What 374 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 GMC Acadia Limited

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 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 steering assist code comes on , the temp gage goes down , and it’s immediately hard to steer . All the lights come on , and drained the battery, this has happened several times

NHTSA ODI 11532988

Shift to park error every time I park my car. It takes multiple times of shifting and what not to get the vehicle to shut off. I will be making a appointment with my dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11530811

Vehicle is constantly giving “shift to park” error. The steering mechanism has also been compromised, and the vehicle makes persistent jerking motions with accelerating. This could be quite dangerous.

NHTSA ODI 11530621

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while parking and attempting to turn off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed, though the gear shift indicator had displayed that the vehicle was in park(P). The contact stated that she restarted the vehicle, shifted from park(P) to drive(D) continuously until the vehicle responded as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

NHTSA ODI 11528846

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while shifting the into park(P), the message to “Shift to Park” warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. 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 21,000.

NHTSA ODI 11528918

I just purchased this vehicle and within a day, it was already giving an alert that something was wrong. Says "action required, shift to park". My car was in park. It was not shutting off due to the notification, which leads your battery to drain. The next day, as I was driving with my kids, the headlights start flickering, and then shut off. It left us driving in the dark and nearly causing a wreck because someone didn't see us coming because it was too dark. The dealership said they look at it, so I don't know what will happen moving forward. It's definitely not safe unless the issue is addressed.

NHTSA ODI 11528734

"Shift to park Warning light" comes on when turning off vehicle when vehicle is in park.

NHTSA ODI 11528449

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling and shifting into park(P) the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle was in the park(P). As a result, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the contact was not informed of the result. The vehicle had not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

NHTSA ODI 11528516

2019 Acadia originally displayed a shift to park message at 12K miles and vehicle was still under warrantee. New shifter harness was installed and a wire harness jumper added. GM covered the cost of repairs. At the time I was told hopefully the repair fixes it but a chance it won't and will need to bring it back in. Two years later at 36K miles it occurred again but was out of bumper to bumper warrantee so GM would not cover and dealer would not give any discount. Both the dealer and the GM claim rep I talked to were not able to adequately explain why this is not considered in the powertrain warranty which is still valid. GM did reimburse 50% of the cost of repair but I am still out ~$380. This issue seems well documented across numerous models / years of GM products.

NHTSA ODI 11524050

The shift to Park locks up and will not allow the vehicle to turn off. Receive an error message that the vehicle is not in Park.

NHTSA ODI 11523843

The electrical and gear shift failed, causing a problem that GMC calls “shift to park.” Even when the car is placed in park, the car does not recognize that it was placed in park and cannot be turned off, preventing the driver from leaving the running car. This is a known problem that multiple dealers are aware of and there even appears to be a recall and lawsuits on the 2018 Acadias. However, on my 2019 Acadia, which has the same problem as the 2018 vehicle, this is a problem that costs hundreds of dollars to fix. This should be recalled because it renders the vehicle a safety hazard because it cannot be turned off and it is a known GMC problem that they refuse to fix.

NHTSA ODI 11522846

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after the transmission was shifted into park(P), the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The contact shifted the gear shifter into several other gears and was able to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11522339

Vehicle has been bucking and jerking when trying to accelerate. Going up a hill is scary (especially with my kids in the car) because it slows the car down trying to find a gear. Dealership says it's a torque converter but since so many Acadia's are being recalled for transmission issues, we feel ours should be included as well. Dealership is making us pay for a transmission flush which doesn't make sense because if it weren't for these issues, we wouldn't need to have a flush.

NHTSA ODI 11516829

The car is is giving a warning to Shift to Park even though the car is in park. GMC says this is a known issue and could become a safety issue but is not coving under warranty or recall.

NHTSA ODI 11510650

I have the shift to park error where my car is not recognizing that it is in park and will not shut off. I have been held hostage inside my car, late for work, etc because my car will not shut off because it is not registering that it’s in park. Also, my breaks are unbareably loud with whatever switch they made to the “new” brake material.

NHTSA ODI 11508430

Vehicle will not shift to park. Have to engage the parking brake to ensure vehicle will not roll away after shifting to park. Becuase the vehicle isn't actually shifting into park l, the vehicle will not shut off which drains the battery and leads to being unable to turnover the engine.

NHTSA ODI 11503309

My car would not shift into park. The indicator in the center console would say that it was in park, but when I would shut it car off I would get a warning on the dash that said that I needed to shit to park. I started chocking the tires when I parked out of fear of the car rolling away or run over somebody. My wife would not always chock the tires. I took the car to the dealer today and they confirmed my issue. The dealer replaced a part on the transmission. The dealer has my old part. It cost me over $400.00 to repair. The dealer and manufacturer are aware of similar circumstances with this model. I started having issues two months ago without warning and the problem got steadily got worse. The car has 43300 miles on it. I have owned it since new. It has never been in any accidents.

NHTSA ODI 11502886

2019 GMC Acadia started producing error code of “shift to park” around 32,000 miles. This malfunction is directly connected to a know a non manufacturer flaw in the shifting mechanism shifter switch an faulty grounding. The error code “shift to park” will not allow you to properly shut off or start the car causing potential safety threats to individuals involved. This error code is a know issue with the shifting mechanism GMC has been putting in Acadia models for the last 5 plus years with no proper resolution to correct potential hazard for consumers. Recall Bulletins are in place for some 2009-2017 models currently,but only a temporary fix. Consumers are expected to pay for repairs for a manufacturer defective part that doesn’t meet nhtsa requirements. I would like to add the 2019 models to this list. Vehicle was inspected by GMC dealership and master mechanic.

NHTSA ODI 11502706

About five months ago, my GMC Acadia started displaying a warning when I would put the car in park, and try to turn it off. The engine would shut off, but the electrical portion of the car would stay on, and would not turn off, because the warning displaying said "SHIFT TO PARK". I have tried every conceivable way to try to get this to go off, but nothing works. My car has stay on for upwards of two and a half hours, to the point where my battery died in the car and left me stranded. There have been numerous accounts of this, as I had read them on forums, yet still no resolution has been published. I have tried taking it to be inspected, but nothing ever comes up. I have two very small children, and if I were to be in public and be stranded because my car wouldn't turn off.... I would be livid.. Also, because of this warning, it prevents the doors from being locked. That is another major concern for me, considering the day in age we're in.

NHTSA ODI 11495018

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle, the warning message to “Shift to Park” was illuminated. The contact was not able to shift the vehicle into park as needed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle however, the gear shifter failed to shift into park as needed. The contact manually turned the steering wheel from side to side while shifting the gear shifter until the vehicle responded and the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the contact was unaware of the result. The contact was concerned that the failure was due to the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there was no recall for the failure. The contact was informed that the repair would not be covered. The failure mileage was 35,000.

NHTSA ODI 11492269

The vehicle intermittently fails to recognize that it has been put into park, flashing a message on the dash instructing the driver to “shift to park” even when the gear lever have already been moved to the ‘P’ position. I find it amazing that GMC even has a Service Bulletin No.: 19-NA-206 to address the situation (Intermittent Shift to Park Message Displayed While Vehicle in Park) but yet I had to pay $561.47 for the repair to ensure I don't injure my passengers and/or others.

NHTSA ODI 11492195

Shift knob stuck. Car will say shift to park after turning off car. Ended up draining battery. Needed to replace it after 34000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11490802

With the vehicle shifter in park and the dash indicating in is in park I get an error message stating to "Shift into Park." This has happened serval times in the last few weeks intermittently. I am very concerned this will strand my wife and child or lead to the vehicle unintentionally rolling away while unattended. While talking to several technicians at a GM test facility I have been told this was/is a common issue. While searching the NHTSA complaints multiple multiple complaints for this issue have bee submitted.

NHTSA ODI 11489753