2021 Yukon Denali Any Regrets

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NBonn21

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Greetings all, new to the forum.
Picked up our new Denali here in Toronto a month ago and love it so far but...

I cant help but get a pit in my gut thinking about the valve lifter issue that seems to be prevalent in the 5.3 and 6.2 engines. I know GM is producing 10's of thousands of these trucks each year and many seem not to have issues with the engine but is it a matter of time? There seems to be no manufacturing time frame of this issue that I can see. Apparently they came up with a fix for the broken valve springs some time ago. so that a positive.

From what I gather the issue stems from the Dynamic Fuel Management system and I tried looking for a DFM disabler but there seems to be nothing on the market for the SUV's only pickups.

Its a mixed bag of feelings with this new rig, I love everything about it including the 6.2 engine but there is always the thought of impending doom.

I know it has warranty but who wants to go down that road. Apparently GM not replacing all lifters anyways with some poor folks having repeat failures.

Fingers crossed good luck to all.
 

B520044

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Greetings all, new to the forum.
Picked up our new Denali here in Toronto a month ago and love it so far but...

I cant help but get a pit in my gut thinking about the valve lifter issue that seems to be prevalent in the 5.3 and 6.2 engines. I know GM is producing 10's of thousands of these trucks each year and many seem not to have issues with the engine but is it a matter of time? There seems to be no manufacturing time frame of this issue that I can see. Apparently they came up with a fix for the broken valve springs some time ago. so that a positive.

From what I gather the issue stems from the Dynamic Fuel Management system and I tried looking for a DFM disabler but there seems to be nothing on the market for the SUV's only pickups.

Its a mixed bag of feelings with this new rig, I love everything about it including the 6.2 engine but there is always the thought of impending doom.

I know it has warranty but who wants to go down that road. Apparently GM not replacing all lifters anyways with some poor folks having repeat failures.

Fingers crossed good luck to all.
Did you test drive an AT4 or SLT while shopping for your Denali? If so, are the Denali seats more comfortable/softer?

Thanks,
 
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NBonn21

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Did you test drive an AT4 or SLT while shopping for your Denali? If so, are the Denali seats more comfortable/softer?

Thanks,
No at the time of order they had no vehicles in stock,so didn’t even sit in one. Seats are a bit on firm side.
 

OR VietVet

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No at the time of order they had no vehicles in stock,so didn’t even sit in one. Seats are a bit on firm side.
I love the seats in my 2005. Every seat that I have sat in from 2007 and newer feel very hard to me. Uncomfortable and others here have said the same thing.
 

steiny93

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Its a mixed bag of feelings with this new rig, I love everything about it including the 6.2 engine but there is always the thought of impending doom.
Every vehicle has its own impending doom scenario, you need to trust warranty or sell it. No sense worrying about a maybe.

Personally, after being around the wife's 2021 denali I'm underwhelmed. I really like the baby diesel (way less noisy then the Ram's) and it is a large SUV. But in the camp of luxury I don't believe it matches up well against the competitors (BMW / Merc as examples). The ride / brakes / no active entry have left me wishing for an X7 as example.

I don't necessarily regret the purchase as the wife is happy, but in my opinion, for the money it isn't anywhere close to as 'luxury' as GM is targeting. But... the wife was in a 2019 Escalade previous, this 2021 has a better ride but worse brakes then the Caddy.
 

Holy Roller

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Every vehicle has its own impending doom scenario, you need to trust warranty or sell it. No sense worrying about a maybe.

Personally, after being around the wife's 2021 denali I'm underwhelmed. I really like the baby diesel (way less noisy then the Ram's) and it is a large SUV. But in the camp of luxury I don't believe it matches up well against the competitors (BMW / Merc as examples). The ride / brakes / no active entry have left me wishing for an X7 as example.

I don't necessarily regret the purchase as the wife is happy, but in my opinion, for the money it isn't anywhere close to as 'luxury' as GM is targeting. But... the wife was in a 2019 Escalade previous, this 2021 has a better ride but worse brakes then the Caddy.
Curious why you didn’t put her into a ‘21 Escalade?
 

TollKeeper

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From what I gather the issue stems from the Dynamic Fuel Management system and I tried looking for a DFM disabler but there seems to be nothing on the market for the SUV's only pickups.
The AFM/DFM has nothing to do with the lifter failure. It was a bad batch of products from a supplier.

That being said, I had a order for a Yukon Duramax, but had asked the dealer to hold off on the order until he got one in that I could test drive, since I had never sat in one, as none were available in my area.

On my way home from work 3 months ago, I pass a dealer, and I could see a Yukon XL Denali from the highway. I got off, and went to have a look. Hated the seats, hated the view out the windshield, hated the center console, loved the BabyDiesel.

I cancelled my order, and bought my Esky a month later. My only complaint about my 2006 Esky, its not nearly as comfortable as my 2000 Tahoe LT-AR.
 
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NBonn21

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I agree about the near luxury feel,not up to the price of the truck.

I love the truck but my biggest dissatisfaction is with the hard ,cheap scratchy lower door panels. Great job on the upper half but come on GM .
 

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