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What 839 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 GMC Yukon 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 (839)Crash / fire / injury (22)Lights (414)Brakes (151)Electrical system (141)Transmission & drivetrain (85)Engine (55)Steering (44)Body & structure (25)Fuel system (20)Suspension (18)Visibility & wipers (9)

151 of 839 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters · page 7 of 7

Oct 7, 2014Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemBrakes

I HAVE A BRAND NEW 2015 YUKON DENALI (SHORT WHEEL BASE) WITH LESS THAN A THOUSAND MILES AND A "SERVICE 4WD" MESSAGE THAT HAS APPEARED TWICE RENDERING THE CAR EXTREMELY UNSAFE AND UN-DRIVABLE FOR A LONG DISTANCE AND HAVING TO HAVE IT TOWED TO THE DEALER TWICE. A SOFTWARE UPDATE WAS DONE ON THE CAR THE FIRST TIME, ONLY RESOLVED THE ISSUE FOR A FEW WEEKS, THE ISSUE RE-OCCURRED AFTER 3 WEEKS. WHEN TURNING THE VEHICLE ON THE DASH GIVES THE MESSAGE "SERVICE 4WD". THE CAR HAS A TRANSMISSION BUTTON TO CHANGE FROM 2WD, AUTO, 4 HIGH AND 4 LOW. I DO NOT TOUCH THIS BUTTON, I JUST LEAVE THE CAR IN AUTO AND DRIVE. I DO NOT TOW ANYTHING, THIS IS JUST A FAMILY CAR USED FOR COMMUTING. WHEN THE "SERVICE 4WD' MESSAGE APPEARS, THE CAR IS BARELY DRIVABLE. WHEN IT IS PUT IN REVERSE, THE CAR JUST BRAKES AFTER A FEW FEET, AS IF THE PARKING BRAKE WERE ON, BUT IT OBVIOUS IS NOT ENGAGED. WHEN TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT, THE CAR BRAKES MID-TURN AND WILL ONLY COMPLETE THE TURN IF 3/4 TO FULL ACCELERATOR IS APPLIED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE TURN. THE CAR SLIGHTLY BUCKS THROUGH THE TURN AND THE ENGINE SOUNDS DIFFERENT AND HAS LITTLE POWER GOING AROUND CORNERS AND GOING UP HILLS. THE CAR CANNOT SAFELY BE DRIVEN IN A STRAIGHT LINE FASTER THAN 40-50 MPH. I TELEPHONED ONSTAR AND DIAGNOSTICS WERE RUN DURING BOTH OCCURRENCES WITH THE SAME ERROR MESSAGE FROM ONSTAR DIAGNOSTICS: "THE BRAKING SYSTEM HAS AN ISSUE- TRANSFER CASE MODULE NOT WORKING AS EXPECTED". WHEN WILL GM ISSUE A RECALL ON THIS SAFETY ISSUE, I DO NOT FEEL SAFE LETTING MY WIFE AND CHILD IN THE CAR IF IT BRAKES BY ITSELF, LOSES POWER AND CANNOT COMPLETE TURNS. I PURCHASED THIS CAR TO HAVE A SAFE/LARGE VEHICLE FOR MY FAMILY: SERVICE 4WD APPEARS ON SCREEN IT RENDERS THE CAR UN-DRIVABLE AND THE TRANSMISSION BUTTON BECOMES INOPERABLE AND SELECTING OTHER TRANSMISSION MODES BECOMES NOT POSSIBLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10643049

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Working with the data? Download all 839 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 23, 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 2015 GMC Yukon Xl 1500 verdict →