What 194 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 GMC Yukon

The recall repair for the brake vacuum pump did not hold for this vehicle. Even after the repair, several years later, the brakes would get hard as a rock, especially at low speeds and there was difficult stopping the vehicle. Due to the special Warranty on this recall, I was able to get the brake vacuum pump replaced at no cost. However, the recall repair failed initially. This is a safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11745056

Passenger brake Led Circuit board prematurely failed resulting in the entire assembly needing replacement. The assembly is $500 and higher. This is a safety issue and though there was a class action lawsuit, the light fails after 72000 miles which appears to be when GMC wont replace the part. $500 for a tail light replacement is a financial burden to be able to keep the car on the road. There is no warning when the light fails. Please consider a recall on the tail lights.

NHTSA ODI 11741422

So the shock strut system up front has a grommet that holds it in. The repair order said they put a shock simulator in the car and it gave false reading saying it was good and it came out broke break line and caused me to jump a curve to stop the vehicle. ALSO Now the THE TAIL LIGHT IS OUT AND NO WAY TO REPAIR IT NO ONE HAS THE LIGHT. Also this car is on its third transmission

NHTSA ODI 11738169

Engine blew at less than 80,000 miles

NHTSA ODI 11731310

My engine starting making a knocking/ticking noise out of no where. I was traveling alone on the highway so I stopped to check it. I got to a gas station and google searched it and it came up that the LS 6.2 engine that is in my vehicle was recalled on other models because of this issue. I did have a mechanic look at it as well and he agreed it is that same issue that was recalled in other models.

NHTSA ODI 11731050

The 2017 GMC Yukon has serious transmission issues that GM continues to ignore, and it is going to get someone hurt. I was stopped at a red light, and when it turned green, I pressed the gas pedal but the car would not move. I pressed harder, and then it suddenly lurched forward about 30 feet. If there had been a car in front of me, I would have hit them and likely caused injuries. When I took it to the dealership, they said it needed a full transmission replacement, which was not covered. I had to pay out of pocket. I was only about $10,000 outside the warranty when it failed, and GM refused to stand behind their product or help in any way. I was already financing the vehicle and should not have had to pay for a new transmission on a car that was less than four years old with relatively low miles. This is not just my experience. Many others have had the same issue. GM knows about it and chooses not to acknowledge it. They are lucky no one has been seriously injured or killed because of it. Going to attach all of the proof of people "coincidentally" experiencing the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11730014

The 8-speed automatic transmission (Hydra-Matic 8L90) on this 2017 GMC Yukon SLT 5.3L V8 has failed. This is a repeat failure — the transmission was previously rebuilt in 2020 under a GM recall/service action for the same known defect affecting this transmission type. The transmission has now failed again in 2026, approximately six years after GM's prior repair. Prior to failure, the vehicle exhibited hard shifting, shuddering during acceleration, and hesitation between gear changes — symptoms consistent with the known defect pattern documented across 2015–2019 GM vehicles equipped with this transmission. The failure was confirmed by a service center. The vehicle is currently not safely drivable. Safety concern: erratic and unpredictable gear changes, including sudden lurching and hesitation during acceleration, create a dangerous condition for the driver, passengers, and other vehicles on the road. GM has been contacted through their Customer Assistance Center (case opened). GM's initial position was that they cannot assist because the vehicle is out of warranty. However, this is a repeat failure of a previously repaired known defect. GM issued 13+ technical service bulletins on this transmission and has been aware of the root defect since at least 2018. A federal class action (Speerly v. General Motors, E.D. Michigan) covering this exact vehicle type and transmission has been certified and upheld by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The prior GM repair did not remediate the underlying defect.

NHTSA ODI 11728048

Slipping Gears: Many Yukon Denali owners report experiencing unexpected gear changes or loss of power while driving. Hard Shifting: This problem manifests as harsh or abrupt gear changes, often accompanied by noticeable jolts when shifting from one gear to another. Unusual Noises: Grinding, whining, or clunking sounds when shifting There has been a class action lawsuit for this. I'm not sure why it has not been recalled in all states.

NHTSA ODI 11717784

My truck lost power while I was driving. Took to a shop and they found that a had a bad lifter. I have all of my service records from the GMC dealership where I had my vehicle serviced on a regular basis.

NHTSA ODI 11711960

This has been going on for a while now, but it’s getting worse overtime. If I push on my brakes more than twice the brake pedal locks up and I have to push extremely hard to get my vehicle stopped.. luckily I have never been going fast and had to worry about this. This is normally when I am pulling into a parking spot or I am backing up that I have to tap on my brakes a few times. A couple of times I have bumped the pole in front of my parking spot due to not having brakes. I just put in a general date as to when they started to get worse.

NHTSA ODI 11707478

I started noticing issues with my transmission around 55,000 miles on it. It first started with no noticing that it wouldn’t gear down when it needed to, and then when it finally did gear down, it would really jerk the vehicle. I started calling GMC then and questioning and putting in a claim. Just went back-and-forth four months. Now it was getting worse to where I could feel the transmission slipping it wouldn’t kick into upper gear or lower gear. Again, I was still calling GMC and reporting these issues. I was told to take it and have a transmission oil change, which I did costing me $300. I still noticed this problem and I continue to call. I kept being told that they would have somebody call me back which nobody ever called me back to find out specifics. I took it to a GMC garage have them put it on a machine, and I was told that it needed a new transmission and this wasn’t something GMC was covering. This new transmission cost me $6200 and was done on 1/5/25. Please remember this vehicle only had 64,000 miles on it, which is absolutely ridiculous to need a transmission at this mileage. I again had called in January 2025 reporting this and was told someone would call me back and never heard from them.

NHTSA ODI 11707493

Sitting at stop light engine began running rough and smoke coming out. CEL came on and began flashing, pulled over and had it towed. Diagnosis was PO300 misfire, dead miss on cylcinder 4, cylinder plug 4 is fuel fouled, cois is fine has good spark- caused by failed lifters. Needs engine replacement. Vehicle always serviced, garage kept and in mint condition with 89K miles.

NHTSA ODI 11704828

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that the lifters were previously replaced in 2021 at the manufacturer's expense. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine was running rough. The vehicle was taken to an unknown auto part store, where it was diagnosed with an engine cylinder malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the engine had experienced lifter failure or a more severe failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed by the dealer, and that the manufacturer might help in covering the cost of the repair. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: EA25007 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 81,638.

NHTSA ODI 11704527

At parking lot speeds, there have been many incedents of brake failure, when pressing pedal to stop pedal pulsates and becomes very hard to stop the yukon. there seems to be a vacume or booster issue. Yukon will be fine for days then reaccure when slowing at stop sign or waitng at red light and moving foward in slow traffic to sign or llight and then in happens again. scary and unreliable when using brakes at low speed intersections or continous stop and go's

NHTSA ODI 11702401

We noticed the passenger side taillight was out. It’s not a simple bulb replacement but an entire assembly. It was put back in place and it lit up again. A few weeks later it wasn’t working. Pounded and tapped on it and it works again. We're guessing there is some sort of short so we asked for an estimate on getting an assembly replacement when it was in for a regular oil change. Shocked that a necessary part would cost $1,112.77!!! Whatever happened to changing a bulb for a few dollars?

NHTSA ODI 11699672

The contact own a 2017 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear while driving and remained stuck in gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that assistance would not be provided because the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

NHTSA ODI 11698166

WHEN I BOUGHT THE YUKON 3 YEARS AGO THE TRANMISSION WENT OUT WITHIN MONTHS, THEY REPLACED IT WITH A USED ONE, NOW IT IS STARTED TO DO THE SAME THING, IT WILL SLIP IN AND OUT OF GEAR, WHEN YOU GIVE IT GAS IT WILL JUMP INTO GEAR AT AN IDLE IT WILL DROP OUT OF GEAR, IT'S BEEN DOING THIS EVERY SINCE THEY PUT THE USED ONE IN, I NOITIED THEM THEY SAID THAT IT IS NORMAL???? I HAD THE WORK DONE @ PAHRUMP VALLEY AUTO PLAZA. I'M AFRAID THAT WHEN IM AT A LIGHT IT WILL NOT GO INTO GEAR AND I WILL GET HIT. NO WARING LAMPS CAME ON AT ALL, IT HAS PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE.

NHTSA ODI 11697496

THE BRAKE LIGHT IS OUT AND A SINGLE TAIL LIGHT IS OVER 500$ Very dangerous to have tail light out and can cause an accident. There should be a recall on these defective LED lights.

NHTSA ODI 11696886

My vehicle started making a knocking sound and eventually died on me. I barely made it to a repair shop to check out my vehicle, but had to get it towed back to my home from the repair shop after they told me my engine failed. This happened around 118,000 mileage. I found out that this issue is very common and needs to be addressed for this year and model vehicle. It could have ended very badly for me as I was on the interstate when it happened. Now, my vehicle is sitting and I am unable to use it. Engine would cost me over $12k for cost and repairs.

NHTSA ODI 11694709

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Yukon. The contact noticed that the chrome on the rims of the vehicle was oxidized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the rims. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11689387

At low idle speeds like in a parking lot we almost hit another car because the brakes were very hard to press. No power brakes. Felt as I was having to stand on the brake pedal with both feet to stop my vehicle from hitting another car at a grocery store parking lot going 5 mph! A light flashes on and says”service brake assist “ light goes away and drives normal and brakes normal except when you get to a stop sign, or traffic light. This happens a few times and I’m not driving the car because of it because I might hit someone

NHTSA ODI 11684827

Yukon break tail lamp problems. Brake lights work intermittently. Very dangerous! The break lights will work intermittently and then work. This was an issue with the 2016 models and GM issues a recall. There is no recall for 2017 which I don't understand because nothing has changed with the manufacturing process. I researched and there is a class action but in California only.

NHTSA ODI 11682659

Full engine failure

NHTSA ODI 11681496

116k miles and the transmission went out. Spent almost 6k on a jasper to replace it. I don’t think I need to explain what happens when a trans goes out. It did all of those things.

NHTSA ODI 11673777

I brought a 2017 Yukon GMC from a dealership. When I first drove it on a highway it began to pull and shake, to the point it slow down on the highway. Also the dashboard started to shake , vibrate on the highway. When I step on the gas on a local road ,the transmission is pulling to pick up speed. Took it to a Mechanic and explained to him what was going on he test drove it and told me it's the transmission. He also said this year truck " GMC" truck like this has bad transmission. I did my research and find out that it is true. I have a disabled mother that I take to her doctors appointment and I'm scared bto out her in this truck. This is a 1 vehicle and anytime the truck will just slow down or vibrate or shake. No check engine light comes on when it happens.ifni driving on A highway sometimes the check engine light will blink 3 to four times then go back out.

NHTSA ODI 11669848