CarComplaints.com Notes: Engines shouldn't need a new quart of oil every 500-1000 miles, but for thousands of Suburban owners that's exactly what's happening. Engine oil consumption on aluminum block engines with Active Fuel Management (AFM) is out of control and owners are left looking for answers.
The most likely culprit is an uncovered AFM valve which, in many cases, can be covered under warranty. The problem is the issues don't stop there and many owners have been told by GM just to buy a new engine. Take one guess who they want to pick up the tab.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
108,567 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while driving 50-60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started jerking. Additionally, the contact noticed that there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to Triple A service station, where the cause of the failure could not be determined; however, unknown plugs and wire were replaced. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where flour coil packs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that intake lifter of cylinder #1 was not moving due to a collapsed lifter roller, which lead to oil built up on the oil pan and the rear main seal. The dealer determined that engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.
The engine has a collapsed lifter that has failed. This problem is placing us at risk of breaking down while driving. I live in a busy city that has a lot of traffic. When I have money, I plan to take the vehicle to the dealership to confirm. I first noticed the problem by hearing the engine make a clicking sound when the engine is running. The sound is coming from the area of lifter location.
The engine began smoking really bad when driving down highway and car locked down. It became undriveable. I was out of town when happened and had to have towed. Mechanic confirmed motor is bad and has to be replaced. Just had transmission replaced 2 weeks prior to this happening. Transmission has had to be replaced 2 x's since I have owned vehicle.
Took a left turn while driving, heard a small noise and with in one minute of going down the road after my turn, my engine was a rough idle, engine light blinking and traction control was blinking. Had it towed to the closest Chevy dealership to find out that the lifters were bad and causing misfire. That's a common problem for this engine and the replacement cost should not be on the consumer, there should be a recall for this costly repair!
Engine is malfunctioning and using excessive amounts of oil (1 quart every 1-2 weeks). The manufacturer built bad motors in 2007 and knowingly covered it up. The vehicles were still sold to consumers and rather than fixing the issue (engine would have to be rebuilt or replaced) the manufacturer is placing all responsibility and cost ($9,000 fix) on the consumer, even when reported before 100,000 miles. The manufacturer knowingly sold lemon vehicles and refuses to fix.
Active fuel management (afm) lifters jam/seize causing push rods to remain collapsed and causing engine misfires throughout the engine and excessive oil burning, possible damage to catalytic converters, and premature engine wear. Lifters must be replaced or engine replaced. I was driving the car and when the engine began misfiring, check engine light began blinking, traction control became disabled, and error on dash saying service stabilitrak and traction control disabled appeared. The car began to shift erratically shaking and lunging.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. While driving 45 mph, the check engine, stabilitrak, and stop engine now warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to courtesy Chevrolet (located at 1220 E stone dr, kingsport, tn 37660, (888) 320-1411) to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to properly diagnose the vehicle. The contact stated that the spark plugs, ignition wire, and oil sending unit were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 156,000.
Stability traction control light keeps coming on while in motion. With major oil consumption problems. Just in regular driving I've had transmission, and rear differential work done fixed the problem for a few months now back again with flashing check engine light. Saying cylinder 6 misfiring. I've already sunk in over 4K in this after buying it last year in Dec.of 2017. After reading comments this really should be a recall. With so many of the same concerns and complaints that have been listed.
I was driving on a city street and made a right turn onto another city street and the engine started running rough and idle rough, service stabilitrak light stayed on, service traction control, transmission jerks from 1st gear to 2nd gear, engine ticking/knocking, service engine light flashing, scan code came up as misfire on cylinder #4, took vehicle to repair shop and lifters were replaced among other things; see attached files.
Engine is malfunctioning and using excessive amounts of oil (1 quart every 1-2 weeks). The manufacturer built bad motors in 2007 and knowingly covered it up. The vehicles were still sold to consumers and rather than fixing the issue (engine would have to be rebuilt or replaced) the manufacturer is placing all responsibility and cost ($9,000 fix) on the consumer, even when reported before 100,000 miles. The manufacturer knowingly sold lemon vehicles and refuses to fix. A mechanic told me that my engine could explode (severe safety issue).
We have a 2007 Suburban with the 5.3L engine. After, much research on the internet, my wife and I have found that there evidently is a design flaw with the afm lifters. Our vehicle does have miles, but since this evidently is a very common problem, we did think Chevrolet would at least offer some assistance with the repair. A lifter collapsed and the cost to replace the lifters is $3,500, plus tax at tom gill Chevrolet in florence, ky. I don't blame the dealer for this, but Chevrolet has really dropped the ball on this issue for many, many vehicles with the same issue. Something should be done to better protect the consumer.
While driving on the highway I started hearing ticking noise from engine compartment and the stablizing light and check engine light started flashing. I shut off the Suburban and went to look under the hood. Started it back up and went back to listen again, still the same ticking. Chevy will not stand behind there bad afm which is causing this issue.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving 15 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.
My vehicle was having trouble starting and idling rough. I brought it in for repairs and was told it needed a new fuel pump and air filter. I had those changed in total spending $1700. Three days later, the check engine light started flashing in my car. I could feel the engine misfiring and was losing power. The oil pressure was fluctuating rapidly. I drove it back to my home and had it towed to the dealership. I was told that the cylinder 4 was misfiring caused by the cylinder deactivation failure which is caused by the automatic fuel management system. This is causing the lifter to fail.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The check engine, electronic stability control, check suspension, and traction control warning lights illuminated. The failure recurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 169,887.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. While attempting to start the vehicle, it began to shake and the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle began to slow down and the reduced engine power indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. As a result of the failure, the vehicle was almost T-boned by a tractor trailer. The vehicle was able to be maneuvered to the side of the road where it was restarted successfully. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body and the brake switch would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was brought back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the wiring to the ECM connector 2 and wiring harness needed to be changed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred shortly after the repair from the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,200.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bahama, NC, USA