I am in the market for a new (to me) suburban. Everything that ends up in my price range puts me in a 07-09 model. My concern here is the oil burning issues that were prevalent in those model years. Because of this I am feeling like I should just bite the bullet on price and buy newer in order to avoid running into that known issue. However, I wanted to do my research first and find out if there is a way to determine:

1. If the specific production run of a suburban was part of the run that had those issues.

2. If the vehicle has already had the issue and had it solved.

Also wondering if I find one that lists in service records that it was repaired if the prepare by GM proved to be a successful repair or if I need to be concerned with it popping up again.

I am looking to make this an 8-10 year car for my wife (our "people mover" for our young and growing family) and I would like to not have to find myself selling it before then because of un-reasonable maintenance issues.

Should I just stay away from those model years? Should I buy a specific warranty?

Thanks!

 

I'd stay away from it

 

I'd say go for it... my 07 Tahoe with the 5.3L has 78k miles on here now, had since new and have had zero oil consumption issues...
There are tens if not hundreds of thousands of Tahoe's and Suburbans on the road that do not have the oil consumption issue... what you see on this forum are the ones that do, very few people take time to log on and say they have no problems with their vehicles...something to keep in prospective

You could buy a brand new vehicle and not know what problems it could have, buying used and visiting forums gives you knowledge of possible issues...

 

Thanks for the input guys. I am stuck between going for an 08 that is in my price range or buying a newer model that is more of a stretch.

Totally makes sense that the newer models might have issues as well, but just have not hit the mileage mark where they would be evident. On that note, is there any data available on the 08s that would give an average mileage range that the oil burning issue became prevalent? I suppose if I knew that I could simply look for one that is beyond the high end of that average and hope that it's not a late bloomer (burner) when it comes to that issue.

Maybe I am just being over cautious about this issue and unduly ruling out 2008 models...but I've heard the horror stories from other owners and also owned another vehicle of a different make/model that had oil burning issues and that was absolutely a nightmare and crazy expensive to fix.

Thanks!

 

stay away from active fuel management and you will not have an oil consuption issue.

 

try to buy certified sub,then look for qt of oil needed by 3k mi.I took 1400 mi trip in 21 hrs and used 1&1/2 qts. each way.ended up getting new motor, excellant warranty

 

Purchase it. Let me first say that I personally drive an F150 4x4 5.4 XLT and won't ever drive anything other than a Ford Truck. A year and a half ago I bought my wife a 2007 1500 Suburban LT and I must say this is the nicest vehicle I've ever owned. As far as the oil consumption, mine does it too. If you want to get technical, my wife's burb doesn't "burn" or "leak" oil. There is no oil residue in the exhaust that indicates burning or it never smokes like it's burning oil. I typically have to add 1-2 quarts between oil changes. I use Mobil 1 High Mileage. I don't have any issues with having to add an extra qt or two because I know there is nothing mechanically wrong with her vehicle. It's just one of those things that happens in those particular models. I hook my OBD up to it frequently to monitor and still no issues. As a Ford man, I'll be the first to tell you that the '07 burb is one heck of a vehicle. Other than my F150 purchase, it's the best vehicle purchase I've ever made. Point being, unless there's something mechanical causing the oil "burn" I wouldn't worry about the mystery oil consumption that happens on these vehicles.

 

Well, you can choose between 20 bucks worth of oil each year if the engine consumes a bit of oil, or 30,000 dollars more and a decent warrenty.

 

Thanks for the contribution of your input and advice guys! In order to return the favor of contribution I thought I would share what the dealership contact that I have has told me. He's the lowest pressure sales guy I've met in terms of car sales so I am glad I don't feel like I need to read between the lines of what he was able to find out through their service department. Here it is:

"I have been doing some research on the oil burning issue and what is done to correct it. The consumption is considered excessive if it is more than 1qt every 2000 miles. It seems to be more common in vehicles that came out of rental service.
I would be able to go into the vehicle history on our warranty history to see if a particular Suburban had been in for that problem. From what I am being told if it does not exhibit that issue by 40,000 miles it is very unlikely to develop the problem. Let me know how I can help."

Not a lot of new info, but the parts I bolded are helpful in the process of researching a suburban to purchase. Maybe it will help someone else as well.

 

If it does not exhibit that issue by 40,000 miles it is very unlikely to develop the problem.

That is a pretty important piece of info if true... thanks for sharing