Used 2016 GMC Yukon XL Consumer Reviews
Used Yukon XL for sale
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
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.
Too many manufacturing Bugs.
norab1, 08/18/2014
2015 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4dr SUV 4WD (5.3L 8cyl 6A)
20 of 23 people found this review helpful
I received my Yukon XL in April of 2015. To date it has been returned to the dealer multiple times. There have been two recalls, and several "repairs". The heated steering wheel failed to work on delivery. Even though the vehicle is designed to be quiet inside, sheet metal "poping" noises inside are a disappointment and nearly impossible to repair. I believe GMC is aware of the problems. I received a Customer Service survey whose link was removed before I could respond.
A Fancy Suburban
W Mendel, 06/13/2018
updated 06/24/2024
2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4dr SUV 4WD (6.2L 8cyl 8A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
This is a very comfortable SUV. The Denali 6.2 engine is worth the extra cost. It is very responsive and has good gas mileage. I get 17 mpg around town (not too many stoplights) and I get 21+ mpg on highway running at 76 mph. The on board computer is optimistic about gas mileage, telling me I get about 1 mile per gallon more than I really get by my own measurements over several long trips. Nevertheless I get better gas mileage than most pickup trucks and many smaller SUVs. Cargo area is not as good as my old Suburban and the second row seats do not fold flat--a problem if you haul a lot. With the Denali 6.2 the car drives and handles very well--this is a fast SUV. Developed a transmission problem at 26,000 miles: thumping and ratcheting. Dealer service rep said he knew what is was and changed transmission fluid and filter free. Truck works well now, but makes me wonder what the problem really was. My last Suburban had three transmissions; I hope I am not on the same track again. City mileage has slipped to 16, but I got 22 mpg on a 110 mile trip today. The transmission is working fine now. Ops! At just under 100,000 miles the fancy magnetic shock absorbers started leaking; new ones cost me $4,000 for the four of them. No choice but to repair since new cars are expensive and difficult to find now. The shock absorber thing is a real rip off. The truck required a second transmission put in at about 150,000. No surprise as GM uses a cheap, no good transmission that is too light duty for a full sized truck. Meanwhile still getting good service out of the truck since putting thousands of dollars in upkeep. If you buy one of these get rid of at at the end of warranty, or else bend over and take it. Now over 200K. Truck is running well at the moment, but needed a new horn. In order to replace the horn, the dealer had to remove the whole front bumper assembly. It was a costly bumper bummer. If you need the space and hauling then this truck is worth the pain involved in upkeep, otherwise get a Toyota or KIA.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
2016 GMC Yukon XL for sale near you
3 of 97 listings
- Denali 4dr SUVMSRP: $19,990164 mi away
- Denali 4dr SUVMSRP: $18,667434 mi away
- SLT 4dr SUVMSRP: $14,687282 mi away
See all 97 listings
Dumped it after 6 months
rob kowalski, 12/24/2017
2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4dr SUV 4WD (6.2L 8cyl 8A)
17 of 20 people found this review helpful
Bought this SUV brand new. Loved the ride height, power, and engine sound. We have 4 small kids. The only way to change the rear zone temp is from the rear. My kids were in car seats, and too young to manage the controls anyway. Bad design. Heat was either on or off, couldn't adjust temp. After five weeks the rear view camera stopped working every third time we put it in reverse. GMC replaced center console 3 times and it never fixed. I told them it must be a wiring issue but they said that is too hard and expensive to try to fix. It was a brand new truck! They told me they were going to charge me $3200. The truck was a few months old at that point, and I had bought it brand new from that dealer with 10 miles on it. After 5 months a plasticky smell started coming from heat. Dealer could not find anything wrong and said it must have been our fault and they were done. Lost a good bit of money but traded it in for another Sienna minivan. So much happier again.
Stay away from this vehicle.
mike, 02/14/2017
updated 08/16/2018
2015 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4dr SUV 4WD (6.2L 8cyl 8A)
23 of 28 people found this review helpful
I ordered this suv from the dealership, just the way I wanted. The problems started 3 months after I bought the car, and they are as follows: (1) After the 3 month or 2GB data plan expired. I figured I would enroll in the monthly data plan, as the wifi worked great during the trial. I subscribed to a 1 GB data plan per month. My daughter drained the whole data plan in less than 10 minutes by streaming a you tube video (she didn't download anything.) I called ONSTAR to see how the data plan got depleted so quickly. They refilled the data bank. Again, she depleted the 1 GB streaming a 10 minute video. I called again, they replenished the account a 3rd time. After the same thing happened again. The ONSTAR people told me that my daughter was either downloading a big file or there was something wrong with the hardware in my car and I'd need to take my car into the dealership to have it fixed. So, I took it to the dealership. They told me it would take a day, 7 days later I got my car back and the wifi NEVER GOT FIXED!!!!! The dealership could replicate the problem my car was having with burning through 1 GB of data in less than 10 minutes while streaming a video. The dealership said the car passed all diagnostic tests and ONSTAR said all of their equipment was properly working and I could leave my suv at the dealership until they somehow could get it fixed. But, they had no ideas as to how to fix the problem because it passed all diagnostics. I chose to cancel the monthly wifi package, which got the ONSTAR people to call me and reassess the problem. Guess what, they could never figure out the problem either. (2) About 2 months after that, I had the first of a total of five problems with the prim pieces on the outside of the car. If you look at every door on the car, their are vertical trim pieces that are plastic that run vertically between where the windows join the door seals. Every one of those pieces on all four doors has come loose and had to be reaffixed to the car with something called appliqué. Each time one of those came loose, it was strip to the dealership, so FOUR more trips to the dealership. (3) This past October a red warning light showed up on the rear view mirror. I called the ONSTAR people, they said the ONSTAR system needed to be checked out. At this point the suv had 35,900 on the odometer. By the time the dealership could look at the car, the odometer had gone past the 36,000 mark. SUV has a 3 year/ 36,000 mile warranty. The problem with the ONSTAR system was that the antenna on the car had broke. The dealership wanted $500.00 to replace the antenna since the car was now out of warranty. I came uncorked at them and they eventually fixed the antenna for $100.00. (4) This last December the sunroof started to leak water into the car on both the driver and passenger side of the center console around the controls for the sun roof. The cost was $500.00 The work repair order said that the drain tubes for the sun roof had come a part. NO NEW PARTS WERE USED. THEY RECONNECTED THE DRAIN TUBES. (5) Then, last night one of the previously reattached trim pieces has come loose again. Today, I took my car to the dealership to see if the previous work was under warranty. They told me it was not and that to get the trim piece reaffixed was going to cost $300.00!! Mind you, the trim piece is loose and not missing. I told them no thanks. I took my car over to CARMAX and had it appraised. I took delivery of my 2015 GMC Yukon Denali XL in Jan of 2015. It currently has 39,000 miles on it and has had to go back to the dealership 8 times since I got it for building quality issues. Mechanically I have not had any problems with it, but quality wise this suv has been a nightmare. I had a Toyota Sequioa that had 140,000 miles on it when I traded it in on the Yukon. I think I'll be getting another Toyota. In my live I've owned vehicles by: Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and GM. This was my first, and last GM. I would avoid this these things like the plague. I was able to find several web sites where people had mentioned the problem with the trim pieces after the second one on my car had come loose. Unfortunately for me, I didn't find that information until I specifically started searching for problems with window trim pieces on 2015 Yukon. I traded this car in on a 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser 6 months ago. I have had 0 problems with the Land Cruiser and my GMC had been to the shop 2-3 times for problems within the first 6 months of ownership.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Impressed! And still Impressed!
Albert, 09/20/2016
updated 10/12/2021
2016 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4dr SUV 4WD (5.3L 8cyl 6A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I had narrowed it down to the GMC Yukon SLT and the up coming Armada/QX80 and Ford Expedition. I was impressed with the interior and ride, and it cost less. The styling was also something that I preferred over the Nissan products and some of the features. Such as; Adjustable Pedals, lower rear end gear ratio on the HD tow package, easier to get into third row seat, proven engine and 6 speed auto, standard 18" wheels ( better for towing) and interior lay out. My wife is so happy with the Yukon, that I think she would live in it. I have now had this Yukon for 36 months, still love it! No problems so far. I am much happier with the 5.3L then I would the Ford 3.5 twin turbo. I felt the Ford engine would not holdup in the long run against the tried and true V8. Update 10/2/2019. Recently I had a problem with a wearing spot on the leather drivers seat. I contacted local dealer and GMC and they replaced the seat bottom, it took about two weeks but I was very pleased with both GM and the dealer on how they handled this problem without giving me any guff. Just returned from a 3 week road trip. I was very pleased with the comfort, the adaptive cruise control and heated/cooled seats and the quiet ride. My wife loved watching the overhead DVD player with our FireStick. Even at speeds up to 80mph. I got 22.9 miles per gallon.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value