Would you buy your Yukon or Tahoe again?

[Matt Averett]

@Matt Averett , what generation are you considering buying?
I’m young(ish) lol and only on my 4th vehicle. So I’m not by any means experienced with the latest generation GMs, only what I’ve read and seen here in the world of TYF. I have quite a few regular clients of my auto detailing business that have the latest generation and they all are pretty happy. One of my good friends is a customer and traded in a 14 Lexus RX350 on a CPO 15 Yukon Denali and over all really likes it. It’s got some minor interior trim issues, but nothing major by any means.
My best friends parents own a 2015 Escalade esv. I believe this is like their 6th GM that they’ve owned and it’s spectauclar. I detail it often. Been on many road trips with them, all trouble free, and they always say, yup we are life time full size GM owners, even with two Ram diesels, a Ford super duty, and a Chevy topkick 4500 parked in the driveway. Lol. GM in my opinion builds a solid SUV, and I was doubtful after coming to GM after 2 extremely reliable dodges.

Thanks for the responses guys! I’m looking at likely an ‘18 Yukon Denali 4WD (new or CPO). Since it will be my daily driver, I would love to get one of the Ultimate Black editions.

 

[orchidcrazy]

Definitely!!!! I had an '03 Yukon XL for 11 years, put 190K ish miles on it. If i had taken care of the undercarriage (also in New England) I would have kept it. Best vehicle ever and up to that one, I was never one to keep a vehicle more than 2 - 3 years and I'm 53 so lots of cars in my life.

Traded it in on a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with a Hemi engine thinking with 2 kids in college, I was good to downsize - wrong! Didn't consider moving kids back and forth. I expected electrical issues with the Jeep since I had one previously, what I ended up with was non-stop engine issues. Jeep ran great on 4 cylinders but when it got into 8 it would limp, my sons 4 cylinder car drives better than it did. Was in the shop every 2 - 3 months the whole 2 - 3 years I had it. Chrysler was a nightmare to deal with. They had a series of about 4 years that they were making engine change changes and refused to acknowledge what was happening; since it happened with most all engine - it was labeled 'normal'.

Looked for a year to find an SLT loaded up with a bench but without a sunroof; bought mine with 31K miles and I am thrilled. My kids are 11 and 13 hours from home - what a great drive this beast is! Do I need the size - nope, but I love it! Gets far better gas mileage than my Jeep ever did. It's so comfortable for a long haul, I drove 13 hours door to door to pick up my daughter and wasn't wiped - its just comfy. I have my rear seat folded most of the time - I can now go to Costco and not have to put the middle seats down as I had to with my Jeep. The Jeep was all nose, little cargo and with the non-square rear, it really cut into what you could carry.

I have the 5.3L engine. Had one in my XL and we towed with it. Made staying within capacity challenging but we towed little, drove around town alot. I originally wanted the higher gears but when I found one without a sunroof, I jumped on it thinking again, I don't tow that much and if I tow again it would most likely be a lightweight for just hubby and I.

I specifically didn't want a Denali - not a fan of the grill, not a fan of the magnetic shocks they had on the years I was looking at, not a fan of the extra bells and whistles which to me are just more things to break. My wish list was the heated steering wheel, bench 2nd row, 20 inch wheels without a sunroof. I had to cave on the 20" wheels but I got everything else I wanted and the 18" ride quite nicely - just don't look as ballsy.

Folks complain about the Nav system - it's fine. Is it a Tesla? Nope. Folks complain about squeaks, rattles - it is a truck based SUV. My only gripe with my vehicle is that I can't use the steering wheel controls to search out the next radio station as I did with my Jeep. The steering wheels controls only bump through the preset stations - it's a small peeve to have to use my arm to reach the radio to search up or down. Also, my XM radio in my GC did not cut out as much as the Sirius XM radio in the Yukon.

 

[swathdiver]

My only gripe with my vehicle is that I can't use the steering wheel controls to search out the next radio station as I did with my Jeep. The steering wheels controls only bump through the preset stations

Use the "seek" button under the "source" button to go the next radio station or track or chapter. That is of course, if you have a GMT900, 2007-2014 truck!

 

[orchidcrazy]

Use the "seek" button under the "source" button to go the next radio station or track or chapter. That is of course, if you have a GMT900, 2007-2014 truck!

Call me stupid... but my steering wheel controls on the back of the steering wheel only advance through whatever stations I have preset - I can seek only using the radio buttons under the radio. What am I missing here? Mine is a '16.

 

[swathdiver]

Call me stupid... but my steering wheel controls on the back of the steering wheel only advance through whatever stations I have preset - I can seek only using the radio buttons under the radio. What am I missing here? Mine is a '16.

Not sure on yours, reread page 121 of your manual.

 

[orchidcrazy]

Not sure on yours, reread page 121 of your manual.

That covers cargo for my year but did find what my issue is - what I want is not an option on my '16 Yukon. Per page 7 of the infotainment manual, the steering wheel buttons control 'Favorites' (pre-selected stations) on the left rear of the steering wheel and 'volume'' on the right. I like to be able to just seek through stations be it Sirius XM or radio. When I am driving through different areas, I don't have pre-selected favorite stations for the areas I am in - only those around my home. So you have to 'seek' via the radio itself.

 

[08HoeCD]

To the OP:
If trouble-free reliability is important to you, then leaving Toyota to get into GM is a mistake. Yup, I said it.

I like my (older) Tahoe a lot and would buy it again, but I knew it would have small to moderate issues here & there, and I was prepared for that. I've always considered Toyotas more like appliances----they don't have much soul, so they are kinda boring. That's perfectly fine for lots of people, but I don't buy into driving boring cars/trucks. The upside is that Toyotas generally run perfectly and don't require excessive maintenance to run a long time that way.

 

[LTahoeFL]

Hey Matt. I would absolutely by my Tahoe again. I am on my third Tahoe in the last 20 years. In between I have had a Ford F150 and Dodge Durango, both for very short periods. In my opinion the Tahoe is far superior. Sounds to me like most complaints are about shady dealerships. BTW - I never buy new. All my Tahoes were used. Just like anything else, do your research and you will be prepared....

 

[Doubeleive]

I would and have bought another and will again when the time comes, I ran my first one over 300k and might on my 2nd one, Maintenance is important to do for any vehicle, I learned a long time ago if you don't take care of your car it wont take care of you.

 

[LTahoeFL]

That covers cargo for my year but did find what my issue is - what I want is not an option on my '16 Yukon. Per page 7 of the infotainment manual, the steering wheel buttons control 'Favorites' (pre-selected stations) on the left rear of the steering wheel and 'volume'' on the right. I like to be able to just seek through stations be it Sirius XM or radio. When I am driving through different areas, I don't have pre-selected favorite stations for the areas I am in - only those around my home. So you have to 'seek' via the radio itself.

Thanks for the post. Just this morning I was trying to figure out why I couldn't scan from the steering wheel. Now I know why. Thanks