What 639 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 GMC Acadia Denali

I have gotten a alert on my vehicles dashboard after parking saying "shift to park" my car won't turn off until I can wiggle the shifter just right or have to take it out of park, back to drive back to park. I didn't have my radio on once and I didn't notice it wasn't all the way off and my battery went dead.

NHTSA ODI 11678382

The transmission failed at 90k miles, causing shuddering and stalling on acceleration. This has occurred several times on major highways and is very dangerous.

NHTSA ODI 11676840

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was slipping while attempting to change gears. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

NHTSA ODI 11675553

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10-15 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormally loud blower motor sound while accelerating, before the vehicle lost motive power. The transmission was shifted to neutral(N) and pushed to the side of the roadway. The TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the transmission clutch had failed, and the transmission needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed there was no recall coverage or warranty coverage on the VIN for the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.

NHTSA ODI 11671086

Drive shaft has excessive play

NHTSA ODI 11669905

The vehicle would not recognize the truck was shifted to park. The gear shift was replaced in 2024 and the same problem occurred 9 months later. The first GMC repair location did not connect the shifter cable correctly, causing the problem to persist. I had to pay twice to resolve an issue seen in many of the 2017 GMC Acadia models. This problem should be considered a recall, and charges for repair should be covered by GMC.

NHTSA ODI 11664830

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift into park, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced Technical Service Bulletin: PIT5616; as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

NHTSA ODI 11662861

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while attempting to shift into park(P), the vehicle failed to turn off, with the "Shift to Park" message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle eventually turned off. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V516000 (POWER TRAIN). The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11657510

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off. The contact shifted from park (P) to drive(D) and was eventually able to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that the letter P(park) was outlined in yellow and was illuminated on the instrument panel. Additionally, the contact stated that while attempting to close and lock the driver's side door, the door failed to lock securely. The contact stated that the failures occurred simultaneously. The contact stated that the failures were intermittent. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

NHTSA ODI 11652105

The vehicle keeps shaking specially at the first and second gear, up to 40miles/hr and at any up hills roads. I took it to the mechanic and he said that it’s an issue in the transmission and needs to be replaced. Also the engine fan randomly turns on automatically, and a warning message stating “Steering assist reduced. Drive with care”

NHTSA ODI 11651496

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(P) to turn off the vehicle, the message that the vehicle was not in park(P) was displayed. The contact stated that the gear shift indicator showed that the vehicle was in park(P). The contact shifted to drive(D) and then back to park(P) several times before being able to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 89,776.

NHTSA ODI 11651373

very bad shuttering when driving, took it to transmission shop and they said it needs to be replaced

NHTSA ODI 11649415

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the shift to park message was displayed. The vehicle failed to recognize the gear that transmission was shifted into. The message “Steering Assist Reduced - Drive with Care” was displayed. There was an abnormal beeping sound when the door was closed. The contact had to move the gear shifter to shift into the selected gear. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the thermostat and the gear handle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired under the warranty, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, and informed the contact to keep the receipt for a possible recall reimbursement and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.

NHTSA ODI 11649444

A couple of months ago, I tried to put my car in park and shut it off the same way I have for years. The car made a rapid alarm sound and displayed a SHIFT TO PARK message on my dashboard. In order to get the car to shut off correctly, I had to squeeze the button on the shifter and gently push forward and backwards until the car recognized that I was in park. This now happens approx. 1 in every 15 times I try to turn off my vehicle. When this happens, I do not know if my car is actually in park and this is just a sensor issue or if the car is in fact struggling to shift to park!? If that's the case, couldn't it roll into someone or some thing? I remember JEEP having this issue a few years back, where people were killed when their "parked" jeep rolled over them. I think a famous actor was one of those victims in his driveway. Has GMC ever released a statement as to why only some VIN #s are included in this recall, when MANY of us on here are experiencing the same issue??

NHTSA ODI 11648590

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after shifting to park, the vehicle could not immediately be turned off. The message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle was able to be turned off. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V516000 (POWER TRAIN). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 59,000.

NHTSA ODI 11648340

Twice the shift to park function of the vehicle has failed, once in 2020 and again in 2025, it appear that there is a recall for the year make and model vehicle, but for some reason my particular VIN in not included in this recall. The recall needs to be expanded to address this safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11643986

Shift to park. Vehicle does not turn off when in park. This recall is in effect on other 2017 Acadias but for some reason ours is not under the recall. Had this issue in 2020 and it was repaired at our cost. It is now doing the same thing.

NHTSA ODI 11643329

Shift to park on the dash display.

NHTSA ODI 11640170

My transmission is burning on the inside with no warning or indication. Transmission fluid is black and burned. Experienced jerking and hesitation when gears are automatically shifting.

NHTSA ODI 11639236

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after making a left turn and stopping at a traffic sign, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was hesitating before gaining forward momentum while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle bucked or lunged forward while accelerating. The contact stated that there was no warning light during the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the intermediate drive shaft was failing. The mechanic informed the contact of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V516000 (Power Train) and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer to be repaired. The contact had called a local dealer and was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

NHTSA ODI 11637732

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the "Shift to Park" message was displayed on the instrument panel while attempting to park the vehicle. Additionally, there was a constant beeping alert coming from the vehicle during the failure. The contact later discovered that the rear brake lights and reverse lights were illuminated during the failure. A local dealer was contacted about the failure and made an appointment for a repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11633130

Vehicle developed a major shudder and vibration from transmission. There are reports of the symptom in other complaints and a service bulletin released by GM for replacing the transmission fluid only(filter is internal and can only be replaced by removing and disassembling the transmission). When this malfunction is coupled with an EVAP sensor failure, loss of acceleration and engine stall occurs. The EVAP failure code did not appear for several weeks. I would suspect any type of engine miss will cause the same failure. Replacing transmission fluid does not remedy the severe shuddering from the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11632050

Sudden onset of extensive shuddering/shaking when shifting gears.

NHTSA ODI 11631136

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon parking and turning off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed while the gear shifter was in park(P). The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle and shifting out of park and shifting back into park(P) several times, the vehicle responded as needed. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing, and the dealer charged a fee for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

NHTSA ODI 11626136

My car on has 54,000 miles on it. For the last two weeks it has started showing that it is not in park when it actually is and continues the warning until I have shifted back and forth at least 4-5 times to clear the message and then able to exit the vehicle. It will roll forward or back to some degree even though it seems to be in park but it messages that it is not. When calling our dealership they do not show a recall and state it will be $180.00 just to look at it, not counting repair for this. there have been no other warning in the system and no accidents at this time. I do have children that ride in this car and could cause a serious situation if the car were to roll or be in gear.

NHTSA ODI 11625289