'19 Tahoe Z71, potential buyer

FL335i · February 24, 2019

Hey guys and gals. I'm from over on the K2XX truck section. I'm on the fence about buying a new '19 Tahoe Z71 for my wife. I know all the pitfalls with the truck, I've been trying to educate myself with the SUV variation for the past few weeks.

Potential issue # 1: Roof buffeting. This seems to be the most popular "issue" with the K2XX SUV. From what I gather, it affected the earlier years more. Have not seen anyone with an '18 or '19 complaining of this. Is this "fixed"?

Potential issue # 2: Chevy shakes. I've thrown quite a bit of money, time and work at my truck battling the rear end vibration. I've done Yukon axle shafts, took the driveshaft off and had a local shop balance it. RF balanced (witnessed) the tires. Much better than before but over 75MPH there is a slight vibration that remains. Do the SUV's suffer from the same issue? I do not, will not, own two shakers.

Anything else I'm missing? I'm looking at a '19 Z71. 3.42 gears. 5.3L with the 6spd. 4WD with the 2spd T case and Auto 4wd. Same drive-train as my '14 Silverado. Thanks in advance.

Edited February 24, 2019 by FL335i

cheyenne383 · February 25, 2019

I think the most important thing is an overnight test drive to make sure you don't feel any of the known issues. I know sometimes the issues show up later down the road but ordering one would have me nervous and you'd at least have that piece of mind coming off the lot. Take it out on the highway and then run it through your typical commute to see if it will do well.

I drive a 17 Silverado and my wife has a 16 Suburban, we're both fortunate to not have any symptoms of the common vibrations and other issues. We both have lower/mid level trim and 5.3/6L80E/3.08 4 wheel drive set ups and heavy BFG All Terrains, not sure if that plays any part or not. I just turned over 15k miles on mind Friday and my wife is north of 85k miles currently. I put over 200 miles on my truck before I bought it... I did the same with my 2011 I bought new.

Mandalorian · February 25, 2019

The shaking issue is really individual vehicle specific.

FL335i · February 26, 2019

Well I appreciate the input guys. We'll make sure to take it out on the hwy and around town to see how it does. We're pretty much sorted out with the dealer for Sat morning. Should be a test drive and paperwork.

martha3065 · February 26, 2019

I have a 17 Tahoe LT (currently 33k) and do not have either of these issues. I also have a 16 Silverado LTZ Z71 (currently 46k) and a RFB cured the shakes I had.

Tahoe02 · February 28, 2019

I second the road force balance as it cured my chevy shake. It would almost shake my water bottle out of the cup holder at 70mph.

FL335i · March 1, 2019

I've RFB'd my tires and still have it. But then again I have E Load 10 ply Ko2's. The RFB machine was int he 28-32 Lbs of force. IIRC the TSB is like 15 #. We worked out butts off to lower the force numbers with no avail. Nature of the tire.

The Zip · March 1, 2019

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 9:18 AM, Mandalorian said:

The shaking issue is really individual vehicle specific.

This comment is accurate since the 2015 first issue, but reported SUV numbers on this forum has decrease from the first issue to now. I have a 2015 first issue, never had the shaking, or RFBd tires, or buffeting. I was one of those other vehicle specifics.

Edited March 1, 2019 by The Zip

K2xxSteve · March 1, 2019

I have a 2018 Suburban Premier with 22" wheels, and nothing to really complain about. There's some mild "body resonance" type issues at around 63 or 66 mph, but it's easy enough to just avoid those speeds. Since you're looking at a Z71, I'm guessing it doesn't have 22" wheels, which are part of the problem. The main issue are the Bridgestone tires. Most are happy just switching to Michelins, and/or downgrading to 20" or smaller wheels from what I've read. It only becomes a fiasco because GM apparently won't warranty replace the tires with Michelins, only the crappy Bridgestones and then having to do all sorts of road force balancing. I guess I don't have any of the "chevy shakes". I think most of the production changes that were made to improve these issues were rolled in by the 2017 model year.

Yeah, just be sure to take it for a very thorough test drive, including up to highway speeds. I did with mine.

CrunchyBlack_386 · March 2, 2019

I have a 2015 suburban ltz with 33k miles, 22” wheels, 4x4. I have zero buffeting, vibrations, etc. It is also a first production run, we love it!

FL335i · March 3, 2019

Well I pulled the trigger today. Brought home a '19 Z71. Comparing it to my '14 silverado it feels like GM took my gas pedal fix thread to heart. The gas pedal feels awesome! And the 6-speed trans feels much quicker in the Tahoe compare to my truck. Rides smooth and no buffeting or vibrations noticed on the test drive or day 1.

Edited March 3, 2019 by FL335i

cheyenne383 · March 3, 2019

Congrats on the new ride, hope you enjoy the upgrade!

K2xxSteve · March 3, 2019

Congrats on the new ride!

K2xxSteve · March 3, 2019

12 hours ago, FL335i said:

Well I pulled the trigger today. Brought home a '19 Z71. Comparing it to my '14 silverado it feels like GM took my gas pedal fix thread to heart. The gas pedal feels awesome! And the speed trans feels much quicker in the tahoe compare to my truck. Rides smooth and no buffeting or vibrations noticed on the test drive or day 1.

Totally new to GM here. Just curious, what was the gas pedal like before and how is it now?

FL335i · March 3, 2019

Well the gas pedal in my '14 Silverado flexed and had a delay to it. I was the one who started a pretty good size thread about shimming the gas pedal to at least eliminate the flexing of the bracket. And the 6spd trans in my '14 was always lethargic feeling in traffic. Driving my wife's new '19 with the same 5.3L and same 6spd trans and same 2spd T-case... The gas pedal is very responsive and the trans shifts so much faster. So I bought a first year K2XX truck and a last year Tahoe.... I can tell the differences.

Edited March 3, 2019 by FL335i