Upgraded from a 2008 Denali to a 2009 Eski

We've owned our Denali XL AWD since ’14. The focus was catching the missed maintenance while under a service contract for the next four years. When something lit the DIC or made a noise, nothing was a surprise anymore. The itch to make changes to the lighting and tires was getting louder. While looking for current market value I noticed SoCal is currently in short supply or 1-3 owner 07-09 NNBS Denali XL but TX is prime and also for Burb’s and ESV.

Saw that it was possible to pick up an Eski AWD in TX for the same as a Denali XL AWD in CA. Stumbled on a unicorn 09 Platinum with the Hella designed led headlamps for $15k. Laid out a deposit, called an independent inspector for $169 and the deal was done for $14K. Since '09, $70K fell off in depreciation. We're the 3rd owner of this Eski @ 130 clicks. On the Denali, we're the 2nd owner @ 140 clicks. In six years we put 40K mi on the Denali. It made sense to swap the vehicles, there's no way I could of pulled off adding every feature and option a Platinum is spec'd with.

The Denali is being sold to a friend who I promised would get 1st dibs when the day came. Monday it's getting the roof painted to cure GM’s famous black paint clear coat failure, then a full detail. Once it’s complete, I’ll post both of em up like an old bar pic for Dewar’s.




Here’s the new addition …

petethepug said:

We've owned our Denali XL AWD since ’14. The focus was catching the missed maintenance while under a service contract for the next four years. When something lit the DIC or made a noise, nothing was a surprise anymore. The itch to make changes to the lighting and tires was getting louder. While looking for current market value I noticed SoCal is currently in short supply or 1-3 owner 07-09 NNBS Denali XL but TX is prime and also for Burb’s and ESV.

Saw that it was possible to pick up an Eski AWD in TX for the same as a Denali XL AWD in CA. Stumbled on a unicorn 09 Platinum with the Hella designed led headlamps for $15k. Laid out a deposit, called an independent inspector for $169 and the deal was done for $14K. Since '09, $70K fell off in depreciation. We're the 3rd owner of this Eski @ 130 clicks. On the Denali, we're the 2nd owner @ 140 clicks. In six years we put 40K mi on the Denali. It made sense to swap the vehicles, there's no way I could of pulled off adding every feature and option a Platinum is spec'd with.

The Denali is being sold to a friend who I promised would get 1st dibs when the day came. Monday it's getting the roof painted to cure GM’s famous black paint clear coat failure, then a full detail. Once it’s complete, I’ll post both of em up like an old bar pic for Dewar’s.




Here’s the new addition …

Click to expand...

That's a good looking truck... fastest color too... lol

I popped in the Navi DVD before I drove off last week and got "unable to read disc", red light on OnStar and no XM service. Phwttt!

Ironicly the (unknown to me at the time) orig selling dealer was 20 minutes down the road at Central Houston Caddie. One of the Service Techs dropped everything and had a tech look at it and determine it was likely an antenna issue as well as the Navi disc laser head since the BT still worked. Bought that guy lunch since he did all that in 20 min for no charge.

The supernav in the 09 can be serviced for about 2-$3h and a new antenna can be repaired / replaced while it's apart. It's all easy, youTube video stuff. The good news is, it's upgrade time when it's apart. Going the route Jpatton went on adding a Crux A2DP BT streaming module & smartphone mirroring.

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/adding-crux-bluetooth-streaming-to-an-08-with-navigation.104513/

https://www.cruxinterfacing.com/listings/bts-gm1x/#features

http://www.cruxinterfacing.com/listings/wvi-x/

http://www.cruxinterfacing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/BTS-GM1X-MANUAL.pdf

Oh yea, the truck locked up in park yesterday!?! Ten minutes on the interwebs and it points to the brake light switch. Yup, brake lights were out. Replaced the switch and all's back to normal. The NBS trucks can be shifted out of park to N on the first notch with key on. They can then be shifted into D. NNBS wont have that. The Denali might though.

Nice!! Having a independent inspector come out was excellent idea!

Well done sir

Miami-Dade said:

Nice!! Having a independent inspector come out was excellent idea!

Click to expand...

The inspector was an idea I mentioned to salesperson. That 7 year veteran salesperson reached out to a former customer who was the actual inspector. After I got his number, had a 10 minute conversation about him grinding the dealer on his used purchase, I bought in. The $169 inspection yielded almost another 7%/$1k off previous reduced price. That smokes any helpful Honda people commercial for random a selfless act of kindness.

The Honda dealer in El Paso did hook me up though. As suspected, the peeling chrome clad on the 22's was making the tires leak. One of them was in the low 30's before heading back to Cali and I was stuck w/o a pressure gauge. The Honda dude had me pull into the quick lube bay alignment rack like I had an appointment. Two tech's came out pull the pressure stats off the door jamb, set four independent pressure hoses and inflated all four tires simultaneously. They added four valve stem caps I was missing too. I miss Texas already. Grits at the breakfast buffet, 93 octane gas that's a buck cheaper, beautiful open range, 80mph speed limits and damn nicest people around.

Pete, I keep losing air on my RR with the 22's and brand new tires (last Nov.) About 4-5 lbs a night....

Does not lose when driving.

Nice Esky btw

I hope your drive to Commiefornia was uneventful....

Yup, exact same sitch on the f/r 22’. 5-6 lb nightly or sometimes, only 1 or 2. The one thing I did miss about Cali was that the Highway Patrol isn’t allowed to use radar on the interstates.

It’s also one of the only states that doesn’t rate your insurance rates on your credit score or allow them to sell you “rate guard” protection so one ticket or accident raises your rates 2-3x.

Rate guard can’t be sold in Cali because it’s illegal. Cali doesn’t allow the insurance Co. to raise ur rates instantly. Allstate and Progressive got popped for selling rate guard in Cali, twice.

None of that stopped me from getting a ticket in TX though. Those TX 80 MPH speed limits come with the possibility of an instant 2 points to your license when you exceed it. Already looking forward to a family road trip down south when all the Corona & lime stuff clears up.


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Wish the platinum came with the dual exhaust bumper like the premium.


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That's funny, I always thought it was a Platinum option for dual exhaust. Good to be in the know now. I'm still kicking myself for not having the insurance replace a dual exhaust on our 08 Yukon XL when "Mr. I'm in a hurry pants" backed into it. It would of a been a really nice offset to have AAA pay for the dual exhaust set up vs. the factory bumper cover.

It looks like my buddy who was going to get 1st dibs on our 08 Denali XL AWD is going to back out of the deal. It's literally waiting for him to pick it up but he's been dragging his heels for almost two months. I've listed it to get him motivated and he's just being himself … procrastinator. That Denali is good to go and there's nothing else to fiddle with. Somebody's going to be really stoked having almost $18K in parts and labor soaked into a 2008 truck thanks to a service contract and insurance.






So, I'm turning Corona Virus time into a bucket of Coronita time.




There's issues with the Super Nav, OnStar and the XM radio. It's related to the antenna for the XM radio. When a storm hits, extreme saturation in the antenna cuts communication with the receiver. The OnStar is also red lit on the mirror, but still up and active. I've done a little homework and discovered the typical fix for the all three have some huge upgrade potential.

SuperNav ...

The Esky supernav with XM radio traffic built in the system have a known failure in the laser that reads the disc. Repair is 1-$2h to have it sent out. GM retired DVD nav disc updates in 2016 so they're becoming a very plentiful dinosaur now. GM did a late model year upgrade in 12, 13 & 14. The NNBS Esky Navi got an SD card based Navi unit. They omitted the 6 CD changer and replaced it with a SD card drive for Navi data. Those are part # 22832453, 22832457, 23140541 & 22987549.

With entirely too much downtime I scored a Super nav off eBay for $360. The refurb shops online get up to $1.9K for them. As soon as it arrives, it's being sent to Factory Radio Service & Repair in Rancho Cucamonga here in Cali. These late model radio are equipped with a USB input at the back of the unit that can be routed to the center console or in the console storage box. That means direct control from the display for Pandora, iPod etc. with simultaneous charging. It also mean a Bose A2DP streaming device can be plugged in to the same USB port.

OnStar VCIM upgrade …

Our 09 Esky has the first year BT built into the OnStar VCIM. That's all wonderful until you realize that in 2011/12 GM adds Remote Link allowing access to …

• GPS location of your vehicle via the phone.

• Remote start of the vehicle via the phone.

• Directions sent to the DIC (vs. calling OnStar) via the phone.

• Lock / Unlock vehicle via the phone.

• (Amazon Key) Prime deliveries placed in your vehicle.

• Diagnostic Report on phone App live via the phone (vs having to call in).

• Lock/Unlock, remote start/stop, horn & lights on/off via the phone.

• Oil life % count down, Fuel gauge, Fuel range & TPMS read out via the phone.

I updated another older post on the parts needed to upgrade a >2011 VCIM to a <2011 vehicle

here … https://www.cadillacforums.com/thre...activation-tech-2.272136/page-3#post-17821528

XM Radio …

The cure to the bad signal to XM is going to be the antenna. There's three different versions that have one, two or three harness plugs. I'm pretty sure that the 09 & 10 NNBS trucks got antenna with three plugs because none of the OnStar, GPS, Cell, XM or diversity antenna wires had been combined yet. The diversity antenna is in the passenger side cargo glass that looks like defrost laminate wires.




Not sure which harness connector goes on our 09 Esky # 25815079 (above)



Or this version # 25814089 (above). I'm putting my money on this one.

The Kicker …

One of the biggest things that got me to purchase a Platinum was that GM put a leather dash on the truck. History showed the 07-09 Esky had held up and had not cracked. Surprise! The upper trim panel of the dash was cracked to all hell when I got it. Fortunately there were still a few of these laying around in cocoa brown.



It's GM Part # 23224736 for Cocoa. The best deal I found was $263.99 shipped free off fleabay. All the other suppliers wanted another $50-$75 for shipping. the local dealer was over $400 w/o tax. On the original part the n the truck, the grain and finish of the part makes it look like the TX sun melted it or it's aftermarket.




YouTube videos showed installers who pried up this part from the middle and worked outward to gain access to the GPS antenna mounted underneath. One look at the edges of this part and you can see that the A pillar trim is mounted on top of this part. I wonder if someone yanking on it without pulling the A pillars is what cracked it in half on my truck. It worked out well that the A pillar trim has to come off in order to access the roof antenna. This will be a breeze to install at the same time.

The budget blow so far ….

$40.00 >2011 LG OnStar VCIM w/ GM Remote Link
$10.76 Fakra wye splitter for VCIM BT antenna shipped
$98.66 Bose Old Skool USB A2DP Music BT Model 418048
$407.90 Esky Super Nav w/ tax & shipping
$125.00 to VIN match Super Nav to truck
$263.99 Upper Dash Panel

$946.31 as the initial investment so far, plus the $100 to have a brake light switch installed that stranded me right next to our Denali. Most of the repairs will be OEM+ Upgrades. The internet wins again on used automobile ownership.