Used 2016 GMC Yukon XL Consumer Reviews
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$13,991 - $33,998
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2016 Yukon XL, so we've included reviews for other years of the Yukon XL since its last redesign.
XL for empty nesters
Robert Bob, 02/10/2017
updated 02/20/2020
2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4dr SUV (6.2L 8cyl 8A)
37 of 38 people found this review helpful
This is a big SUV that doesn't feel big when driving. Easy to park and has a small turning radius. We often have our kids and grandkids with us and routinely haul 7 people in this and love the legroom and cargo room with everyone on board. The ride and quiet cabin are spectacular and the fuel mileage is better than expected. Has tons of torque and pulling our 4,000 lb boat is effortless. It is easy to back the boat up too with large mirrors and good backup camera. Like the auto leveling rear shocks. My only disappointment in the vehicle is GM's decision to eliminate the ability to pause and rewind live radio that my previous vehicles had. This was available before 2016 but GM eliminated it which is a shame. My 2015 GMC Canyon had this feature but a $70,000 vehicle doesn't. Doesn't make sense! Had trouble with torque converter clutch but dealer was able to resolve with fluid flush and new transmission fluid type. Problem caused shudder or vibration in 8th gear that felt like going over rumble strips. RPM fluctuated between 1600 and 1800 when TCC clutch was not happy. Downshifting into 7th gear would eliminate problem at the expense of poorer gas milage. Problem started at 16,000 miles. Have 17,000 miles on it now and problem is gone after fluid flush and change. Car is very quiet and subsequently any rattles are heard very easily. Chased a problem with a rattling/popping noise that sounded like is was coming from the right side dash area. Disassembled many components inside the glove box/dash area looking for it and finally found the noise was coming from the right front inner fender well! The noise could be duplicated by standing on and off the front part of the running board. The noise was from a loose spot weld on inner fender metal. Placing a section of close cell foam under panel solved the noise! Fixed by owner! Still not happy with GMC 22" wheels that cause harsh and rough ride. 22" wheels should not be an option on this car! Changed to Michelin Defender tires and solved vibration problems with original Bridgestone Dueler tires but this 22" size tire has low profile sidewalls which contributes to tires not absorbing bumps well and transmitting the bumps to the passengers. Car would ride much smoother on 18" or maybe 20" wheels. These wheels were a $2,400 option from GMC and it was a waste of money in my opinion. They are also very hard to keep clean and not very happy with the chrome plastic inserts on the wheels. Just learned the owner can't rotate tires and reset TPMS system without a special tool! This tool should be included with a $70,000 vehicle. Unfortunate that a simple routine simple maintenance task can't be accomplished without the $100 tool or a trip to the dealer or tire shop. If the TPMS system is not updated after wheel rotation, tire positions will not agree with dash display in the event of a tire problem. Have recent issue with powered running boards installed by GMC. They fail to extend when doors are opened occasionally. Both sides are affected. They have been lubricated and problem still exists. Car sits very high on 22” wheels and the running boards are critical for wife or kids to get in. Dealer service visit scheduled to diagnose/repair. Finally got dealer to recognize my intermittent running board problem by taking multiple video captures when they failed to extend or retract. They replaced the motors on both sides and they are now working normally. Torque converter clutch shudder returned at 35,000 miles. Dealer replaced trans fluid with a newer updated fluid that doesn’t absorb moisture. Problem has been resolved for now, again! Noticed leaking left axle seal while rotating tires. Taking back to dealer again to repair! Too bad the dealer didn’t notice this problem while changing trans fluid a week earlier! Still love the car and there is nothing comparable in the marketplace. Average MPG on Hwy is 23 and 19 around town. Added oil "catch can" at 37,000 miles and cleaned intake manifold and valves prior to addition. The catch can captures about 4 oz of breather oil every 4,000 miles. Running Amsoil Signature 0W-20 oil full synthetic with once a year change. Catch can should be installed when new to keep intake valves and manifold clean. GDI engines are prone to carbon buildup on valves due to design.
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Electrical nightmare / general poor reliability
Mike, 05/27/2018
updated 11/29/2021
2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4dr SUV 4WD (6.2L 8cyl 8A)
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
Over 15 visits to repair electronics. Random faults would appear and had to replace electrical harnesses in the first year. Replaced front wheel bearings after less than 1 year. Continual reprogramming of software. Electronic transmission was erratic and took 3 times to repair. For almost $80K very disappointed. Traded fo Infiniti QX 80
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#Rolling Garbage Truck
GMC Remorse, 07/03/2016
2015 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4dr SUV 4WD (5.3L 8cyl 6A)
48 of 54 people found this review helpful
Where do I start? I have owned a '15 Yukon XL since July 2014. It has 28,000 miles on it today nearly two years later. The truck has been in the shop more in two years than my previous 2003 Suburban was in twelve years. IMO this truck has numerous major issues: 1) The transmission is a clunky, ill shifting, garbage can. GM and my dealership says that it is over-engineered with numerous design flaws and cannot be truly fixed. At any moment during cruising down the road, the truck will shudder and make a thunk/clunk sound so loud you will feel you lost a drive shaft. Add to that its propensity to get stuck in auto 4wd at the slightest temperature change, and requires a technician to unlock it. 2) The cheap plastic used for the running boards and chrome around the fog lights and multiple other cosmetic areas on the truck look old and weathered already, and I maintain my vehicles impeccably. I recommend any potential buyers look around the door frame edges and under the tail gate handle to see some of the worst paint runs/drips that you will ever see from a factory. I have fought one wheel with a slow leak since purchase and GMC has turned their back on me about that too, and refuses to replace it. It is one of the 22" rims, so I regret that little upgrade. 3) Electronics - total hot mess. The screen that slides up and down broke after maybe the sixth time I ever actually used it. Its a total gimmick and it took GM a week or more to get the entire radio to replace it. Yeah that will be a fun repair cost outside of warranty someday. On top of that the radio does not play media stream songs back to back without changing the inputs between songs. How irritating is that? Very! Alas, GM has given me a bullet that it cannot be fixed. Also, forget about text reading or Apple Car Play that was promised when I bought the car - you see, its not compatible with first version 2015's. Oh, and the screen collects finger prints and dust like a magnet. But don't worry, you will be so frustrated by the near useless weather app (you can see weather radar for a whole multi state view but not zoom) and inability to quickly store radio stations and retrieve them that you will most likely use a fist on the screen and forgo the fingerprint all together. 4) Leather seats. I have the heated and cooled seats. The ventilation holes are not done well and the leather will tears from hole to hole. Another design flaw, but at least GM replaced this for me with little fuss. The longevity of the leather is going to be very poor indeed which will completely discount its resale value. While we are on the interior, check out the cup holders mounted into the doors in the second row - nobody out of the car until your drinks are completely empty otherwise your door panel will be wearing your youngster's latest slurpy or soda as soon as they close the door; this little gem tells me that GM has a bunch of buffoons as designers. They are worried more about drink holder count versus practicality - it must look better in a marketing ad. 5) Carpets inside ride about 2-3 inches off the floor and are of the poorest quality. The look like they were installed by a vision challenged person missing all of their digits sans thumb and pinky. After market full floor mats work ok to hold it all down and dress up the cabin, but should this be required on a $70K truck? 6) I have saved this one for last because it is the catalyst for me waving off GM products for the rest of my life. Last summer, while my car was parked running in my driveway and cooling down in preparation for a family trip to dinner, the truck just started rolling away and down the driveway and into the street. I had to do a stunt man move to run to the car open the door and slam on the brakes as the car was heading directly into my neighbors living room. Since I am not a stunt man, nor had any practice jumping into a moving truck, I slammed my head on the door as I threw it open and injured my hand grappling with the handle. I do not recommend anyone try this! This event could have easily killed my grandson or daughters that often spend time loading or unloading items in the back of the truck. I immediately called GM, and they simply lied and said that they have never heard of this happening before. They then blamed me! They said they could do nothing for me. I immediately went to google, and found a recall issued by GM for the same exact issue that I experienced. I call GM Customer care back to tell them what I had found, and they told me my truck was not part of the recall at this time, so there was nothing that they could or would do. I told them that they need to take the car off the road and investigate what happened, but they were useless. My dealership took the car immediately, and upon inspection found a transmission shaft was manufactured incorrectly, and there was a software update that would "most likely" fix the roll away issue. So many more issues - IMO GMC Lemon.
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Think twice!
Caleb Rutledge, 11/06/2017
2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4dr SUV 4WD (6.2L 8cyl 8A)
22 of 24 people found this review helpful
We bought this vehicle because we love the yukon Denali's. We replaced a 2009 Denali. Unfortunatly the price does not reflect the quality. We paid just under $85,000 out the door for our loaded Denali XL. We knew going in that there could be transmission problems because of other reviews. What we didn't know is that everything in this vehicle is cheaply made. It shows nice but is only "skin deep", and it has very thin skin. We are very disappointed in almost ever aspect of this vehicle, when you pay $85k for a vehicle you have certin expectations. It is on it's way back to the dealership for it's 3rd warranty work, on the engine ( same 6.2 from 2007-2014 ) we don't even mention the deterioating leather and low quality of materials to thhe dealer. Oh and the Yukon only has 21,000 miles so far. We are planning on selling it at this point, probably go to Toyota, BMW, or Mercedes-Benz for quality, GMC isn't cutting it for the price tag they want.
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Very Disappointed in GMC YUKON
Shelly Bowen, 02/14/2018
2016 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 6A)
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
At 53,000 miles the luggage rack came loose and would hit the top on the Yukon and sound like someone hit it with a big boulder. It wasn’t covered under the warranty or Ext warranty. The dealer did talk to GMC and it cost us $100.00 instead of $1200.00 but instead of replacing with the Chrome Railing like it had they replaced it with solid black. Also, the control panel that is on the front window fell off and messed up the automatic lights as well as the cruise control. The seat belt would not retract after we picked it up at the dealer after they fixed the roof rails/luggage rack. So, back in the shop. Very disappointed after paying over $60,000.00 for a vehicle that continues to have problems! It’s was our first GMC and our LAST GMC!!! We have friends that has had some of the same issues with.
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