What 146 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 GMC Yukon Denali Xl

Total engine failure at 12,307 miles without warning. The engine turned off while driving on the Interstate - a message appeared on the instrument panel that said "Press start". We coasted to the shoulder and the car was towed to the dealership where the diagnosis was a failed L87 V8 engine. I'm aware of 3 others with the same engine (2024 Denali, 2024 Escalade, 2024, Silverado) that have also experienced this issue. After some research, this appears to be under review by the the NHTSA. This was a dangerous situation with an engine failure at highway speeds, at night, on an unlit well-traveled Interstate with 4 children in the vehicle. The dealership stated that my repair is behind 2 vehicles awaiting the same engine replacement.

NHTSA ODI 11642840

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine suffered a catastrophic failure, including a bottom-end bearing failure, causing the camshaft to seize, the flywheel to shear off, and metal to spread throughout the engine, cooling system, and radiator. This also tripped the main fuse, resulting in an electrical short. The failed engine is currently at the dealership and is available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I was driving on a 55 mph highway when the engine completely shut off without warning. Losing all power while traveling at highway speeds was extremely dangerous, and I was barely able to glide the vehicle to the side of the road before it lost momentum. It is terrifying to think of what could have happened had I not been able to get out of the travel lane in time, especially with other vehicles moving at high speeds around me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, the dealership diagnosed the issue and confirmed the engine failure. They have determined that a full engine replacement is necessary. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? The vehicle has been inspected by an authorized GMC dealership service center. I have not yet had it inspected by any other parties. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning lights or messages appeared before the engine shut off. The failure was completely sudden and unexpected, with no prior symptoms or indications of an issue.

NHTSA ODI 11641820

We are a military family and were stationed in Fort Wainwright, Alaska in 2024. We had orders to move our household and all logistics (ferry tickets, lodging, etc...) were in place to depart on [XXX]. Following our first incident of engine failure with a 2023 Yukon Denali (VIN: [XXX] ) on [XXX], we were forced to trade in the vehicle and purchase a 2024 Yukon Denali XL. On [XXX], my husband and I packed our three daughters and loaded the 2024 Yukon Denali XL (VIN [XXX] ) for a two-week Christmas vacation with our extended families. Just outside Collinsville, Alabama the vehicle automatically shifted into neutral where my husband lost control of the accelerator pedal. Thankfully, we were in the right lane and safely navigated to the shoulder. Had we been in the far-left lane of this busy interstate, our family’s safety would have been at significant risk. Once parked, the vehicle never started again. We waited a few hours for a tow truck and family to collect us and all our belongings. It snowed most of the day and was very cold and while waiting for assistance, our car battery died. The vehicle was towed to Royal GMC in Vestavia Hills, Alabama and diagnosed with engine failure requiring complete engine replacement. General Motors replaced the engine since the vehicle was under warranty; however, after two engine failures I do not trust that this won't happen again. I fear for my family's safety. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11641299

aside from constant electrical issues with the serial gateway module that gm refuses to replace many safety features fail regularly most importantly this replacement yukon for the 2023 with engine issues also has engine issues and the same 6.2L engine. When leaving my home and or driving on any decent up or downhill road and coasting the vehicle will misfire and trigger the MIL to flash. I’ve taken it into the dealer many times for this and in the end they say it’s a software problem with AFM disabling 5 cylinders. They claim that the geometry of the vehicle along with having 5 cylinders disabled causes the engine to vibrate enough to make it think it’s misfiring. this came from their factory field service tech. they refuse to fix it. they refuse to put this on paper. they told me if I wanted it fixed, I could buy a 2025 instead. this is insanity.

NHTSA ODI 11640765

Vehicle was traveling down the freeway at 70 mph when suddenly the motor stopped running and it shifted automatically into neutral. We had to coast the car off of the freeway to the side of the road and stop. One stopped the motor no longer would start and we had to call a tow truck to get towed to the dealership. Dealership has stated that the motor will be need to be replaced. Wheel samples were taken and results were excessive metals found in the oil. Dealer noted likely it was a bearing issue that failed in caused the motor to fail. A complete engine replacement will be required from the dealership

NHTSA ODI 11639992

On [XXX], I was driving approximately 70 MPH on [XXX] when the engine stopped without warning. I had the vehicle towed to Causley GMC where it was repaired. I was on the way home from Causley driving on [XXX] when the engine stopped again. I had it towed back to Causley. The next day they called me and said that the engine was destroyed and needed to be replaced. Both times it stalled I was on the expressway and if I were not able to coast to the side of the road, I would have been in a very dangerous position for me and everyone else on the highway. There was not a warning before the engine stopped, so it was very fortunate for me that I had enough momentum to be able to coast far enough to get in a safe position.

NHTSA ODI 11639873

Two weeks ago, while driving on the highway, our Yukon suddenly quit accelerating and flipped into neutral. We had to quickly pull over to the left shoulder with our entire family. We put the vehicle into park and tried to restart, which it wouldn’t do. We ended up having to call OnStar and having it towed to the nearest dealer. They “repaired it,” yet a week later, the same thing happened while pulling up to a stop light. This time we were 4 hours from home and on a weekend. While waiting for a tow truck, the police towed it to an impound lot. Lots of money, time and red tape to get it out of the impound lot to the nearest dealer to have it looked at. It’s been there almost a week and all I’ve heard is that it’s most likely the motor but they still haven’t confirmed.

NHTSA ODI 11639238

2024 gmc Yukon with less than 2,000 miles decided not to start one day. Had a tow truck come to the house and pick it up to take to a local shop to get a new battery. Replaced the battery and the battery shop delivered to car back to our house and was totally fine…the next day we went to start it and again the battery was toast. So, got another tow truck to deliver to the dealership and had it checked out, the dealership says there are 12 codes popping up and they can’t figure out why the batteries are not holding at this point. This is a diesel Yukon. We had a 2022 Escalade that the motor went belly up on us 3 times before we bought this diesel Yukon thinking this problem would go away but I guess I was wrong. I will be returning this Yukon to the dealership and doing a buyback. We have been stranded way too many times with these gm vehicles and I’m starting to loose trust with General Motors.

NHTSA ODI 11638980

I was driving on the highway and my car signaled a "Low Oil Pressure". I pulled over and checked the oil level which confirmed I had the proper amount of oil in the engine. I turned on engine and began to drive again. Five minutes later I got a warning saying "No Oil. Turn Engine Off" and pulled over immediately. Had the car towed to GMC Beck and Masten Dealership the same day. Next day GMC Beck and Masten dealership ran diagnostics and didn't find any issues other than confirming the computer showed some "communication issues". They reset the computer system and called me and said I was good to go. I picked up my SUV and a mile away from home I notice the oil gauge was almost at zero. As I turned slowly to my street the SUV just stopped moving in the middle of a road while an 18 wheeler was behind me in a construction zone. 18 wheeler had to swerve to the right to prevent hitting me. I had the car towed again. The week after dealership called and said "you will stay in your rental and we are ordering an engine" casually. I called to understand what was going on but had to look in car forums to realize this was bigger than just a glitch in one car.

NHTSA ODI 11639086

While accelerating up to 55MPH, the vehicle automatically shifted into neutral without warning. We tried to shift it back into Drive, nothing happened. We pulled off the road to try and shift in a reduced speed and still nothing. We finally came to a stop and tried to shift it into Drive, still nothing. There was an error message: “conditions not correct for shift”. We place vehicle into Park, turned off the engine and tried to restart. The engine wouldn’t turn over. A police officer stopped and tried to jump the battery, nothing. The dashboard and lights turn on, but there was ZERO turn over with the ignition. We continued to try it to no avail. We had a tow company come and unplug the battery to try a system reset, and still nothing. Car was towed with no ability to get it into neutral.

NHTSA ODI 11638219

1/14/25 car lost acceleration, power steering, power braking while driving on the interstate. no warning. car switched to neutral and would not be put back into drive and stopped running. eventually restarted and drove towards a safe location with rough shifting for another few miles before the loss of power again and began making loud engine sounds. at this point the car died again and did not restart. this was the first time any check engine or warning light came on.

NHTSA ODI 11638387

The contact owns a 2024 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 45 MPH. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power. The contact pulled off the roadway. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving uphill. The vehicle was towed to the dealer ,where it was diagnosed with a possible engine failure; however, the contact was informed that the engine needed to be disassembled to confirm the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

NHTSA ODI 11638393

On [XXX], while traveling from Florida to Kentucky to visit family for the holidays, our Yukon XL began to make a noise that mimicked that of a car going over Rumble strips on the highway. This happened at approximately the Tennessee Kentucky state lines. We stopped the car and contacted OnStar who then ran a remote diagnostic and stated that they could not tell if anything was wrong with our vehicle and recommend seeking out a GMC repair center once we arrived at our destination. The technician at the GMC dealership after evaluating our vehicle told us that there was metal in the oil filter and that the engine would need to be replaced. Our Car was not safe to drive or return to our home over 800 miles away. No warning lights came on in the vehicle to warn us that the car was at risk or failing. We are still without out our car as another engine has not been secured by GM. Our Car is still in Kentucky at the dealership who found the problem and is inoperable. Our car is 9 months old and had only approximately 13,000 miles on it and all service has been completed at a GMC dealership. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11638142

2024 Yukon AT4 14,214 miles. I heard a metal dropping sound that morning but otherwise it acted fine. I thought something fell in the vehicle but nothing was there. No lights came on. Then later that day it just died at a light in town. Suddenly received low oil pressure warning and vehicle shutting off. Happened out of no where. Was able to start it and get off out of middle of road. It continued to die over and over and then finally wouldn’t start again. Towed to dealership. Dealership able to start it once there but stated check engine light was on. We called for an update after a week of waiting and were told that it needs a new engine.

NHTSA ODI 11637677

Was driving on the interstate when the engine stopped running. My screens went off and came on saying to press the start button to turn on as my car is still moving. Once pulled over couldn’t get the car to turn off or shift out of park. Engine never started since then. Mechanics looking at the Yukon have verified that my engine did seize up. My car is less than a year old.

NHTSA ODI 11637189

Was driving on highway when the engine started to labor. Without notice the car flipped into neutral. Obviously this was very dangerous going from acceleration to no engine power. I barely made it to the side of the highway by crossing two lanes to get there. When on the side of the road the car went into park and was unable to move to any other modes. Not even neutral. Again very lucky to have gotten off on the shoulder. Once the car came to a stop we were stuck for good. Had to get towed 60 miles or the nearest dealership with my wife and two young children. Took the car to a GMC dealership who said; “yeah this has been happening with the V8s”. It has now been 30 days and still no updates from GM outside of them waiting on a new engine. Also GM only gives you $44/day for a rental car which doesn’t even come close to covering a like kind vehicle. We had a 2024 Yukon Denali. I am now without a car and the only communication I am getting from GM and the GMC dealership is to wait until they receive and replace the engine, which they say should hopefully fix the problem. I am not taking the risk that this could happen again with my family in the car. Looking to get some form of a buyout and move into a different car.

NHTSA ODI 11636879

My wife was driving our 2024 Yukon Denali XL when, without warning or any indications, the engine shut down. She lost power to the car car in the middle of a highway, endangering herself, our children and other drivers on the road. She was unable to restart the car or change the gears. She had to call the police to help and they ordered a tow truck to have the car towed. The car had been in for an oil change 2 days prior at the dealership. We had the car towed there and they confirmed the engine needed to be replaced. Looks like we can add this to the laundry list of other GM trucks with the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11636688

On November 13, 2024 I was operating my vehicle at approximately 55 miles per hour when it suddenly experienced complete engine failure. The incident occured at 10 o'clock at night, and the loss of power resulted in the immediate shutdown of all vehicle systems, including headlights. Due to the unexpected nature of the failure, I was unable to bring the vehicle to an immediate stop. Fortunately, my three children and I escaped the incident without injury. The vehicle eventually came to a stop, and I was able to assess the situation and contact OnStar. The vehicle was towed to dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11636730

Driving on highway and engine cut off with no warning. No dash lights to show a warning. 3321 miles on engine. The vehicle was unable to be put in neutral for the police to push it out of the highway. Three Moncks Corner police cars surrounded the vehicle to maintain safety. The vehicle was towed to the dealership. Needed a new engine and cooling system. The engine and cooling system were both replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11615498

1 Adaptive cruise stopped me several times for no reason as there was nothing on the interstate and the weather was clear. This was very jarring at 80 miles per hour on the interstate created a hazardous and dangerous driving condition as cars were all around, almost was rear-ended. 1a Adaptive cruise started all the sudden when I was stopped at an intersection almost caused a wreck, as soon as I took my foot off the break it speed up, but I was able to veer off and break several more times. The adaptive cruise should automatically go off when the brakes are applied. 1b Cruise control will not activate sometimes (it is intermittent). 2 Sensors do not work properly and do not go off to warn if I have driven to close to something, this has happened several times after I became aware of it and after front bumper was damaged. 2 Garage door opener works sometimes, this means I have to get out unlock the house go shut the garage door and relock the house... very unsettling. 3 Android Auto goes out continuously and will not reconnect even though the maps are still on my phone and everything is setup correctly. This also creates a hazardous condition when driving on the highway in unfamiliar areas causing me to miss turns and unable to navigate through traffic. 4 Seat, adjustable setting does not work when entering the vehicle, only upon exit. 5 Mirrors do not automatically fold when parking the vehicle as they did when I purchased the GMC. 6 Rearview camera doesn't turn off automatically after reverse parking has to be done manually while driving. There are so many issues with this vehicle. I have serious concerns with the safety of this Yukon. I have filed a lemon law with GM on the Yukon. The GM representative Lied in the abrtration stating there was a recall that would fix these issues....The dealer was notified within a week of the purchase but had me wait until GM had a software fix.... They stated the software update should take care of all the issue

NHTSA ODI 11613262

Audio intermittently goes out. This includes radio sound, OnStar blinker indication sound, audible safety warnings and pedestrian alerts.

NHTSA ODI 11591157