GMC Yukon / Yukon Denali

lobsenza

I still do not see where it is refundable if not used. I would like to see that.

orwoody

I purchased one for my 2000 GTP and never used it. When I traded in the GTP I got most if not all back(they sent a check. I lost/tossed the paperwork so I don't know if it was a full refund but it was close. I had originally purchased it because the dealer offered it at less than fleet price to me. (fleet was about 1/2 the list price if I recall) Extended warrantys are definitely a bargaining chip when purchasing a new vehicle, but absolutely NEVER pay anyone's asking price. My opinion is that I only consider extended warranties for AWD/4WD and supercharged vehicles. Since our 86' Grand Am I've never needed an extended warranty, except on my wife's Volvo.(which we didn't get one on and have been sorry)

avolvofan

Extended warranty coverage is like insurance - you can buy as much as you can afford. (Literally, in this circumstance.)

My personal experience with extended warranty coverage has been that right after the manufacturer's warranty coverage lapsed, something went wrong that was quite expensive to repair (the a/c evaporator that is located inside the car under the dash). That one repair recovered the entire amount that I had paid for the extended warranty. With the labor rates in the S.F. Bay Area being what they are, any repair will practically justify the cost of extended warranty coverage.

I personally like the GMPP Major Guard plan because it covers "wear-and-tear" items, which are typically excluded by other policies. Based on my personal experience, the extended warranty policy is a way to limit my exposure to repair costs that seem inevitable.

obyone

Was just looking at items covered under my
GM Major Guard. In your post you mentioned "wear and tear" items. What exactly are you saying is included under wear and tear? I'm curious cause mine says normal wear and tear items are not included such as brake pads, engine oil, air filters, weather stripping, tires, etc.

nodrog25

warning to all lux.suv owners our xl denali stolen from montreal park.lot 6/03 big problem in city, big market for stolen lux. suv.professional heist little chance of recovery, onstar failed to work, disabled by thief. when renting car to come home to MA.2 other tahoe owners with same theft problem, be careful.... lookin @2003 denali anybody got comment on Nav system or any other chANGES SINCE 2001

avolvofan

"Wear and Tear" in this context is an item that is not specifically excluded (such as brake pads that you list) that starts to go wrong. An example would be where a bearing on an alternator starts to go - you can hear it, and at some point, the bearing will ultimately fail and probably when you can least afford it. Unless you have wear and tear items covered, you have to wait until the bearing actually fails to get coverage under the policy. (And if the failure occurs after the poilicy lapses, you are out of luck....)

avolvofan

It is a shame to lose your Denali. Following is what I have experienced as the significant differences between the 2001 and 2003 models:

Losses from 2001 models:
No stitched Denali door inserts. Also, the coin storage on the 2003 models underwhelms me. The storage compartment in the center lid is missed. Lastly, the Michelin tires in my opinion are better than the Goodyears on the 2003.

Gains with the 2003 models:
Memory for mirrors (among other items). This item is truly neat. In conjunction with the ability to angle the mirrors down to show the curb, you can parallel park the 2003 Denali much more easily. StabiliTrak. This is a four channel system that works on all four corners. Navigation system. Confirmed gadget freaks will love it. Also, the XM radio is a nice touch - you can listen to your favorite channel for the duration of the trip, no fading of stations as you travel out of range. There is also a DVD-based entertainment system, but I did not order it, so I can not comment about the benefits of the entertainment system. There are also significantly more financial incentives available on the 2003s.

On balance, I think that the 2003s are a definite improvement over the 2001s. Although, I do wish that the Denali door inserts, coin holder and Michelin tires were retained on the 2003s.

csi35

Its been brought to my attention that replacing the factory plugs with Platinum plugs will increase gas milage from 1 to 1.5 MPG.

Has anyone tried this? If so, make and model number of plugs?

donahues

I too would be interested. Maybe this is how orwoody gets such good mileage. Going to Synth (Mobil 1) gave me an extra +1 mpg for highway. Well worth the cost, especially considering that I am now at a 6k mileage interval for changes. On my last all-highway trip (192 mi, flat roads, little wind), DIC reported 16.5mpg at an average mph of 63.6. I still haven't been able to break 17 mpg. 13k miles on truck.

Re: nodrog25 (2003 changes)- don't forget the 2nd row captain chairs option and the independent driver/px climate controls.

stever

There may be some info in the Spark plugs - Your favourite brand and type and why? discussion; would be another good place to ask anyway.

Steve, Host

tidester

The geometry of a spark plug may play a role in improving gas mileage to some degree but I think the specific advantage platinum may have is improving the lifetime of the plug. I see claims from manufacturers and retailers but no data to back them up.

tidester, host

avolvofan

Donohues is correct, there is the option on the 2003 Denali for the second row Captain's Chairs. (The 2001 model year limited the 2nd row Captain's Chair option to the XL model.) However, I would recommend that you think long and hard about what you are going to be hauling in the Denali before selecting the Captain's Chair option. If you are going to have a need to haul bulky items, the standard 2nd row seats provide greater flexibility when folded. (Taller items can be fitted inside without impairing rear visibility - the Captain's Chair folded takes approx. 6 - 8 additional vertical inches that can be used for storage with the standard 2nd row seats.)

erinsquared

I've got a short wheelbase Denali and was deliberating whether to go with 2nd row bench or captains chairs. The capt. chairs are nice and comfortable, but if you remove the third row seating for cargo, you are effectively left with a four seating vehicle.

Has anyone had to replace the rear brakes in their Denali yet with less that 40K miles on the vehicle. I think my rear calipers are seizing. There is a synthetic lube that can be applied to the caliper pins to allow the caliper to 'float' which I will apply this weekend, since I smell hot brakes after replacing the pads a few weeks ago.

ejw5

I am going out this weekend to see if I can get a good deal at the end of the month on a Yukon XL/Subruban. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge on recent pricing and how far below invoice they have been able to get a dealer to go?

Thanks for the help!

avolvofan

ejw5, pricing is a function of incentives available to dealers and how far they want to go to get your business. In my situation, I had a very good dealer (competent service department), and I have been a very loyal customer. If you have a good working relationship with the dealership, at a minimum, you should be at dealer invoice.

trppical3

Does the nav system in the denali allow you to listen to a cd while using it?

stever

sonjaab "Any Questions for a Car Dealer?" Jun 28, 2003 12:23pm

Steve, Host

waxdonuts

I'm ready to take the plunge...I'm looking for opinions on the price.

2003 Red Denali with second row captains, nav, and dvd entertainment for $45,500 with 0% for 60 months.

Any thoughts?

waxdonuts

I did a 24 hour test drive with a nav equipped Denali.

You can listen to any source (Radio, XM, Rear Seat Entertainment, CD changer) while using the nav system. The Nav DVD takes the slot in the actual head unit itself. Your CDs will be in the six-CD changer in the center console.

The nav system will sound a chime followed by muting the sound system and then voice your turns. It will then bring the music back to its previous volume. You can also mute the nav voice for visual only directions.

Overall, I thought the system worked well. I was a little disappointed in the accurancy of the disc. It was missing several highways that have been in place for a few years now.

jjdavidson

Has anyone heard of any changes to the 2004 Yukons and Denalis? My wife has Envoy now and needs something bigger. The deals are great now and it is the time to buy but I like the new gadgets. We waited to get out current 2003 Denali I drive and the improvements were worth wait.

avolvofan

jjdavidson, based on previous posts, the 2003 Denali would be the one to get. The greatest de-contenting issue with the 2004s appears to be the deletion of the transmission oil cooler. There is no word regarding whether the transmission oil cooler will be included in a "towing" option package; so, right now the prospect is for a deletion. Gadget-wise, there appear to be no new gadgets in store for 2004. Also, the current crop of incentives may not be available with the 2004 models. I am completely satisfied with my 2003 Denali, and it seems that you are likewise with your 2003 Denali.

mmacfarlane

Has anyone added a Tornado to the air intake
of their 6.0 ? Has gas mileage or performance
improved ?

avolvofan

No personal experience with the Tornado. However, I rather doubt that adding a swirling effect to the air flow will increase mileage/power. If you are looking to add power with minimal affect on mileage, go with a cold air intake. If you want lots of power, then go with a supercharger. However, going the supercharger route will require premium gas all the time. (And it likely will reduce the service life of drivetrain components....)

obyone

company vans and tracked for mileage increase. There was none. Bottom line....save your money.

erinsquared

Sorry for the pun, but I think the GM powertrain guys designed the factory intake already to take advantage of fluid dynamics for increased air intake flows - hence the Vortec name. I doubt the Tornado will improve upon this and, unless you see dyno curves from a reliable source to prove otherwise, I would discount this as snake oil.

tatter101

What is the GM Friend and Family Coupon? Also, does anyone know if the "Put it in my Driveway" offer is still current? Any other offers besides Factory Rebates availabe? Are most dealers offering invoice price less rebates? I am looking to purchase a new Denali/Yukon XL and would like to get the best possible price. Thanks.

tollerzone

I just bought an '03 Denali - taking delivery on Wednesday after adding some extras. I was thinking about getting the NAV system and wondered what prices people were paying to have dealer install??? Is it better to do aftermarket? Thanks!!

tatter101

Are you referring to Friends and Family Coupons, if so, I am interested. Thanks. If not, please tell me about other coupons.

hrhauser

Had an interesting encounter with my 2003 Denali, going down a dirt at about 25 mph going into a left turn, the right side was in loose gravel the stablitrack came on and started braking on the right pulling me further in to the ditch, not a good feeling, I guess it thought I was spinning out and trying to straighten out the Denali, good thing I was going slow.

avolvofan

StabiliTrak is generally intended for driving on paved surfaces and to provide assistance in recovering from unintended traction loss. Offroad driving by its very nature involves intended traction loss. In recognition of that circumstance, there is a button on the dash just below the radio/navigation screen and to the right of the temperature controls to turn off StabiliTrak. At page 4-10 in the Owner's Manual, there is a discussion regarding turning off StabiliTrak while driving offroad.

hrhauser

Not to mislead, there are many roads where people live in the area where I was. It was not off road driving, maybe the Stablitrack is only good on paved roads, but useless if you drive on gravel roads, I guess I will have to get a real all wheel drive next time.
Thank you for the reply,

erinsquared

I am curious why the owner's manual recommends turning the Stabilitrak off when off-roading. Since all of the differentials are of "open" design, if you loose traction with one wheel with Stabilitrak disengaged, all of the torque will be applied to the spinning wheel and you will get stuck.

hrhauser, as for your experience, I'm glad you survived nary a scratch or dent. Loose gravel can be tricky and even the most sophisticated traction system can't rewrite the laws of physics, so AWD may have made no difference in your particular situation.

avolvofan

As erinsquared notes, StabiliTrak can not rewrite the laws of physics. Inherent in even driving on a mix of gravel and compacted soil is an opportunity for different rates of wheel rotation. The surface is not the same as a paved road - you will not have the same traction. Different rates of wheel rotation is a factor in the programming for StabiliTrak. Which is a reason for the recommendation to turn off StabiliTrak when off road.

Regarding the lack of traction that hrhauser was referring to, I would imagine if StabiliTrak had been turned off, the encounter with the ditch would not have occurred. The All Wheel Drive system on the Denali is quite capable of dealing with reduced traction such as occurs with loose gravel. When I had my 2001 Denali, I drove on both loose gravel and compacted soil with no problem on either surface.

hawk248

I own a 2 Dr. 96 Tahoe w/ over 120K miles and 5.7 4X4 engine. I took a Denali XL and Yukon XL for a 24 Hr test drive on two consecutive days.

Both are fine vehicles and drive fantastic. But I was surprised about the mileage I got. On a full tank, Yukon XL had burned 1/4 of the tank for about 100 mile Hwy + City driving. DXL seemed little better for the same type of driving - a little over 1/8th of the tank.

But I got the best mileage on my old Tahoe - less than 1/8th of the tank.

I realize that the size of tank has a lot to do with how far the guage moves. I am deciding whether to buy a DXL or YXL. Does any one know more realistic mileage difference between the two? It seems that YXL w/ 5.3 should do better than a 6.0L DXL, plus the weight difference in favor of YXL.

orwoody

I can't speak directly for the 5.3L in YXL; I had the 5.3L in my 99 Sierra 2WD and got 14-16mpg in my daily commute(70% hwy/30% city). In my Denali w/ 6L I consistently get 15 -16 mpg in same commute.
(initially my mpg was lower, but increased 1-2 mpg after about 3000 miles of breaking in)

donahues

hawk248- I can't figure out how he does it, but orwoody seems to get better mileage than I do. I have an '02 Denali and my lifetime average is about 13mpg. I can't seem to break 16.5 mpg on all highway driving (70-75 mph) and I get about 12.5 in the city.

orwoody

I don't really know how I do it, I am not too much of a lead foot and I think the 70% hwy helps... I use the cruise a lot. even in traffic if its steady speed. Maybe I'm just lucky.
I've left my business trip on the DIC running for the last 18k plus miles... right now it's showing an avg mph of 36.3 and an avg mpg of 15.4.

avolvofan

There are other Denalis out there that can beat the 16 mpg highway threshold. I used to own a 2001 Denali that reliably got 18 mpg if the speed was kept to 65 - 70 mph. My 2003 Denali has just under 1,000 miles on it and I am getting 15 mpg at 65 - 70 mph. I was scrupulous in my maintenance of the 2001 - Mobil 1 5w30 every 5,000 miles and changed the transmission fluid at 12,000 mile intervals.

pilko

erinsquared - The "open" differentials in the Denali use a traction control system to divide the torque among the four axles, preventing excessive wheel spin on one. To do this the traction control system applies the brake on any of the four axles and limits the throttle opening.

Traction control and Stability control are not the same, though there appears to be a common misconception in America that Stability control and Traction control are one and the same.

The button that disables Stabilitrak, disables the braking of axles for the purpose of maintaining directional control. It also disables the limiting on throttle opening. The braking of individual axles to divide torque is not disabled by this button. Torque distribution by braking axles only turns off if the brakes become over heated.

hawk248

Both DXL and YXL I 24-hr test drove were '03 models. YXL had 6 miles on it and DXL had 2500 miles on it.

The GM Yukon brochure lists the following.

YXL 5.3L - city/Hwy - 14/18
DXL 6.0L - city/Hwy - 12/15

During my test drive, it sure seemed like DXL had better mileage than YXL. Strange ! I will post this on Yukon/Suburban board as well.

donahues

a couple things come to mind- tire inflation, gas blend (ethanol), compensation in acceleration for difference in power.

stever

Most car's enjoy improving miles per gallon as they break-in. The 2,500 miles on the DXL could explain some of it.

Steve, Host

lobsenza

The YXL mileage will partially depend o n the 3.73 vs 4.10 axle. Personally, I thought the 4.10 performed much better.

erinsquared

Pilko, thanks for the clarification on the disabling switch for the StabiliTrak only.

I usually run one full tank of 93 oct. Chevron supreme every two months just to keep the fuel system clean. I did this on my last road trip and took a measurement of highway mileage to see if octane improved fuel economy. I run 38 pounds of pressure in my Michelins (does anyone think this is too high?), had the AC on the whole way, truck was lightly loaded. I got about 16.5-17.0 MPG @75-80 MPH. This is about 1 MPG better than when I run the 87 octane fuel at these speeds. At current fuel prices, the additional MPG does not offset the increased price for premium, so I'll stick with the regular grade fuel. As an aside note, at full throttle, I sometimes notice slight pinging at the top rpm range with regular grade fuel. With premium fuel I don't notice this and I have a hunch that this engine is designed to develop more power with the higher octane fuel.

taxshelter

Just got a quote at the GM Supplier discount and then went to a competitor who gave me a better price over the phone - without my even mentioning GMS discount. Any idea how GMS currently compares to a decent negotiated price, as it relates to invoice by percentage? If no one knows other GMS prices, current deal ranges would be welcomed. I am in the Atlanta area.

obyone

38 pounds is too high depending of course if you took a reading when the tire was hot or cold.

erinsquared

That was cold tire pressure. What do you recommend, maybe 33lbs. cold? I like to run enough pressure to minimize sidewall flex, but I do not want to prematurely wear out the center of the tires.

orwoody

there should be a sticker on the inside of the door with recommended tire pressure. Tire pressure should always be taken cold. It increases as the tire heats up and will vary.

obyone

the tires themselves for the maximum pressure recommended by the tire manufacturer. If you have Michelins, I've seen the max cold pressure at 35 lbs. on some of them, the LTX line I believe.

stacy

I own '02 DXL. Consistent 13 mpg mixed driving with 22K miles on the truck. I must admit I do use the power on this vehicle though. It gets oil and full check/inspection including tires at GM dealer every 3K miles (I have 3 kids and refuse to risk a breakdown).
OK now my question. The service guy told me I should not use 91 octane, even to clean engine. He was pretty clear I should stick to 87. Any ideas why? Thanks in advance.