AFM Lifter Failure Average Mileage?

[Sam Harris]

the issue is hypercycling of the v4 mode... it's most likely because of sludge build up from lack of oil changes that causes the failure i thought mine was failing but it's just an exhaust leak you can really smell it on startup outside of the SUV

I get P0420/430 in the winter time ..i'm going to start running AFM again because of gas prices 26-28mpg is better then getting 23

There have been a number of cases where new owners have had the lifter failures very early in the life of the vehicle. (As in, a couple thousand miles, less in some cases ex: 600 miles) I’m not saying sludge buildup is not a contributing factor, but it’s definitely not the only one. You can’t say the AFM lifters will not fail as long as you use proper OCI, and good filters.

 

[Marky Dissod]

You can’t say the AFM lifters will not fail as long as you use proper OCI, and good filters.

It's far too late to ask:
'How long would they have lasted if V4 mode had been disabled before the engine had a chance to use V4 mode?'

Also, again, there's no reliable way to compare oil filters in terms of their ability to reliably filter out whatever gets stuck in V4 mode lifters - and I think oil filter companies prefer it that way.

Step 1:
Disable V4 mode as soon as possible.

Step 2:
Delete V4 mode hardware as soon as possible.

Everything else is speculation and/or conjecture, even if based on learning from the bad experiences of the unlucky.

 

[BG1988]

There have been a number of cases where new owners have had the lifter failures very early in the life of the vehicle. (As in, a couple thousand miles, less in some cases ex: 600 miles) I’m not saying sludge buildup is not a contributing factor, but it’s definitely not the only one. You can’t say the AFM lifters will not fail as long as you use proper OCI, and good filters.

friction

 

[Marky Dissod]

There have been a number of cases where new owners have had the lifter failures very early in the life of the vehicle.
(As in, a couple thousand miles, less in some cases ex: 600 miles.)
I’m not saying sludge buildup is not a contributing factor, but it’s definitely not the only one.
You can’t say the AFM lifters will not fail as long as you use proper OCI, and good filters.

Step 2:
Delete V4 mode hardware as soon as possible.

May I rephrase?
Step 2:
Replace V4 mode hardware with V8 hardware as soon as possible.

To clarify:
The V4 mode lifters' added physical complexity is not as hardy as otherwise equivalent V8 lifters.
Even with superior oil filtration lubrication and crankcase ventilation
AND
Even with V4 mode disabled
V4 mode lifters due to their design, cannot last as long or withstand the same abuse as V8 lifters.

My gut feeling is GM looked at how long their V8s used to (tend to) last, wondered,
'how do we get these engines to stop lasting in excess of 250,000 miles on average?'
and the answer was V4 mode.
Follow up with a less-than-robust V4 lifter built by the lowest bidder(s) ...

Don't forget Step 1 - just don't stop there, either.

 

[finston]

My 2018 yukon 6.2 lifters failed at 70k miles. Good luck to you.

 

[MobileHomie]

My 2018 yukon 6.2 lifters failed at 70k miles. Good luck to you.

Just shy of 63,000 for my '17 6.2 Yukon.
The .gov mandates fuel efficiency numbers for auto makers and GM chose cylinder deactivation with a poor valvetrain design to accomplish this.
The fact of the matter is most new vehicle buyers are buying a new rig every year, so they are happy to take thier depriciation and tax write off and buy another. GM and other auto makers are fine with this. Mr Second Owner (myself and others here) are left to deal with the tender bits of the valvetrain. I am quite happy with the AFM delete and stage 1 cam. I decided I wanted to keep the full size SUV and V-8 configuration, all auto makers are going this way with V-8s. Didn't GM brick the ECUs for the '21 and up?
I have a street/strip car that makes 490 hp at the rear wheels on the dyno. The valvetrain on that car is stout!

 

[SpyShops212]

I had lifter failure at 79k on my 2018 Escalade last fall. I am not the original owner. I bought my Escalade with 48k. I am thinking the previous owner changed the oil when the DIC said too. I can say that changing the oil at >20% will help. I didn’t use Dexos 1 gen 2 or 3 when I did my oil changes. After I changed my passenger side lifters due to failure I am only using Dexos 1. I plan on using Mobile 1 moving forward. When I got my receipt from the dealer I noticed that they used an updated VLOM. I have seen members using the range AFM or similar and still having lifter failure. If I was to purchase another k2xx I would replace the VLOM right away. I was lucky that my engine or camshaft was not ruined.

 

[Redfish5050]

I had lifter failure at 79k on my 2018 Escalade last fall. I am not the original owner. I bought my Escalade with 48k. I am thinking the previous owner changed the oil when the DIC said too. I can say that changing the oil at >20% will help. I didn’t use Dexos 1 gen 2 or 3 when I did my oil changes. After I changed my passenger side lifters due to failure I am only using Dexos 1. I plan on using Mobile 1 moving forward. When I got my receipt from the dealer I noticed that they used an updated VLOM. I have seen members using the range AFM or similar and still having lifter failure. If I was to purchase another k2xx I would replace the VLOM right away. I was lucky that my engine or camshaft was not ruined.

Apologize for asking, but what is k2xx and VLOM?

 

[wjburken]

Apologize for asking, but what is k2xx and VLOM?

K2XX is the generation of vehicle. 2015 thru 2020.

VLOM I believe stands for Valve Lifter Oil Manifold. It is basically the valley cover but it has valves that turn on or off oil pressure to the AFM lifters causing them to extend and make the cylinder active, or collapse and not open the valves. It’s all tied in with AFM (Active Fuel Management) which allows the vehicle to switch between V-8 mode and V-4 mode.