[Polebarnman]

Hey Folks,
as the title says I am rethinking my order of the diesel twin. It’s scheduled to be built this week and as time draws near I find myself being concerned about the issues related to the 2.8. Since ordering I have read so much negative stuff about the baby max and it’s emission issues. I know, I should have done my research prior to ordering.
I do like and want the diesel but am concerned about repairs after the warranty period due to being retired and on a lot less income. All this may be unfounded, I don’t know. At any rate, I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

 

[DieselDrax]

If all you do is read forums then you're going to find complaints on all of them regardless of make or model. You wouldn't want to buy any vehicle. People come to forums to complain or find fixes to problems, not sing the praises of how great their vehicles are doing.

The vast majority of owners have no problems. As long as your driving habits/needs aren't what lead to problems with modern diesels, such as only driving a few miles at a time the majority of the time, and are able to drive at least 30 minutes at a time a couple of times per tank of fuel you should be fine. The majority of people with emissions issues are the ones that don't drive long enough between stops.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[69CHVY18CAN]

People generally write about things that upset them, not about things they are happy with. For every bad review you read there are probably dozens or more people happy with the 2.8 who are keeping their opinions to themselves.

If you can't get over the worry, work HARD in the finance room to get a powertrain extended warranty that you can afford and just consider it money well spent on piece of mind. Those warranties are negotiable even if they say they aren't. Offer to raise the deductible and see how the price changes, go from there.

 

[Goodspike]

FWIW, the Duramax has probably been a lot more reliable than the 8 speed in the V6. There were a lot more complaints about those about 18 months ago--before they finally settled on the newest fluid.

 

[Jbomb001]

I love my diesel. Keep your order and enjoy 😊
Like others stated there are far more happy owners not complaining then the handful of owners on forums. I read the same reviews you did and still bought the diesel and am nearing 50k on it. Bought used and plan on keeping it long term

 

[Harobmxer87]

FWIW I’ve owned my ‘17 2.8L Duramax since new and just hit 60k miles this week. I’ve had zero issues with emissions systems or otherwise. It’s been a really great truck and I wouldn’t want anything else.

 

[Jbomb001]

I had no issues with emissions. I put about two hrs a day on mine.

 

[.boB]

I drove a '16 diesel for a LOT of miles, in all kinds of conditions. The only problem I had was a NoX sensor failure at around 70K miles or so.

I liked it so much, I bought another one just like it this year.

 

[spectre6000]

Agreed with the above. If you're coming from a perspective of older vehicles and their related forums where the focus is primarily on modifications, customization, repairs, rebuilds, etc. new car forums are a bit of a shock. The VAST majority of new car buyers think they're buying appliances, and treat their cars accordingly. Cars are much more complicated (and thus failure prone) than appliances, expectations are unmet (see Seneca), harsh words are written. Were expectations met, they'd have happily continued in anonymous silence. New car forums are of an entirely different tone, and are focused almost exclusively on unexpected problems and "problems". This is the most active and prolific Colorado/Canyon forum on the internet, and that gravity creates inertia. If someone is going to complain, they're going to do it here. If you were to count up the complaints against the totals, the numbers are dramatically in your favor.

That's all more or less echoing the above though. Here's where the theory can be tested: the Toyota Tacoma is considered the absolute paragon of reliability. Go have yourself a peek at the section for the current production models of the biggest, most active Tacoma forum on the internet. I'll wait... How about that huh? Did you see the Lemon Law explainer sticky? How bad does it have to get that THAT is what greets you when you first arrive? Granted, they have so many stickies, it's hidden in a scroller.

The point is, it's all about expectations. I referenced Seneca above, and I'm sure 99.9% didn't have a clue, and 99.9% of those people didn't bother to google. The applicable bit is that what makes us unhappy is unmet expectations; if you want to be happy, set your expectations according to a realistic set of outcomes. If you really want to be happy, according to Seneca at least, you need to be kind of a Debbie Downer all the time and just expect everything to be crap all the time, then you're always pleasantly surprised. I'm not saying you should expect the worst here, I'm saying that there are a lot of people who expect perfection, and that's not realistic. Even the "hewn from granite" Tacoma has cracks.

Think statistically, and you'll realize you're getting worked up over nothing. You have probably a 1% chance of something going badly, and a 1% chance within 1% that it's something big and expensive. Depending on your use case, the Colorado is likely a pretty solid solution for your needs. The diesel engine is 100% better than the gas engine for an actual truck application, unless you consider trucks racecars. It's a great truck, a great engine, and you're going to love it.

 

[valvecovergasket]

Hey Folks,
as the title says I am rethinking my order of the diesel twin. It’s scheduled to be built this week and as time draws near I find myself being concerned about the issues related to the 2.8. Since ordering I have read so much negative stuff about the baby max and it’s emission issues. I know, I should have done my research prior to ordering.
I do like and want the diesel but am concerned about repairs after the warranty period due to being retired and on a lot less income. All this may be unfounded, I don’t know. At any rate, I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

accept the order and at least enjoy the truck during the warranty period.
if youre retired youre likely not piling hundreds of miles a week on it commuting, so the warranty should last.
if it really gives you tons of issues during the warranty period, trade it in - these things hold their value (at least in my area) and youre done with it.

im at almost 60k on my '18. love it. gets >30mpg on my commute, can pull anything ive hooked it to including lots of day-long tows with our boat, and it has great seat heaters for running up to the mountain. your '21 will have the much nicer seats as well. i dont see a downside. change the oil every 8-10k, add def as needed, and enjoy.


as others mentioned, youve been reading forums too long people only come on here to bitch. no one comes in to update us on how they just completed yet another issue-free drive to work haha

 

[Xwd]

My experience with the 2.8 has been very, very good. Mine just turned 3 years old (purchased new in Oct 2017) and hasn't given me any problems. None. My last adventure with it was towing a car on a flatbed trailer (exactly 5,000 lbs, officer...) across the country including all the major mountain passes on I90 through the Western States. I was thrilled with its performance. The 6-speed is a reliable and time-tested transmission. It's been a great truck, hasn't given me any worries about the extra diesel pieces or emissions equipment. If it were my order, I'd take delivery and be confident that it's a solid truck, and backed by a great warranty and dealer network should any issues arise.

What we know about online complaints is they tend to skew the problem because people are more apt to post their dissatisfaction with a point of issue than they are to post random praise for a product that has long served them well without issues. There were some early issues, and if you tune the engine and beat on it like a race car, that invites the inevitable.

 

[Goodspike]

One other option would be to go for the 3.0 Duramax, which has a 100,000 mile warranty, assuming you are likely to put on over 60,000 miles in 5 years. That though is a much newer engine and thus more likely to have issues. It also though has a lot more power at a relatively modest MPG hit, so if you are planning on towing it could be a good option if a full size truck works for you (it doesn't for me).

 

[Duken4evr]

A friend has a Silverado with the 3.0 diesel and it is impressive. He had a late model Tundra with the 5.7 before, and he tows a double axle enclosed trailer with 4 dirt bikes and a bunch of gear in it that is probably around 24 feet long total including the tongue. Not a huge trailer, but a parachute nonetheless. His 3.0 tows that trailer and achieves 17 MPG, the same fuel economy his unloaded Tundra was lucky to manage on a good day. I have no doubt the 3.0 is at least as efficient than our 2.8s pulling that load, despite the larger FS truck it is bolted into.

I followed my 3.0 powered buddy with my 2.8 towing a small two bike trailer through Utah up some hills and that 3.0 has some balls on the inclines, I had a lighter out of the wind load (my Kendon bike trailer sits low and close to the tailgate out of the wind) so my Canyon, which simply does not slow down with that light a load (1500 pound total I suppose vs. his 3,500 pound guestimated load), held speed better up those hills, but I was not waiting on him, just had to kick cruise off as I slowly ran up on him. We were cruising at 75 to 80 MPH on I-70 out in the Utah Dez.

The 3.0 is an amazing engine, I hope they do OK reliability wise, but there is that 100K warranty. My buddy has around 21K miles on his Silverado, so far so good. The FS truck is super nice inside too, way better appointed that the twins, and it's fuel economy is not far off what my tuned Canyon manages. If only it fit in my garage, I would seriously consider one.

I do love the handiness of the Twins format, and when heading out on an epic out of state dirt bike mission, if my Canyon's long box is full and I can't fit any more dirt bike gear, tools, spare wheels, EZ Ups and stuff in it, I really don't need to bring it

I do covet the quality of the interior finish in the FS truck. It would be nice if GM invested some of that love on the twins instead of treating them a bit like red headed stepchildren. Clearly, GM wants us to buy their FS trucks.

Oh, and by the way, 47K on my '17 with no issues worth worrying about. It has the "Chevy lean" and that is about it

 

[White016]

What 'till the warranty is about up then decide on a warranty. How about that? Hell you might total it or sell it or whatever before the warranty even kicks in. Why buy a warranty on something that is under warranty? Or, keep some cash in the bank for repairs, that's what I do.
I know people like to have exspensive insurance with low deductibles too, I do the opposite and save the money I would have spent on the insurance in the small chance I do need it. Chances are very good you won't even need it.
I do get the "piece of mind" thing but it's not for me.
Ya, diesels are not the simple machines they used to be, that's for sure.

 

[Polebarnman]

I appreciate all of you sharing your knowledge and experiences with your own vehicles. This does ease my mind quite a bit, thanks. I guess I allowed myself to get caught up in the negative side of things and, just too much time on my hands with all this lock down stuff didn’t help any. I’m an optimist and usually don’t worry about such things until they occur. So, I will worry no more and get the truck when it gets here and just enjoy it.
Thanks for the lift up.

 

[dmaxjr]

For 4 years I threw all I could at my 2016 Canyon 2.8L, from towing 6k Travel trailer thru the Rockies, over the Coquihalla pass( see Highway thru Hell television series). Towed dirt roads up to the high back country lakes, did many miles touring off road thru mud,snow, dirt. Used it to haul feed, limber, firewood, Atv's, hay.
I had 1 issue, alternator pulley started seeping(fluid filled), was replaced under warranty. Fantastic , reliable pick up.
I liked it so much, when I heard they may discontinue the diesel, I bought another one, which is 1 year old and zero issues.

I used to drive the HD Duramax 6.6L diesels, put hundreds of thousands of miles on them with no issues, but when I read on the forums I was convinced I had bought the only good ones from the negative readings I saw. Doom and gloom.
Went to Ford power stroke forums, same doom and gloom, Cummins forum, same thing.
If you are having second thoughts about your order, cancelled it, it will sell right away. But whatever truck you decide to purchase, do not go on the forums, you will end up buying a Schwinn.

 

[White016]

But whatever truck you decide to purchase, do not go on the forums, you will end up buying a Schwinn.

Oh no! No Schwinns! Have you seen the Schwinn forums?!?! Cracked frames and flat tires all over the place!

 

[S2H]

Hey Folks,
as the title says I am rethinking my order of the diesel twin. It’s scheduled to be built this week and as time draws near I find myself being concerned about the issues related to the 2.8. Since ordering I have read so much negative stuff about the baby max and it’s emission issues. I know, I should have done my research prior to ordering.
I do like and want the diesel but am concerned about repairs after the warranty period due to being retired and on a lot less income. All this may be unfounded, I don’t know. At any rate, I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

In spite of how complex modern vehicles are becoming and the inherent failure rate that you would expect with that added complexity, every year vehicles are becoming more and more reliable. The average age of a vehicle on American roads today is 12 years. That’s pretty impressive. If you take that average age and the average miles per year (12,000) that drivers put on their vehicles, that comes out to 144,000 miles. I remember a time when an engine was ragged out at 100,000 miles.

The problem is that when a modern vehicle has a problem, it’s a lot harder to figure out. Gone are the days where a few hours of tinkering and a $100 can fix almost any issue on a car. Now you have to have a scanner and a degree in electrical engineering to get to the bottom of things. But, folks were having to tinker with a vehicle far more often back then. I remember me and my dad replacing the alternator on his 96 Tahoe every 40,000 miles like clock work because they were notorious for overheating. $60 and some bloody knuckles and it was fixed, but we had to do it often. And replacing batteries because the side post failed, not because the battery was dead. And then the tranny blew at 100k. And I don’t have time to list how often I was under the hood of a 96 and 02 Mustang because of nagging failures.

I say all this to assure you that in spite of the problems with the 2.8 and the 6 speed that you may have read here and elsewhere on the web, that combo is more reliable than anything made 15-20 years ago. Most of the problems people have on modern vehicles are related to the infotainment systems or some other electrical component, not so many mechanical issues. And almost nobody comes on here to praise how reliable their vehicle has been; they come here to figure out why it’s not acting right. So there is a bias towards the failures instead of the successes.

And if you don’t get the diesel and get the 3.6, it’s no more or less reliable. And the twin’s competitors are no more or less reliable.

 

[Goodspike]

I remember me and my dad replacing the alternator on his 96 Tahoe every 40,000 miles like clock work because they were notorious for overheating.

There was also scheduled maintenance. I had a friend whose car specified adjusting the points every 5,000 miles. That was beyond the skill set of most owners, so it would mean a trip in to see the mechanic.

 

[mschultz]

3 diesel units in my immediate circle. All have been flawless - the trucks have had some warranty work, but the 2.8 has been trouble free.

Yours is under warranty. It is probably the last year of the diesel. Buy it and run it. If you have a bad experience during the warranty term, sell it.

I suspect they will hold their value because the next generation will not offer a diesel option.

Most importantly, stop worrying. The truck you ordered is unique in the market. Enjoy it. Like any consumer good, if it gives you problems, sell it in the future.


-Mike