2021 Denali - lifter replaced now camshaft

[DangIt]

I too have been wondering if cams might start showing up as a problem on trucks that have had lifter failures. It *should* be SOP to inspect the camshaft lobes for damage when a lifter fails, which is difficult/impossible to fully assess when the camshaft is still in the engine. When a lifter fails, it hammers the cam lobes and causes damage (see pic below of what a cam damaged by a failing lifter looks like). While the cam will likely still function for an unknowable period of time, it will not last as long as one that has not suffered damage. The good news in your case is that your damage was bad enough to cause audible symptoms leading to GM replacing the cam, but that will not always be the case and cam failures on the rest of the fleet that suffered lifter problems is only a matter of time.

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This is exactly what I’m worried about with my Tahoe. I had my lifters replaced (both banks) at approximately 7000 miles. Allegedly there was no damage to any other components. Allegedly they inspected with a fiber optic camera, though no evidence of this was ever shown to me. I am particularly skeptical of the representation that nothing else was damaged due to the fact that I started noticing what was later determined to be a lifter issue at approximately 4000 miles. I brought it in the first time around 4500 miles. Point being, I drove my Tahoe with bad lifters for approximately 3000 miles, and there is supposedly NO damage to any other engine components?!?! Seems far-fetched. I have not experienced any noticeable sounds or performance issues since getting my Tahoe back (yet), including two trips to the mountains involving miles of low-gear climbing, though I am just waiting for the issues to start again or for some other issue (like cams) to surface. I have no faith in the long-term reliability of the vehicle. Sucks, because I love everything about it, but reliability is a deal-breaker. I also don’t like being lied to about everything else being okay, when that is at best a hopeful guess to cover up the techs failure to actually inspect. Sounds like the original poster got the same treatment. Just waiting to be in the same boat, as the immediate poster pointed out, at “an unknowable time.”

 

[Amyo]

Update- think we are going to buy a BMW. Love the Yukon but can’t deal with the uncertainty of this particular vehicle. In the buy back process with GMC but they will undoubtedly offer us what we paid minus depreciation while BMW will give us almost $3,000 more than what we paid for a trade in.

 

[Gibby13]

I wish there was another large SUV as an option. Even the Expedition is smaller.

 

[swathdiver]

Update- think we are going to buy a BMW. Love the Yukon but can’t deal with the uncertainty of this particular vehicle. In the buy back process with GMC but they will undoubtedly offer us what we paid minus depreciation while BMW will give us almost $3,000 more than what we paid for a trade in.

Well, you could put your faith in the Lord and not in some hunk of metal? Who says the Beamer is any better? Not in my experience, ever.

 

[Amyo]

We have owned BMWs for 10 years. We just bought an X3. Not one problem in all that time so that’s our experience. I’m sorry you have not had a similar one. I was just letting other owners know what was happening with our buyback.

 

[Quark]

We have owned BMWs for 10 years. We just bought an X3. Not one problem in all that time so that’s our experience. I’m sorry you have not had a similar one. I was just letting other owners know what was happening with our buyback.

I was seriously looking at the 540i but no one will budge on price. I know it's a sedan but I have an older Tahoe that I've decided to keep since seeing the current offering. Also looking at the CT5 V which I can get at discount drive it a couple of years and see if the market changes.

 

[Amyo]

We sent the lemon law letter to GMC and have been talking back and forth. They mentioned a component coverage letter that is supposed to be transferable. We do not intend to do a buyback with them since they are offering way less than another dealer for another manufacturer. Will accepting this component coverage letter negatively or positively affect my trade in value? We just want to make sure accepting this letter is not a mistake. I can’t find anything on the web or here aboit this.

 

[wsteele]

We sent the lemon law letter to GMC and have been talking back and forth. They mentioned a component coverage letter that is supposed to be transferable. We do not intend to do a buyback with them since they are offering way less than another dealer for another manufacturer. Will accepting this component coverage letter negatively or positively affect my trade in value? We just want to make sure accepting this letter is not a mistake. I can’t find anything on the web or here aboit this.

I just bought a 6.2L 2021 Sierra AT4. Before I bought it I talked to my service guy at the dealership I have been using for years with my Yukon.

He stated from his experience the lifter problems are ongoing. He said it isn’t a large percentage of the fleet but the ones that exhibit the lifter failure do have an unacceptably higher percentage of repeat failures. He said if you go in for a repeat lifter failure, and you ask, GM will extend the powertrain portion to 100K miles. In his experience, the first failures occur before the first 10K miles and if it repeats, it usually does before 20K miles.

Clearly the biggest issue right now is supply chain woes making repair parts scarce and repair time’s unacceptably long.

I have my fingers crossed that if I do experience lifter issues, by that time, parts will be easier to come by.

He did say they are no longer doing partial repairs, but now replacing all the lifters in the engine, even if it is a single failure.

He also said he believes some of the problems may be related to recommended oil change intervals and the thin oil that is spec’ed by GM. He told me if my new truck was his, he would change the oil and filter at 1.5K and 3K and then use 5K intervals after that, and so I will.

 

[Amyo]

Thank you for your information. For us , think the extended warranty doesn’t help if we can’t take the car on a trip because we might be stranded. At 6000 miles we have been without it for over 60 days due to the supply chain issue you mentioned

We may have kept the Yukon ( it’s a nice car) if GM had offered to replace. They did not. Fingers crossed for you too! Hope you have zero issues.

 

[wsteele]

Thank you for your information. For us , think the extended warranty doesn’t help if we can’t take the car on a trip because we might be stranded. At 6000 miles we have been without it for over 60 days due to the supply chain issue you mentioned

We may have kept the Yukon ( it’s a nice car) if GM had offered to replace. They did not. Fingers crossed for you too! Hope you have zero issues.

I understand. I think here, the 60 days would trigger the lemon law criteria.

I may end up regretting this purchase, time will tell. I have had very good luck with “warranty” consideration from GM. My 2007 at 95K required all new pistons and rings due to the factors outlined in the AFM oil consumption TSB for that model year. GM covered all of the parts and a piece of the labor. I think the dealer does make a difference. My guys have been fabulous, something I don’t hear all the time on these boards.

Anyway, best of luck going forward. If I didn’t have my Yukon to drive, I might be a little less sanguine.