Hello there... my name is Kevin and I am from eastern PA. We have a 2007 LT-3 suburban. We bought almost exactly 1 year ago used. My wife and I love the suburban however it has been a pain in the rear end with stupid little issues. I am hopping someone can give me some advice on some of these issues...

1st- Tapping noise. When the motor is cold and started (In the morning for example) we get a horrible tapping noise that sounds to me to be a valve tap. At first I figured it was just the typical cold start tap but after it stayed for over 10 minutes I got concerned. After it fully warms it goes away but while tapping it sounds horrible! Like an old beater car about to blow it's motor. The problem here is it is not consistent. It will happen on the first start of the day in the summer and then not happen on a 15 degree winter morning. That being said it does happen more in the cold weather. I have mentioned it to the dealer 4 times now while it was in for service and they have never been able to make it happen. We have 53K on it and a 100K warranty so I am not concerned yet but I want to get what ever it is fixed. Any thoughts???

2nd- We have had 3 water leaks. The first 2 were collecting in the overhead light and the last one we noticed water leaking in through the hole for the shoulder strap in the middle row. All 3 times they claimed that the sun roof drains were blocked. We don't park it under tree's so I have no idea why this keeps happening. My concern is I sometimes smell a mildew or moldy smell. Last time it was in I asked the dealer to pull the plastic covers to look for mold and they claim they found nothing.

The suburban's are in my opinion the best looking SUV on the market and the ride is great! The 5.3 is a bit under powered in my opinion however overall it is a great vehicle. I must admit however that in 1 year I am getting frustrated with this thing. It seams as though I am always servicing something. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!

Kevin

 

Welcome to the forum Kevin

I have not had any issues with my 5.3L in my Tahoe but I have started seeing a few other post on the lifter tapping noise

as for the water leak I have also heard of the sun roof drain blockage..

Search the forum for some of the issues you have seen but I am also sure others will have some input as well

 

Welcome to the forum.

One cause of the lifter noise is the mechanics associated w/ the AFM. It was addressed earlier in the forum.