My 2015 Yukon XL Journey

Dear forum members, long time reader, first time poster. I figured I would share my experience on my 2015 Yukon with all the members. I hope this information will assist others when purchasing a used Yukon and what maybe to expect. For the most part, the experience has been well, and I would not hesitate to buy another one. One caveat, at some point the dealer and or GM will not fix stuff and you will need to investigate and manage it yourself. Unfortunately life these days.

Cost of ownership-issues:

• 2015 GMC Yukon Denali XL, brand new with all options during that time– March 2015 build.
• Current Mileage, 98k
• K & N air intake at 15k
• Installed luggage rack rails, not sure if this helped with buffeting issues, I didn’t seem to have them, until now.
• Installed a Range programmer at 20k miles, until I broke it, really bad place for the OB port.
• Currently running Diablo tune- best thing I could have done to this truck; I recommend for anyone having this truck and opening the performance and taking care of the dreaded AFM.
• New battery at 50k probably ready for another
• Full service-dealer, ALL fluids 40k
• New Tranny @15k miles, due to shifting and clunking issues. No issues now- except at 65k miles has a slight delay when going into reverse, dealer says to switch over to new fluid, still an issue.
• New AC coil 60k, AC leak in system, known issue with GM. looking forward to rear lines failing, another known issue.
• New radiator, 60k, pin hole leak due to plastic cracking, known issue – don’t buy aftermarket they don’t seem to fit. Lucky, I caught this during the winter, system didn’t advise on low fluid, I found out due to no heat in truck. This could have been very costly.
• Flush of Trans fluid at 60k due to one fitting at trans cooler not seated correctly, my fault. so another flush probably not a bad thing.
• New taillights at 30k miles, due to condensation and one light not working- known circuit board issue- later repaired by myself.
• Running board issues, intermittent issues when cold, ordered a new driver board motor, not installed yet. Need to lube every 6 months helps.
• Water leak at passenger floorboards, not AC or sunroof drain, there is an opening I can’t seem to find- still ongoing
• Center console latch replacement due to it being broken, 65k miles
• New rear gate opening motor and new struts
• Rear lift gate latch, out at 75k miles, on my 3rd one, aftermarket went out in 8 months.
• All new shocks at 65k miles, aftermarket Magna ride from Amazon, holding up so far at 20k miles-rides amazing, did have front go out in 60 days, seller replaced. No issues so far.
• New sway bar links and bushings, OEM broke at 65k
• New taillights due to someone rear ended me, went with aftermarket, holding up well from amazon.
• Rear gate glass defrost tabs, ongoing issues. Dealer fixed once I have fixed 2x now. Permafrost is the best solution for cold solder perspective
• New rims- bought aftermarket snowflake due to damaging 2 OEM, 50k, DON’T EVER BUY, chased a vibration issue day one. . I chased this vibration problem for years and spend so much money. I went far as having the truck on a large 4 wheel lift and the tech running with wheels only, then with tires. so on. I thought it was the drive shaft then the torque converter. Finally, new OEM rims and tires, back on 75k, no issues runs smooth as silk, 100+ MPH, no problems.
• Damaged passenger drive shaft boot due to carelessness on cutting the sway link bushings.
• 4 sets of brakes, 2 due to dealer misdiagnosing a frozen caliper issue and not honoring warranty issue. Replaced both calipers at 50k. holding up well, flushed brake lines every time. Running Bosch rotors with standard pads from Orielly's. Ceramic seems to not hold up well under my driving conditions.
• Side door trim pieces, tabs are breaking off, I epoxy glue them back on holding up so far.
• Full Tune up with new wires at 95k miles, big difference in performance, new standard OEM plugs and wires.
• New belts at 95k
• Timely oil change at 5k miles, moderate towing

Next round of maintenance: approx. 100k

• All fluids, front, rear differential, transfer case, tranny, oil, coolant.
• Brakes at 115k, mid 2023, new with new fluid.
• New battery, AGM high capacity.
• Change out running board motor
• Inspect engine mounts, lube up components, etc.

Area of annoyance ongoing issues:

• Running boards
• Water on passenger side floorboard, YouTube video would indicate a hole in the fender area, this comes from a guy with a Sierra. Need to take entire fender off to see the hole.
• Fluttering/ Buffeting sound- never had it until now, I presume it’s the tires, running Michelin defenders. No issues from 0-20k, now some noise.
• Side door trim pieces coming apart again
• Rear defrost tabs will eventually break and need repaired again.
• Front radar seems to go off for no reason these days.
• Rear camera gets glitchy and reads camera unavailable. I think its the water in the floor boards shorting something out.
• Oil cooler lines leaking, need to replace them. This has been going on since 50k miles, progressively gotten worse.

Hitman said:

Dear forum members, long time reader, first time poster. I figured I would share my experience on my 2015 Yukon with all the members. I hope this information will assist others when purchasing a used Yukon and what maybe to expect. For the most part, the experience has been well, and I would not hesitate to buy another one. One caveat, at some point the dealer and or GM will not fix stuff and you will need to investigate and manage it yourself. Unfortunately life these days.

Cost of ownership-issues:

• 2015 GMC Yukon Denali XL, brand new with all options during that time– March 2015 build.
• Current Mileage, 98k
• K & N air intake at 15k
• Installed luggage rack rails, not sure if this helped with buffeting issues, I didn’t seem to have them, until now.
• Installed a Range programmer at 20k miles, until I broke it, really bad place for the OB port.
• Currently running Diablo tune- best thing I could have done to this truck; I recommend for anyone having this truck and opening the performance and taking care of the dreaded AFM.
• New battery at 50k probably ready for another
• Full service-dealer, ALL fluids 40k
• New Tranny @15k miles, due to shifting and clunking issues. No issues now- except at 65k miles has a slight delay when going into reverse, dealer says to switch over to new fluid, still an issue.
• New AC coil 60k, AC leak in system, known issue with GM. looking forward to rear lines failing, another known issue.
• New radiator, 60k, pin hole leak due to plastic cracking, known issue – don’t buy aftermarket they don’t seem to fit. Lucky, I caught this during the winter, system didn’t advise on low fluid, I found out due to no heat in truck. This could have been very costly.
• Flush of Trans fluid at 60k due to one fitting at trans cooler not seated correctly, my fault. so another flush probably not a bad thing.
• New taillights at 30k miles, due to condensation and one light not working- known circuit board issue- later repaired by myself.
• Running board issues, intermittent issues when cold, ordered a new driver board motor, not installed yet. Need to lube every 6 months helps.
• Water leak at passenger floorboards, not AC or sunroof drain, there is an opening I can’t seem to find- still ongoing
• Center console latch replacement due to it being broken, 65k miles
• New rear gate opening motor and new struts
• Rear lift gate latch, out at 75k miles, on my 3rd one, aftermarket went out in 8 months.
• All new shocks at 65k miles, aftermarket Magna ride from Amazon, holding up so far at 20k miles-rides amazing, did have front go out in 60 days, seller replaced. No issues so far.
• New sway bar links and bushings, OEM broke at 65k
• New taillights due to someone rear ended me, went with aftermarket, holding up well from amazon.
• Rear gate glass defrost tabs, ongoing issues. Dealer fixed once I have fixed 2x now. Permafrost is the best solution for cold solder perspective
• New rims- bought aftermarket snowflake due to damaging 2 OEM, 50k, DON’T EVER BUY, chased a vibration issue day one. . I chased this vibration problem for years and spend so much money. I went far as having the truck on a large 4 wheel lift and the tech running with wheels only, then with tires. so on. I thought it was the drive shaft then the torque converter. Finally, new OEM rims and tires, back on 75k, no issues runs smooth as silk, 100+ MPH, no problems.
• Damaged passenger drive shaft boot due to carelessness on cutting the sway link bushings.
• 4 sets of brakes, 2 due to dealer misdiagnosing a frozen caliper issue and not honoring warranty issue. Replaced both calipers at 50k. holding up well, flushed brake lines every time. Running Bosch rotors with standard pads from Orielly's. Ceramic seems to not hold up well under my driving conditions.
• Side door trim pieces, tabs are breaking off, I epoxy glue them back on holding up so far.
• Full Tune up with new wires at 95k miles, big difference in performance, new standard OEM plugs and wires.
• New belts at 95k
• Timely oil change at 5k miles, moderate towing

Next round of maintenance: approx. 100k

• All fluids, front, rear differential, transfer case, tranny, oil, coolant.
• Brakes at 115k, mid 2023, new with new fluid.
• New battery, AGM high capacity.
• Change out running board motor
• Inspect engine mounts, lube up components, etc.

Area of annoyance ongoing issues:

• Running boards
• Water on passenger side floorboard, YouTube video would indicate a hole in the fender area, this comes from a guy with a Sierra. Need to take entire fender off to see the hole.
• Fluttering/ Buffeting sound- never had it until now, I presume it’s the tires, running Michelin defenders. No issues from 0-20k, now some noise.
• Side door trim pieces coming apart again
• Rear defrost tabs will eventually break and need repaired again.
• Front radar seems to go off for no reason these days.
• Rear camera gets glitchy and reads camera unavailable. I think its the water in the floor boards shorting something out.
• Oil cooler lines leaking, need to replace them. This has been going on since 50k miles, progressively gotten worse.

Click to expand...

Did you do an oil catch can or did I miss it?
And which specific Diablo tune did you get? There seem to be quite a few different ones available. Thank you for taking time and posting this and putting a lot of effort into this.
Agree on running boards; I have the power retractable and do a wire brushing and lube at the pivot points every 6 months.

Welcome from NYC&Miami Beach!

Thank you for the write up on your 2015 Yukon XL.

markni12301 said:

Did you do an oil catch can or did I miss it?
And which specific Diablo tune did you get? There seem to be quite a few different ones available. Thank you for taking time and posting this and putting a lot of effort into this.
Agree on running boards; I have the power retractable and do a wire brushing and lube at the pivot points every 6 months.

Click to expand...

I never got around to the catch can, my case, I have not experienced any oil issues. As for the tune, it was the standard one that comes with the hand held programmer., looks like an I phone 3, I did to expert mode and played with the revs, trans shift points, which now its a beast, and the the speed limiter, turned it off. haha

Should have posted some pics of the ride, still happy! She has never let me down or left me stranded...

Great looking truck! Very detailed list as well! Hopefully she continues to serve!

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.

Hitman said:

I never got around to the catch can, my case, I have not experienced any oil issues.

Click to expand...

I haven't bothered with a catch can for the same reason as you. I just turned 143K miles today.

Awesome write-up. My 2015 Short Wheel Base has been a great truck. My neighbor had purchased it new and I upgraded from an ‘02 Tahoe to move to the K2XX 8-passenger hauler in 2020. Rear lift gate power strut, shocks and struts and as I type It’s in for the air ride compressor, and I had to do the trans (6-speed). That sucked but still cheaper than 70k for a new Yuke. I’d like to smooth out my ride which I’ve always blamed on the optional 22” rims. I’m looking for the AT4 20” rim from a 2021-2022.
I wish it was the 6.2L that’s in the Denali, but would the Diablo Tune do much for the 5.3L?

I Will definitely be on the look-out for your posts in the future, but one other question for you and this great forum, is the seal for the upper oil pan a heavy grease that will eventually fail and leak out? I had a spot of it on my driveway after the truck sat for a week after the new trans.

I thought all 2015 Denalis came standard with the 6.2 as part of the Denali package