What 606 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 GMC Yukon Denali

The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon Denali. The contact stated that while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from underneath the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact arrived at the residence and used a personal diagnostic reader and retrieved information related to misfires in cylinder #2 and #4. The contact replaced the spark plugs and the ignition coils. The contact test drove the vehicle, and the check engine warning light later illuminated. The contact swapped the ignition coils; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that Active Fuel Management (AFM) and Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM) had failed and caused the lifters to fail. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

NHTSA ODI 11680375

Truck loss power turning off while making a turn into driveway with incoming traffic. Happen on several occasions. Diagnostic at dealership states high pressure fuel pump is leaking fuel internal making it run rich. NHTSA states this model truck has had previous recall.

NHTSA ODI 11674347

Driving down the expressway at 65MPH, and the Vehicle completely stops, almost causing a collision. After researching the problem at the GMC Dealer, it appears that the entire engine has internally failed. Apparently it was a Complete Engine Failure.

NHTSA ODI 11673951

The transmission failed at 59,700 miles. The transmission will shift up and down by itself. The transmission is revving up when trying to pass and the vehicle will go limp for a few seconds and then the gear with kick in really hard. In stop and go traffic the transmission slips constantly and could cause an accident due to the limp mode.

NHTSA ODI 11668506

The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, added pressure was needed before the vehicle came to a stop. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated or jumped before coming to a stop. Additionally, the contact stated the transmission was slipping. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled before self-correcting. The contact also stated that while idling at a stop light and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated, but gradually accelerated as needed. The contact stated that the rear taillight intermittently failed to illuminate. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The transmission fluid was flushed; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission was fractured, and the light bulbs needed to be replaced. The transmission was not repaired or replaced. The headlights were not replaced. The dealer confirmed that the brakes were included in NHTSA Campaign Number 19V645000 (Service Brake, Hydraulic) and the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was driven to the residence without further repairs. The contact stated that the vehicle had become inoperable. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 195,846.

NHTSA ODI 11666325

The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with compression in cylinder 7, resulting in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11661489

Started my 2015 Yukon XL, drove approximately 6 miles to get gas and was to head out onto the highway. After gassing up and starting engine it began to idle very rough with a shake going on and ticking noise. No previous signs of any issues. Slowly drove back to my house at 20 miles an hour and called Mandal GMC dealership. They suggested having it towed to them for inspection. Upon inspection they said the AFM/DOD #1 exhaust lifter was bad and needed replaced. They replaced all of Bank one lifters and said their was no damage to camshaft. Drove it that night after repairing it and everything seemed fine. They called the next morning and said when they started it up the ticking was back again. They then supposedly took off head cover and inspected the camshaft again and said it was damaged and I would need a new engine to the tune of $18,000.00. I purchase it in 2021 from them use and paid $33,000.00 and now still owe even more than the engine repair. I said it would cost more than the vehicle was worth and they had done $4,000.00 of repair that didn’t even get the issue fixed. I am a senior on Social Security and can not afford to continue to pay 20,000.00 for the loan and then another $18,000.00 for a faulty engine design that caused the problem in the first place. May have to join the thousands of others in the class action to get GM to not put out such untrustworthy engineering. Now $37,000.00 piece of Yard Sculpture !! The morning that it occurred was the first sign of flashing engine warning on dash.

NHTSA ODI 11659069

The Yukon was driving normally and just lost power while driving 55mph on the highway. Then I got off the highway to pull over and check it out and the Yukon started shaking while running and in Park. The truck would not drive over 30mph without shaking and what sounds like misfiring.

NHTSA ODI 11658503

With my child in the car, on a highway with no shoulder, I experienced lifter failure. It caused the vehicle shake and lose power with cars driving behind me at 55-60 MPH with nowhere to pull over. The engine just stopped as I was finally able to make it to a driveway safely. Problem was identified by dealership and my engine had to be rebuilt. I purchased the car second hand 3 months prior with no warning or symptoms. The car was inspected at the dealership by the extended warranty company rep. The extended warranty only cover a portion of the cost. The collapsed lifter cause damage to the camshaft and bent rods. The car only had 107,000 miles. If I were not able to pull off before the engine stopped, my daughter and I could’ve easily got rear ended on a Major state highway. The car was difficult to control due to the engine shaking the entire SUV.

NHTSA ODI 11649629

Fuel line rubs between cab and tank making a hole. Fuel pours out on when driving or running. Huge fire risk. Glad I caught it before the car burned up with us in it.

NHTSA ODI 11644484

The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The brake warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle was slowly driven to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V645000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11644215

2015 6.2l yukon lifter failure oil changed 2000 miles ago and lifter failed and possible cam damage due to AFM lifter failure vehicle has 115,000 Miles and Gm knows about these lifter failures that can blow engines and cause serious accidents due to rapid loss of power and controls that GM already knew paid alot of money as a certified pre- owned and failed to disclose lifter defects to their customers now at shop for complete inspection and now needs possible new engine when all service requirements were met now looking at thousands of dollars for repairs if known i would have not bought the vehicle. And deceiving GM customers , currently waiting for diagnostic in writing but the courts approved recall already from same issues on 2019 and newer but same lifters are in the same 2015 AFM system

NHTSA ODI 11640174

Steering jerks sometimes transmission would not go into gear just raves up and then there’s times when it drive normal transmission bangs shifts hard stutters late shift driver assist blocked

NHTSA ODI 11635409

Trailer braking system warning is incessantly going off, without cause. Extremely distracting. No way to stop it. Truck has never even towed / trailored anything. Has happened multiple times over the last 6 months. Today occurred 26 times during driving

NHTSA ODI 11629459

My vehicle started out with a rumble and driving rough. Then it started jumping out of gear. Took it to Transmission shop and they said the have had a lot of SUV’s of the same model with the same problem. It was the transmission. Had it fixed, with a hefty price of 4,900 dollars.

NHTSA ODI 11628904

The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, there was an abnormal odor coming from the inside of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with a fuel pump leak. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The contact researched and became aware of an undisclosed recall however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 226,000.

NHTSA ODI 11627732

The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon Denali. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the contact heard an abnormal grinding sound, and the transmission was shifting hard. While making a turn, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. There were unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V152000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the failure was due to the transmission. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11622331

Loss of power steering, loss of abs, loss of cruise control, loss of forward crash assist, loss of lane departure, lose of side detection, oil leak from oil cooler line connection leaking down engine, potential fire, parking sensor, arm rest phone charger short circuit potential fire, wires pinched off at hinge point of center counsel, trailer brake system, stabilitrac, all current errors make vehicle unsafe to drive, ongoing issues since purchase including service reports of the same issues from previous owner

NHTSA ODI 11620757

My vehicle is currently in the shop getting the motor worked on for a bad lifter. From the information the mechanic provided me this is a common issue with the vehicles that have the Active Fuel Management system. They are seeing many of these vehicles have to come in and have very expensive repairs. My first quote I received was $16, 000, they told me I needed a whole new motor and this assessment cost me $365 and a rental car while they looked at the truck. Now it is in the shop again and the estimate is $6000 to machine the cams as there are metal shavings in my oil. I had to again rent a rental vehicle and have not had my truck for a week. This is the third mechanic that has seen multiple of these motors have to be replaced or repaired due to this issue. I kept up on my oil changes and other recommended car maintenance and so did the owner before me. I had my last oil change approx. a week before the loud ticking noise began, then my vehicle began to have a noticeable loss of power when driving and eventually began shuttering and my check engine light began to blink and I took it to the shop. A year ago I had to replace my tail lights. I was able to find where others were recalled by my VIN for some reason was not included in the recall. They started shorting out and working only part of the time which is very dangerous when stopping, especially at night. I had them replaced and paid almost $700 for the two back lights.

NHTSA ODI 11613936

The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon Denali. The contact stated while driving at approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle started decelerating with a slight clunking sound coming from underneath the front passenger’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact coasted to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. After waiting for a while, the vehicle was started and the contact became aware that the instrument panel and all other electrical systems were activated as expected; however, the engine failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a failure with the engine. The vehicle had not been repaired. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it was confirmed that the engine had failed, and the starter needed to be replaced. The starter had been replaced; however, while starting the vehicle the engine emitted a loud rumbling noise which the dealer described as rocks being tossed around. The contact stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,150.

NHTSA ODI 11612810

Gas line leak

NHTSA ODI 11612274

The brakes are hard to push to come to a stop. I brought it to a mechanic and he said it was my vacuum pump. The air bag light comes on when you hit a hard bump in the road.

NHTSA ODI 11605247

1) Wiring harness to the wireless charging pad on the center console that is wired through the door hinge. Shorts out when opening or closing center console. 2) Caused a fire that led to smoke and melted components inside center console hinge. Caused smoke and awful plastic burning smell while my kids and I were parked. I had just started the vehicle. My two kids and I had to jump and run from the vehicle. 3) No, but by many forums that dealers and mechanics are aware of this issue and charges you hundreds to fix it when it is MANUFACTURE ERROR. 4) This vehicle has been inspected many times. By all the other inspection laws Missouri has in place. How has it gotten passed many times with this known issue? 5)NO! This put mine and my kids life at risk. It is a known and wide issue yet no one takes this seriously. As it just affected me and my two children, I hope this is taken seriously. Hold manufactures responsible and dealers for selling vehicles with these known issues. Protect people.

NHTSA ODI 11601995

While I’m parked or even driving I keep getting a alert on my speedometer ( Trailer Break System ) and it’s not a 1 time alert the whole time I’m driving it’s constantly alerting me yet I don’t even use my Trailer system at all, it’s concerning due to the distraction of trying to clear the screen constantly while I’m on the high way.

NHTSA ODI 11596831

My 5 children and I experience a traumatic experience in afternoon traffic as my 2015 GMC Yukon failed to pick up speed while waiting to make a left turn at a traffic light. The vehicle - no matter how hard I pressed on the gas didn't accelerate immediately which almost cost an accident. The vehicle rode smoothly for a few minutes then out of nowhere - it started jerking and stuttering bad for 15 seconds or so then would go back to riding smooth. When pressing the brakes - it seems to "lock" to a certain extent, so I have to press really hard on the brake to slow down/stop the vehicle sometimes makes a strange noise when doing so. I took the vehicle to be accessed by a service center in my area - it was at that time that I was told that my vehicle issues are known common GMC issues in these vehicles & more unfortunately. It's unfair to be penalized with an expensive transmission repair when these issues are known to the manufacture but not the consumer - despite being "VIN specific" as told by GMC customer service. This vehicle is needed as it is utilized to transport my children however, it's unsafe at & parked in my driveway. I was directed to reach out to GMC for remedy of the identified issues.

NHTSA ODI 11587258