What 389 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 GMC Acadia Limited

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the "Shift to Park" message was displayed on the instrument panel. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission control harness needed to be replaced. The contact researched and was made aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,187.

NHTSA ODI 11661226

My Acadia car has been having some problems with the shift to park. I put my vehicle on park and my doesn't turn off because it keeps saying that it hasn't shifted to park. Do to this issue my battery car has been draining and my family and I got locked in. I bought the car not to long ago and it's been an issue ever since its getting worse as time has past. I'm really wanting this fix as it can take hours to turn the car off.

NHTSA ODI 11661054

All of this has been going on for a while but it's gotten to the point of dangerous. The Shift to Park keeps coming on preventing me from shutting the vehicle off even though it's, in fact, in Park. Then, "Steering Assist Reduced Drive With Care" keeps coming on. This will come on and off. Preventing the engine from heating up like it needs to be. Then the transmission keeps slipping. Was nearly rear-ended on the highway with my child in the car when it decided to start driving really rough and wouldn't allow me to shift to the next gear. This is also an ongoing issue. Another time I was almost hit in the side when this randomly happened on crossing the highway. This is absolutely absurd! I have had MUCH older vehicles without all these issues with many many more miles! I can't count the amount of times this has caused us serious hazards not to mention almost costing me my JOB! Interestingly enough, the same year/make/model has been recalled for the exact same issues yet for whatever reason GMC says MY model "was not affected by the recall". Funny how it's having the EXACT same issues as the ones on the recall list! GMC needs to fix this before they cause people to die! I'm a healthcare worker and this is disgusting!

NHTSA ODI 11661065

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon arriving to his destination, the message "Please Shift to Park" was displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 19-NA-206. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11660768

I have a 2018 GMC Acadia that is now displaying " shift to park " while the vehicle is in park. Upon extensive research I see GMC did issue a recall however, my particular VIN was not included. Its NOW displaying the error message which would lead me to believe it IS part of the recall. I called my local GMC dealership (Langhorne, PA.) and they said this was not covered since my VIN was not issues a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11658958

The car no longer recognizes when shifted into Park. It will not allow things like door locks and so on.

NHTSA ODI 11658021

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and shifting to park, the vehicle failed to turn off. During the failure the message "Shift to Park" was displayed even though the gear shifter was in park(P). After several attempts, the vehicle was able to be turned off. The contact also stated that during the failure, the vehicle would roll backwards. 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 failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11656801

My 2018 GMC Acadia is experiencing an issue with the "Shift to Park" feature. When the vehicle comes to a stop and is put into park an alert comes up on the dashboard says "Shift to Park" even though the car is fully parked. This keeps the vehicle from being able to be turned off. Often times this issue is not fixed by turning the car on and re-shifting to park and i have to drive the vehicle and try again. This happens over 50% of the time I try to park this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11656344

my arcadia shift to park appears when i park my car beginning to happen all the time now .started last month and getting worst i have contacted the dealership and was told no recalls .my car is a 2018 with 34,000 miles on it . i am very disappointed with this vehicle . if you can't stand by your product i can't see myself buying another one. thank you a very disappointed customer [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11655827

It's a problem that occurs when my Acadia fails to recognize that the gear shifter is in the park position. As a result, the car doesn't fully shut down, leaving the engine running. Unable to shut down vehicle if shift doesn't fully activate brake notice, and could be a safety issue if it truly doesn't park. I have not taken the vehicle to a dealer or services to have the problem reproduced yet. It also has not been inspected yet, however, after doing research online, GMC did put a recall notifying owners that this may be a problem in vehicles from years 2017-2021. When I place the shifter into park, the car does not recognize it, and alerts me to put it into parking. It started appearing 2 months ago.

NHTSA ODI 11654644

My car will not recognize when it is in park. The shifter will say park but the panel says on and all accessories are staying on. It started out doing it every once in a while but now it does it nearly every day. At work I have had to just leave it like that in the parking lot to keep from being late for work and the accessories stay on. Once I had to call for a jump start after work because my battery was dead. I’m not sure if it can be stolen or not when I have to leave it like that but I don’t think it could possibly be safe. And I can’t afford to call for jump starts all the time. Thank you and please help.

NHTSA ODI 11654507

My vehicle has a persistent shift to park issue. My vehicle cannot be safely turned off. My vehicle needs to be restarted multiple times and the gearshift moved to the park position for the chance that it will register being in the parked position so the vehicle can be safely turned off.

NHTSA ODI 11653878

A warning popped up on my dashboard stating "Power steering reduced. Drive with care." multiple times. Whenever the warning popped up, my air conditioning would stop working and my engine fan would run very loud. The warning would go off and back on over the course of a year. This started in the beginning of summer, 2024. On 4/3/25 I took it into an auto mechanic shop and after they looked at this warning, they confirmed that the thermostat has an issue where it gets stuck in the "open" position, therefore the thermostat isn't working properly and my car thinks it's over heating, when it's really not. If my car were to overheat while this thermostat wasn't working properly, my engine could overheat or worse. The thermostat part is being replaced today so after today, it won't be available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ODI 11652547

While I was driving the vehicle started jerking and not changing gears. Several times it almost caused an accident with me and my son in the car. I turned the car on/off and restarted it at the red light, the exact same thing happens. Lucky a GMC dealer ship was near by. I was able to get there still jerking and not changing gears. No warning signs appear during this whole time. No prior issues with the transmission. Once I made it to the dealship then engine like came on. Really now! The dealer checked vehicle and stated the transmission is gone out. I was flabbergasted, almost $10,000 had to be replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11649419

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the reduced engine power message was displayed. The RPM increased to high, and the engine revved. The accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V358000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the high-pressure fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

NHTSA ODI 11649181

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon arriving at her destination, the contact shifted into reverse to park the vehicle; however, after parking and shifting to drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond. The contact became aware after several attempts that the transmission was stuck in park(P). The blank warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the inline shifter wiring harness. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 19-NA-206. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 111,000.

NHTSA ODI 11648743

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while shifting the gear shifter into park(P), the "Shift to Park” message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was forced to shift from drive(D) to Park(P) repeatedly before the failure was corrected. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel would become sticky with the "Steering Assist Reduced - Drive with Care," message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the infotainment system glitched and performed independent functions, causing the driver to be distracted. The contact stated that the infotainment system was replaced when the vehicle was purchased due to the failure; however, the failure recently recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of several failures and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

NHTSA ODI 11648834

Sold 2018 GMC Acadia by LEE GMC in auburn. Acadias shift to park was defective, dealership replaced before sale did not disclose, shift to park and transmission malfunctions occurred. I returned Acadia to the dealership several times and they would never properly fix or address my concerns now my vehicle is unsafe to drive. I have documentation to support the claims in my letter, I can send as well if you’d like. Thank you Will send attachment

NHTSA ODI 11647553

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the gear shifter was shifted into park; however, the gear shifter failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed shift to park gear. The contact stated the dealer had not provided a cause for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ODI 11647605

When vehicle is put into Park I keep getting a "Shift to Park" message and cannot turn off my vehicle. I cannot lock the door.

NHTSA ODI 11647401

Shift to park msg appears randomly causing the car to not completely turn off even though car is in park. Have to turn car back on and shift to drive back to park couple of times before msg goes away. I see so many people with the same problem why isn't there a recall this is a safety issue. The 1st time my warranty covered the repairs , 2nd time around I have to pay of pocket.

NHTSA ODI 11646413

The shifter, the shift to park displays and dings and stays on the dash after I've put it in park and turned off the ignition. It started the first of 2024 and has gotten worse and now it's almost every time.

NHTSA ODI 11645948

Truck lost power randomly while driving on freeway spend so much money on fixing it this has to do something with the way the built it

NHTSA ODI 11645879

Shift to park does not complete. System warning comes on and will not turn off until I restart vehicle and redshift to park. Multiple shifts are required to allow the vehicle to accept park. This has been happening for approximately 1 years.

NHTSA ODI 11645187

While car is in park, I get the "Shift To Park" warning after driving the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11644415