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I also have the headlight relay and when switched to bright, you can barely tell that the high beams are on with exception to up in the trees ahead of you. The projector in the housing handles the HID light perfectly with no adjusting necessary and on mine installation there are really no hot spots or dead spots in the HID beam pattern.
As a follow-up: from the explanation it sounds as if the operating condition that causes the noise might result in accelerated wear on the valve seat and valve sealing surface (from the valve closing too fast and slamming into the valve seat). Is this something with which we should be concerned?
More generally, does anyone have much history on the 6.0L engine--strengths, weaknesses, etc.? Was the engine a new design for GM when it debuted on the Denali/Escalade (was that the '01 or '00 year?)?
New member, love the forum. Thanks in advance for any replies.
'02 Denali, 2.3k miles, had the knocking problem almost from day one....
Although I am interested in the HID and curious if GM will add these to future versions of Denali and Escalades given their projector type lens.
araftco: how much were the HID bulbs again and was there nothing else that needed to be upgrade other than a swap out of the bulbs?
As far as crumple zone spacifics, I don't know the details. The DXL does perform well in crash tests. Most of these tests do not take into account the mass of the vehicle. When you take this into account, the DXL should be a very safe vehicle.
I did this to wire the hot feed directly from the battery for the starter and ballast and used the hot feed from the OEM wiring to activate the relay.
Remember, you have a new bulb that requires a ballast and a starter just like on a fluorescent light in your house. The initial draw from the starter to get the bulbs burning is significant, but once burning the bulbs burn at the equivilant of about 30 watts.
I don't want to give the impression that start-up noise is OK. This, by no means, gets GM off the hook!! They've got an annoying noise problem which causes the customer to bring the vehicle in for service. They blew it. Reducing cold start noise (or eliminating this noise at temps. above 32 deg. F) to reasonable levels isn't rocket science.
For those of you who don't know me (probably everyone), I am an avid poster to the 2002 Envoy, Trailblazer, Bravada forum in addition to the 2002 Pontiac Grand AM forum as well. I own a 2002 GMC Envoy SLT and a 2002 Pontiac Grand AM GT1 in which I love these vehicles to death.
The reason for my post is that my father became a proud owner of a 2002 GMC Yukon Denali this past Thursday after being a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited owner for the past three years (plus my mom has a 2001 JGC Limited as well)! The Denali is awesome! HE chose the Dark Garnet Red with Stone Gray leather interior combination in which I am very impressed with the quality. He had been frantically searching for the past three months in order to find a vehicle that could be a suitable replacement for his Jeep once the lease expired at the end of this month. All in all, I think that he got a great deal: $48,819 MSRP before GM Employee Discount, the 5 yr/75K GMPP Extended Warranty and 3.9% financing for 60 months!
After carefully reviewing a handful of the post in this forum, It looks like the most problematic issue with the Denali deals with the tranny? In addition to the tranny problems, can anyone else tell me any majors that he should be aware of with the new truck? Also, luckily for my father, the Denali that he wanted hit the dealership this past Wednesday night so we were the first to remove the plastic and drive the vehicle (ha, ha). I checked the door jamb and this vehicle has a build date of 4/02 of course. All in all, he's soooo excited about this vehicle, it's kind of like looking at a kid with a new toy! He has always owned black vehicles and this is his first non-black vehicle since 1970!
I must admit, the paint quality is veryyy nice.. We use the Zaino Bros. professional line of car waxes and polishes on our vehicles and he waxed the hood 2x on Friday and the color became even more intense! On a funnier note, a fly attempted to land on his hood after the second coat and it literally break-danced it's way on to the ground due to the "slipperyness" of the hood after the wax job.. it was hilarious!
Well, thanks for listening everyone! Most important, I am eternally grateful that I was able to spend three months talking him out of buying a severely over priced Escalade! Any feedback, comments or concerns that you all could provide would be greatly appreciated. I am very interested in the HID modifications that some of you have mentioned on this forum, several of us on the triplet forum have been contemplating HID options, but the website listed in this forum has some pretty good info out there so I may have to take the plunge and upgrade my Envoy to the HID system. Are there any other modifications out there that are worth mentioning?? Additionally, I will stay plugged into this forum to hopefully become engaged in the discussions that you all have.
Thanks!
IExplore2000@aol.com
The DXL is definitely a standout.
BTW the interior and exterior colors sound great together (of course, I'm abit biased since those are the exact colors of my own DXL:)
Best of luck to your father. Next its your turn to get one!
We have 2 kids and a third on the way. We have the 2nd row captain's chairs. This was my wife's idea and I was pretty dubious but they turned out to be great for kids! The first advantage is they separate kids in the middle row and also the aisle between the seats makes the third row much more accessible and part of the car rather than that waaaay back there feel. My 6 month pregnant wife can still climb over the console and work her way to the back before my 6 year old completely spills his milk. The sunroof is great but it makes it hard to mount a roof mounted flat-screen TV.
Chris.
According to a survey done by Popular Mechanics (May issue 02) 72.9% of owners of the Yukon series, including the Denali, reported NO trouble, mechanical or otherwise.
Of the 27.1% who reported a problem it breaks down as such:
Loose trim..14.7%
Noise/rattles..8.8%
Leaks..8.8%
Door adjustment..5.9%
OnStar faulty..5.9%
Sound system..5.9%
Starting problems..5.9%
Door Locks..5.9%
Power windows..5.9%
Repairs done under warranty..100%
Editors comment: "The engines available in the Yukon feel so good they should be available by prescription only"
It sure is nice to have room for kids, friends, and all the gear that goes with travelling with kids. With kids in both back seats, it's nice to have space for a stroller, a wagon, pack'n'play, swing, diaper bags, foldup chairs, ice chest... you know what I'm talking about. The Denali kind of just floats down the road. We have around 6K on ours and have had no major trouble. It is big though and you don't just whip into parking places like your Lexus. It's tough to parallel park when the Saturn behind you disappears below the tail gate.
Tough call. Good luck choosing!
I have a 2001 Denali XL with 15000 miles and did have some tranny hesitation problems early on. Things have been fine for many miles and I am keeping my fingers crossed. I love the vehicle and hope GM will continue to improve it.
larry
Steve
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All in all, I've never owned a foreign car before BUT for those that do, I've heard many WONDERFUL things about having to not visit your service department except for routine maintenance! Personally, I own two 2002 GM vehicles love them both to death for their features, etc. but basically they are not too reliable at all. For a total of $60K + in vehicle investments, GM should eagerly take an interest to our problems at hand. My experience with GM cars (especially these two) leaves me NO other choice but to consider the imports next time around. Believe me.. if GM cannot fix my Envoy after the 5th try, then it's "bye bye birdie, Hellooo Acura MDX!." While I am quite sure that I would miss my feature packed Envoy, I know that with the Acura, I will be able to spend more time at work as opposed to the service department.
My .02 cents!
IExplore2000@aol.com
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I don't mean to be paranoid, however I sense a setup on the "types" of people buying luxury suvs.
Steve
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tidester
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Does anyone have any information on changes to the 03? Any timeline for the release of the 03?
Thanks in advance for any replies you are able to offer. I hope to be reading this board as an owner soon (rather than a wanna be)
If on the other hand the story is really about the people that buy these types of vehicles...well that's just fine. I just think anyone sought for such an interview should know whether the article being proposed is about the vehicle they own or really about themselves and why they own it.
The outcomes could be vastly different.
tidester
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5 13 3 9.
Seriously - I am checking into it.
tidester
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I apologize on behalf of the journalist for the suggestion that those being interviewed should pay for the call. I bet she never even thought about it, and would hate to know folks were offended by her actions. If you are still willing to participate, which I hope you are, please drop her and/or me an e-mail with the best time to reach you via phone so she can achieve her goal and make you famous in the process!
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com
jfallon@edmunds.com
tidester
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We bought a Denali instead of a fully loaded Yukon SLT (which would have been almost the same, appointment-wise) because to me the Denali, with the bigger engine and AWD system, drove so much better than a 5.3 Yukon 4x4 I also test-drove when we were shopping. (The 5.3 engine is the largest available on Tahoes/Yukons, which also don't get the full-time AWD system available only on the Denali and the Cadillac Escalade.)
This is our first SUV, so I don't have much experience; but when we were shopping we looked at the Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expo EB, Toyota Sequoia Ltd, and Yukon/Denali; and in we (my wife and I) both felt that the best combination of luxury, performance, ride, and handling was the Denali, hands down. (We didn't even drive an Escalade because we just couldn't see paying almost $10k more than we paid for the Denali--you have to draw the line somewhere!)
To be fair, if you look at things like TSBs and recall reports, then there are some apparent issues with the Tahoes/Yukons that bear watching, so it might not be a bad idea to factor an extended warranty into your financial calculations. But other than that potential, I really can't think of one negative I can relate about the Denali, based on my experience and everything I learned in researching and preparing for the purchase.
And it is an absolute BLAST to drive.
While I would certainly be unhappy if they occurred on my vehicle it would appear you are ready to throw the baby out with the bath water.
I've had an'01 DXL with no trips to the dealer that weren't for an oil change in 19,000miles. Very few finish or mechanical issues that I've experienced.
While I understand your views I'm not sure running to Toyota or any brand is going to guarantee a flawless vehicle because they can't be handpicked in advance. Spend some time on the Sequoia forum and you'll find your fair share of very disgruntled owners with both serious and minor complaints. And there are 10 GM full size suvs for every Sequoia sold.
I'd give the dealer a piece of my mind and expect some rather hasty attention to getting the vehicle straightened out. Best of luck!
I guess it's just the luck of the draw. I hope after your problems are solved,they disappear and u can start enjoying the vehicle.
Larry