2021 yukon xl getting new rear end at 60K miles

[R32driver]

Bought it brand new in summer of '21 with 3 miles and here we are on warranty repair number 5 on this beauty This time it's the rear differential. The vehicle is actually out of warranty (63K miles) but the repair is being covered by our local dealership with little cost to us. It's been making a "humming" sound since about 55K miles or so and changing out the rear dif fluid did not help. That did fix the groaning noise when cold but not this annoying sound. It's at the dealership service department now and they told me the rearend was full of metal flakes. They also told me it's cheaper to replace the entire rearend than try to disassemble it and repair whatever is wrong. Should have it fixed by the end of next week.

Just a heads up it's another thing to listen for. If mine went bad yours could too. This vehicle does not tow anything ever and has just been used as a family hauler. At first it sounded like the rear hvac system was on full blast but that was not the case. I'm pretty observant to weird noises in my vehicles and I was correct to think it was something in the rearend

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

Which rear diff do you have, the electronic limited slip or the mechanical one?

 

[jfoj]

First the 6.2l failures, then the 10 speed valve body problems, now the rear differential!!!

I guess the surface finish on the rear differential gears was not correct just like the crankshaft finish??

The entire powertrain seems to be a problem in this vintage chassis.

What do we have to look forward to failing next?

Plenty of software bugs in the Infotainment systems, but I expect we may have to live with many of these.

 

[GMCnewbee]

Things happen. I had a year old Sequoia get a rear axle howl and had to replace a rear bearing. Also had a pretty new BMW motorcycle that needed a rear wheel bearing. Just an imperfect bearing from whatever supplier made them. We do not live in a perfect world.

 

[Blackcar]

Bought it brand new in summer of '21 with 3 miles and here we are on warranty repair number 5 on this beauty This time it's the rear differential. The vehicle is actually out of warranty (63K miles) but the repair is being covered by our local dealership with little cost to us. It's been making a "humming" sound since about 55K miles or so and changing out the rear dif fluid did not help. That did fix the groaning noise when cold but not this annoying sound. It's at the dealership service department now and they told me the rearend was full of metal flakes. They also told me it's cheaper to replace the entire rearend than try to disassemble it and repair whatever is wrong. Should have it fixed by the end of next week.

Just a heads up it's another thing to listen for. If mine went bad yours could too. This vehicle does not tow anything ever and has just been used as a family hauler. At first it sounded like the rear hvac system was on full blast but that was not the case. I'm pretty observant to weird noises in my vehicles and I was correct to think it was something in the rearend

Has dealer serviced vehicle since new?

 

[R32driver]

Which rear diff do you have, the electronic limited slip or the mechanical one?

Mechanical. Had to pull out the window sticker and look cause I wasn't sure

 

[R32driver]

Has dealer serviced vehicle since new?

No and it's not the dealership I bought it at either. Just the local Chevy dealership in the small town I live in. It's been serviced there a handful of times but they earned a customer for life after this. Fantastic people. Hinton Chevrolet in Lynden, WA

 

[R32driver]

Picked it up today and all is well. Annoying howl noise is gone! They replaced the rear dif and either ate the cost or worked something out with GM. They said it was about a $4500 repair and asked me to pay $500 which I gladly did. Class act all around I definitely will be buying my next GM vehicle from Hinton Chevrolet

 

[2017sltXL]

No and it's not the dealership I bought it at either. Just the local Chevy dealership in the small town I live in. It's been serviced there a handful of times but they earned a customer for life after this. Fantastic people. Hinton Chevrolet in Lynden, WA

Can confirm, they are a class act. My late grandparents bought several vehicles there over the years and were always treated well. I remember one time in particular when we were visiting there, after taking his car up to Mt Constitution on Orcas Island it developed an issue with the transmission on the way back down to the ferry. He explained the situation to them that he really needed his car as soon as possible with extra family in town. I think they fit it in the next day. Don't recall the problem, that ended up being minor in nature, but was only without it for two days.

These smaller family owned dealerships are a rarity anymore but worth their weight in gold.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

I've had the best luck at small town dealers over the years...with my Chevy's, I always drove 20 miles south to the small town dealer, even for oil changes...they always gave me a loaner. Bought 9 Chevy's from them, but on this go around, esp in the 21-24, I just liked how the GMC looked a whole lot better...I do miss their service though...I should have just kept going there. Anytime I walked in the place, anyone who worked there would smile and say "Hi Mike." Can't beat it..

 

[West 1]

Going back to 2003 the transmission went out at 60,000 miles in our GMC Yukon Denali, the dealer told us to pound sand we were out of warranty. At 60 K I could not believe they would not stand behind it. Offered me a $1000 discount on a new GMC if I wanted to turn it in. Things happen. Most differentials are good for 300000 miles as long as you keep good oil in them. My 2008 Denali has a howl in the rear end now but I bought it used and don't know the history so I suspect it was run low on oil at some point?

 

[dbphillips]

This is

Going back to 2003 the transmission went out at 60,000 miles in our GMC Yukon Denali, the dealer told us to pound sand we were out of warranty. At 60 K I could not believe they would not stand behind it. Offered me a $1000 discount on a new GMC if I wanted to turn it in. Things happen. Most differentials are good for 300000 miles as long as you keep good oil in them. My 2008 Denali has a howl in the rear end now but I bought it used and don't know the history so I suspect it was run low on oil at some point?

This is why I spend the $2-3k for an extended warranty. 9 times out of 10, it's a waste of money, but it's really easy to make up the difference on a bad one. And if you get a good one, or a dud and sell it early, you can get some of that money back.

 

[dbphillips]

No and it's not the dealership I bought it at either. Just the local Chevy dealership in the small town I live in. It's been serviced there a handful of times but they earned a customer for life after this. Fantastic people. Hinton Chevrolet in Lynden, WA

Farm town dealer, ftw. I drive 38 miles to Marysville for anything but an oil change, and that's only because I made the mistake of giving the selling dealer a sweetener by pre-paying for oil changes... Great selling dealer, terrible service.

 

[vcode]

First the 6.2l failures, then the 10 speed valve body problems, now the rear differential!!!

I guess the surface finish on the rear differential gears was not correct just like the crankshaft finish??

The entire powertrain seems to be a problem in this vintage chassis.

What do we have to look forward to failing next?

Plenty of software bugs in the Infotainment systems, but I expect we may have to live with many of these.

So how much different is the actual diff compared to previous gens? I know it is IRS compared to a solid rear end, but have the gears and diff housing changed any?

 

[jfoj]

@vcode

No idea on what may or may not be different with the Diff in this generation.

Just kind of crazy that it seems almost the entire drivetrain in this generation is starting out with problems. Diff's hopefully will be far and few between, but it may be something with some crazy thin gear oil or ATF in the Diff?? Time to research these Diff's and fluid and figure out if the Diff fluid needs to be changed often.

 

[R32driver]

So how much different is the actual diff compared to previous gens? I know it is IRS compared to a solid rear end, but have the gears and diff housing changed any?

The service manager told me these difs are not easily serviceable and they would need to purchase special tools to work on it. He said it would be cheaper to just replace the whole unit than it would be to buy the tools and then repair whatever is wrong.

The paperwork says it was the front pinion bearing in the rear differential causing a howling noise and there was excessive metal in the rear differential fluid

 

[vcode]

@vcode

No idea on what may or may not be different with the Diff in this generation.

Just kind of crazy that it seems almost the entire drivetrain in this generation is starting out with problems. Diff's hopefully will be far and few between, but it may be something with some crazy thin gear oil or ATF in the Diff?? Time to research these Diff's and fluid and figure out if the Diff fluid needs to be changed often.

This is the first rear diff issue I've read about. Out of millions of trucks. Nothing is perfect.

 

[BacDoc]

Picked it up today and all is well. Annoying howl noise is gone! They replaced the rear dif and either ate the cost or worked something out with GM. They said it was about a $4500 repair and asked me to pay $500 which I gladly did. Class act all around I definitely will be buying my next GM vehicle from Hinton Chevrolet

This is good to hear and I’m so glad you were treated like a valued customer. This is the best advertising a service industry like car dealerships can get. Kudos to the dealership!

 

[jfoj]

This is the first rear diff issue I've read about. Out of millions of trucks. Nothing is perfect.

Understand that just a single post on a Forum means there are likely plenty more failures that we have not heard of. Additionally this failure occurred just outside of the Powertrain warranty, however, it looks like it was covered.

I would suspect any differential failures may be higher mileage and we have just not heard about them often.

But it does make me wonder if fluid change service of these differentials would reduce or eliminate potential lower mileage failures. A quick search at least indicates the differentials appear to use 75W85 GL-5 fluid. Slightly thinner than the 80W90 fluid used in some of the earlier vehicles. Again, it appears the 75W85 is more geared (no pun intended) toward "fuel efficiency' when compared to the slightly thicker 80W90 type of fluid. If I was towing on a regular basis I would consider either regular differential fluid changes, almost with every other oil change or strongly consider a slightly thicker fluid.

Unfortunately we are all becoming victims of the "improved fuel economy" quest and are often hit by inconvenience and financially impacted by the reduced reliability. Seems many owners need to consider countermeasures for the newer crop of improved fuel efficient vehicles.

 

[jerry455]

I am using 75W90 Amsoil, because of the bag package, in my 2021 Suburban. I have 85,000 miles on it and I changed them last summer at about 72,000 miles.