Home · 2013 GMC Acadia Denali · Complaints

What 134 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 GMC Acadia Denali

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 (134)Crash / fire / injury (13)Electrical system (38)Airbags (30)Transmission & drivetrain (26)Engine (21)Lights (10)Steering (8)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (6)Speed control (6)Body & structure (5)Fuel system (5)

5 of 134 complaints match · Fuel system · clear filters

May 4, 2021Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel system

WHEN DRIVING IN TRAFFIC AND SLOWING DOWN OR COMING TO A STOP. THE VEHICLE GOES COMPLETELY DEAD. I WILL HAVE TO RESTART AT EACH STOP. WHEN IT DOES START, IT IS NOT A SMOOTH TAKE OFF, IT IS EXTREMELY ROUGH, ALMOST LIKE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION IN THE WRONG GEAR. THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING. AND IT IS GETTING WORST EVERY DAY. I HAVE TO TRANSPORT MY FAMILY IN THIS VEHICLE AND IT IS VERY UNSAFE FOR US. I STILL HAVE A YEAR TO PAY FOR IT AND I AM HEARING MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT. THE DEALER DOESN'T WANT TO TOUCH IT, BECAUSE THEY ARE UNSURE WHAT IS WRONG, OR IF THEY CAN REPAIR IT. FRANKLY, THIS SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE WITH THIS MANY CARS. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL NEAR-MISSES WITH ACCIDENTS BECAUSE OF THE CAR STALLING IN TRAFFIC.

NHTSA ODI 11415192

Mar 3, 2021Fuel system

WON'T TAKE FUEL JUST JUMPS AT ONE POINT THEN EVERY TIME I FILL UP WITH FUEL IT WILL JUST SET AND GRIND I HAVE TO KEEP PUMPING THE GAS FOR IT TO FINALLY START THEN IT STARTS JUMPING FOR AWHILE BETWEEN FILL UPS AND I'M AFRAID IT WILL DIE WHEN I GO TO PULL ON THE ROAD IT'S THAT BAD.

NHTSA ODI 11398876

Aug 26, 2020Fuel system

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 GMC ACADIA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DAY AFTER REFUELING THE VEHICLE TO THE FULL LEVEL, THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATED THAT THE FUEL TANK WAS EMPTY. THE CONTACT THEN REFUELED THE VEHICLE AGAIN HOWEVER THE FUEL LEVEL INDICATED HALF WHEN IT WAS COMPLETELY FULL. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED AS THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT INITIALLY TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO THEN TOWED THE VEHICLE TO FRESNO BUICK GMC (5515 N BLACKSTONE AVE, FRESNO, CA 93710). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO CORRECT THE WARNING LIGHT; HOWEVER, THE FUEL GAUGE WOULD NOT OPERATE AS NEEDED. THE MECHANIC THEN INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THEY HAD REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP IN HOPES THAT WOULD REPAIR THE FAILURE WITH THE FUEL GAUGE; HOWEVER, DESPITE THE REPAIR, THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND SHE WAS INFORMED THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE FAILURE HOWEVER THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD YET TO BE REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 98,000.

NHTSA ODI 11351434

Aug 18, 2020Body & structureFuel systemFire

MY 2013 GMC ARCARDIA SLT MODEL BURST INTO FLAMES ON ITS OWN ON THE MORNING OF FRIDAY, JULY 17TH. I CAME HOME AROUND 9:45PM AND PARKED MY SUV IN THE BACKYARD. THE NEXT THING I KNOW IS THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS AT MY DOOR WAKING ME UP TO THE SUV ABLAZE. THE ONLY WORK THAT WAS DONE TO MY VEHICLE WAS TO HAVE MY OIL CHANGE THAT THURSDAY MORNING. AT WHICH TIME THE TECH SAID HE SAW SMOKE AND SMELLED GAS. HE DIDN'T INDICATE THAT IT WAS A PROBLEM AND ZI SHOULD GET IT CHECKED. I TOOK SUV AND RAN MY ERRANDS AND RETURNED HOME. THE SUV WAS PARKED FROM 9:45PM UNTIL SAID FIRE.

NHTSA ODI 11350088

Jul 7, 2018Electrical systemElectronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel system

I PURCHASED A 2013 GMC ACADIA FROM CAR MAX ON FEBRUARY 16TH OF THIS YEAR. AFTER 3 WEEKS THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD, BUT CAR MAX REIMBURSED THE COST TO REPLACE. FAST FORWARD TO MAY 24TH...AS I TRY TO LEAVE FROM WORK THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE DASH DISPLAYED SEVERAL MESSAGES: REDUCED ENGINE POWER, STABILITRAK OFF, AND BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO TIRE KINGDOM AND THE DIAGNOSIS WAS A BAD FUEL PUMP/FUEL PUMP MODULE. THE PART WAS REPLACED AND COMPUTER RESET. ALL WAS WELL FOR 3 DAYS AND THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED INCLUDING A DEAD BATTERY! I DROVE THE VEHICLE APPROXIMATELY THREE MORE DAYS BEFORE THE SAME ISSUE HAPPENED AGAIN. THIS TIME, I HAD IT TOWED TO THE GMC DEALERSHIP. THEY HAD MY VEHICLE FROM JUNE 5TH- JUNE 12TH AND EVEN THOUGH THEY RECEIVED 6 ERROR CODES, THEY STATED IT WAS THE BATTERY (THE SAME ONE REPLACED IN FEBRUARY AND WAS RECHARGED A WEEK PRIOR). I WAS SURE THAT WASN'T THE ONLY PROBLEM, BUT THEY WERE CONFIDENT IT WAS. I HAD TO PAY $508 OUT OF POCKET FOR BATTERY/ DIAGNOSTIC BECAUSE MY WARRANTY ONLY COVERS THE DIAGNOSTIC WITH REPAIRS. ALL SEEMED WELL FOR 3 DAYS. THIS TIME AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE AND REACHING MY DESTINATION THE TRUCK WOULD NOT SHUT OFF! I IMMEDIATELY CALLED GMC (CEL ILLUMINATED) AND AFTER 10 MINUTES THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. I TOOK IT TO THEM THE NEXT DAY AND THEY STARTED IT HAD A BAD FUES BLOCK. THEY REPAIRED IT, BUT 8 DAYS LATER THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T START AGAIN! ON JULY 2ND IT WAS TAKEN TO A SHOP FOR THE 6TH TIME! THIS TIME THEY ARE SAYING IT IS THE ECM. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE MY HUSBAND'S 2003 GMC YUKON HAS 286,000 MILES AND LITTLE THINGS ARE STARTING TO GO. IRONICALLY IT HAS BEEN MORE RELIABLE THAN THIS 2013!! I HAVE ONLY HAD THIS VEHICLE FOR 4 MONTHS AND HAVE ALREADY PAID OUT OVER $1000 IN REPAIRS/DEDUCTABLES. WHAT A NIGHTMARE!

NHTSA ODI 11109976

Working with the data? Download all 134 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 2013 GMC Acadia Denali verdict →