Used SUV's to stay away from?

Blake1107

Blake1107

Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
168
Location
Missouri
Going to be in the market for a full-size SUV very soon. Kiddo #3 is due in late-May of 2025 and although the backseat of the F150 could seat all 3 kiddos, there is minimal chance of the older 2 getting along, shoulder-to-shoulder, for more than 15-20 minutes. :oops: So a 3rd Row and extra space for all the things in back are going to be necessary (especially at vacation time).

I have not shopped or looked at vehicles since we bought my wife's 2020 Acadia back in May of '20, so I do not know of what engines or transmissions have been problematic in recent years in the SUV world.

I am looking at something along size of an Expedition/Max, Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon/XL, Escalade/ESV, QX80 etc. Maybe a Traverse?
Are there any year's of those makes/models to avoid? Engines or trans that gave big problems? Going to be looking at 2016 models and newer. Would prefer AWD/4WD and not a fan of a 10 Spd Trans (which seems to be popular in GM and Ford newer than 2018).

I am going to be doing research myself, but I would gladly accept any guidance of what things to immediately look at and what combos are definite to avoid.

Thank you all!
 
The 10r80 in Ford/Lincoln is either just fine or not fine at all. My 2018 F150 has a terrible 3/5 shift but I negate it by coming completely off of the gas at that moment. The prettier 1/2 has a Navigator and the 3/5 shift is almost always fine. I think I've felt it maybe 5 times, and if I didn't know they were prone to it, I probably wouldn't notice it because it is a very very short and minor catch. My daughter drives an Explorer 10r80. Absolutely zero shift issues.

I also put +30k on my other 2018 F150. Zero 3/5 issues. The best way to find out if it has the 3/5 problem is to drive it a bit, park it for a while (kick the tires on a few other vehicles, maybe drive one or 2) and drive it again. Mine is USUALLY fine cold - very few hitchy shifts if it has been sitting long enough to cool down completely, but it shows up after it's been driven and then parked for a bit and you drive it while it's still warmed up. Doesn't matter if it sat for 15 minutes or 3-4 hours.

I personally would try to avoid a 3.5 Eco made before 2019. 2018 was the first year of the 2nd generation 3.5 and they still had more than a few with cam phaser problems (due to tensioners). 2019 and up, MOST of them are rock solid.

IMO - I wouldn't hesitate to shop for a Ford/Chevy/Lincoln with a 10r80. I would just make sure to put it though a couple of good test drives to make sure I got a good one. I personally would also avoid pre 2019 3.5 and 2018 5.0 Fords (2018 is really the only problem year to my knowledge). My 2018 with a 5.0 was going back to Ford because they couldn't fix the problems. They actually kept telling me the rattles and clangs were normal until I got a video of it knocking like a diesel running on used fryer oil. It was intermittent, they didn't believe me. They believed the video.


Chevy 10-80's are generally much better. They seem to have programmed the demons out.
 
GM has been experiencing an abnormally high number of engine failures on their GEN-5 6.2L engines. A buddy of mine who works at a Chevy dealer says that they are replacing 5-6 of them a week in his shop. As a result, the engines have been on almost constant back order.
The Traverse is a Chevy version of your Acadia. Same vehicle.
 
One that just works are older Lexus 350 family variants . Not sure they qualify as full size.

Reliable Full size SUVs if you can avoid rust are mostly 2005 and down. The last 20 years are pretty spotty depending on the engine/transmission selection and cylinder deactivation and other negs.

GMs 3.0’s seem to be loved but for me it’s too early to know how much $$$ over time.
 
Rmay635703 said:
One that just works are older Lexus 350 family variants . Not sure they qualify as full size.

Reliable Full size SUVs if you can avoid rust are mostly 2005 and down. The last 20 years are pretty spotty depending on the engine/transmission selection and cylinder deactivation and other negs.

GMs 3.0’s seem to be loved but for me it’s too early to know how much $$$ over time.
Click to expand...
No. They are way too small for family of 5.
 
Blake1107 said:
Going to be in the market for a full-size SUV very soon. Kiddo #3 is due in late-May of 2025 and although the backseat of the F150 could seat all 3 kiddos, there is minimal chance of the older 2 getting along, shoulder-to-shoulder, for more than 15-20 minutes. :oops: So a 3rd Row and extra space for all the things in back are going to be necessary (especially at vacation time).

I have not shopped or looked at vehicles since we bought my wife's 2020 Acadia back in May of '20, so I do not know of what engines or transmissions have been problematic in recent years in the SUV world.

I am looking at something along size of an Expedition/Max, Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon/XL, Escalade/ESV, QX80 etc. Maybe a Traverse?
Are there any year's of those makes/models to avoid? Engines or trans that gave big problems? Going to be looking at 2016 models and newer. Would prefer AWD/4WD and not a fan of a 10 Spd Trans (which seems to be popular in GM and Ford newer than 2018).

I am going to be doing research myself, but I would gladly accept any guidance of what things to immediately look at and what combos are definite to avoid.

Thank you all!
Click to expand...
Do you need an SUV? If you don't need clearance, check minivans, Sienna, or Odyssey.
SUV"s? I am actually in the same boat as the third kid volunteered to come in our mid 40's. So, we need a big vehicle, but we also need clearance. I had a Sienna, a 2015 model, which falls into one of the worst vehicles I owned, but practicality-wise, you cannot beat a minivan when it comes to people hauling. Forget full-size SUVs; minivans are champions in that department, plus you don't get a fuel penalty. So, if you don't go off road, do yourself a favor, rent minivan in some rental agency or Turo, and chock how it works for few days.
We also had VW Atlas, which is IMO best mid size SUV as it is unibody (no fuel penalty) but inside is bigger than some full size SUV's. But, while I had zero mechanical and electrical issues, I had 5 broken windshields, so not sure was that my car or all of them, but I have seen others having that issue, and than some don't have. Depends I guess where you live. Missouri is not rocky etc. so who knows.
 
Thank you all for the responses! 🙌

Clearance could be an issue since I do hunt and fish (when I have the spare time). Some areas we go to make clearance and AWD/4WD a near must. With 3 kids, hunting may come to a halt for a bit though 🙃

When we were in the process of purchasing our Acadia, I sat in every mid-SUV in our budget and some minivans (Odyssey, Sienna, and something else) and the issue we ran into in everything, other than the Acadia and Traverse, was I am too tall for someone to sit behind me. That was nearly 5 years ago since we shopped and there could be some design/seating updates made in newer models, but cargo area would be the kicker on a lot of those mid-SUV now. Traverse would be the only mid-SUV that could possibly have enough cargo area. Never looked at an Atlas, though, so may check one out if I can find one somewhat locally to see.

Minivans were not on my radar, but we may have to re-think who gets the new-to-us vehicle and I take over the daily driving of the Acadia and my wife gets a van? Her dad works for Enterprise so may have to do like suggested and rent one for a few days, take a short trip, and see what we think.

A lot to consider and think about and sure don't want to make the wrong decision! Thanks again!
 
Last edited:
mr_boring said:
The 10r80 in Ford/Lincoln is either just fine or not fine at all. My 2018 F150 has a terrible 3/5 shift but I negate it by coming completely off of the gas at that moment. The prettier 1/2 has a Navigator and the 3/5 shift is almost always fine. I think I've felt it maybe 5 times, and if I didn't know they were prone to it, I probably wouldn't notice it because it is a very very short and minor catch. My daughter drives an Explorer 10r80. Absolutely zero shift issues.

I also put +30k on my other 2018 F150. Zero 3/5 issues. The best way to find out if it has the 3/5 problem is to drive it a bit, park it for a while (kick the tires on a few other vehicles, maybe drive one or 2) and drive it again. Mine is USUALLY fine cold - very few hitchy shifts if it has been sitting long enough to cool down completely, but it shows up after it's been driven and then parked for a bit and you drive it while it's still warmed up. Doesn't matter if it sat for 15 minutes or 3-4 hours.

I personally would try to avoid a 3.5 Eco made before 2019. 2018 was the first year of the 2nd generation 3.5 and they still had more than a few with cam phaser problems (due to tensioners). 2019 and up, MOST of them are rock solid.

IMO - I wouldn't hesitate to shop for a Ford/Chevy/Lincoln with a 10r80. I would just make sure to put it though a couple of good test drives to make sure I got a good one. I personally would also avoid pre 2019 3.5 and 2018 5.0 Fords (2018 is really the only problem year to my knowledge). My 2018 with a 5.0 was going back to Ford because they couldn't fix the problems. They actually kept telling me the rattles and clangs were normal until I got a video of it knocking like a diesel running on used fryer oil. It was intermittent, they didn't believe me. They believed the video.


Chevy 10-80's are generally much better. They seem to have programmed the demons out.
Click to expand...
The only experience I have with a 10Spd is the two 5.0 F150's we have at work. A 2018 and 2019. Both from new the trans has clanked, clunked, banged, clicked, and whatever other word you want to throw at it. The frequent shifting up and down and those noises just drive me crazy and just makes me cautious about others. We actually just traded the '19 for a '24 Sierra with the 6.2 that so far does seem to operate A LOT better than the Ford according to my boss. May test drive a GM 10Spd to see for myself.
Never had an EB and probably wouldn't own a used one without some kind of Extended Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty.
 
b_b said:
the new acadias look nice.
Click to expand...
They do! My wife and I both noticed the exterior cosmetic differences are not huge, but noticeable and we like them. It also appears to be touch bigger in size, possibly closer in overall size to the Traverse now. Haven't got to look inside of the newer year models of either of those and probably the first two vehicles we will go check out before really taking a good look at the full-size SUV's.
Would be great if they do have a little more cargo space as we could get a newer, lower mileage vehicle that way. Seems if I want lower mileage (under 60K miles) in the full-size category I'm looking at something 2015-2017, maybe 2018. If I want newer, I'm looking at vehicles with 85-120K miles on them.
 
Blake1107 said:
The only experience I have with a 10Spd is the two 5.0 F150's we have at work. A 2018 and 2019. Both from new the trans has clanked, clunked, banged, clicked, and whatever other word you want to throw at it. The frequent shifting up and down and those noises just drive me crazy and just makes me cautious about others. We actually just traded the '19 for a '24 Sierra with the 6.2 that so far does seem to operate A LOT better than the Ford according to my boss. May test drive a GM 10Spd to see for myself.
Never had an EB and probably wouldn't own a used one without some kind of Extended Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty.
Click to expand...
The couple of times I've driven a 10 sp Silverado, it's not the same transmission at all. Smooth and worked as it should.
 
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