What 639 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 GMC Acadia Denali

Vehicle was purchased used in June 2020 ISSUE #1 After shifting car into park, display will indicate P for PARK , but also says vehicle is not in park. Since you are not sure if it actually in PARK and to eliminate this display, you need to restart the vehicle, go thru the gears again and then back into PARK. This happens several times a week with having to restart and PARK again up to 10 TIMES before the vehicle will register it is in park. I have read there is a Technical Service Bulletin on this issue as well as a case to get GMC to issue a RECALL. This is a serious issue because you are unaware if the vehicle transmission is actually in PARK. Having to restart and continually shift to park is time consuming and quite frankly a nuisance. At this point in time, the only way of correction, other than RESTARTING UP TO TEN TIMES, is to click the gear shift several times after placing in park. This will work 5/10 times. ISSUE #2 - Vehicle does not always detect remote. Have replaced battery in remote 5 times and will last approximately 8-10 weeks. At times, when the vehicle has been driven and is placed into park, the display will read NO REMOTE DETECTED. Have also placed remote into pocket into console and will still receive the same NO REMOTE DETECTED. Although there is never any indication battery is low or dead on remote, this is also the only possible correction we have found. However, we do believe there must be another correction for this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11422122

This vehicle has twice had parts replaced for the "Shift to Park" issue detailed in GM TSB 19-NA-206. The first incident was in April 2019, and it was repaired under warranty at about 24,800 miles. The second incident was this past week at about 50,800 miles, and this repair cost almost $800 to fix. I contacted GM customer support and was told that I could not get any reimbursement because there was no special coverage or recall for this known problem. This is completely unacceptable, since the problem is clearly a defect in parts manufacturing or assembly, and it renders the vehicle completely unusable since it is impossible to turn the car off when the car does not recognize that the shifter is in park. This is a safety issue because the driver needs to be certain whether or not the vehicle is securely parked before leaving the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11419395

When you put the car in park it often won’t recognize it and will display a message on the console stating “shift to park”. When it does this you’re not able to turn your car completely off so you just have to continue messing around with the shifter or turning the car back on again by pressing the break until it finally goes off. This happens at least once daily and can take upwards of 5 minutes sometimes to finally recognize the car is in park so you can turn the car off. We’ve tried leaving the car running before when this message is displayed when it’s been parked in our garage thinking it would eventually realize it’s in park and shutoff but after 10 minutes of running it still hadn’t recognized it was in park. We called our dealership about this and they told us that they get a lot of complaints about this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11418388

SHORTLY AFTER I PURCHASED MY ACADIA IN MAY OF 2018, IT STARTED DISPLAYING A SHIFT TO PARK WARNING WHEN I WOULD PUT THE CAR IN PARK. I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WAS A KNOWN ISSUE AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE SHIFT ASSEMBLY. WELL ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO IT STARTED DOING IT AGAIN. ONLY THIS TIME IT'S WORSE. IT TAKES SEVERAL TRIES AND TRICKS TO GET THE CAR TO RECOGNIZE IT'S IN PARK AND ALLOW ME TO SHUT THE CAR OFF - WHEN THE WARNING POPS UP IT WON'T ALLOW THE CAR TO POWER OFF SO ALL THE ELECTRONICS STAY ON. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME BECAUSE MY EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED AT 79,000 MILES AND THEY HAD ALREADY REPLACED THE SHIFT ASSEMBLY ONCE THAT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO AND I WILL HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THIS REPAIR EVEN THOUGH IT'S A WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE WITH THESE VEHICLES.

NHTSA ODI 11413522

THE VEHICLE GIVES A 'SHIFT TO PARK' WARNING ON DASHBOARD AFTER VEHICLE IGNITION BUTTON. THIS WARNING SHOWS UP EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS ACCEPTED TO SHUT OFF. IT TAKES SEVERAL MINUTES AND TRIES TO GET THE MESSAGE TO GO AWAY AND THE VEHICLE TO COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. THE ONLY SUCCESSFUL WAY OF GETTING THE MESSAGE AND VEHICLE TO COMPLETELY SHUT OFF IS BY WIGGLING OR SHAKING THE GEAR SHIFTER UNTIL IT GOES AWAY. I HAVE BEEN STRANDED WITH CHILDREN IN THE VEHICLE FOR CONCERNS THAT THE VEHICLE WILL ROLL WITH THE VEHICLE NOT REGISTERING THAT IT IS IN PARK. AFTER RESEARCHING THE VEHICLE ISSUE FURTHER IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT OTHER OWNERS WITH THE SAME YEAR AND MODEL HAVE HAD THE SAME SHIFT TO PARK MESSAGE AND HAVE HAD THEIR VEHICLE ROLL ON IT'S OWN. THE VEHICLE HAS GONE TO THE DEALERSHIP TO BE FIXED BUT UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE MY WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED I AM BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING TO FIX THIS SAFETY ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11406472

IT SEEMS THAT ALL OF THESE CARS HAVE A FAULTY SIDE DETECTION PROBLEM. PLEASE CHECK INTO IT. IT IS A PAIN AND IS SAD THAT IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN TO ALL OF THEM. THE SIDE DETECTION PROBLEM LEADS TO OTHER KINDS OF PROBLEMS WITH THE COMPUTERS ... THE LIGHT STAYS ON ALL THE TIME

NHTSA ODI 11405591

WHEN THE CAR IS SHIFTED INTO PARK, THE DASHBOARD SHOWS A WARNING THAT THE CAR IS NOT IN PARK. IF I LEAVE THE CAR LIKE THAT, ALL THE ELECTRICAL STUFF STAYS ON. MY HUSBAND WAS AT A GAS STATION, AND PUMPING GAS IS NOT SAFE WITH THE CAR NOT SHUTTING OFF. ALSO I AM CONCERNED IF THE VEHICLE WILL BE ABLE TO ROLL. MY NIECE ALSO HAS AN ACADIA, AND 3 YOUNG SONS ALL STILL IN CAR SEATS, SO SHE HAS TO USE THE 3RD ROW SEAT, SO GETTING HER SONS OUT OF A VEHICLE IS NOT A QUICK CHORE. IF THE CAR WILL NOT SHUT OFF AND GO INTO PARK AND CAN ROLL, IT WOULD BE A DISASTER IF HER CHILDREN WERE STILL IN THE VEHICLE STILL STRAPPED INTO THEIR SEATS.

NHTSA ODI 11404250

IT SAYS TO PUT IN PARK WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN PARK MODE AND THE ENGINE WON'T TURN OFF

NHTSA ODI 11396387

THIS ISSUE HAS HAPPENED TO ME ATLEAST 4 TIMES IN THE LAST 8 MONTHS . I WILL GO TO START MY CAR AND IT WILL SHOW 'NO REMOTE ACCESS ' THEN COMPLETELY SHUT OFF OR DRAIN THE BATTERY . I HA W HAD TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED 3 TIMES AND THEN ONE TIME AFTER 45 MINUTES IT JUST TURNED ON . THIS IS ONLY A 2017 ACDUA ABS I HAVE ONLY HAD IT A YEAR AND A HALF . IT'S HAD LEAKING HEATER FLUID ISSUES AS WELL .

NHTSA ODI 11395133

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 GMC ACADIA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PLACING THE VEHICLE IN PARK, AN ERROR MESSAGE AND WARNING LIGHT WAS DISPLAYED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MESSAGE SHIFT TO PARK WAS DISPLAYED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START OR TURN OFF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO BUICK GMC OF MAHWAH (386 NJ-17, MAHWAH, NJ 07430) WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 64,000.*DT*JB

NHTSA ODI 11389419

THE ISSUE INVOLVED THE CAR FAILING TO RECOGNIZE IT IS IN PARK AND WILL NOT SHUT OFF WHILE ALSO ROLLING. THE ISSUE FIRST CAME UP IN NOVEMBER OF 2018 AND GMC REPLACED THE SHIFTER ASSEMBLY UNDER WARRANTY. IT HAS HAS REAPPEARED AS OF OCTOBER 2020 BUT THERE IS NO RECALL OR OTHER MEANS TO FIX IT AND IT PRESENTS A HAZARD GIVEN THE CAR TRANSPORTS OUR 3 YEAR OLD SON.

NHTSA ODI 11388693

WHEN THE VEHICLE IS SHIFTED INTO PARK TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE THE SENSOR SHOWS IT IS NOT IN PARK AND WILL NOT LET YOU TURN THE ENGINE OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11386909

MY 2017 GMC ACADIA SHUT OFF LOST ALL POWER FOR A COUPLE MINS AT A BUSY INTERSECTION IN SEPTEMBER 2020. ALL POWER RESTORE AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES AND ATTEMPTS TO RESTART. I TOOK IN TO THE DEALERSHIP HOWEVER THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE. NOW ON THE 28TH OF DECEMBER 2020, THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AGAIN AT THE SAME BUSY INTERSECTION! NO POWER AT ALL! COULD NOT EVEN TURN MY HAZARD LIGHTS ON TO WARN TRAFFIC THAT WAS COMING UP BEHIND ME ON THE HIGHWAY! THE VEHICLE REMAINED LIKE THIS FOR 10-15 MINUTES! COULDN'T EVEN HAVE ANYONE PUSH IT OFF THE ROAD BECAUSE WE COULDN'T SHIFT IT TO NEUTRAL EITHER. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AS GM ADVISED AND THEY STILL COULD NOT DUPLICATE. THE DEALERSHIP TRIED BUT CANNOT MAKE SENSE OF WHY THIS KEEPS OCCURRING RANDOMLY. I HAD MY SMALL CHILDREN IN THE CAR THIS TIME AND WE ARE LUCKY WE DID NOT GET REAR ENDED! I FEAR THAT MY FAMILY IS NOT SAFE IN THIS VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11386282

VEHICLE IS PUT INTO PARK WHEN STOPPED IN A PARKING LOT OR IN MY GARAGE BUT THE MESSAGE ON THE DASH INDICATES IT IS NOT IN PARK. THIS HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY. THE POWER REMAINS ON WITH LIGHTS NOT SHUTTING OFF. SHIFTER HARNESS WAS REPLACED IN JULY 2020 PER BULLETIN 19-NA-206. THE PROBLEM SHOWED UP AGAIN 3 MONTHS LATER.

NHTSA ODI 11376358

GEAR SHIFT WOULD GO INTO PARK BUT WOULD NOT TURN OFF ENGINE, LOCK DOORS, TURN OFF LIGHTS. WARNING LIGHT READ TO "PLACE IN PARK."

NHTSA ODI 11376215

WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN ON A HIGHWAY, I EXPERIENCED THE BLIND SIDE DETECTION WARNING . THE SYSTEM SHUT ITSELF DOWN AND NO LONGER GAVE ANY SIDE DETECTION AT ALL. AFTER CONTACTING GMC, THEY SAID THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE. I SAW A SERVICE BULLETIN ONLINE, N172097060, BUT THEY SAID MY VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED.

NHTSA ODI 11375076

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 GMC ACADIA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS AT STAND STILL AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE HORN PAD WAS DEPRESSED HOWEVER, THE HORN FAILED TO SOUND. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 6,000.

NHTSA ODI 11372880

AFTER SHIFTING TO PARK THE VEHICLE WILL CONTINUOUSLY STATE "SHIFT TO PARK" AND WILL NOT ALLOW THE DRIVER TO TURN THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY OFF OR LOCK THE DOORS.

NHTSA ODI 11366610

THE 2017 GMC ACADIA I OWN WILL NOT RECOGNIZE WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN PARK. IT STATES TO MOVE TO PARK TO SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF WHEN THE VEHICLE IS ALREADY IN PARK. THIS HAPPENS WHEN TRYING TO SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE BUT I AM UNABLE TO BECAUSE OF THE "SHIFT TO PARK" WARNING. I HAVE TO PUSH THE STICK FORWARD AND TURN THE CAR ON AND OFF SEVERAL TIMES FOR THE MESSAGE TO DISAPPEAR. HAD THIS FIXED BY GMC BUT THEY REFUSED TO COVER UNDER POWERTRAIN WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI 11362211

1 MONTH AGO RECEIVED "SHIFT TO PARK" NOTICES THAT WOULD NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO BE POWERED OFF. WOULD RESTART ENGINE, MOVE SHIFTING LEVER MULTIPLE TIMES, AND EVENTUALLY WOULD ALLOW VEHICLE TO BE POWERED OFF (ELECTRICALLY). TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY REPLACED THE SHIFTING LEVER, REPORTING THE ISSUE WAS FIXED. TWO DAYS AGO, WHEN PARKING, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF, BUT AGAIN RECEIVED THE SHIFT TO PARK NOTICE, WITH ELECTRICAL SYSTEM STILL ON. THIS TIME, TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND THE CAR STARTED ROLLING BACKWARDS. COULD NOT RESTART ENGINE, AND SHIFTING LEVER WAS STUCK IN PLACE. HAD TO SET THE PARKING BREAK AND WAIT FOR A TOW TRUCK. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM REMAINED ON THE ENTIRE TIME. FORTUNATELY THIS OCCURRED IN MY DRIVEWAY AND NOT SOMEWHERE WHERE I WOULD HAVE BEE STRANDED.

NHTSA ODI 11354876

'STEERING ASSIST REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE' WARNING LIGHT SHOWS UP AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. THE AIR CONDITIONER AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE DO NOT WORK WHEN THIS IS ON. WE HAD IT CHECKED AND THERE WAS ZERO FREON IN IT. HAD THAT REFILLED TOTALING OVER $400 BECAUSE IT'S A SPECIAL KIND THAT TAKES THE 1234 HOOK UP. STEERING ASSIST REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN LIKE IT DOES EVERY MONTH. HUSBAND POPPED THE HOOD TO TAKE A LOOK AND IT APPEARS FREON HAS SPEWED WHILE STEERING ASSIST LIGHT IS ON, EXPLAINING WHY IT WAS EMPTY WHEN WE TOOK IT TO BE CHECKED. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ALSO ON NOW TOO. WHEN POWERING VEHICLE OFF, A MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN SAYS 'CLIMATE CONTROL NOT AVAILABLE WHEN VEHICLE IS POWERED OFF'. ADDITIONALLY WE GET A 'SHIFT TO PARK' MESSAGE WHEN WE POWER OFF THE VEHICLE. READY TO SEEK LEGAL ACTION

NHTSA ODI 11354560

THE VEHICLE, WHEN PARKED, SHOWS A WARNING THAT STATES"ACTION REQUIRED:SHIFT TO PARK" AND THE VEHICLE WILL NOT TURN OFF. THIS HAS LED TO THE VEHICLE DYING IN PARKING LOTS, AT HOME, ONCE WHEN ON VACATION. THE SHIFT LEVER IS IN PARK, THE DASHBOARD SHOWS THAT IT IS IN PARK, AND WHEN THE ENGINE OFF BUTTON IS PRESSED THE VEHICLE WILL NOT TURN OFF AND ASKS THE DRIVER TO SHIFT THE CAR TO PARK, WHERE IT ALREADY IS. THIS HAS BEEN A HAZARD TO OUR FAMILY AND OUR FAMILIES HEALTH AS THE VEHICLE WILL THEN DIE EVENTUALLY BECAUSE THE BATTERY RUNS OUT. IT IS APPARENT THAT THERE IS A SEVERE MALFUNCTION IN THE ELECTRICAL/GEARBOX/COMPUTER SYSTEM NOT RECOGNIZING WHERE THE SHIFTER IS AT THE MOMENT. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A PHOTO BUT IF I WERE TO TURN THE CAR ON TO TAKE THE PHOTO THE CAR LIKELY WILL NOT TURN OFF, AND THEN DIE ONCE AGAIN. THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR APPROXIMATELY A MONTH TO 6 WEEKS. I WILL PUT THE DATE BELOW AS APPROXIMATELY JULY 4TH 2020.

NHTSA ODI 11351307

THE VEHICLE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE WHEN IT IS IN PARK. SPORADICALLY VEHICLE WILL NOT GO INTO PARK AND THUS CAN'T LEAVE VEHICLE. SAFETY CONCERN! I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11351321

CAR WILL NOT RECOGNIZE THAT THE CAR IS IN PARK AND WILL NOT SHUT OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11351448

ALTHOUGH IN PARK, THE DASH ALERTS THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE : 'SHIFT TO PARK' THIS ALERT DOES NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO BE SHUT OFF FULLY AS THE RADIO STILL PLAYS, LIGHTS REMAIN IN AND THE DASH REMAINS LIT. HAVE TRIED TO RESTART AND SHIFT INTO DIFFERENT GEARS THEN RETURN TO PARK AS WELL AS ENGAGE THE EMERGENCY BREAK. NOTHING WORKS TO FIX THIS.

NHTSA ODI 11350515