What to look out for when buying 2000-2006 Suburban

[slow-1]

Hey guys, I am currently shopping for a 2000 - 2006 Suburban and would like to know what to watchout for...what years had what problems, what years were better, and such.

I am looking for something pretty nice and clean with low enough miles to last a few years...what are y'alls sugestions?

Thanks

[BadWolf]

i recently bought an 04 with 112K on it. it has the full front seat and barn doors out back. i would have liked to get one with front buckets and console and while i dont mind the barn doors theres no rear wiper option and the middle part somewhat obstructs your rear view through the mirror

problem areas on my truck were the middle row seats would not fold as the cable mechanism was busted. i jimmy rigged it to work rather then paying to buy a new cable assembly. wasnt a big deal but something to check. also the clutch fan was locked up so that had to be replaced. went from 10 mpg to 15 mpg changing that!

other then that and a couple loose interior pieces i havent had any problems

[69gmcc10]

Some of the problem areas on these trucks are cluster gauge issues (01-03), transfer case pump rub on 4wd (all years), and interior electrical issues. The more options you have the more issues that come up, but they are relatively simple and cheap fixes and upgraded part have been designed to prevent the issue from coming back, but they are annoying.

[Mobilehomie]

I have an '06 GMC Yukon XL Denali pkg. Had it for a couple of years with no issues other than the engine hours have re-set its self a couple of times. I would say with any vehicle model the later years of that model are the best.

[slow-1]

Thanks for the replies!

[JWall]

Mines a Tahoe but same basic thing so I will chime in... Its a 2003 with now a little over 100K (had 80ish when we bought it) & haven't had any major issues other than the intake had to be replaced. It cracked out.
Mines fully loaded except sunroof & everything is still working fine.
I have a light that's gone out in the dash cluster which I guess is common for this year range.

The hardest part I had was finding a nice one. They are everywhere but most the ones we found were all door & shopping cart dinged up, the interiors looked like child war zones, etc.
When I found the one we have now I knew it was "the one" pretty much instantly.

Side note - I just recently put an ipod & Bluetooth interface unit in ours that will allow Bluetooth phone operation thru the speakers & also adds a USB port that can be controlled thru the radio & even steering wheel controls. My wife loves being able to hook her iphone up to it for music.

[coralhead]

Originally Posted by JWall

.......
I have a light that's gone out in the dash cluster which I guess is common for this year range.

The hardest part I had was finding a nice one. They are everywhere but most the ones we found were all door & shopping cart dinged up, the interiors looked like child war zones, etc.
When I found the one we have now I knew it was "the one" pretty much instantly.

.

Agree on finding a clean one. I recently purchased an '03 Yukon XL with 157K miles. The carfax showed it to be a one owner religously seviced at the dealer. It was extremely clean. (owner was a doctor) It had the PRND123 issue of not lighting and a few dash lights out. After looking through the internet I found fixes for the issues. After resoldering cold joints on the dash circuit board everthing is working great.

Love the ride.

[stepside67]

My wife has a 2001 Suburban 1500 with 214,000 miles and it is an awesome vehicle. We have spent a fair amount of money on maintenance and repairs over the life of the vehicle but since we really like the vehicle it is not a big deal.

Most of our repair items are fairly common so it would be good to know if the vehicle you choose has already had these repairs.

1. Water pump
2. parking brake pads
3. rebuild transmission ( 145,000 miles ) - Transmission was serviced on regular intervals
4. radiator - hairline crack plastic side tank
5. knock sensors - Service engine light ( occurs usually when you wash the engine and water accumulates around the sensor. Intake must be pulled to repair)
6. inner tie rod ends / pitman arm
7. Rear end rebuild ( 205,000) - Rear end was not serviced on regular interval

[slow-1]

Thanks again for all the info, I am finding (to the point of it being rather frustrating) that soccer moms love these rigs, therefore many of them are trashed inside from the rigors of kid use.

I found one I really like (really clean, 95k miles, close to my price range) but on test drive it had a vibration that seemed to be the driveshaft or trans...anyone know anything that would cause such?

[richards72chevy]

Have you had any luck finding a suburban?I was wanting a Tahoe but they are way overpriced compared to the suburban.

[slow-1]

Still looking...seems like all the ones that meet my criteria are 200 miles away and I haven't been able to travel to look at them.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by slow-1

Still looking...seems like all the ones that meet my criteria are 200 miles away and I haven't been able to travel to look at them.

I was in the same boat as you. Bought an '05 last week after keeping my eyes out for one for months. It was traded into the local Chevy dealer with 68k miles. Got a fair deal.

Good luck with your search.

[slow-1]

I have been waiting for one like that to pop up, but if they are priced reasonable they disappear before I can get to them...or they are priced thousands over what they are worth.

[fun in dirt]

Keep looking & a good one will come around! Took me about 4 months to find a 2500 like I wanted. Your right about interiors looking like a war zone. I finally decided that was an area I was just gonna have to put some time cleaning & repairing myself. Otherwise the really nice ones were out of my price range. Finally found one that didn't look like Edward scissor hands had been on the seats. But I did replace the carpet. It was a light tan/silver & looked like they dumped their extra coffee on it EVERY morning. Good thing is you can buy replacement carpet for about $250 & I went with a gray color!

[Tropical Snowstorm]

Originally Posted by slow-1

Thanks again for all the info, I am finding (to the point of it being rather frustrating) that soccer moms love these rigs, therefore many of them are trashed inside from the rigors of kid use.

I might sound crazy but I would use that as an excuse to lowball and then use the money saved to get a Katzkin interior, pull the seats and get some GM carpet. You'll have about 1k tied up in an interior but it will be brand new and whatever color/design you want.

I've done leather in my 2006 Sierra and my 2011 Silverado, took the better part of a day off and made a world of difference. Not the best pic but I got the two row kit for $550 and it was miles ahead of the original cloth.

[cpayne5]

I got lucky with mine. It was owned by a couple in their 60s and the interior looks brand new. Not even any little scratches like you would normally see here and there. Not sure the rear seats were ever even sat in.

[leddzepp]

It's not a question of "if" but "when" the fuel pump will crap out. And when it does you are dead in the water. Changing it is a lot of fun too I bought my 01 about 5 years ago, have had to replace fuel pump, intake gaskets, water pump, plastic radiator tank, 2 fuel injectors, AC compressor, and plugs/wires in that time span. Only PITA was the fuel pump.

[richards72chevy]

Does any one know if the fuel pump issues have been solved in some of the later models?

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by richards72chevy

Does any one know if the fuel pump issues have been solved in some of the later models?

I was wondering this, too. I've got a buddy with an '03 with 198k on the original fuel pump.

[Real_McCoy]

I bought a 2001 Suburban 4 X 4 last week. It has leather interior with 3rd row seating and many of the extras. It is fairly clean with only minor exterior scratches and 2 very small cuts/worn spots in the seats. I bought this specifically to serve as the scout wagon as I am a Scoutmaster for the BSA. This weekend I carried 5 boys, one other adult, myself and pulled our enclosed trailer to a campout. It was nice not needing a caravan of vehicles to transport our boy scouts.

[slow-1]

I am an Assistant SM myself. My son got his Eagle last year.

No doubt when I find a Suburban, it will end up pulling our trailer and hauling scouts.

[slowcpe]

I bought my '00 Tahoe from my cousin 4 years ago with 170k miles on it. He quoted it to me cheap because it needed some work. Decided to pick it up to solely pull my boat. Got it home cleaned it up, did a tune up, replaced the front window motors and realized it was a pretty decent truck. Sold my Ranger a couple of months later as I never drove it.

It now has 245k on the ticker and is a great vehicle. I keep talking about getting something newer but there's nothing really wrong with it. I have replaced the following:

A/C
Brakes
Fuel Pump/Filter (yeah that is no fun at all)
Tune Up
Both front window motors
Alternator and tensioner pullies

I do know the earlier year (I don't remember when they fixed it) 5.3s seem to "knock" when cold until the oil fully circulates. Not a big deal but a bit embarrassing when you fire it up in a parking lot and it sounds like a diesel.

Once I get my '67 up and running I'm going to do a bit of freshening up on the interior. I have various light bulbs out, replace carpet, the bottom drivers seat has a rip and the drivers arm rest is all cracked.

I tow a 6x12 enclosed trailer for work and pull my 20' boat regularly with it. I do have money stashed for if/when the transmission decides to let go. If I was looking at a Sub, I would personally look for a 6.0 but that's mainly for towing.