New here thinking of a denali

[willydimes]

Hey guys Im new here and potentially in the market for a tahoe or yukon in december. Right now I have an 07 Audi A6 and love it but its out 105xxx and im going to get something new in a few months. Im considering one with the 6.2 engine. Ive been looking around on here and seen some real horror stories of failures of the 5.3 so I was wondering the reliability of these trucks are? My audi has been great and Ive never real had any issues especially considering how hard I drive it. Just as an aside Im either going to get a truck or a sporty ish car like as S4, and yes I know two different things but Im looking for something different than what I have now. Thanks for any help or advice

 

[yates ™]

What horror stories are you referring to with the 5.3? I have had a few and never had a problem with them.

 

[willydimes]

well i just read through first four pages here and saw multiple threads mof dead engines and major repairs to those cars

---------- Post added at 09:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 AM ----------

and I get that these trucks are much more common than audis but Ive been on audi forums for while and rarely do you see dead engines

 

[noob]

I have had zero engine issues with my 2010 escalade with 6.2 motor. But honestly the level of refinement maybe too low for you coming from Audi. Going from my Infiniti I missed having my hard drive for music. Power telescoping wheel, auto up/down in all windows, handling. Quicker transmission etc...

 

[yates ™]

I have a 5.3 sitting in my garage that has at least 100k miles on it and the truck it came out of hit an Amoco head on and it still isn't blown up. These motors are used so much by people in so many different kinds of cars that I wouldn't think of them as a motor easily blown up, sure it can happen but not very common.

 

[willydimes]

how would you say the interior of the denali or whatever the higher package on the tahoes are? I know Im going to lose the quickness of the 4.2 a6 i have but I would have assumed at least what ive seen in pictures that the interior is pretty nice on a denali

 

[LuSe4]

Multiple pages of dead engines? What did you search?

These are very reliable engines.

 

[CYKBC]

Funny coming from a vw owner. Audis last 60k miles at best and go kaput! Resale is horrid as well.

Not sure what forum is leading you to think the gm engine is unreliable? These trucks are workhorses

 

[soulsea]

A forum is both a good and poor choice to glean vehicle reliability. It's poor because people post issues, and the issue threads are in disproportionate measure to the tens of thousands of these vehicles out there, and not many folks start a thread called 'everything's working like it should today' ... it's a good place because usually one can determine what are the most likely issues should there be any, and how to remedy them.

My observation is that, notwithstanding the scarce inevitable growing pains of the 07s, these trucks (both the 5.3 and 6.2) are very well built and generate very few issues. The odd lock actuator will fail, and a few other well known defects, but on the whole they are solidly built.

Ask a Range Rover owner what he has to go through the first 7K miles ... I have.

 

[LuSe4]

A forum is both a good and poor choice to glean vehicle reliability. It's poor because people post issues, and the issue threads are in disproportionate measure to the tens of thousands of these vehicles out there, and not many folks start a thread called 'everything's working like it should today' ... it's a good place because usually one can determine what are the most likely issues should there be any, and how to remedy them.

My observation is that, notwithstanding the scarce inevitable growing pains of the 07s, these trucks (both the 5.3 and 6.2) are very well built and generate very few issues. The odd lock actuator will fail, and a few other well known defects, but on the whole they are solidly built.

Ask a Range Rover owner what he has to go through the first 7K miles ... I have.

Well put Serge!

 

[09tahoehybrid]

Hey guys Im new here and potentially in the market for a tahoe or yukon in december. Right now I have an 07 Audi A6 and love it but its out 105xxx and im going to get something new in a few months. Im considering one with the 6.2 engine. Ive been looking around on here and seen some real horror stories of failures of the 5.3 so I was wondering the reliability of these trucks are? My audi has been great and Ive never real had any issues especially considering how hard I drive it. Just as an aside Im either going to get a truck or a sporty ish car like as S4, and yes I know two different things but Im looking for something different than what I have now. Thanks for any help or advice

After putting around 15,000 miles on my Tahoe so far I find it to be just O.K. Fit and finish is definitely a few notches below trucks like the QX56 & GL Benz. (Even a Brand new Escalade I test drove around a month ago cannot compare to the imports) My truck has some pretty annoying rattles that cannot be traced down. Also, one thing I mentioned in another thread is the lack of power. My hybrid has a 6.0L V8, which is just barely adequate to move this heavy truck. I cant imagine how much worse the 5.3 is. The Paint seems to be the thinnest out of all the vehicles I've ever owned & chips pretty easily.
Like most big SUV's its not very fun to drive, but I really do prefer the high seating position vs. cars. It has been reliable though

 

[CYKBC]

Everything is relative and for this reason alone ill share how my hybrid stack ranks.

7k miles on 2011 range rover supercharged bought new - great power, 13mpg super unleaded, sumptuous interior worth price of admission, Kim kardashian rep, complete lease car meaning own three years under warranty and then onto the next one. It's a complex vehicle. Did you guys know the smaller sport version is nearly 3 tons? Very $$$$$ to mod ask me how I know.

10k miles on 2007 Lexus lx - faultless reliability and engineering integrity. Land cruiser heritage for mall crawling. Super smooth bulletproof 2uzfe engine. 12 to 13 mpg premium fuel. I'd own one again to give to the future wifey.

500 miles on 2011 Ltz tahoe - not sure what I was thinking but definitely the disappointment of the group for me. Engine is not nearly as smooth, but it is the transmission programming heavily biased toward honoring the EPA mileage estimates at the cost of driving pleasure. Least good looking of the bunch. Nice luxuries that I miss in the hybrid like memory seats, angle mirrors in reverse, cooled seats, auto lift gate... Really wish it had auto windshield wipers. Bulletproof reliability as it is a simple truck end of day where your $ gors far inlabor and readily avail parts in healthy aftermarket ecosystem. 6.2 in escalade felt perkier but even rougher than 5.3. I can accept black plastics in a tahoe but not a Cadillac. Unlike the merc and Infiniti this looks and feels like a mans car/truck. There's a badarseness to it than Rollin a minivan like gl.

Current daily is 2013 tahoe hybrid - perfect factory aerokit both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Love that it is a low sales volume model. Unique drive makes it fun. First car I've owned where I want it to stay as close to stock as possible: super quiet and efficient. Engineering marvel. Solid reliability track record. No complex and expensive air suspensions and multiple settings to deal with. Surprise of the decade. A keeper!

 

[Abby]

I have had my 2007 Denali with a 6.2 since late 2008 & have not experienced any major problems. I had to replace the brake light switch to fix an issue with the cruise control and thats about it. I also installed a Magnaflow exhaust which improved the performance & exhaust tone. It will not corner like an Audi but it is a great vehicle in my opinion.

 

[2011Tahoe]

I absolutely love our Tahoe! If your looking for fast performance than it may not be your thing, but if you know your driving a full size SUV it is more than enough power. IMO. I have always owned nice lifted gas trucks, they have always been properly done, gears, programmed transmissions, etc. My Tahoe lifted would probably not be very good but lowered with 22" wheels it has plenty enough power for me, gets 19.5 mpg on 6 hr trip going over mountain passes. The interior for me is legit, it may not be as nice as a Mercedes but the price tag of the Tahoe is a lot nicer. IMHO unless you don't care about gas mileage the 6.2 is worthless. Sure it is going to be more fun to drive but what vehicle isn't with 80-100 HP added. I also bought a Tahoe for the modibility. You can really create your own vehicle with these SUVs. (Hoes,Yuks,Esky)
Oh yeah 14k miles oil changed every 4k miles and no problems or signs of any upcoming problems at all.

 

[edgaranah1]

07 Yukon with nearly 90k, bought it new in Nov. 06' no blown engine yet.


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[sandboxrocker]

Wife has a 07 Denali with the 6.2 and I love it! Not the best on gas but I know my family is safe when they are in it!

 

[Regency]

I have a 5.3 amazing totally reliable

 

[bigrhino]

I had a 2002 Tahoe 4.8 flawless, now I own a 2011 Tahoe 5.3, so far so good. They have so many upgrades for these trucks you could make yours faster than stock and your suspension better than stock.

 

[Brock]

My 07 Nali has 130K w/ no issues, very strong motor. Just did the BB tune & it's a HUGE improvement. 16 HWY, but the shifting + power gain is a must do w/ the 6.2.

That RR, you need to buy two...got to have a spare to drive while the other is in the shop!

 

[doubletapdrew]

They are reliable SUVs. This forum would be unreadable and overload the server if everyone posted "My Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade ran great and had no problems today"
My GM SUV experience:
1992 Yukon 4WD SLE - 265k miles, tranny lost 3rd & 4th gear at about 120k ($700 fix), needed a rebuild kit on the wiper motor at approx 200k ($10 fix) traded in during cash for clunkers
Two 4WD pickups, 2002 ext cab 1500 w/5.3L & 4-speed: 0 problems 80k miles
2007 2500HD crew cab diesel: 0 problems 40k miles
2007 Yukon Denali, 100k miles: 0 problems, traded it in, and
2011 Yukon Denali, 17k miles so far, 0 problems.

So combined that's over half a million miles in GMCs with less than $1000 in repairs (and that was all on the 92). Pretty good track record in my book.
Now, our peterbilts will go 1 million miles before needing an overhaul....but an overhaul kit costs about $13,000