2017 GMC ACADIA Recalls, Complaints & Safety

Twice the side detection system failed due to corroded wiring under the bumper which then led into the electrical system failing on side air bag detection/blind zone detection/traction control system/display monitor and blinkers all failing to the point of vehicle not starting. The safety is these features failed which were both safety and stability. Risks occur in becoming stranded and the problem was first noted by dealer to be a poor battery. GM pushed out a "Special Coverage Adjustment' to have the wiring/module kit to be ordered and repaired by a dealer for no charge. Stipulations was within 6 yrs or 80,000 from 'placed in use'. Warning lamps occurred after the corrosion was too far along to be rectified and after the 6n yrs off the lot. Manufacture GM issued the special adjustment but dealership did not provide notice beyond letter at point of failure in vehicle so that twice I have had to contend with this issue and pay in full for the service work performed. The second fail of this wiring system and module was within 3 years of first replacement.

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the A/C system became inoperable. Additionally, the engine fan activated and remained activated even after the vehicle was turned off. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving. The contact related the failure to GM Special Coverage Number: N252508350 (Engine Coolant Thermostat). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Seeing the intermittent shift to park messages when the vehicle has been shifted into park and the ignition is turned to the off position. Shifter wire harness jumper & transmission controls A malfunctioning shifter raises fears of potential rollaway accidents, even if such cases remain rare. For anyone who has to park on a slope, this fear can cause serious worry. Yes, there is a service bulletin (19-NA-206) No, this is 1 of the only problems I have had with this. The other issues I have had is the clear coating on the rims are peeling

The shift to park keeps showing up and I had this issue taken care of last year at the dealership and it just started again. It is over $600 to have the repair done and should last more than a year before it needs to be replaced again. The lane assist pops up every couple weeks that it is not working.

Steering assist is reduced

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parked at her work, she had attempted to start the vehicle and was unable. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The contact had smelled the strong odor of gasoline from the front end of the vehicle. The contact stated a co-worker had looked underneath the vehicle and confirmed the leak of gasoline. The contact had taken the vehicle back to the same independent mechanic, who advised that the fuel pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that she was in a parking lot at a shopping center as she was looking for a parking spot, the driver's side air bag exploded, there was no crash. The contact said that she heard a loud "boom," and she had scrapes on her arms, hands, and face. The contact stated that her sons both had cuts and scrapes on their faces, the contact said one of her children needed stitches on his lip from the explosion. The contact stated that the police and emergency services were at the scene. The contact stated that her vehicle was towed back to her residence. The contact stated that she and her children were transported by ambulance to the emergency room. The contact stated that the police issued a report, but she was not given the report number. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

3 injured

Shift to Park warning comes on when the car is turned off and it is in park. When we park the the car and shift the car to park and turn the car off the warning "shift to park" comes on and the electrical systems will not disengage. The radio stays on, the car can not be locked, and the doors ding loud alarms if you try to exit the car. The only fix is to sit in the car for several minutes and flick the switch under the gear shift and hope that the shift to park warning eventually goes off and you can exit the car. It sometimes takes 8-10 minutes for this to happen. This first happened intermittently and now happens every time we turn off the car. It has been replicated in a dealership and service center. The independent service center that did our brakes said they were aware this was a common problem in GMCs and they experienced it. We have been told it is a microswitch and the repair option is not under any kind of recall or warranty and up to us to pay for the full repair even though it seems there are thousands of people online experiencing the same problem and paying hundreds of dollars for this fix.

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parked at her work, she had attempted to start the vehicle and was unable. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The contact had smelled the strong odor of gasoline from the front end of the vehicle. The contact stated a co-worker had looked underneath the vehicle and confirmed the leak of gasoline. The contact had taken the vehicle back to the same independent mechanic, who advised that the fuel pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that she was in a parking lot at a shopping center as she was looking for a parking spot, the driver's side air bag exploded, there was no crash. The contact said that she heard a loud "boom," and she had scrapes on her arms, hands, and face. The contact stated that her sons both had cuts and scrapes on their faces, the contact said one of her children needed stitches on his lip from the explosion. The contact stated that the police and emergency services were at the scene. The contact stated that her vehicle was towed back to her residence. The contact stated that she and her children were transported by ambulance to the emergency room. The contact stated that the police issued a report, but she was not given the report number. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

3 injured

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly lost motive power before slamming into gear. Additionally, the vehicle vibrated abnormally while changing gear. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

In March of 2022 at around 79,000 miles, the temperature gauge was intermittently stuck on cold with the cooling fan constantly running and “steering assist reduced” displayed in the DIC. The car was found to have a bad thermostat which was replaced at the dealership on 3/28/2022. About 2 months ago the car started doing the same exact thing again. I have an appointment at the same dealership on March 23. It is likely the same problem again and I have only driven about 50,000 miles since the last time it was fixed. The car is now out of warranty. This is apparently a common recurrent with these model cars. There is in fact a service bulletin released about this very issue. GMC should replace and repair this issue since it is clearly a flaw.

See attached document for complaint.

The engine is spewing oil from the sides of the engine. This is causing overheating and check engine light to come on. Mechanics cannot get an error read on it. There is no oil leak coming from under the engine.

Thermostat Issue (Steering Assist is Reduced Drive with Care) have changed this sensor 3 times in the past 3 years, there is no excuse for that. The emergency braking almost cause me and my daughter to be hit by a train when my car emergency braked while going over train tracks. this is unexcusable

On [XXX] my 2017 Acadia Denali started driving poorly and a steering assist reduced message appeared. I had O'Reilly scan for error messages and they were: P0128 and P0826-00. The dealership confirmed that they would need to replace the thermostat. The Buick GMC Beaverton technician made a video of my vehicle: [XXX] My safety was put at risk due to the risk of my steering going out. My car intermittently was having trouble engaging in driving (it randomly acted like it was not firing, it was "jerking"), I heard my cooling fan come on immediately the next day when started my car to drive it to the GMC dealership. I feared that my car would just die going over a mountain pass without cell coverage. On [XXX] I had the same steering assist reduced message and then replaced my thermostat at 39,228 miles. I will need to replace this again, 37,638 miles later. The GMC service technician mentioned that this is a typical problem for my car, and I have discovered a 2022 Acadia recall for their thermostats. Please extend this recall to include the 2017 Acadia. The component was not inspected by the police or insurance rep (yet), but it was inspected by the GMC dealership and O'Reilly veri scan. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Vehicle will not shut off, keep showing shift to Park, even when vehicle is in park with parking brake engaged. This has been a common occurrence and I see where people discuss a recall, but one is not available for my VIN.

The Car has over the last few years not turn off due to shift to park. This is concerning, due to we cannot turn the car off unless we strike the shifter few times assuming this is the remedy. It doesn't look like there is any type of recall but there should be.

My car will not park. I get a shift to park error message. I tried restarting and shutting it off. Didn't work. I ended up putting it in neutral turning on the emergency brake and then shutting the car off. I have had no problems with this car to this point, I am a single car owner and my car must be reliable. I can't spend a half hour trying to get the car to shut off.

Tire size is P235/65R18 I purchased these tires in December of 2024. I am concerned that these tires were built without the correct compound to be qualified as an all-season. I have never had tires this bad in snow, even though they are all season brand-new tires with full tread. I immediately bought a set of snow tires for the vehicle. I again tried these tires in snow in November of 2025 after they had roughly 10,000 miles on them, and again found them to be the worst tires in snow that I have ever driven. I am concerned these were a mis-build.

Pulled into a parking space, put the car into park and tried to shut the car off. The warning system said I needed to shift to park. I was in park but could not shut the car off because the car thought I wasnt in park. Took 15 minutes of shifting from park to all gears and shaking the gear shifter before it finally let me shut the vehicle off. This is now the second time this has happened and ive had to have the same thing repaired. They are replacing the whole shifter assembly. Error reads SHIFT TO PARK. This is happening every few years now and at almost 1000 dollars to repair and only lasting a year or so, this is ridiculous.

The car is in park & ignition button has been hit to turn vehicle off. When engine is turned off all interior, exterior, dash, & ignition switch lights remain on with a notification on the dashboard stating to "shift to park". The doors can not be locked when this message is on the screen. It can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 15 minutes for the lights & dash to go out, allowing you to exit & lock the car. If you exit the car while the message still appears on the dash, not only are the lights on & unable to lock the car, but if someone where to get into the car, without the key fob, they can start the car & drive off. My husband & I were in a shopping center parking lot in July 2025 where the "shift to park" error came on. We sat in the car, 110 degrees outside, for 10 minutes waiting for the car to shut down. Finally we had to exit the car because we could no longer take the heat. My husband went back to the car, 5 minutes late, while I was in the store to see if the car had finally shut down. To his surprise the lights and dash where still on. He noticed the start button light was also still on & thought if he hit the button the lights would shut off, but no, the car actually started & again he did not have the key fob with him. This is a serious issue & needs to be addressed & I do not feel that I should be paying for this repair. My husband unexpectantly passed away in Sept 2025 & now I am left to deal with this on my own. I have to get this issue fixed as I can not take the chance someone will take my car someday nor do I want to continue to sit in my car for 10-20 minutes waiting for it to shut down. The dealership I took it to diagnosed it as due to a faulty switch in the shifter which means its poor workmanship & not related to owner usage. Please add this to the recall list so that I can get it fixed quickly or if I have to get it fixed prior to being approved by you I can at least recoup my money. Thank you

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after the vehicle was parked and the gear shifter was shifted to park(P), the vehicle failed to turn off as intended. The message "Shift to Park" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked, and the gear shifter was shifted to park(P), however the vehicle failed to recognize that the gear shifter was in park(P). The contact jiggled the gear shifter button several times and was able to turn off the vehicle. The failure was intermittent. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired, and the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

While driving get notice lane departure not working and thermostat registered zero, when code scanned, states low thermostat temp and able to reset with code reader. Will reoccur in minters to days later. This is an electrical issue to to the ability to reset with a code scan tool, but also a safety issue since it also effects the electrical safety ability associated with the sensor.

When I’m driving a warning comes on my DIC screen that says “ACTION REQUIRED STEERING ASSIST IS REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE”. The AC does not work and the temp gauge goes to cold with the radiator fan blowing at full speed. My car has done this since I purchased it used in 2019 and when I call dealer they say there is no recall and $1200-1800 to replace a sensor and thermostate. I have not had the issue fixed yet.

Every time I park it show up “ shift to park and it takes long to remove the code. battery keeps dying because of it since the car won’t turn off all night.

Backup camera often does not have a clear picture. Very grainy and static.

There is a continuing issue with the shifter causing a "Shift to Park" message that is resulting in the vehicle electrical system not turning off. This is causing the vehicle to drain the battery and not able to lock the vehicle while the "Shift to Park" message is displayed on the instrument panel. Concerned not only what is mentioned above but mainly concerned in not knowing if the vehicle is truly in park that may cause the vehicle to roll.

The contact's boyfriend owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked abnormally while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure; however, the mechanic stated that the failure was related to the transmission. The contact called two local dealers about the failure, and both stated that the vehicle could not be serviced in the near future. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

GMC customer care representative & local GMC service department supervisor unable to help. 2017 Acadia Shift to Park message. It’s Difficult to turn the car off. The vehicle refuses to acknowledge the park position. Potential rollaway hazard. You may inspect. Took it to GMC service & confirmed it is a prevalent issue: Transmission control 13534320 = gearshift assembly & Jumper harness 84733196. This problem has been recurring for several years and I have problem solved how to shut the car off. GMC customer care rep said it’s an issue with all 2017 Acadias and tried to help. The system deemed it complicated case & escalated it to a Supervisor. She read a “customer care” script. After talking, she admitted that realistically GMC would not help. Yesterday, she advised me to file a complaint with NHTSA. I read that 2 other states Ohio & Tennessee won class action lawsuits because of the hazardous shift to park issue. If GMC issued recalls for 2017 Acadia shift to park then my 2017 GMC Acadia should have been included. I have been waiting for the recall for several years. GMC admits the problem is prevalent in 2017 GMC Acadias. Would you please issue a recall associated with this issue and link it to my VIN. Thank you.

The middle row passenger side bucket seat seems to have a seat buckle failure. We have had a booster seat professionally installed for over a year. I check daily before my son gets in the seat that the seat is properly secured, but this morning it was loose. The shoulder belt that you have to pull all the way out to ratchet. It in place was completely un ratcheted and free to move. The buckle was still buckled completely, and the only way the shoulder belt should have been able to be loose like that would’ve been completely unbuckling and letting it retract all the way. The seat buckle was never unbuckled whatsoever. It seems like that ratcheting mechanism somehow failed and released the lock on the shoulder belt which was supposed to be holding the car seat in place. To properly resecure the car seat, I needed to unbuckle and allow the seat buckle to completely retract back into its normal position before pulling it back out to route through the car seat and re-ratcheting it tightly. The locking mechanism appears to be working now, but I am concerned that without unbuckling the seat buckle it just randomly Unlocked on its own.

Driving down the street and I heard a extremely loud drop. The transmission went out with no warning or even indication of trouble. The vehicle ran very smooth until that point.

WHEN I STOP AND PUT ME CAR IN PARK IT USUALLY GIVES A WARNING SHIFT INTO PARK

When I shift my car to park, it doesn't register that it is in park. It won't let me shut the car off. I can move the gear shift around a bit and it will eventually say it is in park. It can take sometimes up to 10 minutes for me to be able to shut off my car. I have read that this is a known issue and there was a recall, but my vin number was not included for some reason? The issue started about a month ago and has been continually getting worse.

SHIFT TO PARK Warning comes on & you can't lock the vehicle nor will it shut off completely. I've had to start & reverse several times before it engages/recognizes that it is in park. OBVIOUSLY this is a KNOWN issue by reading all the other posts relating to this. Please issue a recall....

Side Detection Malfunction Message on Dash. Blind spot and cross traffic alerts not working. Vehicle has a blind spot on the driver's side and without this alert, I have found that vehicles appear to not be there but actually which causes issues with merging traffic and lane changes leading to potential collisions. Dealer replaced the side detection modules under warranty and special policy because of water intrusion into the modules. This exact same symptoms and parts have occurred and replaced 5 times, and a 6th is currently needed. All work was performed exclusively at GMAC dealer and vehicle is accident free. GM issued a special policy that covered this specific repair, and the vehicle now needs to it done a 6th time and GM has refused to assist saying vehicle is out of special policy. I have requested that GM inspect the vehicle but no response. I contacted GM and they declined assistance. I currently have the feature turned off because it was providing an error message on the dash and false alerts. I don't believe that GM actually has a long-term fix for this safety issue. Original Set of Sensors - 0 Miles - 2nd set of sensors - 5,894 Miles - 2/2018 3rd set of sensors - 17,078 Miles - 5/2019 4th set of sensors - 32,546 Miles - 4/2021 5th set of sensors - 45,463 Miles - 3/2023 6th set of sensors - 64,335 Miles - 3/2025

Shift to park appears when vehicle is already in park and the vehicle will not turn off.