Home · 2019 GMC Acadia Limited · Complaints

What 374 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 GMC Acadia Limited

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (374)Crash / fire / injury (8)Transmission & drivetrain (150)Electrical system (103)Engine (47)Steering (30)Brakes (16)Lights (10)Driver assistance (6)Lane Departure (6)Engine & cooling (5)Suspension (5)

Newest first · 374 complaints · page 6 of 15

Jun 18, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

Car has delayed shifting, and jolting when switching gears. Transmission temp gets up to 270 degree while driving

NHTSA ODI 11667598

Jun 9, 2025Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemEngine

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

May 27, 2025Electrical systemBrakes

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

May 23, 2025Engine

While driving the thermostat will go to zero and the steering assist is disabled. I have read a lot of forums that this is a known issue. The only way to reset it, so we have A/C is to disconnect the battery and it will last a day or two and do the same thing.

NHTSA ODI 11662786

May 21, 2025

“Park to shift “ warning keeps showing up when shift the gear to PARK.

NHTSA ODI 11662448

May 18, 2025Transmission & drivetrainEngine

My 2019 GMC Acadia with 33,000 miles on it started to give me a notification to "Shift to Park" even though I had already shifted the vehicle into park. A "ding! ding! ding!" alarm wouldn't go off and the vehicle wouldn't turn off unless I repeatedly changed the gears until it read it was in park. This went on for a few weeks and got progressively worse. I read on a GMC forum that the vehicle could slip out of gear while driving and potentially cause an accident. My mechanic found the shifter assembly to be defective and replaced the entire Gearshift Lever Assembly. He said there was a plastic piece in the gearshift that snapped off and said this was an issue in the older models but thought GMC had fixed this issue by 2019. Unfortunately, I was past my 3 year / 36K mile warranty and had to fork over $1300 to have it repaired.

NHTSA ODI 11661704

May 15, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

Our Arcadia 2019 with 40000 miles has shift to park problem. 2017 thru some 2019 had recall notice and were fixed by GMC. Why doesn't it apply to this vehicle. We had to pay $1500 to dealer. There is an obvious problem and they have admitted it. Time for government to step in or do a class action lawsuit looks like they are filed by state

NHTSA ODI 11661318

May 9, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that occasionally while attempting to park the vehicle and shifting the gear selector into park(P), the message "Please Shift to Park" was displayed; however, there was no warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to turn off the vehicle during the failure. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000.

NHTSA ODI 11660013

May 8, 2025

I am receiving a "Shift to Park" notification on most instances that I shift the car into park. When this warning engages, the car will not allow me to turn it off as it does not recognize that it is in park. After researching this issue, I found that there is a GM Recall for 2017-2019 GMC Acadias for this very issue. However, my VIN is not included in the recall so I do not qualify to have the issue fixed and would have to pay a substantial amount out of pocket.

NHTSA ODI 11659781

May 6, 2025Electrical system

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

May 3, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

Some times when vehicle is shifted into park it doesn’t recognize it is in park. I have to turn the vehicle off and restart it, shift into drive and back into park. Sometimes it takes a few times. My neighbor has a 2018 Traverse and had the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11658713

Apr 30, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon reaching his destination and shifting the vehicle into park, the vehicle failed to recognize that that the shift lever was in park. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The shift to park warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 61,000.

NHTSA ODI 11657898

Apr 29, 2025Electrical system

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

Apr 22, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

When shifting into Park the car still states to "shift into park" on the dash and will not fully shut off. i still need to take the car into the dealer for service to fix. This seems to be an issue.

NHTSA ODI 11656065

Apr 18, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

For 3 weeks now, my dash keeps telling me to shift to park when my gear shift is already in park. Car will not allow me to secure it because it thinks the car is not in park!

NHTSA ODI 11655340

Apr 14, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

I have a 2019 GMCAcadia Denali with less than 60000 miles. The problem I have with the vehicle is I get a error that say "Park to Shift. I don' know if it is in park or not. I am afraid that it isn't in park and will create a safety issue and injuries. It is my understanding that the same problem with the 2020+ GMC Acadia and is listed in a RECALL. Why isn't 2019 not included in this recall?

NHTSA ODI 11654447

Apr 3, 2025

When you go to park the car and put it in park the car says shift to park with it already being in park. It is concerning that the vehicle is not recognizing it being in park

NHTSA ODI 11652523

Mar 15, 2025SteeringSpeed controlFuel system

Im a travel nurse and I was working in Vermont. As I was driving on the highway in New York on my way back home a shift to park light came on, a stabilitrak light came on, power steering light came on, ABS light came on, and my check engine light also came on. My vehicle started slowing down as I was driving and my lights on my dashboard were turning on and off and my speedometer was not working. I was able to pull to the side off the highway so I could get out of harms way. I made a call to OnStar for help and they asked to if I made it to a safe location. As the car was still on I was able to take the next exit and ended up in an auto zone parking lot. As I made it in the parking lot I turned the vehicle off but only the engine turned off but everything else stayed on and the shift to park light kept coming on when the vehicle was in park. I was in the parking lot for 3-4 hours freezing in my vehicle until onstar came to tow my vehicle. By the time onstar came my battery in my car had drained and it was a new battery. I was told that I would have to contact auto transport to transport my vehicle to Louisiana at the dealership where the vehicle was purchased. I paid $1600 to transport my vehicle back home and I had to find a way to make it back to Louisiana. I didn’t have a credit card so a friend of mine was able to rent me a vehicle to get home and I paid a total of $1700 on a rental because the dealership in Louisiana couldn’t give me a time or date the vehicle would have been finished. I have been to the dealership 3 times now for the same problem in less than a week. I have paid $1500 altogether to fix damages on my car that I noticed other vehicles with the same make and model had the same issues. I never had a problem with my vehicle before everything just started happening all at once. I’m currently having to pay for car rentals to get to and from work and to make sure my kids get back and forth to school. My vehicle in at the dealership again for the 3rd t

NHTSA ODI 11648452

Feb 19, 2025Transmission & drivetrainElectrical system

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

Feb 18, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(P), the message to “Shift to Park” was displayed. The contact shifted from park to neutral and back to park until the proper gear was recognized. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

NHTSA ODI 11643501

Feb 16, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

Shift to park. Shows it’s in park but it is not

NHTSA ODI 11643022

Feb 4, 2025

Intermittent Shift to Park Message Displayed While Vehicle in Park,DTCB000ASet. Known problem and service bulletin issued but no recall has been issued. Second safety problem Safety features disabled, unknown reason why.

NHTSA ODI 11640709

Jan 17, 2025Engine

Our 2019 was repaired back in 2021 for a "shift to park" issue. This same issue is happening again after 2 years of being repaired. We see that there is a major issue with GMC vehicles and there have been recalls for this same exact issue. GMC Coleman, Lawrence NJ is refusing to fix problem under a recall. We would like this to be covered or reimbursed.

NHTSA ODI 11636424

Jan 16, 2025Electrical systemBrakes

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

Jan 16, 2025Lane Departure

Driver side blind spot not longer works. When driving the blind spot indicator just stopped working a month ago and I didn't take notice until I almost hit another car. I contacted gmc about this issue as well and was also told there isn't any recall for this and it would have to be diagnosed by there mechanics. There were no other issues prior to this. Also the "shift to park" warning has been popping up for 3 days now when my car is in park. My car won't complete shut everything off until that warning is turned off. I called GMC of puyallup and was told only certain vin qualifies for the recall for the gmc 2019 acadia. That's absolutely ridiculous! I can't exit my vehicle until the car senor knows my vehicle is in park which is a major concern and safety issue because my home is on a slope.

NHTSA ODI 11636321

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Working with the data? Download all 374 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2019 GMC Acadia Limited verdict →