I've owned Hondas, Subarus, Toyotas, Mitsubishi and now a '97 Chevy Suburban and I do all my own wrenching/maintenance. I bought the Burb thinking that GM had finally stepped up to the plate for quality and reliability (along with the "other" domestic marques). Nope, that Professional Grade stuff is just marketing hype.
That @#%&%! thing started falling apart @ 50,000 mi. when the AC compressor teflon seals went and since then the transmission has eaten its young when the TCC solenoid failed and the sun reaction shell cracked at the spin weld, the engine intake manifold gasket leaked, the wiper control board failed, the rear axles seals failed and ruined the rear brakes in the process, the exhaust system cracked in two and fell off, the brake vacuum booster unit failed, the front ball joints needed to be replaced because the rubber grease bladder rotted and split open, it was recalled because the electric rear-view mirror switch would short out and set the driver's door on fire, it eats brake pads every 25k mi. (and doesn't stop very good when the brakes are OK), the drivers seat rocks back and forth because a small internal piece breaks and I've had to replace the oil lines twice and now the third set are starting to leak at the couplings.
Two of the failures torpedoed our family summer vacation plans two years in a row. Digging around on the web, these problems are well-known on Suburbans and GM continues to make the same 4L60E transmission with the same defective valve body and sun shell to this day. It now has 95,000 mi. on it and the next "well known" failures waiting for me are the $600 fuel pump module in the gas tank and the $800 Eaton limited-slip differential grenading without warning. The damn thing has cost me $6000 in repairs, more than *all* my previous vehicles combined!! All of those previous vehicles went well over 100,000+ mi. with only the expected consumables like plugs, belts, filters, oil and tires needing attention. Our current 12 yr. old Mitsubishi Montero is still running strong @ 120,000 mi. and is ready to be passed on to our oldest boy that will soon be getting his license.
This snake-bit Suburban is my first and last(!!) GM and I'm trading it in on a new Toyota Sequoia for the wife and a new Tundra Double Cab for me. Like someone wiser than me said, "There is no education in the second kick of a mule." No more GM for us ... ever!
VLJ