10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,749 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 GMC Acadia electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 GMC Acadia Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #21

Jan 242024

Acadia

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving and all of a sudden my drivers seat started to move foward and down and then eventually reclined fully back and then stopped. Now my seat is permanently reclined. I could have been killed or seriously injured because the seat was moving while I was driving the car and I felt I could have been smushed into the steering wheel.

- Maple Grove, MN, USA

problem #20

Aug 162023

Acadia

  • 120,186 miles
Transmission is slipping Brakes / sometimes hydraulics not working properly Side and back sensors not working at all, malfunctioning of electrical components, while driving, all electronics inside vehicle went blank, anti theft system locked up, went to shut off car, will not start after the failed, oil consumption at 23% life oil cycle, oil pressure low, and engine locked up,

- Jackson, MN, USA

problem #19

Apr 052023

Acadia

  • miles
Special Coverage Adjustment N172097060 Side Blind Zone Alert Module Water Intrusion was issued for my vehicle. I took it in to get fixed and was told I was past the 6 year extension (May 2022) but under the milage (79,199). They told me the parts are on back order from GMC. This was on 04-03-2023. On 04-05-2023 I was driving my vehicle and the instrument cluster went partially blank. I lost my speedometer, tachometer and most of the other gauges. I had numerous warning lights on. The blinkers stopped working and I had no control of any environmental controls or radio functions. I pulled off the side of the road and shut the vehicle off. I tried to restart it, it started but even more things began to fail electrically. I shut if off again, tried another restart and now it would not start. I tried multiple times and could not get it to start. With the car off and the key out of the ignition, the heater control panel would stay on and the fan was running. I tried a few more times and finally got it to run but still had no instrumentation. I was less than a mile from home and tried to make it back. While driving I had no electrical control of anything and no way to determine my speed. I made it back, but now my vehicle will not start at all. With the key out it still runs the heater controls and fan. This is a dangerous situation not being able to control your vehicle electrical systems and being able to start your vehicle. This needs to be a recall, NOT a manufacture " Special coverage adjustment" that they know is a known issue and dont even have to parts to fix it.

- Bloomington, MN, USA

problem #18

Mar 012022

Acadia

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The transmission is not changing gears and is shifting hard. Both Passanger side automatic electric windows will not go back

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #17

Mar 012023

Acadia

  • miles
Recently the "Service Side Detection System" light came on. Now the blind side monitoring doesn't work. While driving all of lights on the dash, radio, and headlights turned off. I was unable to see the road, my speed, or anything within the vehicle. I did some research and this is a vary common issue with these vehicles and nothing has been done to correct it.

- Eastlake, OH, USA

problem #16

Sep 012022

Acadia

  • miles
Passenger side carpeting and foam are soaked from a leakage somewhere. The fuse panel under glove box is soaked and not working correctly. Water is almost making its way into battery under passenger side rear floor. Rust has formed under the shifting console. Car is moldy. No one can tell me what is happening but thousands of complaints online regarding GMC Acadia all have this problem. My vehicle is useless 20,000 in the driveway and cannot drive. Not to mention me and my kids have been driving in mold for who knows how long. GMC needs to fix this issue before they have a class action lawsuit on their hands.

- Davenport, FL, USA

problem #15

May 292022

Acadia

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

this is a follow up to my last report. My dealer service dept told me my "side detection modules" blew a fuse. When the fuse blew it should have turned them off. It didn't. The modules stayed on 24/7 until all my electrical components went haywire and burned my battery out. After spending $250 on a new battery, I had issues again with the alerts coming on my DIC. After extensive tracing of the electrical issue by my local GMC dealer, he told me the side detection modules staying on 24/7 caused not only my battery to burn out but caused the wires to burn to the rear electrical harness. He stated this is a defect with the modules and this could have caused a fire right under where my three children sit! I now have to wait indefinitely to get the modules that my service dealer ordered because so many people are having this same issue that they are on back order FOREVER! So my service dealer had to turn off the modules after he replaced the fused wires and wire harness and I have to drive with that alert on 24/7. This is a disgrace to GMC that this is a recall for other Acadia years but not my 2016 model! Other GMC Acadia owners need to be alerted to this potential SERIOUS fire hazard!

- Evanston, WY, USA

problem #14

Jun 062022

Acadia

  • miles
I received an error stating -??service side detection system-?? first. Then I started having issues with every error code coming up, side air bag, the side detection lights staying on at all times while engine is on, and I lost my radio entirely. Without my radio I have back up camera! A dealership told me my wire harness is defective, either a frayed wire, corroded wire, and that it is blowing all my fuses. This is before they have completed my service, at my expense. The electrical system runs my car!! Side detection system issues are a SAFETY ISSUE!! It seems this is not the first GMC has heard of this but their response is nothing! How can this safety issue be allowed to continue with GMC not taking steps to fix it in a recall?

- Evanston, WY, USA

problem #13

Jul 092020

Acadia

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the driver-??s side seat control panel had detached from the seat without warning. The contact had initially taken the vehicle to a dealer where the seat panel was replaced out of pocket. Recently, the contact discovered that the same panel was fractured for the second time. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact made another appointment with the same dealer for the same failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

- Livingston, TX, USA

problem #12

Feb 052021

Acadia

  • 41,000 miles
I have a 2016 GMC Acadia denali that has a "service side detection" error on the dic. Called in the GMC and there is a special coverage adjustment #N172097060 on this issue. It is supposed to be valid for 6 years / 80,000 miles. My Acadia has 41,000 on it. When GMC entered my VIN, it doesn't show up as being covered"? how can some be covered and some not if they all seem to have this issue"

- Keosauqua, IA, USA

problem #11

May 172020

Acadia

  • 43,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Service side detection system warning started alerting me a few weeks back. This now is the second time that it has affected all the electronics in my car. Sending me random error messages and affecting the car from operating in a safe condition. Car would not start for 40 min. Once I finally got it started, none of the gauges worked and turn signals were not going off in the car. Luckily I was close enough to home, but this could be a serious safety issue if I was far from home. Car was not in motion as I started to notice issues and pulled to the side of the road. Noticed as I was pulling up to a stop and the brakes were not working correctly and started to get traction notices from the system in the car.

- Geneva, IL, USA

problem #10

Mar 032020

Acadia

  • 77,911 miles
The traction warning suddenly comes on then the stability service warning jumps on....automatically lowering my speed while I'm on the freeway driving. When I pull over and turn the car off then turn it back on...the light goes away. This happened several times. Dealership can not find anything wrong. It happens when I hit a pot hole or speed bump

- Eastpointe, MI, USA

problem #9

Aug 292019

Acadia

  • 67,000 miles
Side detection modules failed, don't work and notify of blind spots

- Smithfield, UT, USA

problem #8

Mar 012019

Acadia 6-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the front passenger window was inoperable. The contact mentioned that the window was not able to be controlled from the driver's side door panel. The vehicle was taken to poage Chevrolet (851 w pearce blvd, wentzville, mo 63385, (636) 327-6268) where the driver's side window control was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,000.

- Wentzville, MO, USA

problem #7

Jul 182019

Acadia

  • 48,566 miles
My key is stuck in the ignition and will not release on my 2016 GMC Acadia. The battery had to be replaced because it was completely draining my electrical system. It has been determined that my car is not recognizing it is in park to release the key. The floor shifter needs to be replaced according to my GMC dealership. This is extremely dangerous as the car could drift at any time, not to mention the strain on the battery.

- Towson, MD, USA

problem #6

Mar 152019

Acadia

  • miles
Side blind zone alert message is displayed on the driver instrument cluster and side blind zone lights in mirrors are always on. Condition has been intermittent since about 50000 miles and now is in the condition permanently rendering this safety feature useless.

- Kohler, WI, USA

problem #5

May 012016

Acadia

  • miles
The screen mentions the stabilitrak isn't working and the truck looses power and shuts off. The transmission isn't shifting properly. The truck looses power out of no where al so saying the traction control isn't working. It happens all at random times.

- Elmsford, NY, USA

problem #4

Oct 202018

Acadia

  • 47,000 miles
Side blind spot detection modules not working. This creates a safety hazard in general, but causes an electrical short internally and causes other electrucal parts to malfunction such as: Air bags ignition blinkers rear back up camera front crash detection these are all major safety issues that happen on the road, in motion for my family in the car and others on the road. We need to get it fixed but, parts are back ordered and not available for almost 6 months now. It's a $1200 repair and is re occurring problem from what the dealer has said.. this vehicle has been in service for just over 3 years and should be safe to drive for a much longer duration than that. Thanks

- Kronenwetter, WI, USA

problem #3

Jan 242018

Acadia

  • 26,000 miles
My wifes vehicle which is our family vehicle has had several reoccurring issues. We have brought the vehicle to the dealership several times and have not resolved the problem as it is still on going. The problem does not happen all the time but is extremely scary. While driving the vehicle will alert that you are about to have a collision but there is nothing in front of you just a vehicle to the side of you and will break on its own. This has happened numerous times but the dealership has not been able to replicate the problem. We also had service stabilitrak, traction control off and the service traction control lights come on the dash while driving. When these came on the vehicle started to shake horribly and the RPM's dropped to under 1000 while still going 40 mph. I have also had on a few occasions the backup camera say vehicle guiding lines unavailable while reversing and while driving randomly the vehicle with say park assist off then disappear after several minutes. Just 2 weeks ago I went to start the vehicle and it said service theft deterrent system and would not start until I disconnected the battery and waited a few minutes to reconnect the battery and re-start the vehicle. We brought the vehicle to sheehan GMC in lighthouse point Florida 4 times for these specific issues and received no resolution. After contacting GMC we received no assistance until I filed lemon law which then they sent an engineer who stated after a 2 hour inspection there was no replication of problems and vehicle is operating as normal. This vehicle is a death trap and not safe to drive my family in. I will not purchase another GM product.

- Tamarac, FL, USA

problem #2

Aug 192016

Acadia

  • 8,000 miles
On multiple occasions the vehicle has completely shut-down, while sitting stationary in traffic with the brakes applied (once at stoplight, another time backing out from driveway with brake applied prior to transitioning to drive) each occasion the vehicle was restarted with no issue or warning lights. 1st time taken to dealer, no "codes" were found and were unable to re-create problem, and sent home. Currently at dealer for the 2nd time and still unable to retrieve error codes or re-create. Currently contacting GM for assistance. Vehicle purchased new in December 2016 from North star GMC in Pennsylvania, and currently has less than 10K miles.

- Cranberry Twp, PA, USA

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