GMC Yukon / Yukon Denali

mjwills · August 2005

I just finally had this fixed. Dealer cleaned the throttle body and mass air flow sensor screen. They also cleaned the fuel injectors. I have 68K on mine. This did it before and another dealer replaced the throttle body. A little preventative maintenance is worth it.

Does running a K&N filter add to the carbon/oil build up? Dealer seemed to think so.

obyone · August 2005

Yes it does. Worse if you have the FIPK.

fuelforthought · August 2005

2005 Denali is only getting a little over 8 miles to the gallon. Seems like we live at the gas station. Our GM dealership replaced the fuel filter recently but fuel mileage isn't any better. We took it back to the shop yesterday and they said they drove it and they got 17 miles to the gallon, plus their computer confirmed it. They said they can't find anything else wrong. We know they think we are crazy but we have been keeping track of ALL mileage. Has anyone had similar problems or are there any suggestions...besides trading it off?!

tdoh · August 2005

I'd be curious as to what they meant by "their computer"--did they plug in a dignostic tool, or did they go off the DIC reading? Even if they did use a diag tool, I wouldn't be surprised if it got the fuel economy readings from the same source that the DIC pulls it from...

How many miles did they drive in order to get that 17 mpg reading? I reckon they must have gone onto the freeway or some other road where they could drive it at freeway speeds, as it is practically impossible to average 17 in city driving, at city speeds...well, not entirely impossible--one could "coast" down a city street at 45 mph for a mile and probably get a 17 mpg readout.

dvs · August 2005

Had this problem before with a Sonoma.
Turned out to be some metal shavings in the Blinker switch on the column. I believe it was caused by me not engaging the blinker fully when passing a car and only pushing on it slightly enough to get the blinker to blink.

It was not an easy task to take apart and clean out the shavings with a pocket knife but it did work. When you get it apart you should be able to see the arcing across the contacts causing the module to make a clicking sound. It did not turn on the lights because of the additional circuitry that was not made.

tongslinger · August 2005

I have a 05 Denali and if the letter designation is correct the 335 hp engine is a LQ4

tongslinger · August 2005

I have 22's on my 05 denali and the tire pressure reads 0 on 3 wheels and just has a dash on the 4th. The dealer told me that the sensors were not at the right angle on the American Racing wheels. I called them on it and they printed off an " internal service alert". It basically said that there were problems with aftermarket wheels that did not have the right degree of angles to bring the sensors out of standby mode. Is this the real deal or are they just BSing me?
Thanks

arrie · August 2005

Sounds like BS to me. Of course I don't know what they mean by the 'angle' but the only thing that would make sense to me is that if the sensor is in wrong angle it would not re-charge its battery.

The tire pressure sensor in my 2004 Tahoe has a small rattling ball or something inside that moves around with tire vibration. You can hear it if you shake the sensor in your hand. You could argue that the re-charge does not happen if the sensor is mounted in a wrong angle. Perhaps, but a failed sensor (no power in battery or otherwise broken) should give you an alarm on the dash. It should have the alarm light ON that indicates a system problem. This is different than alarm for low pressure.

Of course the new system in '05 Denali can be different and show zero pressure even when the sensor is dead but I would highly doubt that. It could also be that the one having a dash is not working at all and the others take a zero reading until all sensors work.

22" wheels did not come with the truck so were you present when they were put on? If the tire guys broke one sensor and didn't even tell you? It breaks easily if you don't know about it when taking the tire off or it breaks when putting a new tire on if you don't know how to do it right. This happened to me once.

If a sensor is replaced the system must be 'trained' for it. This will not work before the new sensor is charged. It takes a couple of miles to drive with the new sensor to have its battery charged or you can shake it in your hand for a few minutes before it is installed in the rim.

You should have instructions in your owners manual of the procedure how to teach the system all the sensors. My guess is that one of your sensors is broken or missing or is in the wheel but the system was newer set-up correctly for it.

--Arrie--

tongslinger · August 2005

Arrie

There is a message that comes on my DIC that says "check tire pressure". I assume that I am getting this reading because of the 0 reading on 3 of the wheels. These wheels were put on by a dealer for the "our cost is your cost sale" as a little something extra to beat the competition.
they printed up a service bulletin that was addressing the sensors not working correctly on aftermarket wheels. something to the effect that the sensors needed to be at a 45 degree angle to the ground. the sensors on my wheels are at a 90 degree to the ground. this answer suited me til i started seeing posts from several people with aftermarket wheels and no one was talking about any sensor issues. I called the dealer where i purchased the Denali and they already addressed this issue with me. Should i go see another dealer or will they just give me the colds shoulder?

Thanks

arrie · August 2005

Have you tried to relearn the sensors in your wheels?

If you are getting low pressure reading it means that the sensors work. The angle of the sensor should have nothing to do with that. There is just a hole through the sensor's plastic casing and pressure transmitter inside. It doesn't matter what position the sensor is to read pressure. The angle I think could have something to do with re-charging battery as that little ball (or something) inside the sensor must move for it but if you are getting a zero reading it means that the sensor works. It could be that the one with dash does not work but it could also be that this sensor was not programmed for the system correctly.

Go through the re-learn procedure. It is quite simple to do, if it goes like in my Tahoe. It should be in your manual.

In mine it goes:

- Start with turning lights ON and OFF four times quickly, you will hear the horn and warning light starts blinking.

-lower air pressure in left front wheel for about 15 seconds and you will hear the horn.

-Move to right front and lower air pressure until horn, then do same in right rear and left rear in this order.

This procedure teaches the on board computer which sensor is in which wheel as it sees the air pressure changing. Your procedure might be different but I guess it is the same.

In my Tahoe if tire pressure is low I get the 'Low Pressure' warning. If I have one of the sensors out I get 'System Fault' warning.

The different warnings and how to charge the sensor I learned when the tire guys broke one of my sensors. I carried the broken sensor in my vehicle and got the 'Low Pressure' warning for a couple of days when it changed to 'System Fault" warning. System failed when the battery in the sensor ran out and was not charged. When I took the sensor in my hand and shook it for a few minutes the 'System Fault' warning changed back to 'Low Pressure' warning obviously when the sensor started sending the signal again, which indicated low pressure in that sensor.

--Arrie--

berob · August 2005

I've got a 2004 Yukon which I purchased on 12/31/03. The vehicle has about 16,500 miles on it which means I'm averaging just over 10,000 miles per year. I believe the Yukons come with a 3-year / 36,000 mile factory warranty so if my mileage continues at the same rate, which I expect it will, my factory warranty will expire on 12/31/06 when the vehicle has about 30,000 miles on it. I have received an offer in the mail from the GM Protection Plan which offers me a 4-year / 48,000 mile warranty (effective from the warranty purchase date) for $850 for Basic Guard, $1,190 for Value Guard, and $1,335 for Major Guard. I plan to keep the vehicle for a long time and I'm just wondering if any of those are at all reasonable deals. The way I'm figuring it is that with 16,500 miles on my vehicle and ~16.5 months left on the factory warranty, what I'm really paying for is 31.5 months of extra coverage. I won't go into details as to what each warranty covers, but hopefully someone is familiar with them. Can anyone please advise me? Thank you.

tdoh · August 2005

I assume those prices are w/ $100 deductible? If so, then maybe the following may help you decide towards getting one--a Major Guard 4/48 w/ $0 deductible on can be had for $1020, or $865 w/ $100 deductible...both options substatially lower than what you were quoted.

Me--I have an XL, which is one price class higher than yours; I wound up getting a 3/45 w/ $0 deductible for $1020. A 4/48 would have cost me $1280; since in my situation the miles are more important than the term length, it wasn't worth paying $260 more just for an additional 3K miles. Heck, a 4/60 is a better deal compared to the 4/48 when you break down the cost per mile...but I wasn't ready to shell out $1560 for it.

jasondavis · August 2005

I have an alpine iva-d300 it's an indash screen/receiver but I just purchased a back up camera for my dneal xl,

Now I have a wire from my head unit that I need to hook up to my reverse lamp, here's what it says

"Connect to plus side of the car's reverse lamp that lights when the transmission is shifted into reverse"

so my question is how and where can I find the wire to tap into? Thanks for any help

obyone · August 2005

Remove one of the tailights and look for the reverse light. Connect there with either wire using the clip/clamp they sent with the kit.

crzyaim · August 2005

Does anyone have any idea what the changes, if any, are for the 2006 Yukon Denali?

Thanks.

berob · August 2005

tdoh,

Thanks for you info. When you say "Major Guard 4/48 w/ $0 deductible on can be had for $1020, or $865 w/ $100 deductible...both options substatially lower than what you were quoted", what do you mean by "can be had"? How do I get it? Do I simply call GMPP and ask for a cheaper rate? Or are you talking about a comparable warranty from another provider? Thanks again.

Berob

denal010101 · August 2005

i have the same problem with the led taillights i installed on my 2001 yukon denali xl the right one flashes very fast any ideas on how to fix this problem when i put the stock bulbs they work fine but when i put the led tailights back on they flash very quick

dvs · August 2005

The Dealer or an auto parts store should sell a heavy duty flasher module for that truck. The problem is, appearently, the LEDs draw more current than a standard bulb would. Sometimes a heavy duty flasher module is needed for towing, depending on the trailer lights equipped.

dilbertzzz · August 2005

I think the fast flash is the vehicle's signal to you that you have a blown bulb.

From racermd's post on the GMC Yukon XL / Yukon XL Denali forum:

If you go this route on the turn signals, you'll need to make sure you get a "load balancer" - a resistor that tricks the signal switch into thinking you don't have a blown bulb (LEDs pull less current than an incandecent bulb, which looks like a blown bulb to the switch).

hutto · August 2005

For 2007 Yukon Models coming out in the spring... Is GM getting with the program to have the 2nd and 3rd row seats folding flat and powered 3rd row seats like Ford? Other changes coming for improvement?

yakly · August 2005

I am wondering if there is a way that you can adjust how far back the power seats will move.

tongslinger · August 2005

Arrie

I tried to get to the rearm sensor and i was unable to get it to come up. I found a "getting to know your Yukon Denali". It says see section 5 in your owners manual. I looked in my owners manual and was not able to find the procedure.
Looking for any more ideas on how to reset this error message.

BTW the error message is actually " Check pressure sensor"

thanks for all the help

alston28 · August 2005

I'm considering a Tahoe or Yukon. Is there any difference between the 2? Thanks.

stever · August 2005

This article is a bit dated but may be of interest:

Twinned Vehicles

Steve, Host

tdoh · August 2005

Go to gmoutlet.com; that's where I bought my GMPP from...

I'm not saying that they have the lowest GMPP prices, but they're the lowest I've been able to find from a seemingly-reputable GM dealer. Well, not really "seemingly", as I have my GMPP card and policy sitting at home...so there's nothing to really worry about as far as dealing with gmoutlet.com.

yukonyoshii · August 2005

I had 1,500 miles on my 2005 Denali when we noticed any and all odors from outside coming inside the cab while the air recycling button was on. Took it to dealer in Tampa and they stated it was blowing below 5 counts and should read at 10 counts. When I picked it up they stated GMC just found out about this and did not have a fix for it but GMC was working on making the replacement part. They shot expando foam around the glove and told me it woud be a couple of months. Has anyone else experienced this???

The Bulletin was "PIT3655A"

Yoshii in Tampa

mjwills · August 2005

Took 02 DXL into dealer for some things. I asked about why my passenger mirror squeked so much when turning it in. Went to show them and it snapped. They said there was a kit GM put out for this that replaces the j clip and spring. I was charged for the kit and labor. Has anyone else had this issue? I called major guard and they said it was not covered because it was not electronic - but manual movement. Do you feel this should be covered?

berob · September 2005

Several weeks ago my wife's key ring and keys, including the key and remote to her '04 Yukon, disappeared. We searched in vain and finally chalked it up to mischevious fascination my 2-year old has with keys and assumed they would just show up one day. Last night my wife's Yukon was "broken" into and several items were stolen, the most important of which were her diamond wedding rings. Now I know you're asking, as I did, why in the hell her rings were in the car, but that's another story. Since she always locks the car and swears she did last night, and since there were no signs of forceable entry (just the passenger door left ajar), I am left to conclude that perhaps the perp is the one with the keys and remote. This is disconcerting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that if true, they also have my house keys. So I'll change the house locks and just ASSUMED I would change the car locks and the remote. The GMC dealership referred me to a locksmith to have the locks changed, but they advised that ONE CANNOT GET A NEW REMOTE THAT IS PROGRAMMED DIFFERENTLY from the factory remote. In other words, I was told that if the perp has the remote, he will forever have access to my vehicle. I'm assuming my only option is to disable the factory remote system and install an after-market system. I don't know how this would work with the driver 1 and 2 preference settings that the current remotes control. Does anyone have any direct experience with this or any general advice or solutions? Thank you in advance.

obyone · September 2005

You can reprogram your current remotes making the stolen one useless. Your owner's manual explains how to do this.

blckislandguy · September 2005

Steve, not only is it dated it is incomplete: certainly the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Lexus variant ( the 450?), the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator, etc. are also twinned.

The point though about the depreciation varying tremendously between twins is well taken and drives the total cost of ownership. (Depreciation afterall is the largest cost most of us confront.)

avamedia · September 2005

99' GMC Yukon Clunk on acceleration/brake

I have a 99 Yukon with 100K miles. The truck is in excellent condition (like new). My only mechanical beef is a clunk when I come to a stop and then take my foot off the break. It feels like something in the differential is releasing when I take my foot off the brake. The only time it happens is when Im driving and come to a stop, then release the brake. Is this transmission related or differential related or some suspension problem. Help.

gmdriver · September 2005

I also have a 99 Yukon. It developed the same problem at 85,000. The dealer lubricated the driveshaft yoke - no more clunk. That's the good news - the service rep said the problem would surface again within 50,000 miles.

moosetrax · September 2005

We've lost our owner's manual for our 2002 Yukon XL. Could someone tell me how to program the radio stations?

Thanx (from Technology Impaired), Moosetrax.

gmfan007 · September 2005

I think you just manually select a desired station, then push and hold in the desired button for a few seconds until you hear a beep. That will override whatever station was previously assigned to that button. You can program each band (AM/FM1/FM2) independently.

kshadek · September 2005

I own both a '02 Denali (not an XL) and a '05 Denali XL and I have a question regarding performance. I notice that my '02 seems to have a lot more 'pep' and 'pickup.' I realize that the XL is obviously a larger and heavier vehicle, but I was wondering if anyone else who has driven both years has noticed a difference? The other factor that I think might be affecting the '05 XL is that I have the 20" tire package, which obviously has a little more rubber on the ground.

Any comments are appreciated

dakster · September 2005

YES, I have the some problem, but I was waitng until my next service to complain about it.

Did the spray foam work?

I never like to bring in outside air, so a permanent sealing is ok by me...

2005 Denali XL

peterrollout · October 2005

Just bought a 2003 with NAV. Was driving it back and started getting messages that DVD disk was not reading properly. It stated either disk could be damaged or dirty. I cleaned it repeatedly and got it to work but error message came up again. Thoughts?
I also wanted to ask if anyone has put optional bulbs on theirs and what they recommended. Manual shows 9005s for both high and low.

cornellpinoy · October 2005

I installed Sylvania Silverstar bulbs on my '02 Denali and have been very happy with them. It does have 9005 bulbs for both low & high beam. Still trying to find Silverstar bulbs for the foglights though.

Can't help you with your NAV problem - it wasn't available on the '02 models.

acefield · October 2005

I recently bought a 2005 Yukon SLT replacing a 2001 SLT with the exact same 5300 Vortex engine and similiar equipment. My 2001 had considerably more power and acceleration; ran strong. The 2005 is a total dog...Very poor acceleration, feels underpowered, etc. I can't figure it out except that maybe GM has changed something in the computer (timing advance...) to tweak more gas mileage out of it. I loved my 2001, but am quite disappointed in this new one. Am taking it to the dealer this week.

circutmann · October 2005

Check the rear end (axle) gear ratio of the 05 & that of the 01. My guess is that you probably had 3.73 gears in the 01, and have something much lower numerically, like 3.42 or 3.21 in the 05. The lower numeric ratio should give you better fuel economy on the road, but has less accelleration & towing capacity. If the gear ratios are the same, then I would definately suspect some other problem, as I believe the 05, 5.3L engine is rated at more HP than that of the 01.

I currently have an 01 YXL w/ the 5.3L & 3.73 gears & have been satisfied with the performance. My 01 was rated at 14/16 MPG, & I bet your 05 is rated much higher. I even tow a 34' travel trailer, weighing in excess of 8000 lbs w/ no problems. I know I am pushing the limit, but I had the 01 YXL before we upgraded to the bigger trailer. Next time I'll probably go with a 3/4 ton & 4.11 gears for more towing capacity. Enjoy your new truck, & hopefully better fuel economy.

Good Luck,
Dave

tdoh · October 2005

I assume you mean that the SS fog bulbs are hard to come by, as opposed to asking if such bulbs exist...in which case, you just gotta search a bit harder.

cornellpinoy · October 2005

That is what I meant - haven't seen SS fog bulbs at any of the auto parts stores I shop at. Not really a big issue for me since I rarely use the fog lights.

stever · October 2005

GMC Pulls Wraps Off Redesigned 2007 Yukon (Inside Line)

Steve, Host

gipper2nd · October 2005

I own an '03 Denali with the Nav system. I would like to update the map C.D., but almost choked when the dealer said the cost was $375.00 for a new C.D. Anyone know where to get one other than the dealer? P.S. the one that came with the car was dated 2002.

acefield · October 2005

Thanks a-lot. You are apparently correct. I don't recall the axle ratio in my "01, and I no longer have the papers. However, my "05 has a 3.42 gear ratio has you suggested, which is quite low. I bet this is a lot of the problem, but I still think something else is different perhaps in the timing or timing advance, because I still have a very unresponsive accelerator and it sputters and coughs at low speeds such as 1st and 2nd gear. Still awaiting the evaluation from the dealer. I greatly appreciate your input. Happy trailering!

Charles

blackstang · October 2005

Turn signal combination relay keeps clicking even after the turn signal is off. I changed the relay and it still does it, what would you guys suggest? Any help is much appreciated
2000 GMC Yukon Denali 4x4 5.7 Vortec

beach15 · October 2005

Another difference between your '01 and '05 would be the accelerator itself--it was the typical cable-controlled system through '05, and then switched to a computerized throttle for '03+, which basically means you're now stepping on a computer sensor of such that attempts to open the throttle to the level it thinks you want.

We went from an '02 Avalanche 1500 2wd Z66 with the 5.3L and the 3:73 axle to an '04 Suburban 1500 2wd also with the 3:73 axle, and I've noticed very little difference between the two in feel--in all honesty, the Suburban has the same level of grunt, more accelerates more smoothly because of the electronic throttle. With the older style on the Avalanche, it would often buck and roar like a bronco if you didn't keep your foot 100% steady--the Suburban's pedal compensates for that and smooths things out a bit.

Another change in '05-06 models is electric fans, but that actually should make it feel MORE powerful because of less draw on the engine than the old mechanical fans.

Then again, if your new '05 "sputters and coughs" something else might definately be wrong.

arrie · October 2005

I thik the remotes CAN be re-programmed. You buy new remotes and at the GMC or Chevrolet dealership they teach the car what remote frequencies to work with.

I assume they can disable the original frequency too.

I think you were misinformed as it would be stupid if GM would build cars where the remote frequencies could not be disabled as you must not be the only person who had keys lost/stolen, but of course, I'm not 100% sure...

Arrie

arrie · October 2005

Charles,

I have a '04 Tahoe with the 5.3 L Vortec Z-engine. I have posted a lot of it in Tahoe forum and if you are interested go there and read.

In a nutshell, I think my main problem was LOOSE INTAKE MANIFOLD BOLTS. It is hard to believe but all 10 bolts that hold the plastic intake manifold down were loose.

Before I went to inspect these bolts I checked all sensors and replaced half of them while trouble shooting the issue. And I had to do this all by myself during warranty period. My Chevy dealer would not even believe I had a problem.

My Tahoe at first was good and powerful but after about 1500 miles it started acting up. Gas mileage went very low, only about 14 - 15 MPG highway. What also was bothersome was that the engine was so weak. When GM advertise it to have almost 300 hp you would think it to be a little bit faster from standstill.

One interesting symptom was that when I started from a complete stop and tried to make fast acceleration my Tahoe would first hesitate and when speed went high enough the power suddenly kicked in. It felt like power was in the engine but it would not come out before certain engine speed was reached.

This all lead me think about possible intake vacuum leak, which I also could hear under the hood, just didn't know it really was an intake leak sound.

Intake vacuum controls engine timing and I thought that perhaps timing is off due to leak and engine can not give out all power because of that. Then when accelerating and vacuum builds in engine power suddenly kicks in.

To verify this I made an intake vacuum delay apparatus to see if it really is an issue with vacuum level. I had bought another MAP sensor earlier so it was easy for me to do. I bought dia. 1/8", 3 ft long vacuum hose that I connected to the new MAP sensor. I T-ed off of the vacuum line to the fuel pressure regulator and of course connected the map sensor harness to the new MAP sensor. THIS MADE A BIG IMPROVEMENT IN POWER OUTPUT.

After my little experiment I went to check intake manifold gasket. I found a GM Techlink page in the net where they explain about the intake gasket problem and how they need to use the green color gasket in the L59 engine instead of the orange gasket. Mine was green but all of the bolts were loose.

There was a lot of dirt build-up under the manifold also, which I think is because the leak in gasket pulled dirt in there. That much dirt should not be present since there are good foam seals at each end of manifold to seal the cavity between intake manifold and engine valley cover.

From the gaskets and sealing surfaces I could clearly see how the gasket had not even touched all the surface around intake ports. This problem comes from the fact that the plastic intake manifold is slightly off shape and if bolts are not tightened correctly the surfaces don't compress on the gasket correctly.

I bought a set of new gaskets (about $93 + tax) and installed using bolt tightening instructions in Haynes repair manual and MY TAHOE JUST GOT RE-BORN.

The power from the engine now comes almost immediately when I step on gas pedal. That power kick now happens when it is supposed to happen. I have not even tried my vacuum delay apparatus with it since the gasket change.

I think my intake manifold gaskets still have a small leak problem because the engine still runs rough idle at times.

Rough idle is also a clear sign of gasket leak, which you might also be experiencing.

Go read my posts in Tahoe forum (and Suburban). There is a lot of writing I did but I think my problem really was the intake manifold gasket leak, which I covered here.

Here is the link to GM Techlink that explains about the gasket problem.

http://www.gmtechlink.com/images/issues/may05/TLmay05e.html

Arrie

rsuazo11 · October 2005

Hello everyone,
I just got a new 2005 Denali XL. So far so good. My dealer said if you setup everything the way you want, then hold the UNLOCK button on the key simultaneously with the corresponding seat number on the door until it beeps - then it will "remember" the driver's settings based on which key starts the car. 2 questions:
1. Is that the correct procedure? I can get it to beep, but doesnt seem to save anything. Not sure it's doing anything different than if you just saved the seat setting by itself.
2. What all exactly is supposed to be saved? He thought the radio and satellite settings would be saved as well, but I can't seem to get those to save (I could be doing it wrong).

Thanks much to anyone who takes the time to respond.

-RS

GMC Yukon / Yukon Denali

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