Calmer than the launch year, and the costliest transmission risk is covered — but the DFM lifter still needs a listen.

The uncovered risk. 2020 is all-DFM, the lifter system mechanics say fails more often and earlier than the older AFM. A collapsed lifter brings a tick, misfire, power loss, and often camshaft and pushrod damage — a $3,000–$10,000 repair with no blanket recall, only a class action and reactive, sometimes-denied warranty repairs. A DFM disabler (~$150) is cheap prevention; a cold-start tick is the tell to walk. This is the single most important thing to check on a 2020.

Alongside the lifter issue, the DFM V8s can burn oil — owners report a quart every 1,500–2,000 miles, and GM considers up to a quart per 2,000 within spec. The oil-cooler lines can also seep at the crimp. Check the oil level and look for leaks or a burning-oil smell; a truck that needs regular top-ups is telling you something about the engine's health.

Owners report the infotainment screen and backup camera flickering, resetting, or dropping Bluetooth — often worse when braking or cold. Usually a nuisance, but a buried module can be expensive to reach if one fails. Exercise the screen, camera, and phone pairing thoroughly on the test drive.

2020 carries a stack of free-fix recalls worth confirming: a fuel pump missing a pressure regulator that can over-pressurize and leak (fire risk, 19V837), brake caliper bolts that weren't heat-treated and can break (20V116), the battery-cable and driveshaft items shared with 2019, and a roof-rail airbag diffuser recall (20V446). Diesel trucks also get the transmission-control-valve rear-lock-up recall (24V797). Verify each is closed by VIN.