Dear All,
I am plannning to buy a new 2009 Tahoe hybrid in few months.
I have some inquiries from expereinced owners regarding hybrid vehicles in general , and Tahoe hybrid in particular.
1.If for some reason the hybrid battery, or system stopped working(if you romoved the battery) can you still drive the vehciel on Gas only, or it won't start at all?
2. what is the life expectency for the Battery, and how much does it cost to replace it?? and is it covered by waranty for 3 years only?
3.Are there any major issues with Tahoe Hybrid, that you won't recoomend buying the vehicle at this stage?I have read a lot about the Brake issue, has it been fixed in 2009 models, or still happening?
4. since this is my fist Hybrid vehicle to own, are there any major Cons to this vehicle in particular that I should be aware of before buying it other than the additional cost?

Any help from you end is highly apprectaed

looking forward to hearing your comments and replies on this issue

Thanks again

Regards
Guss

 

Answers in-line:

1.If for some reason the hybrid battery, or system stopped working(if you romoved the battery) can you still drive the vehciel on Gas only, or it won't start at all?
If the hybrid battery fails for some reason, the vehicle will work as a normal gas-powered Tahoe.

2. what is the life expectency for the Battery, and how much does it cost to replace it?? and is it covered by waranty for 3 years only?
There are two batteries, one normal 12V that runs a lot of the regular 12V stuff, and the 300V hybrid battery pack under the middle-row seats. The hybrid battery pack is warranted for 8-years, along with the rest of the drivetrain. In 8 years, the costs for replacing that pack will be very different than the cost today. Look for battery prices to drop a lot by then.

3.Are there any major issues with Tahoe Hybrid, that you won't recoomend buying the vehicle at this stage?I have read a lot about the Brake issue, has it been fixed in 2009 models, or still happening?
My Tahoe has been about perfect. The 12V battery died once when my AuPair left the ignition on and radio playing for 1.5hours. Ran it out of gas, twice. Had it to the dealer for the passenger door lock not unlocking with the button and there was a short in two wires under the hood that was an assembly error (probably only my car had it). Nothing that took an overnight visit.

4. since this is my fist Hybrid vehicle to own, are there any major Cons to this vehicle in particular that I should be aware of before buying it other than the additional cost?
I cannot think of anything, other than storage space when you have 8 people in it. I bought a trailer-hitch mounted cargo carrier to fix that. Otherwise, I love this truck. Drives like a car, good looking, pulls my boat like it wasn't even there. And 50% better mileage than the vehicle it replaced.

 

Dear Jason,

I want to thank you for your reply, very informative, and helpful for sure.
I just have one question regarding the Brake issue, and the vehicle not stopping. I have read about this issue in the forum, and was wondering, if you have any additional information about it, cause it is a major saftey issue for me, sepcially I will be using the car in Jordan, and will be buying it from the local dealer, which they don't have much experience with hybrid yet( this is their first shippment of Tahoe hybrid in this country). and I will be the first to buy such a vehicle in this country.
I don't want to start having issues as soon as I hit the road.
The vehicle should go into production in August, and should be here end of Sept. do you think if this is a major issue, GM would already have fixed it prior to production??

Any help on this subject is highly appreciated

Thanks again for you reply

Looking forward to hearing from you

Regards
Guss

 

you have to learn how to drive it....that's the only con.... I repeat you have to learn how to drive it.
Your right foot is in control of everything. if you are going 80 in v8 mode and you let up just a TINY bit the engine will switch to v4 mode and you will still be going 80. If you just want to jump in and go without paying attention to the various instruments you might as well buy a regular one.
If you think its good to reduce your carbon footprint and need a big vehicle that gets better gas mileage than a jeep grand cherokee and you are willing to learn the car then go for it. As to the hybrid battery, I doubt you could remove it, I don't know if the system fails if it would just run on gas. mine is a jan 08 build and has only had one issue with a bad crimp on a wiring harness that could happen to any new car.
I have only owned high end european cars in the past but after 3 months of research I came to the conclusion that this was the best of all the hybrids as it gives you lots of room and can be used for more than just driving to the quicky mart (ala prius) I recently did a road trip to nevada and averaged 19.5 mpg going WELL over the posted speed limit and in town I am seeing 22-23 mpg regularly, but then I learned the car and its operating "zones" I love mine and recommend them to anyone over a regular Yukon.
do your homework and good luck

 

"I have read about this issue in the forum, and was wondering, if you have any additional information about it, cause it is a major saftey issue..."

this forum is the ONLY place including the NHSTA that you will find anything on this I think its either operator error or an attempt to get out of a car someone could not afford in the first place.

here is a usefull link that will explain some of the system complexity:

http://www.bodyshopbusiness.com/Arti...ecautions.aspx

 

Jet1,
Thanks again for your help much appreciated.

Fjungman, sorry, my previous email was supposed to be addressed to you and not Jason

I have another inquiery regarding spare tire.
What kind of spare tire does the vehicle come with? there is an option for $995 to get a spare tire, any idea what that is?

also is it possible to order vehicle with luggage rails/rack, I saw a Tahoe hybrid with origional rails the other day just wondering!!!

Thanks
again

 

RE: Spare tire
The truck comes with a can of stop leak and small compressor to refill the tire after you've used the stop leak. Word is that the engineers left off the spare to save weight. There have been references to the spare tire "option" in this forum but I'm not sure if anyone's actually ordered and installed it. The resonator is in the way and it would require minor surgery to the exhaust system to get it outta there. Not sure where you saw this option but the only thing that you could "add" to an 09 was the rear DVD and sunroof.

RE: Luggage Rack/Rails
Not a listed option anywhere I've seen. Legend has it that the engineers left it off the hybrid for aerodynamic reasons (makes sense). Others in this forum have added them but it would require you to drill holes in the roof of the truck (if you went with an OEM setup). I'm actually looking for an aftermarket solution that wouldn't require you to drill into the roof.

Hope this helps a little. Keep in mind that things may be different on the 2010's. I'm relaying info based on my purchase of an 09 about a month ago.

 

CPMS,

Thanks for your reply, very helpful.
How long have you owned your 2009 vehicle, and have you had any issues with it?
I hear a lot fo problems about Braking, and sometimes it doesn't start at all.
My vehicle shoudl be going into production in Aguust 09 (2009 model), so I was wondering if these issues has been fixed in 2009 models??

any input is appreciated
Regards

 

I just purchased a rear cargo carrier that mounts on the hitch instead of a roof mounted one. I think this is much more useful and doesn't hurt the aerodynamics as much.
http://www.letsgoaero.com/ProductDetail.asp?Pid=17
It arrives Friday, so I'll let you know next week how it works.

As for the spare tire, some people have installed one. Most of the hardware is there, you need to buy the kit from GM that gives you the hoist that holds it under the truck where the resonator sits right now. Also, I installed the "1st accessory" sold on this forum, which removes the resonator and gives you a nice looking dual exhaust tip. This allows the spare tire to fit into the well.

 

Thanks again Fjungman