Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46
I bought a 1999 Tahoe Sport Z71 in 2001 with 50,000 miles on it. It was a lease return vehicle so I assumed it was well maintained. It now has 165,000 miles and has suffered most of the maladies that have been mentioned here already:
Fuel filter clogged/replaced-20 bucks or so.
Shortly after, fuel pump failed, $600.
U-joints. Replaced three times. 2 fronts and one rear. Get the greasable ones if you can.
Water leak on engine coming off the right bank. Couldn't find it. Finally a fitting on the intake above the right valve cover failed (corroded through). Fixed for $200. A/F ran along the valve cover aft and looked like a head gasket!
Brakes. I have done all of my own brake work and consider it routine maintenance.
Front tire wear. I finally found an expert alignment guy after an exhaustive search. I take it to him annually. I have no more issues with "pulling to the side" steering problems and I rotate my tires often. Alignment is critical on these Tahoes, people. I also grease the front end fittings religiously and have not had to replace a thing yet. If you off road much like I do, you need to grease often.
Transmission/transfer case. Trans has been flushed twice and recently, pan dropped, filter replaced and only findings were the normal clutch leavings. Transfer case fluid replaced also at same time. No issues noted. Front and rear differentials serviced (checked) often. No issues except for a seep from the front seal on the rear pumpkin.
I have not had the intake gasket leak yet. (Now, I have jinxed myself). I flushed out the cooling system of all factory coolant and have been running ethylene glycol since I bought it. Just might be why it hasn't failed yet. You can purchase corrosion inhibitors as an additive (highly recommended). Water pump still going strong too.
Alternator: replaced at 110,000 miles. It just failed. No big deal.
Battery: Post broke off and replaced at the same time when disconnecting the cable to replace the alt.
Engine: Bulletproof. Oil changed religiously @3,000 miles with the additive Rislone each time. (Thanks, Dad). Belt and tensioner replaced once. Air filter replaced annually.
Door handles: Both cracked, but not replaced. They still work OK.
Radio: Lights (LEDs) almost all not working. Shop says radio needs to be exchanged. No easy or cheap fix there. I have them all memorized and can still function in the dark! Overhead map light works good too if I forget! No big deal and not worth the money.
Although manufactured in Mexico, this truck has taken me to a lot of remote places and got me back. Some of the problems it has had were due to the punishment it gets from me. (Torn wire harness under a skid plate from ice shards on a frozen lake). I consider some of the issues it has had to be ridiculous because the model had a few years to be refined. But since I once owned an Oldsmobile diesel station wagon, none of this with the Tahoe chaps me too much.
We have a 1999 tahoe, we replaced the gas pump twice, the window motors for the 2 front windows, also we replace the 4 handles and the brakes twice, the battery 4 times and my passenger seat set on fire because the heat was on and the suspension is broke, guess what! the gas pump has broken again. I do not know what to do any more, but after all, we love it so much, thanks.
The Radio!!! I bought my Tahoe used it's a 1999. I love the truck to death, it's my baby. But... When I bought it the battery was dead. The dealer put a new one in. Six months later it was dead again. I took it to a wiring person who traced it to the radio. He took the radio out and I replaced it with another original radio. Six months later I have a dead battery again. The charging system was checked. The problem was again traced to the radio. They tell me it is draining 8 volts instead of the 5. Now I am faced with replacing the radio again. I am afraid to put another factory radio in it. Has anyone else had radio problems??? Otherwise I love my truck.
I purchased a used 1999 tahoe last month at 140,000 miles, a month later it is making a knocking sound and 4 wheel drive doesn't work. What should I do?
If you buy a Tahoe looking for a big comfortable ride, you will get that for a while, BUT sooner or later, lack of use for its intentional purpose will bite you. You should not buy a Tahoe or a Yukon if you are simply looking for a big comfortable vehicle. Sure they come with the refinements of luxury sedans, but if that's what you're looking for buy a luxury sedan.
I bought my 99 Tahoe so that I can hook up a trailer and pull 4500 pounds with little effort and few worries about stopping the beast. Power windows and cruise control are great, but they don't get you from point A to point B. Granted, the 1500 SUV platform has issues with intake leaks, and radio lights -- but they don't leave the truck paralyzed. Those folks who run into bad fuel pumps should buy their fuel from a reputable establishment and keep an eye on the fuel filter, and refill at a quarter tank when possible... you get to the bottom of a tank and the sediment and debris down there make the pump work harder, (or a stopped up fuel filter) -- you make the pump work harder, it's life will be shorter.
Basically, pre 2000 Tahoes and Yukons were built to work: Think about it like a horse, if the horse works frequently, then it's up to the task when you need it. If that same horse just hangs out in the pasture most of the time, meandering around with no load at a leisurely pace, well then, you end up with a lazy horse that has all kinds of problems... If you don't need the "utility" of the full size SUV, then do yourself a favor and buy something else. All big SUV's that are truly "utility" will develop problems if you've bought it to replace the station wagon; expeditions, excursions, suburbans, yukons, and tahoes alike. If you just want space buy Japanese: pathfinders and four runners and their full size counterparts were designed in consideration of soccer parents and grocery getters...
99 Tahoe LT - needs a steering position sensor to make one of the "luxury" upgrades stop interfering with the operation of the truck. But no complaints -- it's a real work horse "with plenty of space to take the wife and kids with me" when I go to Lowe's -- which is not always a benefit.
I have owned a 99 tahoe for 5 years. Purchased it with 48k miles on it and it has been a reliable vehicle. I have done all the routine maintenence on the vehicle and have not had any major problems with the vehicle. The intake manifold leak just started at 110k miles and it is going in the shop this week. A few of the radio lights do not work, the door handles are cracked, but work fine, and the battery post has broken out of the battery twice. The vehicle runs great on the interstate and is a smooth ride. I think the engine is a workhorse and all the problems on this site that others are experiencing have eluded me so far.
Bought my 2 door Tahoe new in 99 with 18 miles on it. It now has 198000. No major problems except the fuel pump. Have replaced the door handle as well.
I abuse this car because I use it for what it was made for. Only thing to remember not to do to this SUV is don't go through a foot or so of water at 35 mph. The truck has decided to switch from 2H to 4H down to 4LO, back to 4H and then, just to annoy me, back down to 4LO in a parking lot with a screaming 2year old in the back seat. Going to try and change the thing that switches the gears (140.00) this weekend. If anybody thinks it's something different, please post so I can figure it out.
Lesson learned - Tahoe can go almost anywhere, just not as fast as she use to:)
I purchased my 1999 Tahoe LT 2-door 4WD new with 50 miles on the odometer. I now have 215,000 miles. I love my truck. I have had (like others) replaced 2 water pumps, 1-fuel pump, intak manifold gasket (and changed to "GREEN" coolant at 108,000 miles. 2 or 3 alternators. There have been some electrical strangeness over the years, the High beams I now turn on with a switch I installed, Turns out the wires for the High beams run directly over the top of the steering colum, and I use my tilt wheel every day, eventually, these wires came loose.
I am experiencing a miss fire on 1 and 3 at idle speeds, driving is fine. I have norrowed it down to the fuel injectors or lines to the fuel injectors, has anybody replaced these??
I bought my 1999 LT 5 years ago with 36000. Now I have 113000 and am just replacing the fuel pump. Ironically I was getting gas when it wouldn't start up. I also had an issue with the transfer case to the point where the clicking went to grinding and it eventually wouldn't move. $2000 fixed that problem.
I too have the cracked door handle (which is still functional) and my handle on the inside doesn't work so I have to roll down the window to open the door from the outside...ghetto.
Wife is having another kid (our 3rd all under 3) and there is no room for 3 carseats. Trying to decide if I want a new Tahoe with a 3rd row or if I should go elsewhere.
I bought a '99 Tahoe 4x4 4 door about 4 years ago with 61k on it. I drove it 9k miles; the engine spun a rod bearing (installed a crate 5.7) evidently previous owner overheated it (probably due to intake or water pump failure. Now have 106k on vehicle. Have only done maintenance and other minor repairs. Transfer case noise solved by a simple change of fluid. No electrical problems whatsoever! Love this vehicle! Very comfortable on long trips, tows great, will keep until 200k barring any major problems! In spite of poor reviews maintenance should include more than oil changes! Get rid of orange (DEX) coolant as soon as possible! Install green and change every 3 years!
1999 Tahoe LS. I purchased this truck new in Feb. 1999. I use it as a work vehicle and to pull my 23ft travel trailer. 2004 Suburban now does the towing. Extended warranty ended at 60,000 miles. At 70k miles the rear axle was rebuilt (it maintenance fluid changes). At 80k I replaced the first water pump. At 95k I replaced the fuel pump. At 115k I replaced the starter. At 123k I had the fuel injection system upgraded to the multipoint style which came with a new regulator and the fuel pump (lifetime warranty saves $250) again replaced for low pressure. The poppet valve style injection was very intermittent even with cleanings. At 127k I replaced the alternator. It is now at the dealer (12/31/07) with 137k miles getting its intake gasket repair done. The water pump has also started leaking again (good reason to pay for the lifetime warranty parts from your local part store, $200 savings for this part). I have been using Mobil 1 oil in the truck for about 100k miles. Axles have synthetic lube. The fan blower switch has failed ($94 Dealer part), it is temporarily working with a 79 Camaro switch/resistor assembly I wired in. The CD player died years ago (satellite radio fixes it). The cassette stereo is OK. The front end is original and always greased every oil change. The transmission/transfer case and PS pump are all OK (flush/fill at approx 120k) The cloth seats are holding up great w/o the driver seat wear and tear of leather. Only one tail lamp ever replaced, all other bulbs are original/working. The body/frame are in great shape (Mi. winters). I hoping the truck is good for another 100k miles as I still prefer the looks of it over the new Tahoe. I know someone with a 98 Tahoe (160k miles) who has had these failures and usually informs me of what to expect next.
I recently was given a 1999 Tahoe 4dr 4x4 from my dad. He owned it since 2001 and has pretty much done every repair listed here. So far he has replaced: the fuel pump, brakes, tyrod ends, intake manifold gasket, and a few other minor repairs. I have had it for about six months and so far its been good, except the intake is leaking. I've also done several modifications. I replaced the radio with the jensin UV8 DVD player, all new kicker speakers, a 900watt MTX amp for the car speakers. Two 12" rockford fosgate subs and a 900watt Rockford amp, a 5 fared Tsunami capacitor and all tusami wires with a 4gage power cable. Last week I put in a K and N cold air intake 57 series and a Gibson Duel Cat back exaust stainless steel, which sounds really nice. I changed the tail lights with carbon fiber ones and I changed all the front end lights with cyrstal clear ones and a mesh billet grille. Soon to come 20" rims and 20% tint all around.
I have a 99 Tahoe LT. I bought it off a used car lot and it came with a 90 day warranty... first 90 days ran perfect.. since then I replaced the radiator $300... master cylinder $125.. front end work $300..
Now when I stop, and start to drive at low speed, the rear makes a clunk sound.. oil cooler lines are leaking.. just bought a new battery $125... truck was sluggish; full tune up $300..
My service engine soon light just came on, and 3 out of the 4 oxygen sensors are bad, $70 each..
I tried to do the right thing and stay American.... but in the future I don't think I will again.. every time I drive the truck I am waiting to see what goes next..
I bought a 1999 Tahoe LT 4x4 4 dr with 125,000 miles on it last year in March. It has not given me any problems yet, just regular oil changes and I've had to replace the fuel filter twice.
I think the fuel pump is going out. My Tahoe now has 143,000 miles on it and just recently it has been acting up on me. I put the pedal to the floor and the rpm goes up to the 3 and it won't go any higher than that. Seems like it isn't getting enough gas or air or something, so if you know what the problem is just give me a shout.
I purchased a 99 2dr Tahoe used about 2 years ago with 105K miles on it. For the first year it ran fine with no problems. That is not the case as of this last year. Within the last year I have had a new engine put in, a new fuel pump (twice), new master cylinder and brake booster, fixed a leaky radiator, replaced upper and lower ball joints, and now I'm gonna have to replace the rear differential. This truck has been a pain, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it because half the parts are new (but I am really close).
I did also have the problem with the speed not getting above 30-40 even with the pedal fully pressed. For this I had to change the gas pedal position sensor.