I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in the towel on GM simply due to the lack of alternatives, but if there were a website or petition started somewhere for customers who have had these problems with AFM, I would definitely sign up. Out of just a handful of people I work with...25 or so, I am the 4th person now that has had this problem. In talking with them, they all know 3 or 4 more of each of their friends that have had this same problem. These are all '07 - '09 models with AFM. All the same problems. Lifter failure. Some start with the spark plug incident, and some just have the lifter failure.

An interesting point was brought up to me today. '07 and '08 were the two years prior to the Government takeover of GM and Chrysler. Both companies were on the verge of BK during this time and were making last ditch efforts to boost sales with the government pushing hard for fuel economy....tax breaks for buying a fuel efficient vehicle, etc. Along comes AFM which had previously not been reliable....and then...who took over and was running GM for the few years after that and owned over 60% of the stock?

Yep...the Gubment. Anyone remember the Chevy Volt fiasco? If not, here is a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/bu...pagewanted=all

"Once-proud GM had lost $40 billion in 2007, and in 2008 alone saw its sales decline by 45%." The Auto Bailout and the Rule of Law > Publications > National Affairs

You think they could afford a massive recall during all of that?

 

well, technically it's out of warranty (right? I didn't read all 3 pages).

so, they fulfilled their side. However cars should last long than their warranty periods.

Not much competes with the 'burban... and that's a shame. Ford just doesn't have it in the huge-butt size market... GM is killing it, so the alternatives may not exist.

Lexus makes a fine full size beast, but at 90k, it's not for everyone.

the Nissan Armegeddon has the reliability of a cylon on crack, so what's left?

a Sequia I guess, but those are fugly as all get out...

 

Same thing here.....been burning oil for a ong time. I got lucky and made it to 170,000 miles before my stabilink, trac control and check engine came on. Suburban went into limb mode or missing real bad. Had to replace the engine. Like you said they would have to tear engine apart to find out for sure but the servive mgr said it usually drops a lifter that then damages the cam and so on.... He has seen it many times. Its all in the oil consumption and afm system. NO RECALLs FROM CHEVY...would yo expect anything more from them. Lucky t was 3 weeks before we went to Colorado during Christmas and it didnt happen at 9000 ft on an icy road. GM wont recall unless someone dies or is a real danger. Could of been real dangerous for us. Wake up GM someone will die sooner or later. Learn from your past failures and people having to die. Fix the problem. It cost me $5700 because i wasn't going to give Chevy any of my business now or future. Yes , it cost me a couple extra thousand now but in next 5 years it will cost them over $75,000-$100,000. My 07 suburban has over 180,000 , my wifes car over 150,000 and a 14 yr old getting ready to drive and a 12 yr od. so, we will be in the market for 3-4 cars in next 3- 5 years. Go figure GM. You do the math. And the bad word of mouth you will get.

 

you may have misspoke:

"GM wont recall unless someone dies"

I think you meant to say "GM won't recall unless a LOT of people die, and it makes the news"

GM announces new recalls - Mar. 17, 2014

 

I hate to burst everyone's bubble. But you are not going to find a car that is newer than 2012 that does not have an active fuel management system. No matter the make and model. New EPA mileage restrictions imposed on ALL car manufacturers is the problem. Federal mandates are the ones that require all these exhaust emission sensors and variable valve timing to meet these requirements. These problems are not just restricted to GM. Be glad it wasn't a new Ford, cause Ford wouldn't have helped one bit, no matter how much of a fuss you made (speaking from experience). 2011 Ford F-150 that burned oil like no ones business, misfires and started a upper end noise. Out of warranty by ONLY 500 miles, they just said sorry there is nothing we can do unless you want to spend 9k and have us put a new motor in.
To get to the point, with all this additional requirements these engines require you are never going to get them last as long as our good old small blocks. But then my mother has a 2010 Silverado LTZ with a 5.3 and has just clocked 350k.

 

A 2010 with 350,000 miles? Even if purchased just when it came out in '09, that would be over 80,000 miles/year. Sure you got those numbers right?


The Chrysler 5.7 hemi with multi-displacement has been a very reliable, long lasting engine.

 

She shows dogs for a living and travels all over the place. I don't think that poor woman ever gets out of the darn thing. She bought it brand new. Has had a trans replacement done but still the original motor. Pulls her little trailer constantly. Keep trying to get her to buy a new one but she wont listen. Stubborn mothers

 

Wow, that's a lot of driving! As much as I love my Tahoe, if I drove that much I think I'd downsize to something that got mid 20's mpg. Then again, probably hard to find any small SUV that would get to over 300,000 miles.

 

Your right everyone has the afm system. Chevy just didn't have it right the first couple of years. And thats ok, but admit it and stand by your product. My suburban was using a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Thats not normal or ok. If i drove from Texas to Colorado in o straight trip it would be a quart or more low when I arrived. Chevy should of fixed it, not change their manuel to say that is acceptable oil consumption. This is what led to all the issues and engine dying. Why some engines did it and others didn't i don't know. I know mine was maintained properly and lasted 170,000 mile while others 80,000 and some never had a problem.

 

Very true... its easy to take the newer vehicles for granted since they do tell us so much... but you really do need a routine of checking under the hood regularly... the manual says at every fill up, check your oil... who really does that ?!? but making it a Saturday or what ever day works for you habbit, do it..
Long road trips are even more important I think, especially if you drive at extended high speeds...