What 389 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 GMC Acadia Denali

Shift to park. Dash stating shift to park when vehicle has been put in park. Unable to turn vehicle completely off.

NHTSA ODI 11643275

Having shift to park warning and dinging after shifting the car into park and turning off the car. Cannot leave the vehicle. Then can’t move the shift lever so have to start the car And attempt to shift car into park again which does not always allow yu to shift to park and leave the vehicle again. If this is such an issue why is there not a recall? I have read many articles online about this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11641389

when in park dash still say shift to park ....batteries died lights stay on staibility pops up on dash car have to be jumped then same issues

NHTSA ODI 11640198

Vehicle shudders and jerks while accelerating. This caused a scary incident while driving on ice.

NHTSA ODI 11640246

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the cruise control feature failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle exceeded the set speed. The contact deactivated the cruise control feature; however, the vehicle failed to decelerate. The contact depressed the brake pedal, however the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact had to repeatedly depress the brake pedal before the vehicle finally stopped. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired or diagnosed by the independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

NHTSA ODI 11639188

A thermostat failure displays a "steering assist" warning while driving. The thermostat housing has been replaced twice in 3 years after this warning.

NHTSA ODI 11635194

We purchased our 2018 GMC Acadia, used with 15,798 miles on the odometer, on [XXX] from John Wiesner, Inc. On [XXX], with 20,344 miles on the odometer, we began experiencing a "Shift to Park" message when trying to turn the vehicle off, even though the vehicle shifter indicated that the vehicle was in park. Though the vehicle would turn off, we could not clear the "Shift to Park" message or stop the associated audible alarm without a great deal of effort. A Wiesner dealership confirmed the problem, determined that a switch in the shifter assembly was not grounding, and replaced the transmission control assembly under warranty. All was well until early 2024, at approximately 47,500 miles, when we began experiencing the same problem. The dealer said we must pay $500+ for a repair and that if we failed to get the problem repaired we risked being unable to get the vehicle into park and unable to turn off the vehicle. Being unable to stop the "Shift to Park" message or to stop the audible alarm at the very least will run the battery down and being unable to put the vehicle in park or turn it off risks an injury to us or others. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11634242

Car has started displaying a "shift vehicle into park" message when I have put the car in park. Even though the care is clearly in park this warning displays and I'm unable to turn the vehicle completely off. Have re restart and mess with the shifter several times in order to be able to turn the vehicle off and lock the doors.

NHTSA ODI 11632134

The car is put in park but the it doesn’t detect that it’s in park and won’t turn off. You can’t get out of your car because the won’t turn off. There were no errors before this. I get an error message that says shift to park. I have to shift the car into drive and then park several times to make the car turn register that it’s in park The dealership has not looked at my car. Nothing has ever been wrong with my car. I have read online that it’s a problem for many people with Arcadia vehicles .

NHTSA ODI 11630229

11/22/24 shift to park issue appeared. Happens constantly. I just bought car on 10/26/2024. I know by looking up shift to park issues there was a recall on 2017 an 2018 cars.

NHTSA ODI 11628667

My steering assist is coming on an the thermostat play apart in this. The thermostat need to be change. 2018-GMC-Acadia are having problems with these parts.

NHTSA ODI 11625851

Steering Assist is Reduced Drive with care. Everyone is have a problem with the 2018-GMC-Acadia thermostat is bad.

NHTSA ODI 11624491

My wife was taking the children to school when she arrived she placed the car into park and attempted to shut off the vehicle. Once the power button was depressed a beep was heard and the dash said shift to park. She had to turn the are on and off multiple times. I contacted gm and they said there is a defective pin in the shift controls but this issue is not covered by a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11622223

" steering assistant reduced, drive care" " power steering ,drive with care". My car has been properly maintained, and has no issues, but this messages that keep coming up out of nowhere. And when it comes out my steering wheel gets very hard and stiff, causing me to almost get in accident in highway. This is definitely a factory defect that needs to be recalled and taken care of.

NHTSA ODI 11617540

Roof is leaking in vehicle without reason after seals and tubing replaced. Brakes lock up without warning!

NHTSA ODI 11614920

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and restart daily and required to be jumpstarted. Additionally, while the transmission was shifted into park(P), the "Shift to Park" message was displayed, and the vehicle failed to turn off, causing the battery to become drained. Roadside Assistance was able to jumpstart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone and Firestone, where the battery and alternator were tested; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact purchased a battery jump starter to jumpstart the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to Pep Boys, where the alternator, battery, and starter were all tested, and it was determined that the engine switch had failed. Pep Boys advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 81,737.

NHTSA ODI 11612298

When I try to cut my car off, it says "Shift to Park", but the car is in Park. Sometimes you can push the gear shift up hard and it will make the light go off, but othertimes nothing works and the car stays running and you can't get out. This is an ISSUE on lots of models and some even have recalls. Why are thy not recalled? I have to leave my car unlocked and running until it decides to turn off. Now I am stuck having to pay for this out of pocket, when GMC knows this is an issue.

NHTSA ODI 11610922

Vehicle when being placed into park utilizing the gear shifter begins to say “vehicle not in park” when the vehicle is in park. This happens almost every time the vehicle is placed into park. In order to clear that notification, you have to put the vehicle in drive and park multiple times and hope that the computer recognizes the vehicle in park to unlock the doors and shut the vehicle off.

NHTSA ODI 11610698

SHIFT TO PARK alert popping up on. Car will not turn off.

NHTSA ODI 11609917

Vehicles does not recognize when the vehicle is parked and does not allow for vehicle to shut off. Gives shift to park error. Takes several tries for vehicle to recognize it is parked. Same issue in 2020 which was repaired by gmc since vehicle was still under warranty. Now that it is out of warranty it's my responsibility

NHTSA ODI 11609059

My car seats (2nd row & 3rd row) seats are rattling really bad when I am on the freeway or highway roads; signs of loose seats. Very concerning to wear it loosens the seat belt strap securing my toddlers car seat. I thought it was the road but unfortunately it’s my seats.

NHTSA ODI 11607736

I purchased this car in May 2024 and it has done this since the day I bought it. When I shift into park and turn the car off it alerts me that I need to shift into park but it already is, I have to squeeze/jiggle the button on the shifter to make it stop. I feel this could cause some serious problems

NHTSA ODI 11606693

On July 26, 2024, I was driving my 2018 Acadia, with my cruise control set to 48 in a 45 MHP zone. Nearing a bad curve, I sneezed. When this happened, I tapped the brakes to disengage the cruise control, my passengers side tires exited the road and with both hands on the wheel I tried to slowly bring my tires back to the road. However, I was unable to gain control and totaled the vehicle. A witness stated that she heard a loud pop coming from the vehicle before the wreck happened. I later learned from my insurance that the vehicle had a Recall 17V516000 on it and I was never made aware of it. I believe that this was a factor in me not being able to control the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11605906

I purchased my 2018 GMC Acadia in 2021. Two days after I purchased the "Shift to Park" error occurred. I contacted the dealer and they said that yes these cars are not recognizing they are indeed in park. After several phone calls back and forth they agreed to repair. Well now 3 years later it began to show the Shift to Park error once again. I looked up to see if they had recalled yet and GM has recalled on SOME vehicles but not sure why others like mine are excluded. I would assume this is a safety issue since the car cannot recognize its in park. I am also not returning to the dealership for repair since I don't believe it was repaired to begin with or the replacement parts are also defective. This seems to be that it will be an ongoing issue and additional costs to me every time this issue comes up.

NHTSA ODI 11605077

Vehicle will not shift to park- The cars engine is off and will not turn on, while the car physically will not turn off. I have to move the shifter until vehicle recognized it was in park. resulting in me getting stuck in my vehicle. Multiple reports from other owners with no fix provided by GMC.

NHTSA ODI 11604941