Home · 2014 GMC Yukon Denali Xl 1500 · Complaints

What 77 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 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 (77)Crash / fire / injury (6)Airbags (15)Body & structure (11)Engine (9)Electrical system (7)Brakes (5)Speed control (5)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (3)Steering (3)Transmission & drivetrain (3)Driver assistance (1)

Newest first · 77 complaints · page 4 of 4

Apr 21, 2015AirbagsBrakesCrash

AFTER SWITCHING TO PASSING LANE AND SEEING TRAFFIC IN LANE AT STANDSTILL I SWIFTLY JAMMED ON BRAKE PEDAL. BRAKES FAILED TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE STOPPING ABILITY AS THOUGH THEY WERE COATED WITH GREASE. DESPITE HAVING WELL IN EXCESS OF 100 FT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. REAR ENDED VEHICLE IN FRONT WITH ABOUT 12K IN DAMAGE TO FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. ORIGINAL ROTORS AND PADS WERE REPLACED AFTER EXPERIENCING SEVERE BRAKE FADING WHEN HOT PRIOR TO ACCIDENT. DRILLED AND SLOTTED RACING ROTORS WERE INSTALLED. AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND PLACED BACK ON THE ROAD, I TESTED WITH THE SAME BRAKES WITH A HARD STOP FROM 80 MPH. THE BRAKES WORKED SO WELL THE FORCE OF THE STOP WAS PULLING ME OFF MY SEAT. SEVERAL WEEKS LATER, I WAS CUT OFF BY ANOTHER DRIVER ON THE HIGHWAY DOING ABOUT 40MPH LESS THAN I WAS. I JAMMED ON THE BRAKES AND AGAIN THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT BRAKING LIKE BEFORE EXCEPT NO COLLISION. ONCE MORE I TESTED AT A HARD BRAKE FROM 80 MPH AND AGAIN IT STOPPED EXTREMELY WELL. APPARENTLY THE FAILURE OF SUFFICIENT BRAKING CAME WITH APPLICATION OF ABS SYSTEM OTHERWISE THE STOPPING POWER WAS EXCEPTIONAL. I STRONGLY URGE INVESTIGATION OF GM ABS BRAKING. I AM A PROFESSIONAL DRIVER WITH IN EXCESS OF 4 MILLION MILES WITH ALL CLASSES OF VEHICLES IN ALL EXTREMES. THE WORST DAMAGE I EVER HAD ON THE HIGHWAY WAS A BROKEN HEADLIGHT IN 1975 UNTIL THIS ACCIDENT. THE ACCIDENT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AS MY REACTION WAS TIMELY AND THE DISTANCE TO STOP MORE THAN ADEQUATE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY DESPITE THE ENTIRE NOSE OF THE VEHICLE BEING DESTROYED AND PUSHED BACK TO THE ENGINE BLOCK. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10711913

Jul 7, 2014AirbagsCrash1 injury

I HAD A FRONT END COLLISION AT 25 MPH WITH A PARKED CAR. MY AIRBAG(S) DID NOT DEPLOY. THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF MY CAR WAS DESTROYED. THE HOOD WAS CRUMPLED AND BOTH FRONT QUARTER PANELS DAMAGED. THE FRONT DOORS ARE NOT EASILY OPENED DUE TO THE QUARTER PANEL DAMAGE. IT IS HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND HOW AN IMPACT AT THE SPEED I WAS TRAVELING AND THE LOCATION OF IMPACT DID NOT CAUSE THE AIRBAG(S) TO DEPLOY. I HAD TO BE TRANSPORTED VIA AMBULANCE FROM THE SCENE AND SUFFERED A CONCUSSION FROM MY HEAD SLAMMING DOWN ON THE STEERING WHEEL. *JS

NHTSA ODI 10608599

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Working with the data? Download all 77 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 2014 GMC Yukon Denali Xl 1500 verdict →