Struggling with this troublesome Denali

[savagetek]

My first experience was with a 2004 Suburban Z71 with 160,000. I added 40,000 of my own miles driving the family all over California. The front seat leather was trashed and my young kids continued to beat up the rest of interior. The exterior paint was never all that great and continued to chip away. I did have the bad instrument cluster and followed instructions online to pull it and replace the stepper motors on several guages. Other than that mechanically this was a very solid A to B vehicle a very strong, fast and reliable 5.3L motor. Regular oil changes was about it. 6 months ago the rear drivetrain got very loud. We serviced the transmission, changed UV joints, and ultimately figured out it was the rear end. We decided to sell it to somebody who wanted it and already had a new rear end to put into it.

We wanted another one so 2 months ago I purchased a 2003 Yukon XL Denali 6.0 AWD with 154K miles. Excellent condition in and out. Rust free California vehicle. There was the message in display window “SERVICE RIDE CONTROL”. It was explained to me that there was a problem with the on board compressor years ago and it was removed from the vehicle. This was from the original owners who maintained an excellent service history. The trouble for us then starts almost immediately:

1) small transmission fluid leak coming from crack in the plastic part of the radiator where upper transmission cooler line connects to the radiator. I replaced the radiator.

2) the driver side mirror turned orange/brown. I believe the auto-tinting oil capsule in the housing failed. I replaced with a powered version without auto-tinting.

3) the vehicle stranded my wife in a no-start situation while in the pickup line to get the the kids from school. After troubleshooting, I was hopeful that a new fuel filter would suffice but no luck. I had to drop the tank to replace the fuel pump.

4) Next the display window in dash adds a new message “rear access open”. I have troubleshot based on instructions found online, and am awaiting a programmed replacement bcm which should arrive in a couple days.

5) next, check engine light comes on. Code indicates there is a problem with the mass air flow module. I ordered from eBay and am awaiting delivery in about 5 days.

6) the rear view mirror lights and temperature display are fluctuating between a proper display and flickering/blinking. Please , not another electronic item failing here

7) Today , another new message in the display windows says “SERVICE STABILITY”


This is getting ridiculous. I seriously have good intentions for this vehicle. At purchase time, I already decided I would be doing several of the services I just did with the 2004: tranny fluid, UV joints, rear end. I’ve upgraded the stereo to new bluetooth touchscreen. This is a good looking Denali with another strong motor. Besides, the above I’ve already pictured doing some things with this one that I never did with the other one because the 2004 was too beat up visually to care about the appearance. For this one, a 2-3 inch lift, new rims/tires, new headlight and taillight assemblies with led’s, new suspension (shocks, bushings, arms and armatures, etc).

Unfortunately, there’s a new fairly significant issue every week. I’m beginning to think this one is cursed. I may need to cut my losses before I end up completely upside down here. Does anyone here see light at the end of thus tunnel? Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions that you members of this group regarding what I’m experiencing? Thanks in advance for your time and attention.

 

[PG01]

Well, as you previously noted….about 160k is where things start going.…not everything, but some components just don’t have a service life past a certain point. Remember, you’re buying a 20+ year old vehicle, even if if it was maintained to the Nth degree, things go bad and 160k is about when it happens. I will tell you that in ‘03 there was was a change, refresh if you will, not so much with body but an electronics refresh of sorts. I had an ‘01 Tahoe that had not 1 problem in the 16 years I owned it from new. That truck never went back to the dealer nor any mechanic for anything. Normal wear items and maintenance aside that was a solid unit and I kick myself for selling it. My brother bought an ‘03 and the fuel pump and some other components failed the minute he made a left off the dealers lot. He traded that in an ‘05 and the fuel pump on that one went within 15k. It is what it is, fix your issues and move on or sell it and purchase another one. Or don’t. There is nobody on this forum that can tell you if you bought a needy unit but the reality of the situation is you are purchasing 20+ yr old vehicles and shit is going to start happening, lucky for you all of the problems you may or may not encounter have been documented and fixes are posted right behind the documented issues…99.99% of the time.
Personally I would keep your current ‘04 and fix whatever pops up, do all of your maintenance items and say a little prayer.
My opinion. Good luck.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Well, as you previously noted….about 160k is where things start going.…not everything, but some components just don’t have a service life past a certain point. Remember, you’re buying a 20+ year old vehicle, even if if it was maintained to the Nth degree, things go bad and 160k is about when it happens. I will tell you that in ‘03 there was was a change, refresh if you will, not so much with body but an electronics refresh of sorts. I had an ‘01 Tahoe that had not 1 problem in the 16 years I owned it from new. That truck never went back to the dealer nor any mechanic for anything. Normal wear items and maintenance aside that was a solid unit and I kick myself for selling it. My brother bought an ‘03 and the fuel pump and some other components failed the minute he made a left off the dealers lot. He traded that in an ‘05 and the fuel pump on that one went within 15k. It is what it is, fix your issues and move on or sell it and purchase another one. Or don’t. There is nobody on this forum that can tell you if you bought a needy unit but the reality of the situation is you are purchasing 20+ yr old vehicles and shit is going to start happening, lucky for you all of the problems you may or may not encounter have been documented and fixes are posted right behind the documented issues…99.99% of the time.
Personally I would keep your current ‘04 and fix whatever pops up, do all of your maintenance items and say a little prayer.
My opinion. Good luck.

This.^^^^
Not trying to jinx you--But--has the transmission been replaced or repaired by the former owner? The transmission usually starts to give warning signs right around 160k. They've been known to go past that though. Is there a service history on the transmission itself? Fluid and filter changes at the recommended intervals?

 

[Miami-Dade]

Welcome from Miami&NYC!
Moved you here.

 

[strutaeng]

Well unfortunately with the fancier vehicle you have more features and more possibilities for them failing at this point in time than the more basic optioned vehicle. And essential stuff obviously is going to fail eventually like fuel pump, starters, alternators, modules, etc.

I drive an 06 Suburban with 258k and really the only failure was a rear main seal leak about 10k ago. I recently replaced my front 2 TPMS sensors, but that's more like routine maintenance at this point. Otherwise she's pretty low maintenance.

My coworker had an 02 Tahoe basic trim with the 4.8 and put over 300k on it. I think the only thing he did was a wheel bearing. Just regular oil changes. He gave it to his daughter in law and last I heard it had over 400k. His son eventually divorced her so he lost the truck to the girl. And he drove it like he stole it too. Shockingly his transmission was original!

A 2017 Silverado replaced the Tahoe and he had all kids of problems with. AC went out and it was weeks to get parts (common issue it seems and it was couple thousands).Then it got broken into and ordering a door took months to get back from the shop. A few weeks later it was stolen, then recovered with again some body damage do it was another few weeks in the shop. Then his transmission went out and it was down for months (another common problem and even more expensive to fix!) He said he really regrets not having the Tahoe.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

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.

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

 

[Doubeleive]

yep as already noted 160k is where "poop occurs" that's just how it is and is why people often get rid of vehicles at or around that mileage they do not want to spend the money or time fixing it. the good thing is once you get it straightened out it should be pretty reliable again.

 

[Marky Dissod]

savagetek,
1) Sounds like it's fixed. Good.
2) Sounds like it's fixed, and you won't have the same problem again. Better.
3) Sounds like it's fixed. Good.
4) Body control module bullschidt would twist my nuts too, I get it. Hope this works.
5) Sounds like a new MAF will fix it. If not, it's likely a wiring issue; hopefully wiring was ruled out prior.
Murphy lives on my shoulder. I always make sure old @$$ wiring is not the problem before replacing stuff.
6) I've the same problem. Gonna check to be sure it's not a symptom of a bigger problem, but so long as the rear view mirror part of the rear view mirror works, it's not worth losing sleep or wasting analgesics on it.
7) Unless you've been in accidents where the Stability Control System has saved you at least $1000, you likely drive with enough wisdom and considerate observation, that this is not urgent.

So long as the problems aren't potentially symptoms of larger problems, you are still leagues ahead of anyone who spent a year's gross salary on a new vehicle.

This forum might even help you predict what could go wrong next, so you'll be less surprised.
(Wild guess: coolant quick connects?)
Start thinking like a cabdriver who wants to keep it for at least 300,000 miles.
Appreciate that the seller sold it for the reasons above, plan ahead, and you'll come out so far ahead, you may lose sight of yourself.

 

[nonickatall]

7) Today , another new message in the display windows says “SERVICE STABILITY”

That's sounds like the beginning of a failing front wheel bearing hub. Was the same at mine, cost 200$ (both sides), was repaired in 1 hour.

This cars are really reliable and what is more important, easy and cheap to fix. I am from Germany I know what I'm talking about.

If you take any German car after 2005, they are a pain in the ass to repair. And mostly they have severe issues like transmission failure, which is not so easy to fix like the GMT transmission and wear out engines at 70.000 miles. Those engines are not reliable any more. The ls/lq engines are bulletproof reliable, when maintained correct and instantly fixed, when issues appears, like the oil-pump o-ring, or the pcv valve.

Yes, some things where also to do on my escalate, which I bought with 160, 000 miles but everything was easy to do and the spare parts were very cheap.

For example: I had a leaking pressure hose from the steering. This hoses always go leaking on BMW, which I had repair recently. If you buy this hose at BMW, (you don't get one in the after market) you pay around 300 Euros, which is nearly the same in dollar. At rockauto i bought mine, including shipping to Germany, around 30 Euros.

So I think you bought exactly the best car you could get for the money, even if there is stuff which can fails over the years.

But when this typical problems, like wheel bearing hubs, fuel pump, mass airflow sensor, PCV valve, oil pump o-ring, steering rods are fixed, then your car will drive, when all these modern cars, with the electronic shit, and downsized, over engineered engines are long gone.

And just for you to realize, what good engine you bought, watch this video i found recently.

Video about history, development and specialties of the LS/LQ Engine

Found a nice video about the history and specialities of our engines, which is very interesting. I look since a long time videos of this guy. He is an engine engineer and know what he is talking about.

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[Doubeleive]

on the gmt800's service stability is often related the yaw rate/steering angle sensor in the steering column

 

[Doubeleive]

if you plan on keeping it and working on it yourself a tech2 is your best investment

 

[nonickatall]

on the gmt800's service stability is often related the yaw rate/steering angle sensor in the steering column

In my case it was the wheel bearing hub which have the traction control sensor included.

Before swapping you should read out the error codes....

If there is a code of the steering column sensor, then it's clear. If there is no code, then it's the wheel bearing hub very likely, because for the electronic of the car, it looks like that the wheel stops, not the sensor is not available.

 

[Doubeleive]

In my case it was the wheel bearing hub which have the traction control sensor included.

Before swapping you should read out the error codes....

If there is a code of the steering column sensor, then it's clear. If there is no code, then it's the wheel bearing hub very likely, because for the electronic of the car, it looks like that the wheel stops, not the sensor is not available.

possible but usually a bad hub or abs sensor will throw a abs code

 

[nonickatall]

possible but usually a bad hub or abs sensor will throw a abs code

Not necessary, the problem is that the sensor ring is a part of the axle, so to speak. And the sensor is a part of the housing.

Wenn the play is getting bigger, but it didn't failed yet complete and you go i to a curve and the pressure of the wheal leeds into the situation, that the sensor ring slightly gets off the sensor. Then you receive probably no error, but the message "traction control" appears and your power is reduced, like when you drive with one wheel in snow. That was, as it was at my car.

That I had a few times.

In my case, it was unluckily in the wintertime though I thought, probably there was really slippery ground. That came more often and on roads which were really dry. In that time, when I started thinking, what the cause could be, suddenly it happened that, when I turned the wheels all the way, the ABS was activated, but I thought: Well, I might have slammed on the brakes a little too quickly on slippery ground in the corner.

I had no errors in the memory.

And one day, there was a loud crash and from then on I had noises in the front and then I found out that my wheel bearing was defective.

I then replaced it, sensor included, and the error never came back.

In my case some rollers in the roller bearing were broken and lay sideways which was making the noise, but they didn't crash the sensor. Of course, if a roller comes out of the bearing and shaves off the ABS sensor, then you have an error message from then also.

Steering wheel sensors, in my experience, fail more suddenly and complete and make and error code.

 

[oldchev]

If you are good at doing your own stuff, then work through the issues. I do and save $$$.
My 2004 Yukon has had a plethora of issues, none of which I couldn't overcome, many using this forum for direction or ideas.
I too have the servcie stability issue. Even with new hubs, it persists. The hubs were replaced due to a complete front end overhaul so I did those. Ive had 3 radiators and 4 water pumps. Recently the trans stripped the splines on the sun shell. I had 278k on the trans. Front diff makes bearing noise but have kept the oil clean every 10k miles. The bearing lock tabs break on these then the bearing gets loose causing bearing wear. I have a spare now just in case. Yes, fuel pump. Oh, dont forget the blend door actuators. Ive been there for all and one, twice. And so on ... too much to list.

 

[savagetek]

Well, as you previously noted….about 160k is where things start going.…not everything, but some components just don’t have a service life past a certain point. Remember, you’re buying a 20+ year old vehicle, even if if it was maintained to the Nth degree, things go bad and 160k is about when it happens. I will tell you that in ‘03 there was was a change, refresh if you will, not so much with body but an electronics refresh of sorts. I had an ‘01 Tahoe that had not 1 problem in the 16 years I owned it from new. That truck never went back to the dealer nor any mechanic for anything. Normal wear items and maintenance aside that was a solid unit and I kick myself for selling it. My brother bought an ‘03 and the fuel pump and some other components failed the minute he made a left off the dealers lot. He traded that in an ‘05 and the fuel pump on that one went within 15k. It is what it is, fix your issues and move on or sell it and purchase another one. Or don’t. There is nobody on this forum that can tell you if you bought a needy unit but the reality of the situation is you are purchasing 20+ yr old vehicles and shit is going to start happening, lucky for you all of the problems you may or may not encounter have been documented and fixes are posted right behind the documented issues…99.99% of the time.
Personally I would keep your current ‘04 and fix whatever pops up, do all of your maintenance items and say a little prayer.
My opinion. Good luck.

Thank you for taking the time to document your experience and advice. I’ll keep relying on this forum for fixes and help.

 

[savagetek]

This.^^^^
Not trying to jinx you--But--has the transmission been replaced or repaired by the former owner? The transmission usually starts to give warning signs right around 160k. They've been known to go past that though. Is there a service history on the transmission itself? Fluid and filter changes at the recommended intervals?

I will need to investigate these further. I would it is original with regular fluid and filter changes.

 

[savagetek]

savagetek,
1) Sounds like it's fixed. Good.
2) Sounds like it's fixed, and you won't have the same problem again. Better.
3) Sounds like it's fixed. Good.
4) Body control module bullschidt would twist my nuts too, I get it. Hope this works.
5) Sounds like a new MAF will fix it. If not, it's likely a wiring issue; hopefully wiring was ruled out prior.
Murphy lives on my shoulder. I always make sure old @$$ wiring is not the problem before replacing stuff.
6) I've the same problem. Gonna check to be sure it's not a symptom of a bigger problem, but so long as the rear view mirror part of the rear view mirror works, it's not worth losing sleep or wasting analgesics on it.
7) Unless you've been in accidents where the Stability Control System has saved you at least $1000, you likely drive with enough wisdom and considerate observation, that this is not urgent.

So long as the problems aren't potentially symptoms of larger problems, you are still leagues ahead of anyone who spent a year's gross salary on a new vehicle.

This forum might even help you predict what could go wrong next, so you'll be less surprised.
(Wild guess: coolant quick connects?)
Start thinking like a cabdriver who wants to keep it for at least 300,000 miles.
Appreciate that the seller sold it for the reasons above, plan ahead, and you'll come out so far ahead, you may lose sight of yourself.

Thank you , love this advice, I’m going to keep plugging away

 

[savagetek]

if you plan on keeping it and working on it yourself a tech2 is your best investment

I’ve begun researching what it would take to obtain a Tech 2. Now it seems that I have a lot of homework to do regarding the tech2 because it appears there’s a lot of alternatives. I’ve researched online and prices on the tech2 range from $300 - $1500. Do you happen to have a link or a suggestion of where to purchase one with the exact set up? I need for my Yukon?

 

[ivin74]

on the gmt800's service stability is often related the steering angle sensor in the steering column

X2, I replaced my twice