Mark in Baltimore

I know a lot of people tow with a Suburban/Tahoe/Excursion and the like. I was wondering just how reliable has your truck been as a tow vehicle and all-around people mover? I'm not necessarily talking about the first two or three years where everything can be sunshine and daisies but am interested in people's feedback if they have had their truck for five plus years and over 150,000 miles. Every time I read the reliability ratings in Consumer Reports, I shudder at all of the black ***** denoting poor marks, particularly the drivetrain and transmission. However, Chevy is offering 0% financing for 72 months, an incentive that is hard to resist, in addition to the deep discounts they are giving out on these gas-thirsty beasts. More importantly, if I buy a new vehicle, my insurance company, Geico, offers, for about $120 a year, a mechanical breakdown policy that is good for 7 years, 100,000 miles ($250 deductible, no coverage for wear and tear items like brakes, rotors, tires, etc.), which is on top of GM's 5 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Geico's policy also goes beyond a basic powertrain warranty and covers factory-installed items such as GPS screens, climate control units, etc. One thing that concerns me about the Suburban is the so-called Active Fuel Management that shuts down unneeded cylinders in low load conditions. I am old enough to remember the engineering debacle known as the V8-6-4 and how troublesome it was for owners back in the day.

Here's my situation: I have a 2002 Toyota Sequoia that I am thinking of selling for a brand-new Chevrolet Suburban. I'm also thinking of getting a newer, but still used, Toyota Sequoia. If I get a Suburban, this would be the first-ever domestic product that I have purchased and, frankly, it makes me more than a bit nervous. I grew up with Oldsmobiles and Buicks that were constantly in the shop. My parents eventually switched over to Honda and Toyotas and never looked back. I've stuck with Nissans, Toyotas, Mazdas and Porsche. I had one VW GTI that had electrical issues.

So, I'd love to hear mostly from Suburban/Silverado/Tahoe owners, as well as Excursion/Expedition owners (I know that Ford has d/c'd the Excursion). How good or bad has your truck been? Please note how long you've had it, whether you bought it new, how many miles are on it, how many tow miles you have put on it, in addition to your experiences.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Gary R.

Mark - Only had my Chevy Silverado LT ext. cab for two years and 50+K but have had 0 issues.. Allison tranny is covered for 10 years I think..

SundayDriver

I have had my Diesel Excursion for about 8 years and 175,000 miles. I bought it new. Only repair has been one bad injector and the cam sensor failed one time. Truck still looks almost new, in spite of my annual program of washing it whether it needs it or not. Transmission is starting to exhibit occasional harsh shifts so it is getting close (but I own a transmission shop so that is no biggie for me).

What I can tell you from owning a shop is that all the 3/4 ton vehicles are pretty good in regards to engine and transmission life - you may be the unlucky one - you never know. Look very closely at the details of warranties and likely failures is you are basing decisions on that. The GM powertrain warranty does not provide the long time/mileage for the electronics which are more likely to fail than the mechanical parts of the engine or transmission. If you are looking at a third party warranty, feel free to PM me with the company name and I can tell you if I know anything about them. Some are great and are very fair with customers and shops. Others are simply in the business to try to deny everything - there is one we will probably refuse any business with, in the future.

Big6Dad

2004 Tahoe, had to have the transmission rebuilt at 68,000 miles. Now with 90,000 miles on it I have a bunch of electrical problems. Traction controls kicks inmost of the time when taking off from a stop, driver's seat moves forward when you push the switch back, tow/haul mode on the transmission does not allow the truck to go into 4th gear, brake light output at the trailer plug is intermittent.........the list goes on and on....

Jason Judd

I've got a 2002 Toyota Sequoia which now has 175,000 miles on it...I tow about 7-8 times a year with it.

I've had no problems whatsoever...just change the oil every 5K and brake pads every 15K.

Not the most sophisticated/luxurious vehicle, but it does the trick.

bgiere

Do yourself a favor...get another Toyota...I tow many miles with a 15,000 pound trailer and have gone through 2 F-350 diesels over the past 5 years...They are expertly maintained and well cared for but they do not hold up to real hard work. The rear end let go on truck number 1 at about 50,000 miles, then a head, then a tranny. Number 2 truck has had two turbos and misc electrical issues. They've both nagged and nickel-dimed me to death. I imagine if it is used for light duty work you might be OK. I will be getting a Dodge Cummins in December to replace number 2. My two Dodge gas trucks have been awesome towing 5-7000 pounds without a complaint. Rant over. I feel better now.

JClark

My track car is 10x more reliable than my 99 Expedition.

Ritesh

I would just trade in for a newer Sequoia. I'm sure they are begging for sales right now!!

I was in the same boat as you 3 months ago. The last GM vehicle our family bought was in 1980. That should tell you something. I really wanted a new Sequoia but my wife hated its styling. It was techincally going to be her SUV but I get to borrow it for track use so I ended up getting a loaded Denali Xl. Its a good tow vehicle but IMHO the Toyota is superior. The IRS on the Toyota makes a much more comfortable ride. Plus - it can tow an enclosed trailer if needed in the future.

Btw, I have owned the Denali for 3 months, have 6300 miles on it. So far - the Rear AC doesn't work, the Passenger side rear door is not flush with the panels and the Driver's side view mirror shakes at 70 MPH. Mechanincally - it is fine but it is way to early to tell.

Premier Motorsp

Hi Mark,

My Dad gets a new loaded Denali every 3-4 years or so. All three of them have been dead reliable, oddly enough. He does a fair amount of light (single car open trailer) towing with these trucks. I think that he'd start to have rear end or tranny problems if he kept them for 8 years, but I am not sure.

I have a 97 Dodge dually with V-10. It has been pretty reliable. It has had 5 manual transmissions in 240,000 miles, but I towed way over the rated GCVW for about 200,000 miles. Really no other problems with that truck.

I am using an 06 Dodge with Cummins for towing now. It has been perfect for 70000 miles so far.

I am very skeptical of towing anything larger than a single car open trailer with an automatic tranny. Especially now since all the engines (especially diesels) are so powerful that you can easily cruise along at 75mph.

Veloce Raptor

Mark, buy a 3/4 ton Burban and avoid the Active Fuel Management thingie. I have the Yukon XL version. Same ****ty fuel economy with a lot less complexity.

amondc

On the older body style chevy's you could count on fuel pump, water pump and alt. to go out about 100k after that you are fine for another 100k. Not sure if they changed the fuel pump but I doubt it since they have used the same one for 100 years. But for less then $1500 you can fix all three of these and be problem free again.

deep_uv

I got 8 years and 150,000 miles out of my '97 Z71 Chevy extended cab towing bass and bay boats all over Texas without a problem. Drove it to the top of Engineer and Cinammon Passes above Silverton, CO one time too. That truck went coast to coast and all over the USA, from Key West to cruising down Broadway in Manhattan, to Yellowstone NP to San Diego (not necessarily in that order). I'm now on my 4th year in my '04 Chevy Crew Cab 4x4 Duramax/Allison. No major problems with it either.

DrJupeman

133k miles currently on my diesel Excursion, a lot of that is towing. It has been pretty reliable and shows no signs of slowing down. We'll keep it until 200k miles, most likely, at least. There was one oil leak that required some crazy part to be replaced which was a $900 or so repair. Other than that, pretty bullet proof.

It is a 2002 that we bought in 2003 with 20k miles on it. I'd guess 1/2 of the 113k miles we've put on it have been towing our 20' box.

dmoffitt

Just under 20k / 1.25 years on my F150 (07) but so far so good *knock on wood* - and I'd say 14-15K of those miles were towing too

Granted the first truck I took delivery on had a bad headgasket out of the box

RJay

2003 F250 6.0 Lariat Diesel. 50K miles. Treat it like crap. It loves me like a puppy dog. No major problems in five years. At least ten trips a year towing around 5K#s on average around 375 miles each way. winter beater as well. Good truck.