What 234 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 GMC Acadia Limited

WITH ONLY 49000 MILES ON MY 2016 GMC ACADIA, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY AND THEY TOLD ME THAT I HAD TO REPLACE MY GAS PEDAL...I HAVE OWNED NUMEROUS OTHER VEHICLES AND NEVER ONCE HAD I HAVE REPLACE MY GAS PEDAL. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE SERVICE ADVISER IF NOT REPLACED IT MAY CAUSE MY VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT ME PRESSING ON THE PEDAL.

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THE CAR STARTED USING MORE GAS WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THE DEALER SAID IT WAS THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND IT IS LOCKING UP.IT COULD FAIL WHEN DRIVEN

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THE DRIVERS SEAL BELT LATCH BROKE DUE TO AN "INTERNAL FAILURE".

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I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND I WENT TO TURN THE CORNER AS I SLOWED TO TURN THE CORNER THE STEERING WHEEL WOULDN'T TURN, I HAD TO HOT MY BRAKES BECAUSE IT SCARED ME THAT MY CAR WOULDN'T TURN, THE CARS BEHIND ME HAD TO GO AROUND ME, I THOUGHT I WAS ABOUT TO CAUSE A WRECK BECAUSE MY STEERING WHEEL WOULDN'T TURN. I FINALLY GOT IT TO TURN BUT IT WAS REALLY HARD. I WAS THANKFUL MY KIDS WERE NOT IN THE CAR. I TOOK MY CAR IN TO GET LOOKED AT AND THEY SAID I NEED A NEW STEERING RACK, I ONLY HAVE 60,000 MILES ON IT. THEY SAID REPAIRS ARE GOING TO COST $1,200 OR MORE. I CALLED 5 DIFFERENT REPAIR SHOPS AND THEY ALL SAID, THAT IT WAS COMMON ON THE GMC ACADIA AND OTHER GMC VEHICLES. THEY ALSO TOLD ME AT ONE TIME GMC HAD MORE RECALLS THEN THEY HAD VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. WISH I WOULD OF KNOWN THIS PRIOR TO BUYING. COULDN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD OF BEEN LIKE TO LOSE IN OF MY OWN KIDS ARE SOMEONE ELSE FOR A VEHICLE PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO THE MAKERS BUT NOT EVERY PURCHASER.

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AC WAS BLOWING HOT AT LESS THAN 42K MILES. IT HAPPENED OUT OF THE BLUE WHEN I PUSHED THE AC BUTTON IT WOULD JUST BLINK, LIGHT WOULD TURN OFF AND IT WOULD BLOW HOT AIR. THERE WAS NO WARNING OF A LEAK OR ANYTHING WRONG BEFORE THIS POINT. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND THE ISSUE TO BE 'LEAK COMBINATION MANIFOLD LINE RUBBING AGAINST R/F BODY BEAM'. IT WAS NECESSARY TO REPLACE A/C COMBINATION MANIFOLD IN ADDITION TO EVACUATING AND CHARGING THE AC COMBINATION LINES AND IT COST ALMOST $900 FOR THIS REPAIR. I SHOULD HAVE LEAKING AC HOSES OR RUBBING AGAINST THE MANIFOLD WITH MILEAGE THIS LOW.

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WINDSHIELD WIPER JUST SOPPED WORKING UNEXPECTEDLY. WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT AND IT STARTED RAINING HARD AND WIPERS WOULD NOT MOVE. NO PREVIOUS ISSUE WITH SYSTEM. NOTHING TO INDICATE A FAILURE WAS GOING TO OCCUR.

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FAILURE OF POWER STEERING SYSTEM - AT LOW SPEEDS, POWER STEERING ASSISTANCE IS NOT ACTIVE. VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN STEERING WHEEL FROM A STOPPED POSITION OR MOVING AT LOW SPEED. THIS PRESENTS A SAFETY RISK IN THE ABILITY TO AVOID PEDESTRIANS, VEHICLES OR OTHER OBJECTS WHILE DRIVING AT SLOW SPEEDS, MOST NOTABLY PARKING LOTS. CONDITION STARTED AROUND THE 50,000-MILE MARK. AFTER FURTHER EXAMINATION, FLUID APPEAR TO BE LEAKING FROM THE VEHICLE. HAD VEHICLE TAKEN TO GM-CERTIFIED DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE, AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM REQUIRED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH THERE APPEARS TO BE CONCERNING HISTORY OF POWER-STEERING RELATED FAILURE ON THE GMC ACADIA. PRIOR MODEL YEARS (2007-2011) HAD THE WARRANTY EXTENDED ON THE SYSTEM UPWARDS OF 10 YEARS AND 150,000 MILES. IN ADDITION, A VARIETY OF TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS HAVE BEEN ISSUED ON THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM OF THE 2016 GMC ACADIA. NHSTA DATABASE ALSO POINTS TO A NUMBER OF SIMILAR INCIDENTS, TYPICALLY OCCURRING AROUND THE 50,000 MILE RANGE. THIS INDICATES A LATENT MANUFACTURE DEFECT IN WHICH FURTHER ACTION MUST BE TAKEN TO ADDRESS THIS ONGOING SAFETY ISSUE.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 GMC ACADIA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO REVERSE OR GO FORWARD IN EITHER GEAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SEVERAL UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO SANDOVAL BUICK GMC (300 N HAMILTON RD, WHITEHALL, OH 43213) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 200,000.

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MY 2016 GMC ACADIA WAS BROUGHT IN FOR A BASIC CAR INSPECTION. THE CAR HAS 54,000 MILES. I WAS TOLD IT FAILED INSPECTION DUE TO THE LEAKING OF STEERING FLUID. I NEEDED A NEW GEAR ASSEMBLY. THE CAR HAD NO ISSUES PRIOR TO THIS AND I TAKE THE CAR REGULARLY TO GMC. FORTUNATELY, I DID NOT GET INTO AN ACCIDENT, BUT I DRIVE 60 MILES A DAY TO WORK AND THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE. THE TOTAL COST TO HAVE IT FIXED WAS ALMOST $3,000. I DID NOT HAVE THE EXTENDED BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY, SO I HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET.AFTER READING MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC PROBLEM, I CALLED GMC CORPORATE TO MAKE AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT WITH THEM. IF YOU OWN THIS CAR AND ARE ANYWHERE FROM 40-70K MILES, PLEASE HAVE THIS CHECKED OUT. I HAVE 2 SMALL CHILDREN AND I COULD HAVE EASILY CRASHED IF I DIDN'T HAVE MY CAR INSPECTED. THIS NEEDS TO BE A RECALL IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE BUY THIS SPECIFIC CAR, BECAUSE THEY HAVE CHILDREN AND WANT A SAFE VEHICLE. THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE NOT RECALLED THIS ISSUE IS AWFUL. I LOVE AMERICAN CARS, BUT I AM LOSING FAITH IN THEM. PLEASE REPORT THIS PROBLEM, SO THAT MAYBE GMC WILL BE FORCED TO RECALL THE ISSUE AND SAVE LIVES.

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2016 GMC ACADIA SLT-1, 58,000 MILES. TOTAL LOSS OF POWER STEERING BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE WITH NO PRIOR SYMPTOMS. THE CAR WOULD BARELY TURN AT LOW SPEEDS AND MADE A LOUD HOWLING NOISE WHEN WHEEL WAS TURNED. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY TELL ME I NEED THE POWER STEERING PUMP, RACK AND PINION AND ALL NEW HOSES. NO PRIOR WRECKS OR ISSUES. THIS IS RIDICULOUS TO BE HIT WITH A $4100 BILL WITH NO EXPLANATION OF WHY THIS COULD HAPPEN. *TR

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POWER STEERING GIVES OUT AT LOW SPEEDS. TOOK IT IN AND WAS TOLD IT'S A CRACKED POWER STEERING FLUID PUMP. $2700. CAR HAS 55,000 MILES AND HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY DEALERSHIP. *TR

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SERVICE SIDE DETECTION SYSTEM WARNING STARTED ALERTING ME A FEW WEEKS BACK. THIS NOW IS THE SECOND TIME THAT IT HAS AFFECTED ALL THE ELECTRONICS IN MY CAR. SENDING ME RANDOM ERROR MESSAGES AND AFFECTING THE CAR FROM OPERATING IN A SAFE CONDITION. CAR WOULD NOT START FOR 40 MIN. ONCE I FINALLY GOT IT STARTED, NONE OF THE GAUGES WORKED AND TURN SIGNALS WERE NOT GOING OFF IN THE CAR. LUCKILY I WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO HOME, BUT THIS COULD BE A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE IF I WAS FAR FROM HOME. CAR WAS NOT IN MOTION AS I STARTED TO NOTICE ISSUES AND PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. NOTICED AS I WAS PULLING UP TO A STOP AND THE BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING CORRECTLY AND STARTED TO GET TRACTION NOTICES FROM THE SYSTEM IN THE CAR.

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AC MAKES NOISE UNDER HOOD AND DOES NOT GET COLD. MECHANIC SAID AC VERY LOW AND REAR EVAPORATOR IS LEAKING. VEHICLE ONLY HAS 31300 MILES. CHECKED ONLINE AND OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE ACADIA. *TR

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TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO HESITATE WHILE SHIFTING AND SLIP AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS. TOOK TO JIM ELLIS MALL OF GA DEALER WHERE THEY DETERMINED THE TORQUE CONVERTER CLUTCH HAD FAILED CAUSING THE SHUTTER AT ALL SPEEDS. DEALER INDICATED THE COMPLETE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. VEHICLE ONLY HAD 111,000 MILES AND ALL PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS WERE FOLLOWED INCLUDING TRANSMISSION FLUSH AT 65,000 MILES. VEHICLE IS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD AND NEVER PULLED A TRAILER OR ABUSED IN ANY WAY. SINCE THE NEW TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED, THE OWNER FEELS THE ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION EVER FELT RIGHT BUT CAN'T PROVE IT.

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THE TRACTION WARNING SUDDENLY COMES ON THEN THE STABILITY SERVICE WARNING JUMPS ON....AUTOMATICALLY LOWERING MY SPEED WHILE I'M ON THE FREEWAY DRIVING. WHEN I PULL OVER AND TURN THE CAR OFF THEN TURN IT BACK ON...THE LIGHT GOES AWAY. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES. DEALERSHIP CAN NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. IT HAPPENS WHEN I HIT A POT HOLE OR SPEED BUMP

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MY POWERING STEERING PUMP STOPPED FUNCTIONING WHILE DRIVING, MAKING IT VERY HARD TO TURN THE WHEEL AT LOW SPEEDS, AS IF THERE IS NO POWER STEERING AT ALL. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD IT'S A WEAR AND TEAR PROBLEM AND AFTER INVESTIGATING IT I NOTICED THEY HAVE RECALLED OVER 1 MILLION CARS FOR STEERING FAILURE.

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SEAT BELT FOR DRIVER DOES NOT SECURE. GMC STATES NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY LEEK IN POWER STEERING. KNOWN ISSUE WITH GMC AND NO RECALLS

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I HAVE A 2016 GMC ACADIA, WITH 30,000 MILES, WELL MAINTAINED. SUDDENLY MY STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED WHILE MAKING TURNS AT A LOW SPEED. THIS WAS VERY SCARY AS MY WHEEL WAS COMPLETELY LOCKED AND I HAD KIDS IN MY CAR. VEHICLES RUNNING GOOD WHEN AT HIGH SPEED. I HAVE SEEN SO MANY COMPLAIN WITH THE SAME MODEL AND SAME ISSUE, YET, GMC HAS NOT POSTED ANY RECALL ON THEIR VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE.

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POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE OF FRONT SEAL RESULTING IN RANDOM FAILURE OF POWER STEERING AT LOW SPEED, PARKING AND TURNS AT INTERSECTIONS ETC LEADING TO NEAR COLLISIONS. NO WARNING PRIOR TO FAILURES. 58,000 MILES

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VEHICLE TAKEN IN FOR FAULTY CALIPER, THEN TOLD BY DEALERSHIP WE NEEDED TO FIX A LEAKING POWER STEERING LINE, WE PAID TO FIX BOTH. TAKEN IN TODAY AND TOLD WE HAVE A LEAKING POWER STEERING GEAR. SAFETY ISSUE $2,065. 58,200 MILES. COULD LOOSE POWER STEERING DUE TO MULTIPLE LEAKS. HAVE NOT LOST STEERING YET. MUST GET FIXED.

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THE VEHICLE MAKES A CLUNK NOISE THAT COMES FROM THE BRAKES OR ABS. AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE AND TAKING OFF I HEAR THE CLUNK AND FEEL IT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THIS HAPPENS EVERY DAY AND EVERY TIME YOU TAKE OF AFTER STARTING THE CAR. THE GM DEALER TOLD ME THEY KNOW THERE IS AN ISSUE/CONDITION THEY ARE AWARE OF BUT IT'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. THEY ISSUED A BULLETIN ON THIS CONDITION BUT I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING A CAR THAT MAKES THAT NOISE EVERY TIME AFTER TAKING OFF IN THE ABS SYSTEM. THE CODE THEY GAVE ME IS PI1402A

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SIDE DETECTION MODULES FAILED, DON'T WORK AND NOTIFY OF BLIND SPOTS

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POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE. WHILE DRIVING MY 2016 GMC ACADIA ON A TRIP OF ABOUT 350 MILES (MOSTLY HIGHWAY) EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE WORKING FINE UNTIL NEAR THE END OF THE TRIP. AS I EXITED THE HIGHWAY AND STARTED SLOWING DOWN THE STEERING BECAME VERY STIFF AND BY THE TIME I CAME TO A STOP LIGHT I COULD NOT TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AT ALL. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN I PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL AND AS THE RPM INCREASED THE POWER STEERING PUMP WORKED GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE TURN AND GET ME HOME. LUCKILY I ONLY HAD ABOUT A MILE TO GO. I CHECKED THE FLUID AND IT WAS LOW SO I TOPPED IT OFF AND RAISED THE FRONT TIRES OFF THE GROUND IN ORDER TO TURN LOCK TO LOCK TO TRY TO GET ANY AIR OUT OF THE SYSTEM. AFTER LOWERING THE VEHICLE I TRIED TO DRIVE IT AND I STILL COULD NOT TURN THE STEERING WHEEL WITHOUT PRESSING THE GAS. AS I LOOKED FURTHER I NOTICED THAT THE HOSE THAT LEADS TO THE POWER STEERING PUMP HAS FLUID ALL OVER IT WHERE IT GOES THROUGH A GROMMET ATTACHED TO THE REAR OF THE ENGINE. THE GROMMET IN THE METAL BRACKET WAS FALLING APART AND THE HOSE APPEARS TO BE CHAFFING ON THE METAL BRACKET. THE LEAK IS VERY SMALL AND THERE'S NO TELLING HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN RUBBING THE BRACKET. THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY BUT ONLY HAS 50K MILES ON IT AND HAS NEVER BEEN WRECKED OR HAD ANY REPAIRS DONE THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS. IT APPEARS TO BE AN IMPROPERLY INSTALLED BRACKET/GROMMET THAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM.

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MY VEHICLE IS A 2016 GMC ACADIA DENALI WITH AWD. THE POWER STEERING WAS VERY STIFF WHILE AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN THE WEATHER WAS COLD LAST WINTER. DURING THIS SPRING AND SUMMER THE STEERING CONTINUED TO GET WORSE AND NOW THERE IS NO POWER STEERING AT LOW SPEEDS AND LOW RPM. THE VEHICLE JUST TURNED 39,000 MILES. THIS MAKES DRIVING VERY DANGEROUS WHILE MAKING TURNS AND TRYING TO PARK THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE IS NOW IN THE DEALERS SHOP AND THEY HAVE SAID THE POWER STEERING PUMP AND STEERING GEAR BOTH NEED TO BE REPLACED AS THE PUMP IS FAILING AND THE STEERING GEAR IS LEAKING INTERNALLY.

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ON SATURDAY (8/31/2019), I NOTICED THAT THE AC IN MY 2016 ACADIA (ABOUT 79,000 MILES) WOULDN'T TURN ON. MY VEHICLE HAS TWO EVAPORATORS, ONE IN THE FRONT FOR THE FRONT AC, AND ONE IN THE REAR FOR THE REAR AC. THEY ARE CONNECTED BY AN ALUMINUM TUBE (GM PART #23199274). WHEN I TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO THE GMC DEALER, THEY SHOWED ME THAT A CONNECTOR ON THE POWER STEERING FLUID (PSF) LINE, WHICH RUNS BESIDE THIS ALUMINUM TUBE (SEE PHOTO 1), HAD RUBBED UP AGAINST THE ALUMINUM AND WORN A HOLE IN IT, ALLOWING ALL THE REFRIGERANT TO LEAK OUT (PHOTO 2). THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A LITTLE RUBBER PIECE THAT FITS OVER AND PROTECTS THE COOLANT LINE (YOU CAN SORT-OF SEE IT IN THE PICTURES), BUT THAT PIECE IS SMALL AND SLIDES DOWN, EXPOSING THE ALUMINUM TUBE. THE TECHNICIAN THEN TOLD/SHOWED ME HOW HE USUALLY BENDS OR MOVES THE PSF LINE SO THAT IT DOESN'T RUB AGAINST THE ALUMINUM COOLANT TUBE. THIS INDICATES THAT GM IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND HAS DONE NOTHING IN AN ATTEMPT TO FIX IT, EVEN THOUGH THIS INHERENT DESIGN FLAW ALLOWS THE ENTIRE COOLANT CHARGE TO LEAK INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, SINCE REFRIGERANT IS NOT EXACTLY ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, I FIND IT CONCERNING THAT GM IS APPARENTLY AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND HASN'T TAKEN THE NECESSARY STEPS (LIKE A VOLUNTARY RECALL) TO FIX IT. I CALLED THE GM CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE AND MADE THEM AWARE OF THE SITUATION, AND THEY SAID "THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO." I'M HOPING THIS COMPLAINT FORCES THEM TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE AND STOP LEAKING FULL REFRIGERANT CHARGES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. NOTE THAT THIS WOULD ALSO BE AN ISSUE IF THE SITUATION WERE REVERSED AND IT WAS THE AC COOLANT TUBE THAT CHAFED THROUGH THE PSF HOSE. IF THE PSF CONNECTOR WAS EVEN 1 CM OFF, THEN HYPOTHETICALLY THE COOLANT TUBE COULD RUB THROUGH THE PSF HOSE AND CAUSE A FAILURE OF THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM. IT IS ALSO DESIRABLE TO AVOID THIS AS WELL, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.

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