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.

 

[Vinmega]

Thank you both for the reply and the welcome. I got this for the wife. Good mix of highway and local for her.
I am going to run 0w-40 which is good prevention.

(funny thing is on my Benz I had to go to 0w-40 to end a valve tick that 5w-30 was causing)

I put the range disabler on today (took like 10 mins to install) but have not driven it yet.
How can I find the engine build date? The oil smells a little gassey and is factory oil.
Thanks!

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

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.

So what other option do we have regarding getting the engine up to temp? Ain’t nobody gonna wait 30 minutes for their engine to full warm up in their driveway before leaving.

 

[jfoj]

@Vinmega

Does not surprise me that the oil might smell a bit like fuel on a new vehicle. The engine has never been fully warmed up since it was built. The start up and test at final assembly, and the multiple starts in the storage lot before loading on the transporter and the multiple starts around the dealer, a short trip to a local gas station to full the tank, all have never fully warmed the engine up.

Would be a great test to pull and oil sample from some of the brand new vehicles to check fuel dilution in the oil. Best to get the vehicle and drive it at least 45 minutes continuous and try to get on the highway for at least 15 minutes. When I purchased my vehicle it had 8 miles on it. The dealer was 50 miles from where I live and all but about 8 miles was highway, so the first drive was clearly enough to warm up the engine and engine oil well. The bulk of my driving is either minimum 30 minute plus round trips, or I start the engine and drive 2 1/2 hours to 6 hours straight at a time.

Not sure if there is a way to disable the remote start feature in the settings on the Infotainment system, but try to break the wife from using the Remote Start feature regularly. Start the engine, allow the RPM to drop down, 20-30 seconds depending on temp, then drive is the best thing you can do.

Make sure the wife tries to not run a bunch of short 5-10 minute trips without getting on the highway fairly often. Change the oil by the 50% OLM indicator.

Good luck and enjoy, you are starting out doing the best you can to protect the engine.

 

[jfoj]

@DontTaseMeBro

Whoa, DO NO WARM THE ENGINE UP IN THE DRIVEWAY, this is what I am trying to caution every about, this is the worse thing you can do for an engine. Start the engine, allow the RPM to drop, usually 20-30 seconds depending on outside temp, put the vehicle in gear and drive.

The engine and engine oil will warm up quicker while driving when compared to idle. The point I was making about 30 minute drives, is it take the engine oil at least 30 minutes driving to even even match the engine coolant temperature depending on the outside temperature. I have data for 50F outside temps, the oil warm up time may be quicker at higher outside temps, I am waiting for the weather to change to gather that data and will post it at some point.

Look over the graphs and comments in this link - Engine And Oil Temp Info