New 2024 Yukon XL Denali

[Vinmega]

Hi All,
New to the forum, but not new to GM.
I have a 2018 Suburban and just got a 2024 GMC Yukon XL Denali.
I see alot about the 6.2 and all the failures.
I have the range technologies device coming tomorrow that goes into the ECU (behind wheel well on driver side) and disables the stop start and DFM.
My question is, this motor has been made for ages.
Is the real issue the DFM crap?
My truck has 15 miles on the odometer and I am a maintenace hawk.
I plan on changing out engine oil at 1k miles and then again at 5k regular intervals.
I am really enjoying the 6.2, total upgrade from the 5.3
Also, is there no way to check the trans fluid other than getting under the car and opening the bolt on the back of the pan? No dipstick in this?

 

[blanchard7684]

No dipstick on trans. The fluid check isn't all that bad. What sucks though is the exhaust cross over right across the pan. It is a massive PITA to get pan off. Only thing that mitigates this is the gen 2 10 spd really seems to keep the fluid ice cold.

There is alot of discussion here in different threads about the nature of the 6.2 failures.

"bad batch of parts" seems to be running out of steam as a culprit because this issue is going on for years now and the bearings that fail are typically the front mains and connecting rods. It doesn't take an OEM years to figure out where the manufacturing defect is on engine parts.

Bearing failures started showing up in 2021.

There are some videos showing what the bearings look like and it appears to be overloading or incipient oil starvation.

Oil pump has changed from previous 6.2 and coincides with DFM. It is a two stage oil pump as before, but is a different part number. It is a vane type oil pump. The 5.3 and 6.2 have different oil control solenoids.

Some folks here are reporting that the 6.2 is frequently running at low rpm and high torque. With 0w20 this is an operating scenario that doesn't have much safety factor, to put it very mildly. This is a heavily loaded set of bearings. Other applications of the 6.2 specify 0w40. The failures on SUVs seems to be a bit higher than other applications that have lower curb weight.

The 5.3 has not had even a fraction of the failures. It operates at a bit higher rpms and has lower loading on the bearings.

The 5.3 bearings, crank, and rods are extremely similar. Main difference is the bore size.

Fuel dilution that is inherent on the DI engines is a major contributing factor.

Low speed preignition is also a background issue on DI engines that can put even more load on the bearings.

Throw in longer oil change intervals and some oil consumption and there is loss of any safety factor.

DFM likely makes the issue worse by putting a higher load on fewer bearings.

To complicate things there are a good number of failures before the first oil change, and some that are upwards of 20,000 miles.

This tells me that there isn't a single issue going on.

I haven't seen a failure yet that came from someone who changed oil at or before 5000 miles, had DFM disabled, and also used 5w-30 or 0w-40.

 

[jfoj]

Welcome to the 6.2l club.

For all the 6.2l owners that have "6.2l Range Anxiety", not how long between fill up, how long between engine failure, Suggestions for "Range Anxiety"

Only things I would suggest to change or do differently.

Change the oil at 500 miles, run 5W30 or 0W40 engine oil, add a JL Catch Can, probably the easiest and quickest to install.

Get a magnetic drain plug. Magnetic Drain Plug

Change the oil when the OLM hits 50% or around 3000 miles.

DO NOT start the engine and allow it to warm up, allow the RPM's to drop, 20-30 seconds, then drive the truck.

These engines take over 30 minutes to get the engine oil up to engine coolant temp at 50F ambient, I will hopefully have more data for higher ambient temps once the weather warms up. Short drives will kill these engines due to fuel dilution of the oil.

Enjoy otherwise as there is only so much you can do to counter potential failure, but maintenance and how the vehicle is used plays into this engine lifespan a lot.