What 374 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 GMC Acadia Limited

Failure to be in park alarm when shifter is in park. Must play with shifter back into park to stop alarm bells and notice on dash. Supposedly there was a recall issued however not shown on this site per my vin #1GKKNXLS7KZ107842. Very irritating, please advise.

NHTSA ODI 11681612

July 31, 2025 Our 2019 Gmc Acadia would not shut off in a parking lot, I was 45 minutes from home. A message on display says shift to park. This is a safety concern as the vehicle might not be fully secured in park, the vehicle won't shut off and will drain your battery. There is an ongoing class action lawsuit related to this issue, alleging that GM has been aware of the problem for some time but has not provided a satisfactory fix according to Lemon Law Auto Fraud. I called the gm dealer and they quoted me $500 to fix this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11677933

Car gives “shift to park error” around every 5th time I turn it off. I have to turn the car back on and repark it to be able to actually turn off

NHTSA ODI 11678024

Vehicle's "SHIFT TO PARK" warning is often displayed when vehicle shifter is in PARK and then the engine is turned off. Often takes several attempts to correct the problem by restarting and turning off the engine or by manipulating the shift lever while in PARK. These is a current recall for this issue with the same year, make, and model of vehicle. Checking the VIN against the NTSB recall list shows this vehicle is not included in the recall.

NHTSA ODI 11677495

About a month ago when I shifted my vehicle into park and shut the vehicle off, "Shift to Park" appeared on dash display for which I had to restart the vehicle, shift it into another gear and attempt to shutoff the vehicle again. Occasionally this would work but not all the time. Other times when shifting into other gears did not work I had to restart the vehicle, press the shifter button multiple times and then was able to shut the car off with no "Shift to Park" appearing. On 7/11/25, Arrived to work and had to performed the shifting the vehicle into another gear and was able to shut the vehicle off. When I went to leave for lunch, the car would not start at all, check the GM App and it stated "Critically Low Battery". A co-worker helped jump the battery and I was able to start the vehicle. When I went to leave work for the day, the vehicle would not start again with no notification as to why. My co-worker jumped the battery again and vehicle started now with all the system lights on dash staying on and warnings displayed. 7/12/25 Vehicle struggled to start and all system lights were still on. Later in the day, the vehicle would not start and all overhead, dash, display, taillights would not shut off. We jumped the battery and took the vehicle to our local dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11673324

We receive a shift to park message when we try to turn our 2019 GMC Acadia off. The vehicle is already in park, but an alarm bell keeps going off telling us it is not. The vehicle will not allow us to shut off the vehicle properly and results in battery drain and inability to lock the vehicle. We have noticed there is a class action lawsuit and recalls from previous year's models and the 2019 model manufactured in Ohio, but ours was manufactured in Tennessee. Our year, make, and model isn't listed in the class action lawsuit and/or a recall. This is very frustrating considering the number of similar issues/complaints in regards to this shift to park problem. I feel GMC as the manufacturer should be held liable for a faulty part and they have failed to correct this issue in later models since they were aware of the issue with the 2017-2018 Acadia models built in Tennessee.

NHTSA ODI 11673049

Shift to park issue. This 2019 Acadia Denali has been serviced twice for a shift to park issue:(It’s a known problem that occurs when Acadia vehicles fail to recognize that the gear shifter is in the park position). The first time was under warranty in 2022 and it has just been serviced again for the same problem. The system is the same as the older GM recall for this problem and the recall should also include this model as well but unfortunately it does not.

NHTSA ODI 11671140

Component: Shifter Assembly & jumper harness Safety concern: Can't turn off vehicle - Carbon Monoxide poisoning, physical safety when parking not at home, as I would have to leave vehicle running... Message in dash was present when I brought vehicle to dealer. Dealer also replicated No inspection other than dealer. Part returned to me. Warning message has been coming on for past 60 days or so, progressively getting more frequent I receive a 'shift to park' message in telltale after I have shifted to park. At times, vehicle will not shut off until shifter is manipulated for several minutes. I have concerns that I cannot park vehicle in garage, if I cannot shut it off. GM is well aware of issue, but has yet to recall them. Dealer actually had replacement shifter in stock for a same day repair.. I was charged $778.98 for the repair, and GM's customer assistance center response to me simply was to file a complaint with NHTSA. My wife does not feel safe driving, as there is no guarantee vehicle will turn off. Dealer replicated issue when I brought to dealership. Dealer has replaced part and has them. Warning lights only appeared when problem reared itself, initially began about 60 days ago, but is not occurring on approximately 2 of 3 shut downs.

NHTSA ODI 11665699

My 2019 GMC Acadia is now undergoing the same repair for at least the second time. This is the common issue known as the Shift-To-Park issue. You can read about it here - [XXX] Below are the commonly affected years: 2017 – Acadia 2018 – Acadia 2019 – several models (I own a 2019 GMC Acadia) 2020 – several models 2021 – Acadia and Traverse Despite falling into the year, make, model and issue - When I look up my VIN - No recall or warranty information is available, saying that my vehicle is NOT affected by this issue. However, this is now the 2nd (maybe 3rd) time I am having to come out of pocket to have this issue repaired. It originally happened in July of 2022 with around 40-44k miles on the vehicle. It is now happening again May of 2025 with around 72k miles on the vehicle. If I search further back, I imagine the first owner may have had the same work done too. Clearly this vehicle is affected by the issue buy according to my VIN it is not. GM (General Motors) told me that they offer no sort of help or reimbursement unless my VIN is associated with the issue. Can you guys please either add my VIN or extend out the warranty / recalls to ALL - Because this is absurd. My car doesn't recognize that it is in Park and stays on, preventing me from shutting down the vehicle / engine. Asking me to "Shift-To-Park" INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11663078

When I park my car it beeps and says my car is not in park. Many other models of the 2019 GMC Acadia, along with other GM vehicles, may be affected by a "shift to park" recall. This recall addresses a defect where the vehicle may display a "shift to park" warning message even when the vehicle is actually in park, potentially preventing the ignition from being turned off and the key from being removed. This is exactly what my car is doing but they say my VIN is not included in the free fix. I brought my vehicle after it died to a GMC dealership and they said it will cost 1,000 to fix. My safety is at risk because I drive to different locations as a therapist and I often drive home at night in remote locations.

NHTSA ODI 11659329

I have had intermittent issue with a message to shift the car to park when I shut it off. It was in park. If I wiggled the shifter it would often correct. That went on for a few years on and off. Lately it was more persistent. I brought it into the dealer and they replaced a harness and a switch. Seems that a harness would not go bad unless it had a manufacturer defect. I have seen a lot of reports on this issue on online blog sites. Seems to be a common problem. The problem with this defect is that when it is sin that mode, you cannot safely secure the vehicle and warning bells keep ringing. So the vehicle cannot be left like that and expect it to be secure.

NHTSA ODI 11657630

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon shifting to park(P), the vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound that persisted after turning off the vehicle. The message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown harness and switch were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a related recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 39,886.

NHTSA ODI 11643647

Yes, my vehicle is available for inspection upon request. When I go to put my 2019 GMC Acadia in "park" the shifter states it is in park & the dashboard shows it in "P." However, when I turn the vehicle off, an error message comes up reading "shift to park" and my car wont fully shut off. You can feel the car move forward or backwards a tiny bit (depending where vehicle is parked). This makes me have to turn the vehicle back on, shift into "drive," back into "park," and then shut the engine off and pray the "shift to park" display doesn't come up. This process was repeated this morning when I arrived at Walmart 3x before it finally shut off, then when I got home it happened at least 8x before I could safely leave my car in my garage without the worry of it not truly being in park. This has gotten to the point I have bought wheel chalks to put around my car tires because I am afraid this vehicle could roll down my driveway into my neighbor's house or kill some kid playing in our culdesac. I let the last place I was at know & they told me GMC was aware of the issue, but that there was no way to fix it (Auto Revival in Justin, TX). I am unsure as to whether this issue happened for them or not, as nothing was mentioned after being told GMC is aware. That was on January 10th, 2024. No one else has looked at it besides that. It seemed to be occurring less frequently for several months, and then now it is the worst it has ever been.

NHTSA ODI 11636233

I would park my car and try to turn off car. The car would not turn off. The car continued to ding the car remained on. The safety issue is the car wouldn't turn off. After many many times shifting from park to drive it would finally park, this happened every time using the car. I discovered the same exact issue is a recall on 2017 & 2018 GMC Acadia our exact car ! Called the dealer explaining SHIFT TO PARK issue. Brought the car to Buick GMC of Mahwah they noted in fact it was SHIFT TO PARK issue. Two days later came in for the car they would not cover problem. Cost $950.00 for exact recall the 2 years prior. Also, contacted GMC corp. they were no help just said had no recall. Our car is 2019 Acadia with 27,236 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11633098

Code 0128 coolant temperature sensor failure triggered reduced lane departure assist

NHTSA ODI 11631676

Shift to park message when vehicle is in park not allowing vehicle to be shut off

NHTSA ODI 11631678

I randomly get a "shift to park" warning even though the vehicle is in park. It looks like there has been this same issue with older years but not my vehicle according to the VIN.

NHTSA ODI 11630364

The "Shift to Park" error warning comes on even though the vehicle is in park. The vehicle will not turn off. I had this issue with my 2017 GMC Acadia. They tried to fix it once, but it came back. I see in the 2019 version that they have added an audible dinging to the warning. I would have thought after at least 2 years they would have resolved this issue. They just made it more annoying by adding the dinging.

NHTSA ODI 11622401

Vehicle does not know it's in park. Can't turn off vehicle. Must shake or beat the shifter knob for vehicle to see it's in park.

NHTSA ODI 11612973

My radio is going crazy. Like going through every radio station, calls people. Its a distraction. And after researching how to fix I noticed thousands of people have the same problem. Almost cause an accident because of the distraction and this is obvious problem in GMC.

NHTSA ODI 11611767

Last week I parked in a large public parking lot and attempted to turn my car off. I received a notification in my dash to “shift to park” even though my car was already in park. I was unable to turn the car off or lock the doors. I ended up having to leave. I have now gotten this message six times in the past week. It can take up to twenty minutes to get the car to turn off so I can exit. Yesterday upon returning to the car I showed an error message as soon as I started it that the parking brake needed service, stabilitrak is disabled and steering assist is disabled- drive with care. As I tried to exit the parking lot, I found it almost impossible to turn the steering week. I pulled over and restarted the car, releasing the steering wheel so I could get home. This morning, all of the service lights were on and periodic warnings flashed on my dash throughout my drive to work. I contacted the dealership and was told that there is a recall for this exact issue on the 2015-2018 models of my car. I have a 2019. This is certainly a dangerous issue that should be proactively fixed and is clearly still present in years that are not being included in the recall. I was told my car was one month past its warranty and told I could pay 250$ for the issue to be assessed and then they could quote me on a fix. The dealership acknowledged that this is an issue they regularly fix.

NHTSA ODI 11610953

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ODI 11609964

My car will not shut off as I am parked and “shift to park” is alerting me. The car keeps beeping. I have to re-start it multiple times and shift it in and out of park for it to finally go off. This last time it took 25 min to shut my car off.

NHTSA ODI 11609061

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the battery, the steering, and the brake warning lights were illuminated. The contact contacted Triple A, who tested the battery, the starter, and the alternator and jumpstarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the battery had discharged and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that diagnostic testing could be performed after the battery replacement. The contact stated that the battery was replaced four times; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.

NHTSA ODI 11606738

When attempting to park vehicle, the alert "Shift to Park" populates and the car will not completely shut down. This happens sporadically and can take up to 15 minutes to get vehicle in the right position to completely park and shut off. If it's not in the proper park position, the car can continue running, battery drainage and possible roll out of place. This also causes issues with the transmission not shutting off. I have not had this particular vehicle inspected, but contact with dealer service departments confirms continued complaints of this issue and it has not been addressed by GMC/General Motors. Problem has been occurring at various times over last 3 years.

NHTSA ODI 11602377