K2xxSteve

Amen, brother! Found the ONE thing that matters in life. PTL! It's really a shame on my ill-fated Burban, because we just bought a near the beach property in Delaware hardly a month after I traded it. Didn't think it would happen, but finally found a place we loved and went for it. It really would have come in handy with its superb towing and hauling abilities getting stuff from MD to DE, but the X7 is a fantastic tow vehicle also. Lots of things I've been hauling wouldn't have fit in the Suburban anyways, so I've been renting U-Haul 5x8 trailers for next to nothing. The B58 will tow all day long in 7th gear, and you never know anything is there. I'd say it's as good or better a tow vehicle than the Burban, and I had max tow and 3.42 gearing. I considered a closeout Ford Expedition (the now previous model). Massive discounts $10-12k off MSRP without even negotiating. Regular Tahoe sized one and not the Max would have been fine for us now. Liked it but didn't love it, and new car prices have gotten ridiculous. The CPO X7 was the same price and not really all that much smaller inside, and drove a ton better obviously, so went in that direction and haven't looked back. I know BMW's well. This is our fourth. We had an E70 for six years also, a 2012 X5 35d which was fantastic. We traded that for the Suburban. Recently got my wife a CPO 2022 G05 X5 with a mere 4k miles on it, now my G07 X7, and still have the 2011 E93 335i that I bought new. There's a really good indy BMW shop within walking distance from me also, so it makes sense. Funny thing is the X7 has an air suspension system that's known for FIVE-figure repair bills, so this time I went for the platinum plan extended warranty. I hope I don't need it. Just to stay on topic, there's a lot more discussion about aftermarket suspension options including various Magneride deletes and other things you can do over at tahoeyukon forum dot com. I researched until I couldn't see straight, and came to the conclusion to just suck it up and do the full OEM Magneride replacement. Ride quality aspects are so nuanced and subjective that unless you can personally ride in a vehicle with the suspension setup you're considering, who the heck knows if you'll be satisfied or not? Very easy to blow tons of money on something you won't be satisfied with, and difficult to get straight answers even from the aftermarket companies. Just stick with OEM. I'd have done it, but then the stupid lifter issue on top of that and the master tech thinking things were too far gone and to just replace rather than repair, good grief. Still bitter, but enjoying having a daily BMW again, and love the deal I got on it.

Saw your message. Ended up trading the truck. Glad I dragged my feet for a year on the Magneride replacement, because by the time I was finally ready to suck it up and spend $5-6k on full Magneride replacement and airbags too late last year, the engine was letting go. Frozen/stuck lifter grinding out the cam and "tick of death". 97k miles. Master tech with 30+ years experience at my local indy shop took a look at it, and recommended I either trade since it was still under 100k miles and no check engine light yet, or get a replacement engine. Couldn't believe it. $10-15k in repairs needed on a truck with still under 100k miles? I was not expecting perfection from GM by any means, but holy moly. Anyways, got $23k in trade for it, and picked up an off-lease low mileage CPO 2022 BMW X7 with tow package.

So the new thermostat came in on Thursday and took it to a good local shop on Monday. Just short trips on Monday, but finally had a nice 40 minute drive today and it seems solid. Mostly stays dead-on at 207F actual in light driving and 50 degree outside temps. Forgot to take a photo of the one that came in, but it was a genuine GM part complete with GM and part number stamping, taken from a full water pump assembly as described in the eBay listing. What a freaking hassle, but glad it's finally fixed! The guy on eBay still has plenty of these if anybody needs them. $199 is a ripoff (I paid $149) but it is what it is when you can't get them elsewhere: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115727184809 You can get the full water pump assembly from which he's taking those from for only $50 more from Rock Auto, and elsewhere. Just remove the thermostat if that's all you need, and sell the water pump or keep it as a spare. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=10622996&cc=3438969&pt=10178&jsn=492 40 minute drive log attached. It's working as it should so not going to do another cold start test and waste more gas.

Thank you, Grumpy Bear! Have seen your posts in a bunch of the other thermostat related threads here, which were very helpful! Good lead. So I have two of the 207 F OEM on the way (15-11125), but this might be helpful to someone else reading. I wasn't sure what the OEM prices were, but figured what I was paying on eBay was about on target. Just curious, but which Cadillacs do the -13 PN / 194 F rated go into?

This is off that listing. Has GM and correct part number stamped into the housing. I bought another one that was listed as a Genuine GM part from another seller just in case. If the first one works out and I don't end up needing the backup, will either return it or re-sell it here in the FS forum. What a CF!!!!

Next problem has been finding where I can get a genuine GM thermostat assembly from. It appears this is a very common issue, which combined with the GM strike, has lead to widespread parts unavailability. A couple days getting run around and ripped off by the dealership, and then a couple days genuinely trying to be helpful run around by a local shop asking legit questions making sure I wasn't fixing the wrong problem before I dump more money into it, and the two that had been found are gone. The local shop (good guys) had found an OEM part last Thursday but now gone, and a part my buddy had found at a parts store down in GA (I'm in MD) was also gone. F me! Sooo.... off to eBay I go. I'm not sure where and if this is the same seller or not, but I'm 99% sure I had seen a post somewhere about these being legit. Someone here had ordered one somewhere. Per the description, they're new OEM thermostats off of the water pump assemblies. After reading a lot of bad reports here about the MOTORAD's being unreliable and/or not maintaining the correct temperatures, I feel safer buying this than the MOTORAD, so will see how it goes and report back! Listing link is here. There were 6 left, now 5 after I purchased. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115727184809

Additional troubleshooting steps over the weekend, and trying to 100% confirm the issue and that it wasn't something else before I dump more money into this. Got an OBD2 reader and a new laser temp gun, and monitored reported coolant temp sensor data vs. head temp (should match), thermostat inlet temp, and then thermostat outlet temp on the radiator hose in 1 minute intervals on a cold start. Saw thermostat opening way early at 160F. Not sure when the stock is supposed to open, but either way it's opening early, and staying open below where it should, thus the truck is not maintaining temperatures. Done deal it's the thermostat, which is what I had thought it was in the first place! The coolant temp sensor was probably always fine!

I think it's due to the strikes, to be honest! Saw this on a parts website. I might just have to put the questionable MOTORAD in it for now.

UPDATE finally got through to the parts counter guy at my dealership. He confirmed the parts are "massively backordered" and that they have 8 on backorder right now, but no idea when they're coming in. FFS.

Checking in. Mine need replacing sometime soon also and wondering if they can be had for cheaper. They're "seeping" at the moment. Not sure what the forum consensus is on them, but to me they're AMAZING. Not gonna do a "delete" but was definitely "shocked" at the replacement cost. Had no idea they cost that much money.

Hi all, First real issue on my 2018 Suburban 5.3L at 86k miles. On a road trip over Thanksgiving, I noticed it wasn't holding operating temps. It has always stayed dead nuts on at 210F indicated no matter what (hot/cold/towing), but on this 900 mile trip it was fluctuating between about 190 to 205F indicated. It would touch 210F and never go above that going up a long grade or if I had to get on it to pass someone, but otherwise kept fluctuating between 190-205 indicated. My thoughts. Thermostat stuck open, and will open as much as it needs to to avoid overheat, but won't close up for whatever reason resulting in a mild underheat and very slow warm-ups. Took to dealership (I hate these guys), they offered to throw a temp sensor at it (???). Saw here on the forum that these can go bad too, so said okay but was wondering. Honestly, I just wanted to throw money at it and make the problem go away also, but sure enough it's doing the same exact thing today so just wasted a bunch of money for nothing. Digging in now, and apparently NOBODY has the OE thermostat in stock?? GM GENUINE PARTS WATER PUMP OUTLET ASSEMBLY WITH THERMOSTAT GM Part # 12674639 ACDelco Part # 15-11125 Not online parts sources (RockAuto, O'Reilly, NAPA, etc.), and not local dealerships either, hence offering to throw a temp sensor at it and hoping it would fix it, since they apparently didn't have any thermostats (GM Parts online says no for all area dealership, but still trying to get in touch with the parts counter guy to confirm.) What gives?? Is there any place you can get the OE thermostat from these days? Summit Racing listing actually showed an estimated shipping date of MARCH 2024? What the actual f*?? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ado-15-11125 Rock Auto had these MOTORAD thermostats available? Are these any good? I searched and found one thread here where someone who got the stock 207 degree t-stat reported the engine running too hot, and actually had to get the cooler one and then it was fine. No idea if that's the norm or just a fluke? What else is there? https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chevrolet,2018,suburban,5.3l+v8,3438969,cooling+system,thermostat,2200 Also, for those of you that have scan tools, if the gauge is showing 190-205F indicated, do you know what the actual coolant temps are for that? I'm assuming the gauge stays parked at 210F across a wider range. Just wondering. Going to be putting 2-3k miles on the truck over the next month, so want to get this sorted ASAP without getting ripped off again, or having to put a flakey part in. Thanks for the help!

150-200 kWhr batteries and 800V charging systems (ala Porsche Taycan) are where it will be at for electric trucks that can tow. 200 kWhr batteries would probably give a reasonable range for a pure EV, and 800V charging systems will charge twice as fast as the Tesla 400V superchargers, or let you charge a 200 kWhr battery in the same amount of time as a Tesla 100 kWhr battery @ 400V. What I think would be interesting is a series-hybrid truck with an all-electric drivetrain (think Volt), enough battery capacity to keep things going for quite awhile (maybe at least 100 kWhr), but then a beefy enough ICE to keep things going when you're pushing the limits. That 2.7L turbo-4 might work pretty well for that. A lot of weight and cost and complexity there, but it could work. These first gen EV trucks will just get their foot in the door with whatever they can do, and will probably have pretty limited towing capabilities as far as range, but things will only get better from there on out. I don't think gas and diesel powered trucks will be going anywhere anytime soon. There has to be a robust grid of 400V/800V charging stations or whatever they end up standardizing on everywhere including out in the sticks for these things to take off, and then our entire electric grid will probably collapse long before then. Lol. EV's are cool, but our grid won't handle a critical mass of people all charging their EV's overnight.

The 8-speed transmission was left half-baked for the K2xx platform trucks, because GM was working on the joint 10-speed project with Ford at the same time. They claim to have improved it a ton in the T1xx trucks. A fluid change might temporarily mask some issues, but I seriously doubt it's going to fundamentally change the nature of the transmission. It is what it is. If it's going to worry you, just look for a Suburban or Yukon XL with the 3.42 gearing with the 5.3L/6-speed combo. It's nearly as good and without any of the issues. The 6L80E is pretty solid.

2018 Suburban purchased Nov 2018 (so probably a late MY2018 build). Not on the recall list.I have adaptive cruise and the forward collision warning / auto braking stuff, if that matters.

That rendering looks really nice, but yeah, eeww on the 3.6L V6. If they have the 5.3 and 6.2 engines in the lineup also, then I assume the 3.6L V6 would be naturally aspirated, and a cut-rate base engine on LS or LT spec? Umm, no thanks, but I guess with some weight savings and the right gearing it could work just fine for some. Have had my 2018 with the 5.3L fully loaded with 5 pax plus a dog and a crap ton of luggage and dog stuff, and it still has more than enough pep and passing power when needed with the 3.42 gearing. Have not driven the previous generation Burb, but yeah, the 2015+ with the 5.3L and standard 3.08 gearing definitely felt sluggish to me, to the extent that it wasn't in the running.

No, the adaptive cruise isn't perfect, but I love it. This is the one thing I wished that I had gotten in our old custom ordered 2012 BMW X5d, but didn't. So the adaptive cruise was a must have this time around. You have to play with the different distance settings I think. It brakes too late and tries to speed up way too aggressively when set to near. It seems to do much better on medium. When set to far, it's slowing down when a car is like a ridiculous distance away, so don't really use that much. I used the adaptive today on I-64 coming back from Virginia Beach and heading towards Richmond. Between Williamsburg and Richmond, it's one of those two lane stretches of highway where you're constantly on and off the brakes due to a lot of on and off-ramps and only two lanes. This used to drive me insane without adaptive cruise. It really helps reduce driver fatigue with it. It's only looking at the car in front of you though. If the 5th car in front of you gets on their brakes, and then the 4th, and then the 3rd, you need to start getting on the brakes yourself because people tend to follow way too close. If you're waiting for the adaptive to do its thing and haven't gotten on your brakes by the time the car right in front of you is finally getting on their brakes, that's precisely how multi-car pile ups happen, which we did see on I-95 in Virginia today! LOL! Drove past a good 7-8 car pile-up precisely from this sort of situation. Also saw a crashed Tesla, that I think hit a freaking motorcyclist! I let the adaptive do its thing, and it worked well, but it was definitely late on the braking once when set to medium, so switched it off. Again, it can only see what the car in front of you is doing, and not multiple vehicles ahead. It's a great tool to reduce driver fatigue. Gotta keep paying attention and maintain situational awareness at all times, though.

Sorry you're having trouble. I've only ever heard the compressor run in mine once, and that was right after I had loaded some heavy **** in the trunk. It's definitely NOT NORMAL for the compressor to be running 20 freaking minutes at a time. I agree that you probably have a leak somewhere. This is my first GM car also, but from all that I've read around these forums, GM service departments are not the best. Best of luck getting it sorted.

New to GM and I can't believe how much I actually like the "archaic" steering column shifter. It makes so much sense. You always know exactly what gear you're in by feel, don't even have to look at it to shift it, and otherwise stays out of the way and doesn't eat up center console space. No it's not sexy or trendy or "cool", but I think they make perfect sense in utilitarian vehicles like these. I definitely prefer it in my Suburban compared to a floor shifter, rotary knob somewhere, or especially a push button thing. I did have a 1984 Pontiac 6000 that I learned to drive on which was "three on the tree" back then! It had front bench seating so not really any other place to put it. Amazing how my brain snapped right back to column shifter mode, though. I hope they stick with the column shifters.

Somebody in my neighborhood actually has a new RED Burb, and that's exactly what I think whenever I see it! LOL! I'm not too big on Pepperdust TBH, but correct that the exterior color had to end up falling into a don't really care category, just as long as it's not black or silver/grey, so Pepperdust it was. I hate the black interiors. Really like Cocoa/Dune. I came very close to buying a closeout 2018 Burb Premier at another dealership in Blue/Mahogany. It had the stuff I didn't want (power running boards, dvd/moonroof junk) and not the stuff I did (3.42 gears and Adaptive Cruise), but good lord at $14k off MSRP I could live with it! They jacked the price up by $3k as soon as I asked about it and then wouldn't honor the lower price, so I walked. Happy that I did! I like the one I got better. Pepperdust is a pretty classic Chevy color I think. Would have preferred a blue or white, but I'm sure it'll grow on me. I'm already liking that it seems to hide dirt pretty well.

Oh yeah, forgot about the new Expedition/Navigator, which is funny because I RENTED one!!! It was a total let down as far as ride quality and actual cargo space with the 3rd row deployed. I couldn't believe how little space there was behind the 3rd row, not nearly as much as the Suburban, and seemed like it hardly more than a Tahoe. I think Ford is trying to differentiate a bit and dedicated a bit more space to passenger area (the sliding 2nd row seats were handy, but clunky and jammed up), but we've never felt like the Burb passenger area was inadequate while also having all the cargo space we need. The Expedition Max wastes too much space on passenger area for us and leaves us with too little cargo room, so it was pretty much a non-starter. GM has always been bringing up the rear as far as interior design and materials, it just depends how much of a stickler you are for it. I haven't been in the new Navigator, but I'm sure the interior is amazing, as is the new BMW X7, which is what my wife actually wanted to get, except it's not nearly big enough for us. My interior quality bar is probably lower than many - I think the Burb Premier interior is just fine, that GM has come a long ways over the decades, and have thought a few recent GM rental cars (Malibus I think) have been just fine in the interior department too. Agreed that they'll need to keep up with the Navigator and others for the Denali line and up, though.

I never saw a Burb Premier with 2nd row bench seats, but did find a used 2018 LT at Carmax with it that I test drove just for fun, while getting our traded X5 appraised. The cabin is too crammed in that configuration, IMHO. I think if you really need 8 seats you're better off getting a (shudder) minivan, unless you really need the towing and hauling capabilities of these trucks. The sales manager at my dealership said he thought my Premier with just Adaptive Cruise and 3.42's and the "SEY" wheels in Pepperdust/Cocoa was probably a custom order that somebody walked away from, as it would have been an atypical configuration for dealerships to order in my region. There's a few other 2018's that I looked at that also seemed to be custom orders that customers ended up not taking delivery on. I'm sure some of this is normal, but I think the availability of the 6.2 on the 2019's might have caused some of this. The 5.3 gets the job done for me.

Wow! Very nice pickup! You can't find a Denali XL up my way for less than $78k MSRP, and most are typically $80-82k with 22" wheels and 4WD standard, and every single one I looked at had the black interior. I just kinda gave up and focused my search efforts on the Burb, which ended up paying off.

That's awesome! Yeah pretty much EVERY Suburban Premier in my neck of the woods has 22's. There was one identical to mine at the same dealership but 20's rather than the 22's. I'd have preferred that one, but the one with 20's had just been sold. So far I've been pleasantly surprised at how "good" the ride quality is with the 22's, and while it definitely has a mild case of the vibration/resonance issues, it's not bad at all and more than tolerable, and nice to know that just swapping the Bridgestones out for Michelins will probably do the trick. Mine is Pepperdust. Not my first choice exterior color but it works for me, but needed to have a non-black interior first, so had to be a little flexible somewhere. Congrats on the new ride!

Finally just picked up an '18 Burb Premier too, and yes, it was very hard to find ones with Adaptive Cruise. Then I was asking the impossible for the 3.42 axle ratio also (max tow package) *and* something other than a black interior, and no other options (no sunroof or dvd systems, no power running boards, etc) Pretty much was looking for a needle in a haystack, but persistence paid off and found what I was looking for and just picked up last week. Love it so far.