10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,765 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 GMC Acadia:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #174

Jun 162024

Acadia

  • miles
This model is know for transmission shudder and you put out a memo. I brought the car back under warranty and said it was fine. Now it needs what the memo said and torque converter. Car is out of warranty and they want to charge full price. There should be a recall on this model

- Beacon Falls, CT, USA

problem #173

May 122024

Acadia

  • miles
2017 GMC Acadia "shift to park" known failure. When you place the vehicle in the park position, mechanically it seems to be in park but the control says shift to park. When traveling long distance from home you can find yourself in a position where you cannot leave your car. You cannot lock it or turn it off properly. This is an ongoing problem known to GM and listed in many Technical bulletins including Bulletin No. 19-NA-206 date September, 2019. A recall should be issued for this problem. We found ourselves stranded hundreds of miles from home with a vehicle we could not shut off or secure. This may cause you to leave your car unattended, unlocked and running if you cannot get it to park and shut down.

- Pasadena, MD, USA

problem #172

May 152024

Acadia

  • miles
Car displaying "shift to park" when in park. This has already been addressed once during my ownership. The Shifter Assembly was replaced. Car will not turn off with "shift to park" alert. It is now doing it again. This is a well known issue.

- Woodstock, GA, USA

problem #171

May 092024

Acadia

  • miles
Incident: the drivetrain shudders and experiences hesitation while attempting to accelerate, and car surges forward when breaking due to what seems to be an issue with the tranmission. This present concerns with potential stalling while driving or the car surging into other vehicles. No indicator lights or error codes are displayed. The presence of this problem in multiple GM vehicles is confirmed by service bulletin 18-NA-358. The safety concern related to this defect should warrant a manufacturer recall to fix the know n defective parts. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. Will request to retain defective parts for inspection upon repair.

- Chesterfield, MO, USA

problem #170

May 062024

Acadia

  • 44,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon reaching her destination and shifting the vehicle to park, the vehicle failed to recognize that the gear shifter was in park(P). As a result, the vehicle displayed a warning message reading, "Action Required - Please Shift to Park, " and the contact was unable to lock the doors until the failure was resolved independently. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,000.

- Chillicothe, OH, USA

problem #169

Aug 262020

Acadia

  • miles
Vehicle frequently shows the error "Shift to Park" when I attempt to turn off the car after it is placed in park - which is confirmable via the instrument panel. The vehicle electronics will not turn off until the error is cleared. At times I cannot clear the error and I've had to set my parking brake and leave the car electronics running while I go into a store, which leaves car unsecured and drains the battery. The car has gone into my local GMC dealer for repairs. The first time I took it in (August 2020), I was 365 miles outside my warranty and GMC refused to pay for the repairs. The dealership felt certain a recall would be issued and suggested I have harness switched which they admitted was a band-aid fix and that it wouldn't fix the issue, but it would allow a period where the error disappears (which it did) - until a recall is issued. The Shift to Park error reappeared about 1.5 years later. I took my Acadia back to the dealership and was told they could not replicate the error and therefore there was nothing they could about it. The error is happening much more often and I've scheduled another repair appointment to address the problem.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #168

Oct 012023

Acadia

  • miles
There's a shuddering, clanking sound coming from the torque converter when the engine shifts gears at 25-35 mph. I also noticed that it happens when it transitions from 4 cylinders to 6 cylinders. There's a sweet spot somewhere in there. It has also happened on the highway from 65-75 mph. This also happens when it's switching from 4 cylinders to 6 cylinders.

- Collinsville, OK, USA

problem #167

Mar 052024

Acadia

  • miles
There is a big time shudder and the dealer will not believe me because it doesn-??t do it for them. They did admit there is a problem but won-??t fix it. I did the transmission fluid exchange like they said and still the problem. I see service bulletins for it but no recall. It-??s is now out of warranty and I will have to pay for it. This is not right

- Beacon Falls, CT, USA

problem #166

Feb 012024

Acadia

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH and accelerating to 25 MPH, the vehicle jerked and downshifted, and decelerated to 17-18 MPH. The contact stated that the failure occurred several times while driving. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 5 MPH and attempting to come to a complete stop, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle shuddered and failed to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal harder, and the vehicle responded. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving, causing him to shift to neutral(N) while depressing the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the diagnostic test codes: P0010, P0016, P0018, and P0507 were retrieved. The mechanic determined that the engine and an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Two unknown dealers were notified of the failure and informed the contact the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

- Holmdel, NJ, USA

problem #165

Dec 012023

Acadia

  • miles
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia with what I call a "Shift to Park" issue. This originally showed up with about 27, XXX miles on the car. It was repaired by the dealer on 9/25/2019. It worked perfectly until it started back up about six weeks or so ago with approximately 57, XXX miles on the car. I was told when it was originally fixed that they knew the issue and had an earnest fix. Not they want >$500 to fix a problem that they were supposed to fix the first time. Here is the issue. When you shift to park, and try to turn the car off, you get an error message that you need to "shift to park". I assume that the car is in park, but not sure with this warning message. You have to start it back up multiple times and play with the shifter. The other option is to let the warning keep flashing and wear the battery down. I have replied the battery on this car two times. When researching this issue on the internet, I see that there are several class action lawsuit for this issue so GM is well aware of the issue. They have apparently figured out the issue because it only affected the 2017 and 2018 Acadias from what I can tell. AS you can tell fro the mileage, this car has low annual miles and ha always been serviced by a GM dealer.

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #164

Jun 012023

Acadia

  • miles
This is a known issue with GM 2016-2019 various models including my 2017 Acadia. the shift mechanism does not know that it is in Park position and so indicates "shift to park" on dashboard lights. Therefore ignition switch stays on and accessories that are on will run battery down in a couple of hours. Sometimes the engine will not cut off until you turn it on and off many times. The dealer estimates cost to fix of between $500 and $700. They want an additional $125 for diagnosis, which they already know problem. I found the Service Bulletin on it (19-NA-206) which calls for $42.43 in parts and 1.4 hrs labor. Many people are being ripped off on this problem, which should be a manufactor's recall ! They continued to use defective parts for years after they were aware of this hazard. Please HELP ! I don't think that I should have to pay for this repair!

- Hot Springs Village, AR, USA

problem #163

Apr 262023

Acadia

  • miles
My Wife and I purchased the 2017 GMC Acadia All Terrain in August 2017. It always had some low gear hard engagement issues. It also had issues of not locking into park when placing in Park. If we released and re-shifted it would engage. On two occasions we had the GMC dealership Durand GMC Leominster MA. check the transmission. Around 34,000 miles and again around 55,00 0 miles On both occasions they claimed they could not recreate the incident I complained about. I told them I believed that to be impossible as it was common, especially going up hill. The service manager was adamant that their was no issue. As I was close to my powertrain warranty expiring I asked again with the same response. In May we started having serious transmission slippage, It became dangerous so we took it to Durand and they found a hole in a fluid tube caused by wear from a support clip. Their repair cost was high, I took it to a respected mechanic. He repaired the tube, unfortunately, the slipppage got worst and we will replace the transmission. My internet research shows many incidents like mine. I want to make it known that my vehicle concerns were swept under the rug. GMC repair video link Please watch the video of YOUR vehicle at this website: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Gardner, MA, USA

problem #162

Jul 232023

Acadia

  • miles
The shifter does not always engage and the car will remain in gear and can't be turned off. The safety issue is the vehicle rolls forward and backwards at times. I have hit my riding lawnmower under my carport because it continued to roll when in park. I have reported an issue in 2018 and in August 2019 a repair was performed and again in 2019 a gear shift assembly was replaced, It has been confirmed there is an issue with the shifter by a tech servicing my car when he drove it. It is at the dealer now 07-24-2023 to determine the issue and repair. Shift to park will come on inconsistently, however it will roll forward without the message.

- Prescott, AR, USA

problem #161

Sep 152020

Acadia

  • miles
Ever since I bought this vehicle 75% of the time I put the vehicle in park and turn the car off the -??shift to park-?? warning light comes on and I have to jiggle the gear shift until it goes off and allows the car to turn off. This can take up to 10 min or sometimes starting the car and turning it off works but that is less times than not. This has been ongoing since I have owned the car.

- West Des Moines, IA, USA

problem #160

Dec 162022

Acadia

  • 78,588 miles
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission was slipping, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the camshaft and timing chain however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was later taken back to the dealer who later replaced the transmission. After replacing the transmission, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. A diagnostic test was performed, and it was determined that the camshaft and timing chain was faulty. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 78,588. The VIN was not available.

- Spring Hill, FL, USA

problem #159

May 152022

Acadia

  • miles
Shift to park issue

- Central Village, CT, USA

problem #158

Jan 012023

Acadia

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that on various occasions after shifting into park(P), it was not recognized and the "Attention Required, Shift to park(P)" message was displayed. The contact stated that multiple attempts at shifting the gear into neutral(N) or reverse(R) were needed for the park(P) to be recognized and for the contact to be able to turn off the vehicle. The contact also stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission was slipping. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

- Aguilar, CO, USA

problem #157

Feb 152023

Acadia

  • miles
When parking my car "The Shift To Park Light COMES On" cannot shut the car off- Not sure if its in park-You have to restart the car and keep trying to turn the car off--also all interior lights stay on--can not lock the car---This should be repaired by GM.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #156

Feb 062023

Acadia

  • miles
Shift to park error light comes on when you are parking your car--cannot lock the car and all lights stay on--takes 5 or six tries --happens every time you move the car

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #155

Feb 062023

Acadia

  • miles
No incident yet. Although at 68,567 miles, it should not need J0780 Timing Cover Gasket replacement costing approximately $1847. Powertrain warranty was 5 year 65,000 miles. I purchased in April 2017, so April 2022 was 5 years. Unbelievable.

- Urbandale, IA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »