lazybones18

Hi All
I am a potential 1st time buyer of a 2022 or 2023 Chevy Suburban. We rented a suburban for a road trip and my wife fell in love with it. I want to buy a Suburban 2022/2023 but i have been reading about all these engine lifter issues and poor reliability on these cars overall. is it true or only few bad apples ?

I usually buy my cars and drive around 12,000-15,000 per year. I keep my cars around 7 years and then sell them

Also what is the best engine to buy 5.3/6.2/5.3 in terms of reliability ?

Thanks

repairman54

Lifter issues were erratic in the '21 and early '22 engines, 5.3 and 6.2. They had a supplier issue's back then with the lifter manufacturer.
5.3 is fine if not towing any large trailers. Both engines are fine as the LS series engines have been around for a long time.
My '11 Tahoe with the 5.3 has been great. At 146k miles now and it barely uses a half a quart of oil between oil changes. And I tow with it also.

Bhubbard

I have 2015 suburban LTZ 5.3 124,000 on it and been to shop with lifter issues. I knew what it was and got it cleaned out before it failed. My wife’s 2015 Yukon Denali 6.2 116,000 also spent time in shop for lifters, I recommend changing oil at 5k and stay on top of it. My neighbor is mechanic for local dealer he has seen the lifters fail on brand new ones. This issue started back in 2007 with both engines and they have failed to correct it.

repairman54

AFM eliminator / deactivator in mine since I got it.
Look at the window sticker on the new one, most new Chevys right now are not coming new with that feature, it says so on the window sticker. You can view the window sticker on Chevys website when looking for dealers current inventory or what's in transit to dealers.
Every brand has cylinder deactivation lifter issues in V8's.

Bhubbard

i agree with all of this. The AFM or DOD eliminator has seem to solve issues. Speaking in depth with mechanic that I have known for years he agrees with it but made statement lifters are still in there so it’s a risk if the new one comes with it. I do have a long time client that has a Silverado and never had an issue and at 180,000 in his 2016 5.3L

I do love the rides and knowing all these issues every truck has its problems and I would still choose to purchase if that helps.

lazybones18

What is a AFM or DOD eliminator ?
what does this do to resolve the issue ?

so basically I can buy a suburban with AFM or DOD eliminator and won’t have problems ?

Bhubbard

The lifters have been known to fail in these motors. With plug in for it the AFM will not activate shutting down 4 of the 8. When collapsed the pin may not guide it back correctly or can be dirty with old oil or any number of issues. It’s odd because some fail over time and their have been numerous ones fail inside 20k. I change oil every 5k and use amsoil full synthetic. However the lifters are still in the motor so it’s still possible they could fail. Only way to be sure of that is have them removed. During covid issues of supply some of the motors were made without them like pre 2007. It’s just a bad design and seems to be the weakest issue on the 5.3 and 6.2. If mine failed I would have it rebuilt removing them instead of replacing lifters.

Bhubbard

I forgot to say the plug doesn’t change anything in computer and just keeps it in v8 all the time. I actually get better mpg ….. they also only cost around 200 bucks so a cheap option to try and I see no negative in.

lazybones18

I love the Yukons and suburban . But it’s insane they are having these issues

I guess I won’t buy

wait for sequoia 2023

Bhubbard

I think if you dig hard enough in anything you will find it’s problems. For example my old ford truck had plugs seize into the aluminum housing and break off. I fixed this by changing all 8 every 30-50k. The best year for Toyota was the tundra in 2013 ish and those trucks got 400,000 on them. Right after that the trucks weren’t built as well. If you are paying the money to buy new I don’t think it would be a concern of mine under warranty. I like to purchase used and just know I might drop 3-5k to fix those issues off the lot. Best of luck though and get the truck/suv that fits your needs!