What 639 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 GMC Acadia Denali

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while shifting the vehicle into park and attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off due to the gear shifter not recognizing that the vehicle was in park(P). There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pushed the Start/Stop button several times and then was able to shift the vehicle into park(P) and turn off the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and stated that vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance because the vehicle was not under warranty or recall. The failure mileage was 20,000.

NHTSA ODI 11493862

I brought this car from STOOPS and have been having this same issue since I received this car in March of 2021. Check engine came on within two weeks of me getting this car. The Intake air pressure measurement system MAP sensor and MAF sensor on my 2017 GMC Acadia which is causing other issues. My car is only at 100k mikes and I shouldnt be having the same issue. The MAP sensor was replaced in July of 2021. Here it is a year later and my check engine light keeps coming on and saying the same thing which is causing all these other issues to happen such as steering power system reduced which driving. Notifications about of transmission and engine issues because of Intake Air Pressure Measurement System. Every time I take it to stoops they have it for a couple days and I’m out of a car which means no transportation for work and within 10 days after I get it back the same issue appears. The car sounds like it’s going to shut off at any given time I’m driving. It shutters while at a light or in a restaurant line. It drives smooth but when I shut the car off it makes a whiny noise sometimes. I don’t feel safe driving myself and my kids in the car when different things come up all because of this intake air pressure measurement system issue

NHTSA ODI 11493253

The steering control system stops working abruptly , it happened to me numerous times while making a turn. It almost caused an accident and it made my wrist hurt from trying to move the steering wheel in order to not crash.

NHTSA ODI 11492809

When trying to place the vehicle in "PARK" the message is displayed to "SHIFT TO PARK". The shift lever is in the park position, but the vehicle CANNOT BE TURNED OFF while this message is displayed. The shift lever has to be moved back and forth multiple times, sometimes for several minutes before allowing you to safely shut down the vehicle and exit. This is a known issue for GMC vehicles, yet they tell me that my VIN doesn't show the vehicle is eligible for a recall for this exact issue.

NHTSA ODI 11492568

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated she noticed that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic test, but no failure was found. The computer was reset but after 60 miles of driving the check engine warning light illuminated once again. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11491983

I own a 2017 Acadia Denali (purchased 10-4-17) We started having trouble with the vehicle in that a message appeared saying to shift the car into park. It would shut off but the lights and radio would stay on and you couldn't lock the vehicle. I took it to Ferman GMC in Wesley Chapel on May 28th of 2019. Supposedly they could not replicate the issue. The problem continued and we took it in again on May 31st of 2022. Again, they couldn't replicate what we were encountering. Now it's getting worse, happens almost every time we use the vehicle. So back to Ferman yet again (Oct 12th 2022). Now they are aware of said problem (code is b000a park switch circuit open). At this time they installed an SL-N-SWITCH and N-HARNESS at a cost of $63.13. Then labor, shop fees and taxes brought the total to $760.91, out of my pocket for a known problem. We have also come across a class action suit identifying this as a problem. And a TSB is also out there titled 'Vehicle displays shift to park message on DIC when in park. Vehicle may not shut off when put in park or may not start". There is a NHTSA ID number for this issue: 11353147

NHTSA ODI 11489147

Shift to park comes on intermittently while in park and turning off engine. Unable to completely shut car off as it does not recognize it is in park. Battery will drain and car may roll.

NHTSA ODI 11486553

This Car, 2017GMC Acadia, started showing up on many occasions; and is getting worse. I park the car and put it into park. when I try to turn off the engine, a message shows up on the display SHIFT CAR INTO PARK. the car is in park, and I cannot shut off the engine, due to this message. The car IS in park, and the message tells me it is not. AND I CANNOT SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. I have to leave the car engine running until I try shifting gear shift back and forth multiple times and bingo sometimes the message goes away. Something is wrong here.

NHTSA ODI 11483811

After putting my Acadia in park the DIC shows that I need to shift to park and my internals won’t shut off. I have to wiggle the gear shift, turn the car on/off and I have also had to change gear and put it back in park before it would register it was indeed in park. Something needs to be done. I can’t leave my car in that condition without damage being done to my SUV. This happens ALL the time.

NHTSA ODI 11483129

my car parking brakes will automatically come on while I am driving/ at a light or waiting to turn. I always push the brake pedal all the way down to decompress it and it is still hard to get going. This has put me in very dangerous situations causing my suv to lose power and often times if I am in the middle of a turn it locks up and make it hard to turn. I have took my car to the dealership twice and they have looked at my car and seems to not found a problem

NHTSA ODI 11481325

Purchased the vehicle in October 2017 with 7,408 miles on it. In 2019 started to receive a warning when the car was in park and I was shutting it off that said “shift to park”. The vehicle would not allow itself to shut off. I took it to our dealer and they replaced the shifter. The mileage at the time was 12,974. This week the “shift to park” message has now begun to pop up again and today I was unable to turn the vehicle off for quite some time as I had to keep shifting it in and out of park for the computer to respond. The car is shifted completely in to park and it shows a P on the console screen, however still is not recognizing that is in park. I only have put 15,000 miles on it over the past three years so there is no reason for it to have failed. It is scary and dangerous to be unable to shut your vehicle off. Especially when you are stuck in your garage or away from home with your little one.

NHTSA ODI 11480903

The ABS system indicated a problem. When I took it into the dealership, they told me the ABS was bad and needed to be replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11480308

The 2017 GMC Acadia has a known problem when shifting to park. The computer system does not acknowledge the vehicle is in park. It requires numerous ways to get the vehicle to acknowledge it is in park and shut off: 1) Turn the motor on and off and shift from drive to park continuously until acknowledged in park and shuts off (waste of time, gas, and effect on the starter and ignition) 2) Bang down on the console shift knob 3) Pray This is a known problem with Acadia 2017 and 2018. Why has this issue not been addressed for a forced recall by GMC. If you take it to the dealer to fix it is very expensive and their original problem. this is a safety issue shifting from drive to park continuously when stopped. This is not good to have to do especially for senior citizens who might inadvertently drive forward or in reverse when simply trying to stop.

NHTSA ODI 11480114

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated when shifting the gear into Park, a warning message indicated to place the vehicle on park, but the vehicle was already in the Park position. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis and was installed with a jumper harness. It was unknown if the repair rectified the failure. The manufacturer was contacted, and they stated that there was no recall associated to the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11478595

When I place car into park I get "Shift to Park "message .... I am unable to turn off or leave my vehicle .... I am worried that as this problem has increased over the past 3 months that I will be stuck on the road or elsewhere .... the dealers say they are aware of the issue but no permanent fix or recall has been issued by GMC .... I understand that other owners have the same problem .... also with different years not just 2017 .... PLEASE help me with this problem as I always travel alone & am afraid of something terrible happening while on the road .... Thank You in Advance .... Laura Schwalbe .... laroc325@aol.com

NHTSA ODI 11477276

The car says “shift to park” even when it has been put in park. The car could potentially not be parked and cause damages to people or objects. I’m not sure if it’s Been confirmed by dealer but plenty of people with the same car have reported this incident. This car was purchased within the last year clean title, no issue until the past couple weeks. Car is at about 44K miles, only driven on weekends and occasionally to the store during the week 5-10 mile radius.

NHTSA ODI 11476435

the vehicle recently began displaying a warning stating the vehicle is not in park although the vehicle has shift in park. the car is not recognizing that the shifter is in the park position and will not allow the vehicle to turn off. this seems to be a common problem for this year and model.

NHTSA ODI 11474533

When vehicle is put in park (dash reads park) the vehicle is not detecting the vehicle in park and vehicle will not turn off. It takes multiple attempt moving the gearshift into other gears and then into park before the vehicle registers a "park" and able to turn off the vehicle. If you take your foot off the the break, vehicle doesn't move when park gear not detected. Safety concerns include parking in garage and not realizing the vehicle has not turn off and possibility of CO2 or if a child would get in the vehicle possibly being able to engage the gearshift into reverse or drive. This happen 3 out of 4 times when placed in park.

NHTSA ODI 11472225

The transmission began to shutter/shake while trying to accelerate. Transmission slips occurring frequently causing the vehicle to not propel forward while driving causing huge risk while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11471830

Loss of power steering: bought NEW late 2017: In 1st month a whining noise was present while turning the steering wheel in any direction (driving or in park) even when slightly turning the wheel. At the time, didn't seem to effect anything. Difficulty started around 80k miles & continued to get worse as time went on. Each time varies on type of turn, speed of turn, how long the car has been in use. On average: it starts (& continues to get worse) after the first 10/15 minutes of driving. Loss of steering comes & goes (not only happening while turning) for at least 4 -15sec. In the last year (mid 2021 - 2022) went to mechanic -couldn't find an issue. Husband checks fluid levels monthly (no changes/no leaks are visible ). As of May 2022 (130k miles) turning into parking lots/spots/driveways/etc I have NO power steering, my husband is barley able to turn the wheel during these events. Its unsafe to drive. Doesn't seem to be as bad if speed is 20mph or faster. Shudder issue (maybe @60kmiles): *We had this issue w/our 2012 Acadia too. Multiple GMC Certified mechanics have been used to correct this. Only one mechanic was able to witness the shuddering. All things tried have failed to correct it. First started happening between 35 - 55mph (now its at any speed: 10 - 80mph), speeding up used to make it shudder less, turning traction control off USE to make it shudder less. Plenty of forums abt this issue including all things tried & failed. No resolution. Shudder causes car to not accelerate at times. RPM jumps high & bounces around. AC would stop working (started @20k miles) it makes an air releasing noise when AC is in use. *2012 Acadia did this too. Adding Freon helps for limited time. No leaks. Mechanics "CND", its still not fixed. "Tighten fuel cap" warning comes on randomly. When checked, its tight. Automatic start fails randomly, since day 1. "Ck Engine" light comes on & off randomly. Main issue was the shuddering *Reporting date used for loss of power steering.

NHTSA ODI 11465013

The vehicle makes a clunk and pop noise when making turns and upon acceleration and deceleration. Both dealer and repair shop could not visually locate the problem after checking. Suggested the problem was internal. Vehicle purchased March 2022 with 63,500 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11461806

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the key fob was inoperable. The vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the vehicle spontaneously locked. The contact was able to start the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to move. The vehicle was taken four times to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the side blind spot module needed to be repaired. Additionally, the inter system malfunctioned. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 38,538.

NHTSA ODI 11460890

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle failed to respond. The parking brake warning light illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

NHTSA ODI 11460746

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(P) however, the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth and then shifted into park(P) before the proper gear was recognized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a wiring harness failure. The dealer replaced the wiring harness; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 18,600.

NHTSA ODI 11459818

While operating the vehicle I stopped at a red light that was on a hill and the emergency parking automatically came on twice. I could not move the vehicle. It took about 15-20 minutes to finally turn it off. This has happened twice.

NHTSA ODI 11456695