10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,650 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.

2018 GMC Acadia drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2018 GMC Acadia Owner Comments (Page 1 of 6)

problem #103

Jul 032024

Acadia

  • miles

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

I have increasing issues over the last several months, most especially this last week or so, with the SHIFT TO PARK. Every time I place it in park the dashboard says SHIFT TO PARK and bings at me continuously. I try turning the vehicle off and on again numerous times and have to place in reverse and park again a few times before it "clicks" into park and allows me to leave the vehicle. I know my year and model are part of a recall for this issue, there are class action lawsuits about it as well as Lemon Law incidents in numerous states. I have called GMC and received no help, I asked to escalate it to a manager, I was told that would happen within 24-48 hrs yet no manager ever called me. I was left to place a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and a GMC "scripted" representative called me and told me that MY vehicle has not been recalled, yet my model and year has been -- this makes zero sense since MY vehicle is having the recalled issue. I asked again to escalate it, a supervisor is supposed to call me within 2hrs (July 9th at 4:10pm EST) but emphasized that the supervisor will also tell me that GMC will NOT pay for my recall because my VIN has not been recalled. This is how they get away with not paying for the vehicles issues. HOW is my vehicle now NOT part of their recall when it's a known issue and my vehicle IS having this issue?? I drive 2 toddlers around, my grandchildren, and now I have this issue on a vehicle that is barely a few years old and I've only owned for 3 years. Again, my YEAR & MODEL vehicle has known issues with this SHIFT TO PARK and GMC is refusing to remedy it.

- East Stroudsburg, PA, USA

problem #102

Jun 222024

Acadia

  • miles
The transmission was failing to shift and jerking me forward in the vehicle. The check engine light came on. I was on the highway going at high speeds. Also, my vehicles Internet connection dropped. I pulled off the highway and turned off my vehicle. While starting my vehicle again and attempting to go into reverse, it would not reverse and it would not drive forward. It would just rev the RPMs. My vehicle has been sitting at the dealer for two weeks. They have not looked at it yet. The police were not called as there was not an accident, thankfully. The warning light came on as the vehicle was failing.

- Nebraska City, NE, USA

problem #101

Jun 302024

Acadia

  • miles
When I park the car it beeps and displays on the dash to please park the car. Even if I have it on park. Won't allow me to turn it off. Finally turned it off. Turned it back on. And it done it agian..

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #100

Jun 032024

Acadia

  • 120,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly accelerated and decelerated erratically, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart, but the failure persisted, and the vehicle was unable to accelerate above 20 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

- Winchendon, MA, USA

problem #99

May 112021

Acadia

  • miles
SHIFT TO PARK - I originally thought I was turning the car off too quickly. I would put the car in park and hit the button. Then I would get an error message (with Loud beeping) "SHIFT TO PARK." The car will not turn off completely or stop beeping until i turn it back on, and shift into drive and back into park. This last week the problem has escalated and keeps giving me the error message. I have had to leave my car with loud beeping and unlocked. I am driving with a battery charger hoping I will not have to use it. I am shocked this is NOT a recall.

- Carmel Valley, CA, USA

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problem #98

Apr 192024

Acadia

  • miles
I have this 2018 Acadia where all of a sudden, at random, the radiator fan runs on high constantly, the AC stops blowing cold air, the thermostat gauge on the dash drops to the C, and the Power Assist is reduced and pops up as a message on the dash as well. Sounds like this may be a common problem among Acadia's. It resets at random and everything appears to be normal for a while. In addition, there are no check engine lights and no codes to check. I have had this happening for over a year and had a dealership service the car but never said mentioned it as a problem. So now that it's out of warranty my and has more frequent occurrences now I''m more aware but now it's out of warranty. It comes up on an Acadia Forum as a common issue. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Mount Pleasant, WI, USA

problem #97

Nov 012023

Acadia

  • miles

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

I am communicating concerns about my 2018 GMC Acadia. I continue to have problems with the Park/shift to park. I have had this problem consistently escalating this year. It was occurring 2 or 3 times per month, now it is occurring weekly. I cannot turn off the vehicle when placed in park. I went to the dealer (FC Kerbeck) in New Jersey, where I was told I had to pay for this problem $515. This seems to be a manufacturer flaw. I think this is a recall part. This is not my responsibility, I did not do anything to my vehicle for this consistent problem. This -??shift to park-?? is dangerous, as it can lock you in your vehicle.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #96

Sep 012023

Acadia

  • miles
Vehicle shifts hard from 1st and while driving when getting up to speed from 2nd gear and 3rd, etc. Happens every time it's driven.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #95

Jun 212023

Acadia

  • miles
Power steering reduces and the temperature gage wont work and the fan is extremely loud so it decreases the steering and increases the fan so it can cool down the engine. Others have submitted a recall form for this same problem

- North East, PA, USA

problem #94

Jul 312023

Acadia

  • miles
After being driving vehicle will not shift into park. When shifter is moved into park position vehicle is not recognizing this and will continue to move. Gear shifter has to be wiggled around for vehicle to finally get into park or at all. Safety concerns - if vehicle is not in park mode vehicle can roll away or continue to move causing damage or injury to persons or property. Online research indicates this is a nationwide problem and there are several lawsuits against gmc concerning this issue. All instances seem to be associated with the Acadia.

- Kittanning , PA, USA

problem #93

Jul 182023

Acadia

  • miles

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

Numerous occurences especially recently of shift vehicle to park when vehicle has been parked, turned off and already shifted into park position. Several occurrences where almost every time within 24 hours I use my cruise control and air conditioner at the same time my check engine light will come on as well as the stability trac indicator which then causes my air conditioner not to work and inability to start the vehicle due to having a check engine light on.

- Grand Island, NE, USA

problem #92

May 052023

Acadia

  • 47,211 miles
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the transmission was shifted into park(P) however, the "Shift to Park" message was displayed after the contact pressed the Auto Start/Stop button. The contact had to depress the brake pedal while pushing the Auto Start/Stop button to turn the vehicle back on and then shift the transmission from drive(D) to Park(P) approximately 3-4 times before the failure was corrected. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the dealer had previously replaced the gear shift assembly; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,211.

- Concord, CA, USA

problem #91

Mar 312022

Acadia

  • miles
unknown

- Huntsville, AL, USA

problem #90

Apr 102023

Acadia

  • miles
We own a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali. Upon shifting the vehicle into park, we cannot turn off the engine. The vehicle gives us a "Shift to Park" message on the instrument panel. As a result, we are unable to shut off our engine and, to avoid the battery running out, are forced to attempt to move the shift lever in and out of "Park" to get the car to detect that the shift lever is in fact in -??Park.-??-??

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #89

Mar 282023

Acadia

  • miles
I shift the car into park but the vehicle tells me the car is not in park and won't shut off. GM charged me $656 to replace the switch and harness.

- Hilliard, OH, USA

problem #88

Mar 012022

Acadia

  • miles
Erroneous error code on heads up that car not in park. Appears to be in park, error code can be reset by activation/deactivation of trigger switch on shift lever. Provides unclear message if car is or is not in park, vagueness makes me question vehicle park status overall. Issue was very intermittent in 2022, frequency of erroneous error code increasing now happens 1 out of 5 times when shifting to park.

- Marcellus, NY, USA

problem #87

Oct 152022

Acadia

  • miles
2018 Acadia will display -??Shift to park-?? warning along with an audible warning when the vehicle is shut off. This happens even though the PRNDL display is in the -??Park-?? position each time. If I try to exit the vehicle, the audible warning continues (apparently indefinitely). This began at an odometer of about 59,200. Initially, the situation could be corrected by restarting the car and shifting in and out of Park or depressing the shift knob several times. Within a couple of hundred miles, it became consistent and eventually could not be corrected as described above. Unfortunately, this is not covered under warranty. I began driving for a few months without the shift knob, simply depressing the plunger on the shift rod coming up from the transmission. Doing this, the warning rarely occurs and, if it does, it-??s easily corrected with one or two presses of the plunger. Some modifications of the shift knob have allowed the knob to be used with results similar to driving without the knob. I hope there will be a software update (deployed over OnStar) to use the PRNDL information and eliminate this failed system.

- Columbiaville, MI, USA

problem #86

Jan 132023

Acadia

  • 46,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that intermittently when the gear was shifted into park(P) and the vehicle was turned off, the "shift into park(P)" message was displayed. The contact stated that she was unable to lock the vehicle and that the interior lights remained on. The vehicle was not yet taken to an independent mechanic or local dealer for diagnosis or repairs. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V516000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

problem #85

Jan 012021

Acadia

  • miles
Shift to park issue. Vehicle appears to be in park but message appears. You have to continuously wiggle shifter and shut car off and off until it registers it is in park. I have no way of knowing if vehicle is truly in park or not. For safety reasons I cannot park in an incline due to concerns the vehicle will roll backwards. Several TBS bulletins have been issued by GMC on this known issue and they deny any responsibility of fixing the situation with a recall. The NHTSA needs to step in and investigate and require GMC to remedy this dangerous defect

- Houghton , IA, USA

problem #84

Jan 012023

Acadia

  • miles
CAR DOES NOT GO INTO PARK AND WILL NOT SHUT OFF. says shift to park when this happens the car does not shut off correctly and must be restarted and jiggle shifter to turn off. this seems to be a well known problem and is on many years of Acadia

- Spartanburg, SC, USA

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