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What 135 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 GMC Yukon Denali Xl 1500

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (135)Crash / fire / injury (2)Airbags (40)Body & structure (35)Electrical system (11)Engine (7)Fuel system (4)Speed control (4)Transmission & drivetrain (4)Visibility & wipers (3)Brakes (2)Seat belts (2)

2 of 135 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters

Jan 2, 2021Electrical systemSpeed controlBrakes

WHEN DRIVING IT SOMETIMES BEGINS TO HESITATE REDUCE POWER THE TRACTION AND STABILITY AND ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE RPM GAUGE AS WELL STOPS WORKING. IF I PULL OVER ON SIDE OF ROAD AND TURN OFF AND RESTART MOST TIMES THE IGNITION WILL HANG AND KEEP TRYING CRANK THE VEHICLE. IT'S HESITANT TO CRANK WHEN THIS HAPPENS AND SOMETIMES CRANKS AND THEN IMMEDIATELY DIES. IT WILL SHIFT HARD JUST BEFORE POWERING INTO A REDUCED POWER MODE. IF YOU TURN OFF RESTART TURN YOUR WHEEL ALL THE WAY LEFT AND THEN ALL THE WAY RIGHT AND CRANK IT WILL SOMETIMES MAKE THE LIGHTS GO OFF AND YOU THINK RESET BUT AS SOON AS YOU START DRIVING IT HAPPENS AGAIN. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A PROBLEM A LOT AND I MEAN A LOT ARE HAVING SO NOT SURE WHY THIS ISN'T BEING INVESTIGATED AND RECALLED. MOST SAY NO MATTER WHAT THEY HAVE REPAIRED OR REPLACE THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST SO THERE IS A ROOT THAT'S CREATING THE PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE FOUND AND ADDRESSED BY GENERAL MOTORS! FORGOT TO MENTION WHEN THIS HAPPENS SOMETIMES THE BRAKE PEDAL AS WELL GETS REALLY HARD! THIS A PROBLEM THAT'S BEEN CONTINUOUS OFF AND ON SINCE I'VE OWNED THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11386117

Oct 12, 2018Electrical systemBrakes

REAR BRAKE LIGHTS ARE INOPERABLE. DEALER SAYS ASSEMBLIES MUST BE REPLACED AT $2K. SEEMS TO BE A WIDESPREAD ISSUE AND AN EXTREME SAFETY ISSUE. PLEASE ENSURE GMC RECALLS AND REPAIRS THIS WIDESPREAD ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11139924

Working with the data? Download all 135 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 25, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2012 GMC Yukon Denali Xl 1500 verdict →