2012 GMC ACADIA Recalls, Complaints & Safety

Daytime Running light bulb and housing failure. Some 2012 Acadia models recalled under now expired recall for bulbs and deformation of surrounding housing. Apparently the above recall was excluded from this recall and should have been included. Both DRL on this vehicle have failed and surrounding housing has been damaged . Subsequently replacing just bulbs is not possible. The housing melted on the bulb. Photo is available on request. This failure should be considered a fire hazard. GM customer service center stated to me that this vehicle was not included in recall after VIN search. Some 2012 Acadias were in fact included , this one was not. And should have been since the failure occurred as stated in the original recall.

The power lift gate suddenly comes down.

Back up camera When in reverse the backup camera screen is black or shows very little light making it unusable. Unable to see objects or persons behind vehicle. Despite cleaning camera. No visual damage noted. * It is available for inspection upon request. * Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? NO * Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? NO *Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? NO , first appeared over a year ago.

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the liftgate independently unlatched and fell midway down, and then independently closed and latched. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 187,000.

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Acadia. The contact’s wife stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 172,000.

The transmission has all the symptoms of a broken wave plate and/or torque convertor as reported in the first generation T75 transmission service bulletin. This started occurring at 120K. I know the service bulletin was for the 2007-2009 models but the 2012 had the same exact transmission and waveplate. The car feels like it's going to shudder out and die on the highway.

The back seat driver's side door shut with such impact as to amputate the finger from an adult. Vehicle was parked on incline when front driver's side door shut, the back door also shut. There were no safety features to protect fingers from the hinge side of back door. The force of the door slamming and lack of any space between the hinge side of the door and its frame caused my middle finger from the top knuckle up to be cut off completely thus amputated from hand.

1 injured

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that shortly after purchasing the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who discovered that the catalytic convertor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The mechanic also inspected the vehicle and determined that the steering rack, front struts, and suspension control arms were also faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 130,000.

This 2012 GMC Acadia denali with close to 160k has been in the shop several times due to it randomly stalling out It kept basically locking me out from starting the car a "service anti-theft system" would flash across the dash followed by a flashing check engine light along with a lock and key symbol. A local GM repair shop had it in 3 times for them to tell me they couldn't figure it out or get the vehicle to "act up" they cut me two new keys and tightened up what they claimed to be loose battery cables just for the vehicle to die/stall with a no crank no start happen literally 10 minutes down the road after paying almost 600$ for repairs and that it was towed back 3 times for the same issue spanning over two months of them not being able to figure out the issue. Salvador ended up replacing the anti-theft control module after the 3rd time having to tow it back and forth just to leave the shop and I couldn't start the vehicle the next day after handing over almost another 400$ and less than 15/20 miles of drive time. GM needs to get this issue figured out!!! There anti-theft system locks people out from starting their vehicles more than it does actually preventing actual theft. This will eventually end up causing a major crash at an intersection or highway if the anti-theft system keeps failing it just randomly cuts out power to the engine while driving.

Ratle sound in the engine thinking it may be the timing chain. Code p0430 came on stating catalytic converter bank 2 needs replaced. We replaced o2 sensor downstream on bank 2 code was cleared by shop. After driving a few miles same check engine light came on and i took it to the shop they hooked it up to run the code and it was the same p0430 again

Vehicle producing code P2138 then goes into limp mode stating to service stability, traction control off and engine reduced power. Replaced Throttle Body and Acceleration Pedal Position Sensor and error was still present.

I was driving along [XXX] . I stopped at Walmart and shopped for about 2 hours. I was Leaving Walmart and was stopped at a red light at the exit from Walmart [XXX] and traction control light comes on and a message came up and stated traction control off and to service stability control and the vehicle loses power right at the light. I checked everything I could and dis connect the battery for about 30 minutes and connected the battery back up vehicle still would not start. After sitting there for 3 hours the vehicle starts up. A week later the same thing happens again. I had to go through all the steps again so after a couple of hours. The vehicle started up. A few days later it happens shin but this time I'm at a stop sign on a busy road. I called Road side service for a tow. No one showed up so I went through Ll those same steps of disconnecting the battery and hooking it back up after a couple of hours and it stated up. I drove it home and started doing some research and found something saying to change the brake pedal position sensor so I done that and it worked for a few days and started doing the same thing all over again. S week later I drive it to the store and got almost home and the vehicle shut down again and would not start back up. I had it towed to my uncle shop Nd he done a diagnostic on it and got about 4 or 5 codes. All of those things are very expensive to purchase. I just ran the Vin to check for recalls on the vehicle but couldn't find any but it should have been a lot of recalls because there are so many of these vehicles the exact same model and year with trouble with stability control ND brake and traction control issues. All the issues they hD on this car thT I have should not have been sold to anyone except the manufacturer. I wish I could just get my money back that I paid for it. $4700.00 not included in the work I had done like the cv axles replace on both sides in the front. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Transmission issues

The timing chains went on the engine at 148,000 miles. Which is known for 3.6l engines. Gm needs to own up to their faulty manufacturing on these engines. I need this vehicle for my children. This is the second time I have to put another engine in this truck. Thankfully when I purchased this vehicle it had a warranty but it only cover so much so I had to put a jasper motor in it instead of a brand new one from GM itself and now this jasper motor died after only driving it 22,000 miles and getting my oil changed every 3,000 miles. Single mom of soon to be 3 children i can't afford another 3 row seating Vehicle.

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while closing the hatch of the vehicle, the driver's side ball joint hinge fractured, causing the bar holding the hatch to scrape off some of the tints of the windshield. The contact stated that he was able to stop the hatch from fully closing to prevent the hatch from braking the windshield. The contact stated that the hatch had not been opened since the incident occurred to prevent further damage to the windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Acadia. The contacts stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost velocity while depressing the accelerator pedal. The message "Engine power reduced and service traction control" was displayed temporarily. The contact managed to pull over the shoulder of the road and had the vehicle towed to a local independent service lot where it was diagnosed with metal debris in the engine which required an engine replacement. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.

While driving the vehicle it just shut off for no reason which created a safety hazard! We were then forced to have it towed to a nearby repair shop, because we did not want to take the chance to start the vehicle and have the same thing happen again. The repair shop did their diagnosis and informed us it was a broken timing chain but couldn’t tell us if any other damage was done to the motor, without completely tearing it down. The decision was made to wait and it remains sitting at the repair shop.

The car shutdown mid-driving do due to a power system issue, which was dangerous on the highway. I had the car battery and the alternator replaced and it did the same thing again 8 months later. Says the battery system needs servicing

142,000 miles and timing chain is bad. A very known issue and a very common issue in the GMC Acadia Denali which I think should be repaired by GM! I only owe $4,000 on the car and it's going to cost me 3,000 to get it fixed that is ridiculous so I think you should stand behind your workmanship and your quality of vehicles that you build GM and fix it take care of your customers as we keep buying this type of junk

Transmission is slipping, shuddering at low speeds making car unsafe to drive

TRANSMISSION STARTES SLIPPING THEN WENT OUT

About 1 month ago While making a slow speed turn from a parking lot to a street the steering seemed to lock for no reason. After a brief moment the steering resumed normal function. I inspected the ignition switch and found nothing abnormal. Checked power steering fluid level, it was in the operating range. Unable to duplicate the issue at that time. On 3-9-23 while driving the vehicle started making an unusual noise coming from the engine. It seemed to be consistent with engine rpm. I believe it was the power steering pump. After stopping and starting the engine the noise was gone. A few minutes later while driving at slow speed the steering locked again, or the resistance was too great for my wife to overcome.

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the liftgate lamp detached from the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the adhesive had severely deteriorated. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 175,000. The VIN was unavailable.

I noticed shuddering while driving my car and when I took it to my mechanic upon test driving and inspecting it he realized the torque converter is not strong enough for the size of the car. He informed me driving it with the improper size will cause it to shudder and accelerate or not accelerate correctly while driving and cause slipping while shifting gears. Those issue have been happening the entire time I've had it and if the car slips and goes too fast or slips and loses power it is a danger to me and the other cars on the road. There were no codes or warning indicators while this is happening.

SIDE IMPACT AIRBAG CONNECTOR,FRONT SAFETY BELT ANCHOR, POWER LIFT GATE PROP ROD RECOVERY

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the RPM would rise to 4,000 however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle and became aware of smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine block, camshaft, reverse gear, and transmission housing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 158,000.

I HAVE A 2012 GMC acadia denali with about 147,000 miles on it and the "Service Air Bag" light is on I brought it somewhere to have the code read and the said there is about 5 different codes popping up for the issue... I've called auto shops around me locally and can't find anyone that is willing to look at it. I just want to know what my best options are as to getting this issue resolved. As I have never been in an accident so I don't know why the air bag light is on.

My 2012 GMC Acadia has had numerous issues that all lead to the fuel pump assembly. Three separate times, my cars ignition has just shut off while driving. When trying to accelerate from a stop, the car will struggle to move then jump forward nearly hitting the car infront of me. Stabilitrak warning comes on. Car randomly jerks while driving. Car will randomly not want to start but eventually does after multiple attempts.

No warning light when transmission went out. Traction control/stabiltrac service light came on, doors locking and unlocking, not stating what gear acadia was in. Check engine light eventually came on, after it stalled twice on highway. Vehicle is at gmc dealership service department and they are saying its not communicating and are checking wiring harness wires. I have replaced transmission and torque converter and now i dont know what to expect now. Only had it for 3 years so far. I almost got rear ended when it stalled twice before backfiring and a rough swift shift.

The automatic passenger side window does not work anymore, it went out a couple months after I bought it. I have always done maintenance on my vehicle, oil changes, tires, etc. and the timing chain went out on it for some unknown reason. Very pricey to fix. I would hate to be stranded with my 6 grandchildren with. With all the complaints on the timing chain, this should be a recall.

We have had this recall fixed TWICE but it still reflects in the NHTSA database as an open recall. The first time we had this fixed was in 2017. We had it fixed again on May 19, 2023 and yet it STILL reflects as open in NHTSA. I am active duty military and require proof of clean vehicle recall history to ship this vehicle to Hawaii as part of a permanent change of station move. Please assist ASAP with clearing this recall requirement.

I was driving 40 mph, when warnings appeared on my dash. "Service Stabalizor control", "Traction control turned off", "power is reduced", and the check engine light came on. I lost power as if engine quit, no acceration, but then came back intermittent. If I had been on a highway going 65 mph, in heavy traffic, there may have been an accident. Power steering remained on. I took to an auto service business, and they were unable to find the problem. Code indicated a fuel pressure problem.