2024 GMC Yukon: What to check before buying

Sudden engine failure dominates. The 6.2L V8 (L87) knocks, seizes, or shuts off without warning, often at highway speed and sometimes in the middle of an intersection. Dealers find bearing failure, metal in the oil filter, and damaged camshafts and lifters. Most cases end in a full engine replacement, and a few replacement engines fail again. Many failures come within the first 25,000 miles. Two injuries are reported, along with near misses with traffic. Oil consumption is a second pattern, about a quart every 2000 miles. Waits of weeks for a new engine are common.

Most reports here are about recall 25V274000, not a new failure. Owners got the notice, but dealers had no parts, and many say the wait has gone on too long. When a failure does occur, the engine loses power, stalls at a stop, vibrates, or knocks loudly at startup, usually with no warning light. Some engines failed after the recall inspection had cleared them, with crankshaft and rod bearing damage found. Lifter and camshaft damage also appears and sometimes returns after repair. Reported failures fall around 11,000 to 24,000 miles.

The SUV shuts off while moving and drops into Neutral, often showing only a message to press the brake and restart. It happens at highway speed, at stoplights, and on off ramps. Some drivers lose exterior lighting, power steering, and power braking, and some vehicles will not restart. Several cases turn out to be catastrophic engine failure. Dealers often cannot reproduce the problem. Other reports cover batteries that keep dying, a failed aero shutter, blank navigation screens, a frozen stereo, recurring frontal crash warnings, and false automatic braking.

Transmission problems and recall-related engine failures share this category. The transmission lunges, shudders, slips, or stays stuck in 1st and 2nd gear. Dealers blame the valve body, which is backordered with no repair date, so vehicles sit in the shop for a month or more. Other vehicles lose propulsion, shift into Neutral on their own, or slow sharply at speed. One injury is reported from such a slowdown. There are also reports of oil leaking from the rear main seal and oil pan gasket, stalling while braking, and a brief unintended lurch forward.

Very few of these reports are about steering. Most describe the vehicle stalling or losing power at highway speed, shifting into Neutral, and refusing to restart, which leaves families stuck on the shoulder in traffic. One case ended in catastrophic engine failure and a replacement engine. Another describes a burst of warnings at startup, including brake system failure, a 43 MPH top speed limit, and a steering column lock message, along with slow braking. Dealers could not diagnose it. Repeated power loss with no warning lights also appears.

Little here involves the lights. One report describes violent shaking, a check engine light, and valve timing and transmission warnings, followed by a strong smell of gasoline and exhaust in the cabin that raised fears of fire. Another lists fit and finish defects, including taillights and fog lights that move by hand, misaligned bumpers, peeling paint and protective film, and rust within the first year. A third flags a confusing headlight knob that shows auto even when the lights are off.

The front wipers misbehave in two ways. In one, they keep running after the vehicle is turned off, and the only way to stop them is to pull a fuse. In the other, they quit in heavy rain at night and then start again later with the switch off. The fuses test fine. Repeated shop visits and part swaps have not fixed either problem. Wipers that stop in the rain are a direct visibility hazard.

Rear doors open while the vehicle is moving, with no warning. In one report a child nearly fell out on a main road, and the problem came back within 6 months. A separate complaint describes engine tapping and a rattle inside the cabin starting a week after purchase. Two dealers could not fix it, and one said nothing could be done until the engine broke. Orange peel in the paint was also confirmed.

Both complaints trace back to the engine. In one, the open engine recall has no remedy, and the dealer's service and sales departments keep sending the owner to each other. In the other, the vehicle stalled and lost power at highway speed and needed a new engine. That same vehicle had also lost braking with cruise control on and lurched forward at low speed into a gate, damaging the front bumper.