So you’re in the market for a 2015 Tahoe, Yukon, or Escalade? Sounds like a great idea! They look great, have cool technology, and a ton of horse power. Ready to shell out $55-$90k for one of these beauties? THINK AGAIN! You are about to assume a ton of risk on a platform which may be fundamentally flawed, in my opinion. Before you call me bitter or spiteful, please know that I grew up in a GM household and my grandmother and mother both worked for GM…GM is literally in my DNA. No one roots for GM more than me and no other make of car/truck has ever been in my garage besides GM in 25 years of ownership.
Are there great 2015s out there? You bet. Quite frankly I am jealous of those of you who own one. I wish I had the chance to enjoy my 2015 Denali. It took 5 months to get my first Denali. I guess I wasn’t lucky enough to get a “good” one. But you have to ask yourself, will you be “lucky” enough to get a good one? Notice how many used low-mile 2015s there are for sale? Do a 500 mile radius search from your own location…you will be surprised.
I owned TWO 2015 Yukon Denalis over the past 12 months. One built in June 2014, and the other built in November of 2014. BOTH were REPURCHASED by GM. Once is an accident, twice is a trend. We all know that GM would not be buying back vehicles at FULL purchase price if there was not an issue. What issue? A vehicle which caused headaches, ear pressure and dizziness while driving!
Before you think it’s an issue with me (perhaps my ears are more sensitive than others), think again. Every person who was in both vehicles felt/heard it. I went out of my way NOT to say something before someone rode with me just to make certain I was not hearing or feeling something that did not exist. The GM master technician described it as “turbulence” when he drove it. The final straw was about two weeks ago when I took a client to an event. He asked me for some gum because he said his ears were popping…I burst out laughing. It’s not just me.
Now for the details…
When I picked up my first Denali, I noticed a “booming” sound and the sensation that two rear windows were rolled down. Ear pressure was immediate and constant. I felt like I was SCUBA diving and could not clear my ears. It was most noticeable at 38mph and was the worst at 43mph. The co-owner of the dealer said the truck literally made her car sick driving it. I was not the only one. GM issued a Service Bulletin pertaining to the issue. #PIT5318 “Wind Buffeting Droan Type Noise And/Or Body Pressure Booming,” dated August 29, 2014. So they tore apart the roof and spent hours on the vehicle. End result: problem not fixed. So, they called in the field experts. They took off the wheels, rims, etc., and made an attempt to balance the vehicle. At NO point could the vehicle be balanced even with just the rims on it! Then, they flew in special shocks from the proving grounds and then road forced balanced. End result: problem still there. Keep in mind the dealer had my truck longer than I ever did. At that point, I said just give me my money back and I will order another one. Let’s just try again. GM repurchased the vehicle at full price. Sometimes things just happen, I thought.
So after getting my money back on the first one, what did I do? I ordered another one. Why? Because I am a man of my word and what are the odds of getting two lemons? And like I said earlier, I am a GM guy through and through. More about that later…
The second seemed perfect…at first. I drove it 30 miles before taking delivery. I did everything I could do to replicate the issue (ear pressure, booming, etc.). It was nothing like the first repurchased one. It seemed perfect. I finally had the truck of my dreams! Then, around 250 miles or so, the old familiar ear pressure and pounding in the head came back worse than ever. The booming and ear pressure at the same EXACT speed as the first one (38-43 mph). Same exact speeds! This is no coincidence. There may be fundamental design flaw somewhere in this platform, in my opinion. GM repurchased my second 2015 Denali. Once is an accident, twice is a trend...
But this second Denali, a 2015i, was WORSE than the first one on so many levels. The heat took forever to warm up (they changed the thermostat too), the third row seats never lied flat, so groceries in the cargo area just came crashing to the ground whenever I opened the rear liftgate. Everything electronically worked intermittently. Sometimes the heated seats worked, sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes the iPod connection worked in a USB port, sometimes it didn’t. And to top it off, the Onstar module had a complete failure. So, the Wi-Fi no longer worked, the navigation no longer worked, and the remote features (using your phone app) would not work either. (All of this is documented at the dealership, by the way). According to the malfunctioning navigation, I was driving in the middle of Lake Ontario for a few days. By the time I turned the second Denali in, the GPS had me close to entering the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of miles from my actual location. But I digress…
So why do I say buyer be cautious of ALL three platforms? Because not only did my two Yukons have the issue, the 2015 Tahoe GM put me in for a rental had the droaning and pressure too. (I had them put me in an Acadia instead because I could not tolerate the ear pressure after a few days). So last week, I test drove a 2015 Escalade with 8800 miles with a local dealer. We took it for a spin and guess what? Same issue at the same speeds! 38-43 mph. I asked the Caddy dealer if he noticed the pressure. His response was priceless: “Wow, I haven’t noticed that before…Not until now.” The test drive did not last long…
Now here is where it gets good. I admit, I am loyal to a fault. Borderline pathetic, I suppose. So, wanting to find a replacement which would suit my needs, I bought a one way plane ticket to Chicago and purchased a non-head pounding, non-ear pressure causing, 2014 Yukon Denali with low miles. I then drove it 9 hours back home. I stuck by GM. Again.
I went through hell and back with GM over this past year, taking precious time away from my business, wasting countless hours at the dealer and rental shops, enduring pounding headaches and lost more than $7,000 in sales taxes which has yet to be returned. Despite all of that, I purchased a THIRD GM truck within 12 months. I asked GM for one simple thing: I simply asked for reimbursement for my plane ticket to buy another GM vehicle as part of the repurchase. I asked for $250 measly dollars for enduring this year-long saga and for the pleasure of buying yet another GM product. Their response: tough luck. Too bad.
As for the buyback experience overall, all involved were quite helpful and very cordial. I was never frustrated with the sales manager or with anyone from GM corporate. They did not build or design the vehicle, so lashing out at them made no sense. The only negative experience I had was at the 11th hour when I returned the second vehicle. One of the co-owners begrudging shook my hand in the parking lot, threw his hands in the air and said, “you really put us through the paces.” He claimed the truck was fine…but REFUSED to go for a ride in it at ANY point throughout the process. He inferred I caused HIM an inconvenience! Laughable. I dropped CASH for all three GM of the vehicles this year. Don’t worry, if I ever buy another new GM vehicle it won’t be from his dealership after being treated so rudely at the very last minute. My cash will be spent elsewhere…
When it’s all said and done, I could summarize my 2015 experience in a simple word: Disappointed. Disappointed the truck I wanted for years failed on so many levels. Disappointed GM would fail to do enough R&D on their complete redesign, in my opinion. Disappointed my tax dollars bailed them out and as a result, I AM the one who lost money by doing business with GM. Disappointed my loyalty was completely shrugged off after 25 consecutive years of GM ownership.
Don’t be disappointed yourself. Buyers of 2015 Tahoes, Yukons , and Escalades be very cautious! I am not saying don’t buy GM products. Not at all…I own two GM vehicles. There are great 2015 trucks out there. Just be very, very weary of the 2015s. You just may want to wait until they get all the bugs out and HOPE the 2016’s are better.
I sincerely hope GM works hard to improve this platform in the near future and does a much better job in rewarding customers who have (blindly and perhaps, foolishly) stuck by them for so long.
