10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,725 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2018 GMC Acadia Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #35

Feb 222020

Acadia

  • 17,300 miles

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

Vehicle will not acknowledge that it is in park. Forces electrical to stay on, and sometimes will not engage park so vehicle can move as if I'm neutral. Has thus far happened with vehicle stopped, but you can sometimes shut off engine and exit vehicle when it is not in park and can roll against you, or on kids exiting etc. Vehicle rolled in garage and struck, and could have crushed child against door.

- Darien, CT, USA

problem #34

Feb 112020

Acadia

  • 18,000 miles
"shift to park" message reads on dash, when the car is in park and then it wont let you turn the car off. I have spend over 20 minutes trying to get it to "read" that the car is in park. I even took it into GMC to "fix" the problem. They "fixed" it but now it is happening again.

- Gig Harbor, WA, USA

problem #33

Jan 212020

Acadia

  • 10,000 miles
Multiple occasions when driving vehicle, then attempting to shift from drive to park and actually in park an error comes on 'shift to park' comes on, I've taken it to dealership and they blame me on some light bulbs I changed, well I changed them back and still error occurs. Unfortunately when that happens I can't lock my vehicle for some time until multiple times of turning on and off the vehicle. (2) while driving forward, my rear camera would be displaying live everything behind me, which was very distracting, took it to the dealership, I think they fixed

- Edinburg, TX, USA

problem #32

Jan 132020

Acadia

  • 20,000 miles

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

The vehicle sometimes fails to recognize that it has been put into park, flashing a message on the dash instructing me to 'shift to park' even when the gear lever have already been moved to the 'P' position.

- Fairfield Glade, TN, USA

problem #31

Jun 232019

Acadia

  • 31,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to turn the vehicle off with the start/off button, the vehicle contact was alerted in the message center of the vehicle to place the vehicle in the park. The contact stated the gear shift lever was already in the park position when the message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to hertrich Buick GMC located at 26953 sussex hwy, seaford, de 19973, 302-629-9144 to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the ignition needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000. The VIN was not available.

- Seaford, DE, USA

problem #30

Sep 192019

Acadia

  • 39,000 miles
My 2018 Acadia keeps giving error message "shift to park", it has drained my battery twice I had to get new one. In order to shut off error, I have to restart ignition and move shifter to drive or reverse several times before error message to shut off. At times the vehicle still thinks it is on and then drains battery. I brought it in on September 2019 and the dealership replaced the harness however it has started again. My warranty is about to expire. If this happens again I will need to pay out of pocket. I have not received any recall notifications from GMC. This is very frustrating and it is a safety hazard as we don't know if car is on park.

- Canyon Country, CA, USA

problem #29

Nov 052019

Acadia

  • 28,000 miles

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

I am getting a error message "shift to park" even when the vehicle is clearly in park. It drains the battery because you can't shut off the vehicle with the message. Have to jiggle the shifter after several attempts it may clear the message. Had one time I got out with the error message and the vehicle began to roll with no one in it even though the shifting area said "P" for park. And sitting in my garage with car running could not get the shifter to move to reverse, drive, anything, had to shut it off 3 times before it would register. Have had the wiring harness already replaced.

- Owensville, IN, USA

problem #28

Dec 052019

Acadia

  • 12,000 miles
On December 5th 2019, I arrived home from work to take my son to his dr. Apt. I pulled into my driveway around 10:30am. I left the car on so my son wouldn't have to go into a cold car, being he way sick. I ran into my house where my mother was watching both my sons. I said to my mom, let me use the restroom quickly before I get his coat on. I was no more than 2 mins. As I stepped out the bathroom, I hear my husband screaming from up stairs the car is on fire! he comes running down there stairs as fast as he can, almost injuring himself because he didn't see me yet and thought I was in the car! he then sees me and grabs the fire extinguisher. He runs outside to try and extinguish the fire..as I called the franklin square fire department and 911. But in under the 5 mins the car was engulfed in flames! we had to then evacuate the house because the garage is an attached garage and the car was in the driveway of the garage. My poor kids were frightened for their life as we rushed them out the house as their mommys car was up in flames..they were crying their eyes out in fear. The fire caught onto the tree on the front lawn as well as destroying the garage and driveway. I cried extensively thinking of the what ifs...what if I put my son and I directly into the car, without using the restroom that day. What if this had occurred when I was driving on the parkway with my whole family in the vehicle. This vehicle was a death trap that almost took my life and my family. We found that their had been a recall on the GMC Acadia for the 2017-2018 editions. I having a 2018, where was my notification of a recall" where was my letter..email..call from GM" I have numerous friends the recommend the GMC Acadia as a great family car. They are all now scared to death because of what happened to me. Non feel safe using their vehicle now.

- West Hempstead, NY, USA

problem #27

Dec 082019

Acadia

  • 32,000 miles
I put the car in park, but the instrument panel reads "shift to park." The engine turns off, but the electrical system stays on because the car doesn't think it's actually in park. I have to turn the engine back on, shift to another gear, shift back to park, and turn the engine off to see if it registers that the car is in park. I've had to do this several times before the car actually registers that its in park and will completely turn off.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #26

Nov 282019

Acadia

  • 26,000 miles
The shift to park action required keeps popping up when I go to turn my car off. The car will be in park. I will have to turn the car on and off multiple times before the notification goes away and than im able to get out of the car.

- Freeport, FL, USA

problem #25

Dec 022019

Acadia

  • 29,100 miles

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

My 2018 GMC Acadia slt-1 has been having acceleration issues like shuddering and or feels like a full loss of power, with no check engine light. I've taken it into the dealership twice for this problem. I've only taken it in this 2nd time because it got worse and scared me that it would die on the highway. It also has had to have the battery charged 3 times in a couple of weeks, yet the dealer says the battery checks good. At the least I believed since its under warranty they would change the battery in the case the computer is causing issues based on battery voltage. The alternator is working, but with only 29K miles none of this battery nor acceleration shudder and stumble like its going to die should be acceptable.

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #24

Aug 012019

Acadia

  • 36,000 miles
Receive a shift to park issue when trying to turn off the car. Have to move the shift to drive and back to park multiple times before it allows me to shut off the car. After a month or so it started draining my battery. I had to pay to replace the shift assembly and replace the battery. It's been less than 2 months and I'm starting to get the message again!

- Yukon, OK, USA

problem #23

Nov 062019

Acadia

  • 29,000 miles
The vehicle will not always go into park. In order to get it into park you have to repeatedly shift out of park and back into park until it will go into park. If it is not in park the vehicle will not lock and will not power down. Since it will not go into park if the vehicle was on a hill and it did not go into park then it would have the chance to roll down the hill. I have not attempted to see if it will roll down the hill nor am I going to try but seeing how it shows on the instrument cluster that the vehicle is in neutral I'm sure it will roll if given the chance. When shutting off the vehicle after you have put the vehicle in park on the gear selector a message comes up on the screen that says shift to park it has taken up to 20 tries of shifting the vehicle in and out of park until park will engage. As you can see in the picture all gauges are at their lowest point showing no power to the vehicle and the shift indicator is in the neutral position with the message on the display reading shift to park.

- Alexander, AR, USA

problem #22

Oct 052019

Acadia

  • 13,000 miles
Dead battery at 12,973 miles. Replaced battery. Also at 13013 miles 'put in park' message and beeping when the car is in park. Car will not shut off, cannot be locked and continues loud beeping. Repaired by dealer. At 13268 miles 'put in park' message and beeping when car is in park is happening again. Also, dashboard lights sometimes do not come on and sometimes shut off when driving. Is going back for repair again. Battery is losing amps.

- Amelia Island, FL, USA

problem #21

May 012019

Acadia

  • 43,000 miles
1 out of 2 times a day when I put the vehicle in park it gives me a warning to shift to park on the electronic dash. Even though the shift is sitting in the park position. So I have to restart the car, take it out of park and shift back to park multiple times before the warning goes away. This warning prevents the car from completely shutting down

- Maple Heights, OH, USA

problem #20

Oct 242019

Acadia

  • 36,865 miles
When vehicle is in park the car is not realizing and is alarming with a message shift to park. I've read this is a common problem in 16-18 Acadias and this is a safety issue as well when I can not turn the vehicle off

- Northampton, PA, USA

problem #19

Oct 012019

Acadia

  • 14,000 miles
Warning message says "shift to park". message does not go off until you turn car on and off several times; putting the car in reverse, then drive; then shifting between gears back and forth. May take 20 minutes to get the message light to go off. GMC has tried replacing gear shift, part of gear top. After 5 attempts in trying to fix the issue, my car sits at the dealership for an additonal 4 weeks waiting for a harness fix (which there is no part for). The car always rolls backwards when the message finally goes off. This is a major safety issue. Is the car really in park?

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

problem #18

Oct 172019

Acadia

  • 47,064 miles
Vehicle engine was running when I came to a stop and shifted to park. I received an error indicating "action required - shift to park." I did not let off of the brake pedal because I was unsure if the vehicle had actually shifted into park. With the brake pedal applied, I attempted to shift to neutral and drive, then shift back to park, and received the same error. With my foot still on the brake, I turned the ignition off, but the electronics would not power off and the error continuously displayed on the dash. I started the engine and repeated this process multiple times with the brake pressed before changing gears again, shifting into park, then applying the electronic parking brake with the engine running. It was only then that I turned my engine off again, and the error finally no longer displayed. Since the error was no longer displaying, I could only hope that my vehicle was actually in park, but felt reassured that the electronic parking brake was engaged. Please investigate this safety concern that seems to be affecting many of these vehicles.

- Palatka, FL, USA

problem #17

Sep 232019

Acadia

  • 8,500 miles
We have an issue with the gear shift, since three weeks ago we can't turn off the engine as a normal procedure because the sensor of the gear shift doesn't detect the shift is in 'P' parking, we continually receive a message from the screen. 'put your shift in 'P', but in this precise moment the shift was in parking mode, so we can't turn of the engine. We receive a notification from the mechanical workshop that the issue could be the electrical harness, but they doesn't give us when could be changed, so right now we have more than two weeks without use the vehicle, they do not receive a official feedback for the plant yet.

- Slp, TX, USA

problem #16

Sep 262019

Acadia

  • 36,500 miles
When shutting the Acadia off it prompts a message saying must be in park. It is in park but computer is not recognizing it. This forces you to leave car running. If you dont then your battery will go dead. When speaking to local dealership they are aware of issue but dont know anything to resolve it. Customers shouldn't have to pay for this since it's a safety issue.

- Logansport, IN, USA

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