Any engine failures at 60K+ miles?

[VAguy68]

So I've surpassed the 60K mark and I'm out of powertrain warranty. I hope I'm not jinxing myself here but I've not had the dreaded lifter issue. I'm hoping I'm past initial failure mileage. I really like this truck and wanted to hear if there have been any higher mileage failures.

 

[Fireman591]

The 5.3 and 6.2 can bend a push rod at any mileage as long as the DFM is active.

 

[tom3]

One good thing is that you can do whatever you want and not worry about voiding the warranty.

 

[Seamus]

It will fail at some point. We all knew that with the LS motors, and alot of us did preventive maintenance when the miles got up there or one failed. But there were only 4 in there and failure rate was lower. Seems with 16 of them the rate is just higher. Problem is it wasnt a problem to have a tuner delete the system and just use standard lifters as a replacement. After that you qwere bulletproof. I dont know anyone tuning the new trucks who could do a delete??

 

[Geotrash]

It will fail at some point. We all knew that with the LS motors, and alot of us did preventive maintenance when the miles got up there or one failed. But there were only 4 in there and failure rate was lower. Seems with 16 of them the rate is just higher. Problem is it wasnt a problem to have a tuner delete the system and just use standard lifters as a replacement. After that you qwere bulletproof. I dont know anyone tuning the new trucks who could do a delete??

Just a slight correction for clarity: There were 8 collapsible lifters in the AFM engines since 2007 on the 5.3, and since 2009 on the 6.2, and the mode switching was relatively infrequent compared to the current DFM motors, which have 16 of them and is more frequently shutting down individual cylinders.

And you're 100% correct that prior to this generation of engine, it was possible to swap in conventional lifters and tune the DFM out. But now GM has encrypted the ECM so strongly that no one has broken it yet without GM's permission (e.g. Hennessy), so owners are effectively stuck with a ticking time bomb, literally, with no way to defuse it.

Collapsible lifter failures could happen in the AFM engines at any time, from new to 300K+ miles, depending on oil change frequency, driving habits, etc. We see lots of failures on these pages in the GMT900 (Gen IV engines) up to 200K and beyond. I see no reason to believe that the same won't be true of the DFM engines as they use the same lifters and similar actuating mechanisms. In fact, I would wager that the probability of failure is at least 2x that of the AFM engines plus any additional multiplier for switching frequency for each lifter vs the AFM engines. It's likely that lifter failure will be the #1 cause of death for these trucks as they age.

The ONLY way that I would buy one of these trucks new is if someone offers a way to delete the DFM system and replace the collapsible lifters with conventional ones once the warranty is up. I did this in my 2012 6.2 and no longer live in fear. It's great peace of mind.

 

[MrMonte]

My son bought a used 2015 Yukon Denali with 110K miles 1 owner with full service records and oil changes avg around 8K miles. While on the lift doing full inspection & shock replacement he had the dreaded lifter failure.

My 2018 Yukon Denali has 75K miles with oil changes every 5K miles but also has AFM turned off.

 

[gfleck]

So I've surpassed the 60K mark and I'm out of powertrain warranty. I hope I'm not jinxing myself here but I've not had the dreaded lifter issue. I'm hoping I'm past initial failure mileage. I really like this truck and wanted to hear if there have been any higher mileage failures.

My 2003 yukon xl denali has just 140k miles. engine stills purrs like a kitten. recently replaced the throttle body assembly due to worn spot on the throttle position sensor.

 

[houstontaylor]

My 2003 Tahoe made to 290,000 miles before the engine suddenly started to guzzle oil. Then I replaced it with a remanufactured one in 2020. Now at 330,000 miles.

 

[CrazyRaider]

My 2018 Tahoe with 5.3L had catastrophic engine failure at 67k miles just outside the powertrain warranty. Low oil pressure indicator light, occurred on a road trip. Followed service schedule to manufacture recommendations. Pulled vehicle over right away when it occurred, let it rest for 45 min hoping it was a sensor, dipstick showed not low on oil. Restarted with heavy knock. Had it towed to nearest Chevy dealer and service department identified issue as broken rod bearing and that engine needed to be replaced.

This occurred in July 2022 and Tahoe has been in shop ever since waiting for a replacement engine. In November I received an update that there were 2000 on backorder and I was about #1000 on list, GM was slotted to get first round of inventory in December if first 100. Was told i should expect mine sometime in Q4 of 2023.

No loaner and still making payments on GM Financial loan and auto insurance on a car that is dead. The only light at the end of this story is I was able to persuade GM to cover it under the powertrain warranty. Originally dealer tried to bill me $14k for parts and labor.

 

[luvHarleys]

A