Strange V8 Engine Sounds Are Normal, Says GM
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One of the scariest moments for any vehicle owner is when their engine begins making weird noises. Lately, a few GM V8s have been making several different noises, including chirps, squeaks or sputters, concerning many owners. Now, an article on GM TechLink says these noises are normal.
GM 5.3L V8 L84 engine
There are four common sounds produced by the affected engines:
- Catalyst light off – occurs on start, where spark timing is retarded for rapid catalyst converter warm-up, and may last roughly 30 seconds. Notably, this warm-up sequence is not triggered on all start-ups, as the vehicle must have sat for an hour or longer.
- Engine restart – following complete engine shutdown coasting down to 14 mph, spark timing is retarded to prevent engine overspeed/torque bump. This noise lasts only abut a second.
- Auto-start – at the end of an engine stop/start shutdown, spark timing is retarded to prevent engine overspeed/torque bump. This noise lasts only abut a second.
- Throttle blip – a light blip of the throttle while in park/neutral results in spark timing being reduced to prevent engine overspeed. This sound is hardly noticeable and hard to reproduce.
GM 6.2L V8 L87 engine
The 6.2L V8 L87 gasoline engine and the 6.6L V8 L8T gasoline engine are known to produce these peculiar noises under various conditions. These engines are found in some 2019-2023 Chevy Silverado 1500, Silverado HD, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Sierra 1500, GMC Sierra HD, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade models. Notably, these sounds are much more noticeable in the L87 and L8T engines than in the 5.3L V8 L84 gasoline engine.
GM 6.6L V8 L8T engine
It’s worth noting that comparing these noises to other, similar vehicles is not recommended, as the noises may be different from one vehicle to another. This could result in unnecessary repairs, as the sounds are a normal characteristic of a healthy, operating engine. Replacing the engine or internal components in an attempt to fix the sounds will not reduce or eliminate them.
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This is why I lease. When the warranty is up, the truck is gone.
Why can’t manufacturers just go back to older successful engines? Reverse engineer them to get those to quality and reliable features. It’s like each new engine comes out with even more problems than the last and no one wants to do anything about it. Planning for the future purchases, I keep up with all the problem engines and transmissions and as of now, I would not begin to do for a new vehicle. When they begin correcting problems, I possibly will be in the market again.
This engine is also in the GMC and Chevy vans
It’s strange, my new Toyota Tacoma doesn’t seem to have any of these problems.
GM also uses the same excuses for hard shifts in the gmc sierra and Silverado. We all know these things are not normal. Just be sure to note on file at your dealer every time you go in there that the same problem is persisting and if anything happens when warranty runs out they’ll have to fix it regardless for free
I have a stroker 408 in my 69f100 and it MAKES ALL KIND OF SOUNDS
In my 2006 Chevy Tahoe 5.3 natty aspirated. She’s as quiet as a winter evening. Idles like a boss at 900 rpm
Not a tick squeak or hum just that low down dirty purr
And with premium Gas from Chevy with techy
She’s at 90 mph in 5 seconds. I would never trade her in for anything new. Yeah you look smart and sexy in your 22. At what cost ?
It’s probably going to be like the 2002 model that eats engines and heads every 80 to 100k . Less than 200k and on the 2nd engine and 3rd set of heads
If you’re worried about gas engines making funny noises get a DIESEL. Let them know who is boss at pharting.
Ha! Gm won’t put the 6.6 in the 5 vans I’ve ordered in the last 2 years. Now all you losers are stuck with a lemon. I hope GM goes belly up.
My 6.2L begin making strange noises and then – camshaft failed because it was not properly hardened -SAD, SAD, SAD ! Had to replace engine with a rebuilt one.
My 6.2L begin making strange noises and then – lifters and camshaft -SAD, SAD, SAD ! Had to replace engine with a rebuilt one.
Yep they are just hoping no one figures the noises out until the warranty is over. Probably something that will just make it past the warranty and scatter all over the road so they can tell you to eat crap.
This is all fine and dandy until the damn engine locks up on you when you’re three hours from your house. All this within four months of having the oil pump, timing chain, and radiator replaced. You tell me. How is that normal?
Please dont e mail me more than one time a day
Wonder if it sounds like my Whirlpool washer.
I’ve owned 2000 Silverado 1500 since new. Original 4.8 @ 364k miles. I also have an 03 2500 with 6.0 @ 330k miles. 2004 Yukon 8.1 @ 210k. You will never see these long lasting V8s in anything you buy now. Cylinder de activation is absolute garbage. I have the most problems with my 2015 Yukon. Lifter failure and carbon build up on the valves is inexcusable. High pressure fuel pumps failing. Excessive oil consumption on 07-10 models. In my opinion since 2007 GM products are all bling and no bang, driveway princesses. I will never buy a newer GM truck or suv. They are destined to fail and the engineers and executives should be ashamed of themselves for putting out products like that. But instead they’ll continue to get bail outs, bonuses and severances for bowing down to the environmentalists who force everything good out of this country but are the best hypocrites because just because the environment looks ok here doesn’t mean that your not ruining the planet and lives from a remote location. But go ahead and go green, like highlighter green hazardous electric battery waste that still no one knows what to do with. Too dangerous to leave alone for fear of spontaneous combustion and too expensive to recycle properly. Well there’s my daily rant haha. The left are making a great future for all of our children and grandchildren.
Has a 2015 Silverado, tranny burned up before 47k, replaced under warranty. Warranty tranny started going bad at 48k, they fixed that made me buy a radiator because tranny cooler is in radiator. Got rid of truck before 49k. GM is crap, never buy another.
Enjoy your bad engineering and parts.
I got a 50 year old ford that only ticks when ot needs an oil change and runs 50 to 70psi oil pressure. Maybe time to switch brands.
On a serious note I wouldnt be happy about a new Ford or GM sounding like a worn out Hyundai either. I reckon they’re saying it’s normal because they have no idea what it is
The ‘strange noises’ probably are common and considered to be ok because so many different factors such as timing and idle air controls, who knows…
To be clear, my Chevy truck was great until; I replaced the dash cluster for the second time, replaced the left front wheel bearing assembly twice and the right once for ABS sensors, the clutch slave cylinder failed, the screws holding the console on the roof fell out and both brake lines rusted and failed at the same time leaving me with NO BRAKES with a trailer on! Fortunately I had manual transmission and trailer brakes.
It’s too bad, I loved my 2500HD until all of this happened. The high point of the truck was the 6.0L engine… I’ll never buy another Chevy truck.