What 374 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 GMC Acadia Limited

When the vehicle is in park and you try to turn it off with the start/stop button an on dash error code of ‘Shift to Park’ appears even though the vehicle is clearly in park. You are not able to turn the vehicle off. I am scheduled to take the vehicle in for service on 1/11/24. This currently is forcing me to restart the engine, put my car in reverse, shift back in drive, try re-parking and turning it off again, repeating the process until it eventually turns off. I do not know if my car is truly in gear or not. I’m afraid that it might cause a dangerous situation.

NHTSA ODI 11564323

When the vehicle is in park and you try to turn it off with the start/stop button an on dash error code of ‘Shift to Park’ appears even though the vehicle is clearly in park. You are not able to turn the vehicle off. This currently is forcing me to restart the engine, put my car in reverse, shift back in drive, try re-parking and turning it off again, repeating the process until it eventually turns off. I do not know if my car is truly in gear or not. I’m afraid that it might cause a dangerous situation.”

NHTSA ODI 11562914

Shift to Park car would not turn off. Had to start car, then go forward and reverse several time so the vehicle would finally recognize it was in park. - this has been going on for almost one year on and off. “Steering Assist is Reduced Drive with Care” making it hard to steer. The get Service “Stabilitrak”, “Side Detection Temporarily Unavailable”, All Wheel Drive Off, “Battery Saver Activated”, Services “Battery Charging System.” All lights went out and the car went dark! I was unable to drive the car, had to be towed. - this has happens twice. The first time was on October 2023, the mechanic put in a new alternator, thinking this was the problem. The second time happened 11/29/2023, mechanic is still trying to diagnose the problem/problems. This car has left me stranded and in fear to drive it due to the fact that I lose all vehicle driving ability!! It

NHTSA ODI 11559581

The vehicle part involved is the right rear suspension adjust toe link. I did not ask the GM dealer to save the old part. The old part is not available for inspection. The replacement GM part number placed on the vehicle is 84606181. On December 4, 2023 during the annual State inspection of my vehicle the GM dealer advised me that the right rear suspension part listed above showed wear in the bushing and the vehicle fails the state inspection because this is a safety issue. In order to pass the state required safety inspection I would need to have the suspension part replaced. This part controls how the vehicle tracks down the road when driven to prevent vehicle swaying from side to side. Since the GM dealer inspected and confirmed the above I authorized the dealer to replace the worn out part and also perform a wheel alignment as recomended by the GM dealer. Prior to the info provided above their were no warnings, noises, or signs that the right rear toe link bushing was warn to the extent that it required replacement. This first notice I had on the potential problem with my vehicles suspension is described above. I was advised that the above part is a common part that requires replacement on my type of vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11558586

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while turning off the vehicle, the shift-to-park message was displayed. There was an abnormal beeping sound heard. The contact restarted the vehicle and moved forward or reverse. The vehicle failed to shift into the park. The contact continued to shift the gear shifter. The contact stated that the engine revved. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.

NHTSA ODI 11558263

The touch Display screen. It has started to constantly go through every setting on the car while driving. I’ve tried turning the screen off. It works for a few minutes and then turns itself back on. It will change radio stations. It will make phone calls if a phone is detected. It is a constant distraction while driving GMC is obviously aware of the problem. You can call a service center. They will tell you that it happens all the time and that the part will cost you around 800$ not including service charges. With how many people depend on display screens in today’s technological ways. It’s only a matter of time before a serious accident occurs from this, if not already that hasn’t been reported. Also this affects more than just my vehicle. It’s across most of GMC models. Several public forums related to this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11557594

On 9/24/23, I was driving both locally & the highway in S. I., NY. Suddenly the Adaptive Cruise Control feature shut off & on repeatedly & kept flashing (Adaptive Cruise Control unavailable) almost causing an accident, then I pulled over and shut off the system. The next day on (9/25/23) I brought the car to GMC & Buick Dealership at 1855 Hylan Blvd, S.I. N.Y. 10306. After a couple of hours, the manager Carlos Mercado tells me they need to do further testing tells me to come back on 10/04/23. I arrive at 9:00am for my appt. After three hours, I asked him what’s going on? He tells me that there are two Modular’s in the vehicle & needs to be reprogramed & updated. He says the mechanic that was working on it can’t do it & to come back. I knew at that point I was being scammed. On 10/11/23 at 10:15am he comes & tells me the vehicle is ready. I go to the register tells me at first was $671.00. I said for what? It’s outrageous! He says oh it’s electrical. I asked him did you replace any parts? He says no. replace any wires? He says no. I said if this was a recall I wouldn’t pay for it because its a safety issue. So he must have felt guilty and says I give you a discount & the price now is $555.56. So I says to him this is a lot of money for this. He tells me it was labor. I said to him I have been watching the whole time that the vehicle would sometimes be in the service area & the parking lot with the mechanic hardly working on it. I said to him do you think I’m a fool because I’m a woman unaccompanied by a man you take advantage of me. So they would not release the car unless I pay for it which I did with a credit card. On 10/12/23, I filed a complained with GM for a full refund, and explained that the program was faulty & only need an update and I was contacted by Charlie from the Executive team on 10/17/23. Tells me he will reach out to the dealer. On 10/23/23 he tells me they can only offer $250 in reward points which I declined, because they know I wont use it.

NHTSA ODI 11553558

"shift to park" warning message. Unable to shut vehicle off or leave vehicle. Shifter is in the Park position but vehicle does not recognize it is in Park and will not shut off. Vehicle has never been in an accident. No residual code. Dealer will assess but not covered under any existing warranty or recall. Out of pocket expense. TSB 18-NA-297; replaced by 19-NA-206.

NHTSA ODI 11551748

I placed the car into Park and the Shift to Park indicator light came on even though the car was in park. I was unable to turn the car off. I had to shift the car in and out of gear and sometimes drive the vehicle to finally get Shift to Light off and be able to turn off the car. This happened 3 times within one week. I read of numerous instances on-line where this same condition occurred in other GM vehicles. I took to Joseph GMC for repair and was charged $855.12 for repair since the car was out of warranty. (The car only had 28,058 at time of service.)

NHTSA ODI 11551542

Vehicle refuses to turn off due to "Shift to Park" error being displayed. Vehicle also gives "Driver assist unabled. Drive safely" message and AC will not cool and vehicle coolant gauges will not work.

NHTSA ODI 11550795

After noticing my AC was not cooling, I began receiving a “steering assist is reduced drive with care” notice every time my car was started. My car is more difficult to steer. It has been assessed by a certified mechanic and found that the coolant temperature probe is malfunctioning and the ECM will either need to be fixed or replaced. Due to malfunctioning power steering, I do not feel safe driving this vehicle until it is fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11550687

There is a shift to park issue. When I place the shifter into park and the car is in park, I turn the vehicle off and I have a message action required “shift to park”

NHTSA ODI 11549539

Shift to Park is not working properly. Have to start engine and shift to park as much as three times to get the light to go off and radio and bells to quit dinging. I can't tell if car is in park or not and could be dangerous to leave it.

NHTSA ODI 11547962

Getting a “Shift to Park” message when the vehicle is already in park

NHTSA ODI 11543756

When the car is put In park there is a message that appears on the display when pushing start/stop to turn the car off "shift to park". The car has already unlocked and it turns off and restarts but the message keeps popping up

NHTSA ODI 11543343

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the electric power steering (EPS) warning light illuminated, displaying the message "Steering assist Might be Inoperable". The contact stated that following the message being displayed, the vehicle overheated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure had since become a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the thermostat. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 70,000

NHTSA ODI 11543214

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(P), the transmission failed to shift into park, and the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact also stated that when she started the vehicle, the reduced steering power warning light illuminated, and the failure caused the battery to be replaced once. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

NHTSA ODI 11541166

There is a “shift to park” message. The vehicles fails to recognize that it is in park and display a message urging me to “Shift to Park.” When this happens, I am unable to shut the car off, and this could cause my vehicles to roll away if it is not properly in Park. I would have to constantly wiggle and move the electronic shifter to get it to recognize that the shifter has been placed in the ‘Park’ position. This has resulted in me getting stuck in my car until I get the message to stop, which often time takes several tries and minutes.

NHTSA ODI 11540398

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while shifting into park(P) there was a beeping warning chime, and the gear shifter symbol was flashing. The shift to park message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was first intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.

NHTSA ODI 11538636

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the entertainment center changed and moved through all channels without touching the screen. While in park, the vehicle failed to turn off as desired. The shift-to-park message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the entertainment center needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

NHTSA ODI 11538351

When vehicle is put into park and you go to shut off the car it gives a message to shift to park. Diagnosis reveled that there is a service bulletin SB#19-NA206 which tells the mechanic to replace the the shift control assembly and add jumper harness to cure shift to park message when vehicle is turned off. Previous years of this vehicle model were covered under recall . This model year should also be under recall for this problem.

NHTSA ODI 11537099

Car won’t go into park. This happened with my 2018 Acadia and now my 2019. It keeps saying shift to park for the car to turn off when it already is in park

NHTSA ODI 11534660

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The low oil message was displayed. The contact added oil to the engine. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil gasket and plate needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 72,885.

NHTSA ODI 11533984

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the transmission was shifted into park(P); however, the shift to park warning light was illuminated and the vehicle failed to shut off. The contact stated that the failure had worsened. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

NHTSA ODI 11533464

The vehicle would continuously not register as being in park.

NHTSA ODI 11533160