehicle, and left a voice mail.

The day after we bought the vehicle I received a return call from Zeeland. The gentleman who is the current Chief was kind enough to return my call. He told me that the Tahoe had been used for a couple of years as a patrol car; was indeed assigned to the previus Chief for a couple of years, and had spent the last couple of years as a "range vehicle" that many people could sign out "as needed." This explained fewer than 4K in the last two years. He recalled it had been a good vehicle and was sold by the city only because "it was time to do so."

NEXT STEPS

My Grandchildren's car seats have already been installed and both Ari and Finn have voiced their approval of Mommy's new car.

So, first mild day I'll tackle getting the back doors restored to standard duty. Have googled it, but yet to find anything on removing the BACK panels of the 2015-2020 series Tahoe. May have to just wing it. And order any parts I break or parts that are missing from Rock Auto.

Son's already ordered a "bluetooth to FM transmitter" that cost under $20.
I'll get out my multimeter and the wiring diagram I found online and check which wires in that coil may still be hot, or which may have had their fuses pulled at the fusebox. So far I have only cursory looked at things when we did our pre-purchase offer inspection. Likely, I may wire in spot(s) in the center console to recharge phones, etc. I did note there is already a rear mount fuse panel and a 12 volt plug in the back end. We both tow small RVs and we co-own a 24 ft pontoon, so time will come when he and his wife will pull both their RV and the pontoon with their Silverado and Tahoe, so adding outlets and plug in LED light bars and air compressors will helpful.

If anyone knows of a http for rear door, interior panel removal please shoot me that address. I'll take a few pics of the tahoe and upload them to this post.


STAY SAFE
 
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Sparty047

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OOPS!
Kids are reporting a sulfur smell at the exhaust. As this is a new find after several das driving (and probably a fill up) I don't want to immediately say it the cat conv. The have an appt booked with mechanic and I am going over to see/smell for myself. Seems early at 108K for the cat to be bad.


Of interest, Steph reports she first smelled burning rubber and sulfur after putting 87 octane gas in at a station they don't ever use. Also, not consistent (comes and goes).


ANY THOUGHTS?


Just got back......40 degrees air temp. Tahoe had been sitting about 3 hours. Started it up and monitored the exhaust as I scraped the dealer's webpage logo off the back windshield.

Absolutely no unexpected odor. Just normal exhaust. Looks like a case of funky fuel put in at last Tuesday gas stop. Shut it down after 15 min at idle and texted Son advising he cancel the appointment. Still interested in any similar stories.
 
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