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Opinions on ownership

6K views 29 replies 19 participants last post by  redwngr 
#1 · (Edited)
I am really considering on going to this truck platform with the 3.0. I am wanting to hear feedback on weather or not you consider this truck a good purchase or a regret? I understand that not everyone's experiences are the same. I currently own a new 3/4 ton gas truck that performs great but gas consumption is 13mpg unloaded. Just wanting some real world feedback in order to weigh things out. Thanks in advance.
 
#3 ·
I am really considering on going to this truck platform with the 3.0. I am wanting to hear feedback on weather or not you consider this truck a good purchase or a regret? I understand that everyone's experiences are the same. I currently own a new 3/4 ton gas truck that performs great but gas consumption is 13mpg unloaded. Just wanting some real world feedback in order to weigh things out. Thanks in advance.


I came out of an F 250..9MPG was my average..I got tired of the @ $ 100 Dollar fillups twice a week..

F 3/4 series are Great trucks..But will destroy your kidneys unless you upgrade your Factory shock's..

I now average mid upper 20's..My only advice is this is make sure your dealer knows these trucks/this engine/ maintain it well..It rides well..and will do most everything needed..But if must tow
over the limit of the ratings you might want to wait as BoiseRob says for the newer towing capacity..
 
#4 ·
I'm in the same situation as you. I have a new Ram 2500 with the 6.4. It's an absolutely great truck except for the gas mileage. I fill up 2-3 times a week too. My camper loaded is around 8500lbs. I tow it so little now that I almost cannot warrant having the 3/4 ton.
 
#6 ·
I’m just shy of 14k after 8 months of ownership, i’d buy again any day if I had to.

I came from a 2019 F250 with the 6.2 gas avg 11.9mpg, so happy i switched, i get on avg 22mpg driving in the city and have had up to 31.4mpg over 400 miles highway. I have had one warranty issue at close to 10k where they had to replace my EGR, took less then a week including waiting for parts to fix which at this point in time is quick in my opinion with parts shortages.
 
#7 ·
I’ve been driving dodge 3/4 and 1 ton diesel’s most of my life. I loved driving them unloaded and especially loaded but I don’t need to tow heavy so I moved to this Silverado/LM2 and I absolutely love this truck! A few of my dodge trucks could get 18-19 mpg unloaded but this truck will regularly do 25-26 unloaded and I even got 28 hand calculated once. Pulling my 14’ trailer with utv, this truck does 17.5-18.5, better than most of the dodge diesels I had would do unloaded. At times I miss the rattle of my 12 valve Cummins but that goes away when that 10 speed shifts and off I go
 
#8 ·
I purchased my 2020 Sierra SLT with the 3.0 last October and now have 37k on the odometer. I picked this truck because I do a LOT of highway driving for work, and tow a 5k bumper pull trailer with me anytime I switch job sites. This little engine always impresses me. My only issues so far was a serpentine belt tensioner replacement and an idler arm replacement. I have done all the maintenance myself (oil changes, fuel filters, air filters). I average 27mpg on the highway at around 70-75mph and if I really try to sip gas I can get that to about 30mpg under prime driving conditions with a tail wind. I love this truck, I have owned 4 other GM trucks, all with the 5.3 gasser and I had good luck with those trucks as well but this little duramax is proving to be reliable, smooth, great mpg, and much nicer to tow with. I have plenty of power when towing but I will be the first to admit I take it nice and easy with the camper. Towing with this truck is actually a pleasure, not a burden. One of the few things I don't like about this engine is the DEF consumption while towing but it's not even close to being a deal breaker when looking at the entire ownership experience with this truck. I have been reading that they are increasing the max tow rating of the duramax to 12k + but I will be the first to tell you guys you don't want to be towing 12k with a half ton truck unless you have no other option and only if it's for a short distance. That really has nothing to do with the engine or transmission, but much more with how much the truck weighs and what happens when/if you find yourself in an emergency braking situation. I personally won't tow more than about 7,500 lbs with a half ton driving long distances.
 
#10 ·
It’ll be two years in January and I just rolled over 49,000 miles. It’s been a great truck so far. Only issue was around 15,000 it blew an oil seal in the intercooler. It took almost two months to get the parts. That was over a year ago when the engine was newer and parts were scarce. I drive a lot for work and I’m averaging low 30s on hwy going 65-70. I fill up on Fridays usually and drive all weekend and week on a tank of fuel.
 
#11 ·
I'm about 14K miles into my 2021 Sierra SLT. Zero issues and love the truck. Mileage in the upper 20's on average but I've seen as high as 33 mpg! Mine is 2WD. My neighbor bought one that's a 4X4. His mileage is a couple mpg less but he is very happy with his too. I've only towed lightweight trailers but I love the back up cameras for hooking the trailer up.
 
#13 ·
I am really considering on going to this truck platform with the 3.0. I am wanting to hear feedback on weather or not you consider this truck a good purchase or a regret? I understand that everyone's experiences are the same. I currently own a new 3/4 ton gas truck that performs great but gas consumption is 13mpg unloaded. Just wanting some real world feedback in order to weigh things out. Thanks in advance.
I purchased a 2021 GMC Denali 3.0 Duramax back in February. Owned it for 3 months and traded in on a 2021 Ram Limited Ecodiesel.

There were a few reasons that prompted the trade, such as the well known "no start" issue, but the biggest reason was the features and quality of the Ram were significantly better.

Go drive both and decide for yourself.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I drove the EcoDiesel before driving the LM2. No comparison IMO. The Duramax seemed o have much more low end grunt. To me the ED felt numb and not as responsive. The LM2's torque comes on much quicker. And the inherent balance of a straight 6 over the V6 was a big seller as well. I just like the feel of the LM2 much better.
 
#15 ·
I drove the EcoDiesel before driving the LM2. No comparison IMO. The Duramax seemed o have much more low end grunt. To me the ED felt numb and not as responsive. The LM2's torque comes on much quicker. I just like the feel of the LM2 much better.
I agree, I wasn’t impressed with the Ram, yeah the interior is nicer but thats about it.
 
#17 ·
The real deal killer for me was finding out that the engineers used a belt to drive the oil pump, it runs in the oil, and has a recommended “inspection” every 150k. Then you find out that, because the belt is at the back of the engine and requires tranny and transfer case removal, the shop estimate is $2,000 for the “inspection”/replacement. Couple that with the crappy rear mains that GM is known for, and the corresponding risk of contamination shortening the life of a belt in that location, you have something that will keep you up at night. Why not a chain ? NO THANKS LM2 !
 
#20 ·
Belts in Oil (BIO) drives are all you see in a few years. Especially on the bigger diesel motors to replace the noisy and costly gear drives on the class 8 truck motors. I wish I had the money I've spent on timing gears in our truck fleet over the years. Belts in oil have been in testing for over 10 years and they run in wet conditions far longer than in dry conditions.
 
#21 ·
Its also been proven that this belt can go upwards of 200-250K miles or more, and there has also been talk about even extending its service life to 200K officially. 80% of owners don't even keep a vehicle that long. A complete non issue in ownership. This is all you see in negative discussions about this engine on most any forum. I'll take this potential "Issue" over bad lifters and bent pushrods any day...
 
#22 ·
Anything new that goes against the conventional method will bring in a ton of experts. When I was in my teens, they came out with multi-viscosity motor oil. My dad had a service station and repair shop, and he saw the potential of a thin oil vs. 30 weight DELO. Everything improved vs. using molasses oil, but the argument went on for years and further into using that "terrible" synthetic oil.

Looking at the other eco motor's internal specs, the LM2 has better engineering specs for power and mileage. The lower 15 to 1 LM2 compression ratio is better suited for volumetric efficiency. The higher boost pressure combined with better flow characteristics in the LM2 vs the other two small eco motors brings the tremendous low-end torque we see.
 
#23 ·
I bought my LM2 last March and absolutely love it. I religiously get 28 to 30 miles per gallon. Just for fun I drove to work one day with the cruise set at 65 mph (a 35 mile trip, all highway) and I averaged 37.3 miles per gallon with 1500 pounds of tools in the bed!!!
The only mechanical issue I had was last winter my DEF fluid tank froze (The dealer said this was very common).
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I absolutely love this truck but I do not tow very much at all so I have zero input on that.
 
#24 ·
Ftfire7, I think you’re dealer may have given you some misinformation about your def tank freezing. As far as I know it’s not common. The tank should be heated for that reason. When you shut off your engine the system purges the lines back into the tank so that it doesn’t freeze in them. My truck has been in two below freezing winters and never had an issue. Ive also ran many pieces of heavy equipment that require def in the cold winters and never had that happen either.
 
#25 ·
The tank will freeze, it has a heater in it that once you start the engine the def heater starts to melt the def, def will freeze at 12* I believe. So every night it’s under 12* the def in your tank is freezing, its designed to handle this.

If the heater fails then no def in winter.
 
#26 ·
I have a 2021 3.0 w/ 4K miles. Great truck - mid-20s MPG - but not as comfortable as my 2019 2500.

Has had a series of computer blips that come and go: restraint failure, displays lock-up, trailer system warning, system dead incl power locks after shut-off, engine spins but won't fire, ....

All have been cured by holding the start button in but I'm waiting for a serious computer failure.
 
#27 ·
I’m in your boat. I’ve got a gmc at4 being delivered any day now. Just started reading the oil leak thread and bn that and the no start I was wondering if I’m making a mistake. Currently I have a Ford 3.5L ecoboost. I just like the look of the gmc and the mileage of the diesel is insane. All these positive remarks make me feel a lot better.
 
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