During the first year of production for any newly designed vehicle there are lots of little quirks, bugs, defects, and/or problems that the early production units suffer. On this page I will list those quirks, bugs, defects and problems that other owners have reported either directly to me or posted on public forums, such as the Edmunds.com Town Hall. Please realize that a lot of the items listed will be things that occurred on early production vehicles and that GM has most likely already taken steps to correct these items in currently produced SUVs. Owners report that their dealers have been good about taking care of these items when they bring their vehicles in for service.

One suggestion is to take a copy of this list with you, in addition to the new vehicle inspection checklist from elsewhere on this site, when you pick up your new truck and inspect it for these items prior to accepting delivery.

Here's the list:
• Steering Wheel Alignment With Driver's Seat - This was the first item reported about these SUVs. When you look from behind the driver's seat, you will see that the steering wheel appears to be 1-2 inches to the right of center of the driver's seat. Most people do not find this to be a problem and say that they would have never noticed it unless someone brought it to their attention. [Editor's Note: The photo below is of my Yukon and shows the steering wheel alignment.]
  
• Rear Seat Headrests Don't Fold - Early owners complained that when they went to fold the rear seat, the headrests on the rear seat would not pivot and fold properly to allow the rear seat to lay flat. These owners reported that the dealers were able to adjust the headrests or replace them to fix the problem.
• Leaking Sunroof - Many owners have complained that their sunroofs leak. The leakage was described from mild to heavy dripping. This has become one of the most debated problems listed with these vehicles. There is a wide variety of opinions as to whether or not the sunroofs are designed to allow some water to penetrate the outer seal and be carried off by the internal drainage system. Some dealers were able to fix the leak problems with a realignment of the sunroof while other dealers are sticking to the story that some leakage is within normal tolerances. [Editor's Note: Anytime you cut a hole in the roof of anything, there is a chance that water will leak in. The SUVs with factory installed sunroofs get galvanized roofs to help prevent rusting. If you live in a rainy climate, I might suggest you skip this option on the 2000 & early 2001 models.]
• Lack of Bass in Radio - A second most debated problem is that the audio system has a lack of bass and generally poor dynamic range. There is a separate sub-woofer included in the 9 speaker stereo system. One owner suggested that to correct the low bass levels, find a teenager and have them setup your stereo, they can get bass out of anything. Several owners have attempted different types of aftermarket upgrades to the audio system. Because the standard radio head unit is so tightly integrated into the total vehicle, especially for the trucks equipped with the OnStar system, there does not appear to be aftermarket supplier with a plug-n-play replacement for the factory unit. Owners are replacing the factory sub-woofer, adding additional amplifiers, and replacing other speakers in an attempt to improve the sound quality. [Editor's Note: I have a link on my links page to one owner's description of how they replaced the sub-woofer and added an upgraded amplifier.]
• Over Inflated Tires - Several owners have reported that their SUVs were delivered with the tires at higher psi values, instead of the recommended 35psi. During shipping the tires are pumped up above normal operating pressures and should be reset by the dealer during the vehicle prep process. Many dealers are overlooking this step and delivering vehicles with overinflated tires. Proper tire inflation will prolong tire life and give a better ride. Check tire pressure often and when tires are cold.
• Spare Tire Hoist broken - One owner reported that the mechanism for raising and lowering the spare tire was broken when they took delivery of their new SUV. This is one component that is often overlooked in delivery inspections. You should check to make sure these mechanisms work properly, that the tire jack is present and works, and ask the dealer to go over proper jacking methods and locations for your new SUV.
• Alternator Whine - Some owners have reported a slight alternator whine in their radio.
• Vibrations At Low Speed - Some owners have reported a slight vibration or harmonic resonance at low speeds. This is not common to all units and there is a difference of opinion as to the cause. Some people say it is caused by the brand of tires on the SUVs. Early units were shipped with Uniroyal and Firestone tires. Owners with these brands report the problem. Recent units have shipped with Goodyear tires. Owners with the Goodyear tires, or owners that have changed the tires to Michelin brand, do not report the problem. One owner thinks the tire change solves the problem due to the fact that the Firestone tires are 4 ply and the other brands are 6 ply. Another opinion states it has to do with certain body mounts and shims used during vehicle assembly. There was a change reported in what body mounts and shims are used during assembly with trucks produced after 3/13/2000. Dealers are able to order and install new body mount and shim kits. At this point, the jury is still out on the cause and fix for this problem. [Editor's Note: David Berger has provided the part numbers for the new body mount and shim kits that his dealer used. The body mount P/N's were Qty 10 of each 15049547 - Cushion 1.270; 15018264 - Shim 9.023; 15018263 - Shim 9.023]
• Seat Recliner Loose - Owners of early production units reported that there was too much play or wooble in the recliner mechanisms of the front seats. Dealers have a fix for this problem which involves changing out the recliner mechanism. This problem is reported to be fixed in current production units. [Editor's Note: David Berger has provided the part number his dealer used to fix his recliner mechanism is 12549877 Desc = Recliner 16.682]
• Missing Rear Floor Mats - Several owners have reported that their new trucks were delivered without the rear floor mats, that should have been included. Most dealers are ordering the missing mats through their parts department, while some are providing third party mats to replace the missing mats.
• Rear Heat Low Temperature - Several owners of Suburbans have reported that their rear heat only puts out lukewarm air from the rear upper vents, while the front air comes out hot. There has not been a fix announced for this yet.
• Cancellation of Dark Toreador Red/Dark Carmine Red and Copper Paint Colors - On April 11, 2000 it was announced that these colors were being cancelled for the rest of model year 2000. The cause of this change is not known, but GM will change the Dark Toreador Red/Dark Carmine Red color for 2001 to a Garnet Red color. The Copper color will be replaced by a Polo Green color for the 2001 model year.
• Water Leaks - Two owners have reported small water leaks that are wetting the carpet and padding in the front driver's area around the emergency brake. Each of these owners researched the leaks themselves and found them. One leak was found to be in the rear wheelwell, where two panels overlapped and wasn't sealed properly. The other leak was found along the seam where the emergency brake cable comes into the cabin. Although there seems to be two different leak problems the result is the same, wet carpets. There is a technical service bulliten listed in the NHTSA TSB database for the 2000 GMC Yukon for water intrusion into interior rear compartment. The NHTSA TSB number is 000866001. [Editor's Note: Upon checking my own Yukon I discovered that my Yukon needs the rear wheel well seam to be sealed. The photos below are of my Yukon and clearly show the seam area in question.]
  
  
• Suspension Height - Several owners of Suburbans have reported that the height of the front drivers side is lower than the height of the front passengers side. It is thought that this is caused by how the trucks are secured during shipment and that the suspension is being compressed on the front drivers side because of this. Owners have discovered that they can adjust the bolts on the ends of the torsion bars to either raise or lower one side of the vehicle. If you attempt to perform this adjustment, please remember to have the vehicle on level ground. Also remember that the fuel tank is on one side of the vehicle and that a full tank of gas can make the vehicle sit lower on that side.
• Loose Hose Clamps - One owner has reported that the lower radiator hose came undone and lost all coolant while driving. He had all other clamps checked and several others were loose. Owner claims that dealer said there will be a recall notice since automated production robot had not been tightening clamps properly.
• Air Bag Warning Light Comes On Intermittently - A couple of owners have reported that their air bag warning lights have come on intermittently. In the cases reported to this site, the dealer has been able to resolve the problem by replacement of the seat side impact air bag module.
• Vibrations/Shakes Of Driver's Outside Mirror - Several owners have reported that when they are stopped with their vehicles in gear, such as at a traffic light, the vehicle shakes significantly. They are able to see the shaking via the outside rearview mirror as well as feel the vehicle shaking. The shaking is described as being more than what one would consider to be a normal vehicle idle shake. When this problem was brought to the attention of their dealers, the dealers said the vibration was within normal limits. The owners are continueing to seek a resolution of this problem from their dealers. [Editor's Note: It should be known that all of the owners that have reported this problem to me have the 5.3L V8 engine and 4 wheel drive]
• Power Window Failures - Many owners have reported that the power windows are starting to fail on their vehicles. It appears that a common thread in these failures is that they are occurring more on vehicles in hot climates, such as Texas, Arizonia, and Florida. The windows will fail to lower when the power window button is pressed. This seems to be happening more with the rear windows than the front windows, although there are reports of failures on all windows. Some owners have found that if they hold the power window button in the down position and slam the door shut, that this will release the mechanism and the window will begin to operate normally again for a period of time. The problem is often resolved by the dealer replacing the "Regulator" module, which contains the power window motor. Please note that the "Regulator" module for each door has a different part number and the regulators for the rear doors are different for the short wheel base vehicles (Tahoe & Yukon) than for the longer wheelbase vehicles (Yukon XL & Suburban).
  The GM Regulator part numbers for the short wheel base vehicles (Tahoe & Yukon) are:
  • Driver's Side Front Door: 15755431
  • Driver's Side Rear Door: 15757405
  • Passenger's Side Front Door: 15755430
  • Passenger's Side Rear Door: 15757404
  The GM Regulator part numbers for the long wheel base vehicles (Yukon XL & Suburban) are:
  • Driver's Side Front Door: 15755431
  • Driver's Side Rear Door: 15757400
  • Passenger's Side Front Door: 15755430
  • Passenger's Side Rear Door: 15757401
  As of 09/17/2000 the regulator modules for the passenger's side rear door on the long wheelbase vehicles (Suburban & Yukon XL) are on a national backorder and not available, based upon information supplied by the parts department of an Atlanta area Chevrolet dealer. Rumor has it that GM and their supplier are redesigning these parts to overcome these failures.