Jbardram

We're both speculating but I believe they know what's causing the buffeting/booming. They've made some running changes to help mitigate but not solve the issues and I doubt those were guesses. I suspect the overall issue is a design flaw that, as you say, senior management and major shareholders would be opposed to fixing. We've also got decent sales numbers and weak competition working against us. That may change a bit when the new expedition/navigator come out next year, but the redesign for this generation is already underway and will be out not long after that. So long story short, I think GM gets away with it with minimal impact.

Don't feel too much remorse about not waiting for the Z71. Since my original post, the buffeting/booming has become more noticeable. The buffeting in particular is giving me headaches on longer drives. So while the 18" wheels and z71 specific shocks may help, it doesnt eliminate the problem. Anyone with a level kit able to chime in with post-leveling buffeting results? The vendor that is touting reduced buffeting on lowered vehicles hasnt mentioned lifting the front ends as far as i know. Id be more interested in lifting the front end than lowering the vehicle to get level, and I could see why leveling the vehicle might change the airflow and reduce the buffeting.

My Suburban is making a similar noise. On first oil change dealer couldn't find anything. Annoyed me enough to ride in rear cargo area while wife drove. Turns out if you push the plastic piece below the rearmost side window, passenger side in my case, it replicates the noise. Sounds just like styrofoam as you said. Only over bumps and not all the time. Have appointment at dealer for this tomorrow.

Mine came delivered from dealer at 40psi cold. Didn't notice it until first trip when we found the highway expansion joints to be very annoying. Tires were reading 42psi when warm. Dropped it down to 33 cold and had noticeable improvement. Door jam sticker is 35psi for my 18" z71s.

Wonder how many perfectly good tires GM has changed..

Maybe they disrupt the airflow over the roof, which might help, but I don't think they would add any real stiffness. Mine rattled right from the dealer so I took them off and taped the ends before reassembling them. The rails are only held into the brackets by one screw (not fully tightened by dealership) and it is designed to slip on one side so if your roof were flexing I think the rails would as well. But hey if that really does solve the problem GM has a cheap fix on their hands.

Despite getting some good advice on here to hold off, I pulled the trigger on a '16 Suburban Z71 Monday. Picked it up, loaded up with wife and 4 kids, two dogs, roof cargo carrier and rear hitch rack and went for 600 mile round trip to Adirondacks in NY. Will post some comments in another thread so as not to clutter this one, but experienced no real symptoms of the issues some of you have had. Truck was very smooth and quiet (we also have a Silverado 2500 gas and an Acadia Denali for comparison). The body does seem very tight, and there was a slight pressure sensation going over some bumps. I was really tuned into it having read this forum and being braced for the worst. No one else in the vehicle noticed anything. The z71 is somewhat rare in my area. Maybe the wheel/tire combo is a plus, or maybe it has no bearing on whether this eventually suffers from the buffeting/vibration issues. But thanks to all for the feedback last couple of weeks. Hoping for a permanent fix soon for everyone..

Dealer called me regarding the suburban z71 i posted about a couple months back. Now how bonus cash on the hood and lease deal is pretty attractive. I was convinced to wait for the '17s to hopefully benefit from both the 8spd and a production fix for the issues many of you have been dealing with, but this is tempting me. Really struggling with what to expect ... seems from your experiences that a high percentage of these suv's are affected, but given the sales numbers and relatively low number of complaints online I am thinking of rolling the dice..

Have to say if media reports, including this forum, are correct about the quantity of suv examples that consistently exhibit these problems, then GM must already know the cause of the problem. They've had ample time and certainly have the engineering resources to figure it out. This isn't some anomalous electrical gremlin affecting a handful of vehicles. Think the real issue is whether they feel compelled to put what is likely a costly fix into production or want to band aid the affected owners/units until a mid cycle redesign.

Eric - yes, i would also say a Silverado 1500 is not a heavy duty truck. GM says the same thing. Not trying to make an argument, just commented on Booty's post about how heavy duty the components on these SUV's are. What someone considers to be 'heavy duty' is really a matter of perspective. Coming out of a RAV4 a Suburban must seem like a tank, but in general GVWRs of 8500lbs and up are considered to be HD and there are noticeable differences in key components such as brakes, suspension, axles, etc. Excursion was really the only heavy duty fullsize suv, and now the 3500 Suburban that is fleet only for whatever reason. The 2500 suburban offered in some model years sort of split the difference.

Lol, as long as the Carolina girls go for it, its all good. But as example, the 4wd suburban has a gvwr of 7500 lbs and weighs around 5800 lbs. So you have available payload of 1700lbs. The 2016 3500 Suburban, which is fleet only, is made of beefier components. Things you mentioned like axles, transmissions, cast iron engine block etc. It weighs more, 6585lbs, but has a gvwr of 11,000lbs. So payload on that is 4400lbs. That's more than my 2500 Silverado. That's heavy duty! Probably rides like a tank. I don't know if the 3500 Suburban would still have the buffering issue this thread is dedicated to. I suspect the sheetmetal is the same as on the 1500 version...

These are awesome trucks that I like a lot, but they are not 'heavy duty'. They're built on a lighter duty version of GM's light duty truck platform. Payload ratings are not much higher than most minivans or large unibodys like the lambda's.

Saw this line in the GM press release rolling out the new '17 Acadia this morning, and first thing I thought was ... Wonder if this is how they wound up with buffeting roofs on the SUVS ?? "The body structure incorporates press-hardened, high strength steels, which allowed thinner components in some areas offering comparable or better crash performance than conventional materials. They also help reduce the base curb weight by 700 pounds compared to the current model"

Decided to pass as well on the '16 Suburban Z71 i test drove last week. Deal was reasonably good and I didnt notice anything on the test drive, but it is too big a purchase for me to risk dealing with these problems. I have the luxury of waiting so I'll see what '17 brings. Supposedly a new Expedition at that time as well. I imagine with the publicity this is now getting, and improved competition incoming, GM will figure out a way to protect it's cash cows and get a solid fix into production by the '17MY. If not, shame on them!

Agreed, my last 4 GM's with sunroofs have all leaked at some point. Nothings perfect lol..

Thanks for the input Willyspu. It is a concern that more than a few people have said their issue did not appear until after a few thousand miles of driving. Tough to root that out on a thorough test drive. There is some risk with any new vehicle, and I do believe you see a disproportionate concentration of negative feedback on the internet. It is probably safe to assume the majority of suburban owners have not had any problems. I'm glad to hear you are in that category. Does yours have a sunroof?

Based on the sales numbers released this morning, gm sold about 210,000 of these suv's this year. So if this issue affects 5% of vehicles that's 10,000 unhappy customers that purchased a high price point vehicle....is it actually more or less, I dont know. Hopefully they take care of this soon..

Almost pulled trigger on '16 Suburban z71 yesterday, but this issue giving me pause. Tough to believe GM cannot come up with a solid resolution given the number of months this issues been out there and the number of affected units they must have access to through buy backs and dealer inventory. If it takes more than a production line tweak I wonder how long we will have to wait for a fix. Would be nice to know what percentage of units are affected...