general problems of the 2017 GMC Acadia - part 1

When shifting vehicle into park and turning off the ignition switch a notification shows up and says shift to park even though vehicle is already in that position.

Dash states put in park. But in park, car would deplete battery which I replaced but didn't fix. Unsafe as manuel states car can shut down while driving to preserve battery. Only 23,635 miles. Mostly parked. Parts $57 with $378 labor!.

Shift to park warning comes on when the car is turned off and it is in park. When we park the the car and shift the car to park and turn the car off the warning "shift to park" comes on and the electrical systems will not disengage. The radio stays on, the car can not be locked, and the doors ding loud alarms if you try to exit the car. The only fix is to sit in the car for several minutes and flick the switch under the gear shift and hope that the shift to park warning eventually goes off and you can exit the car. It sometimes takes 8-10 minutes for this to happen. This first happened intermittently and now happens every time we turn off the car. It has been replicated in a dealership and service center. The independent service center that did our brakes said they were aware this was a common problem in Gmcs and they experienced it. We have been told it is a microswitch and the repair option is not under any kind of recall or warranty and up to us to pay for the full repair even though it seems there are thousands of people online experiencing the same problem and paying hundreds of dollars for this fix.

Thermostat issue (steering assist is reduced drive with care) have changed this sensor 3 times in the past 3 years, there is no excuse for that. The emergency braking almost cause me and my daughter to be hit by a train when my car emergency braked while going over train tracks. This is unexcusable.

Vehicle will not shut off, keep showing shift to park, even when vehicle is in park with parking brake engaged. This has been a common occurrence and I see where people discuss a recall, but one is not available for my VIN.

The car has over the last few years not turn off due to shift to park. This is concerning, due to we cannot turn the car off unless we strike the shifter few times assuming this is the remedy. It doesn't look like there is any type of recall but there should be.

Pulled into a parking space, put the car into park and tried to shut the car off. The warning system said I needed to shift to park. I was in park but could not shut the car off because the car thought I wasnt in park. Took 15 minutes of shifting from park to all gears and shaking the gear shifter before it finally let me shut the vehicle off. This is now the second time this has happened and ive had to have the same thing repaired. They are replacing the whole shifter assembly. Error reads shift to park. This is happening every few years now and at almost 1000 dollars to repair and only lasting a year or so, this is ridiculous.

While driving get notice lane departure not working and thermostat registered zero, when code scanned, states low thermostat temp and able to reset with code reader. Will reoccur in minters to days later. This is an electrical issue to to the ability to reset with a code scan tool, but also a safety issue since it also effects the electrical safety ability associated with the sensor.

Seeing the intermittent shift to park messages when the vehicle has been shifted into park and the ignition is turned to the off position. Shifter wire harness jumper & transmission controls a malfunctioning shifter raises fears of potential rollaway accidents, even if such cases remain rare. For anyone who has to park on a slope, this fear can cause serious worry. Yes, there is a service bulletin (19-na-206) no, this is 1 of the only problems I have had with this. The other issues I have had is the clear coating on the rims are peeling.

Backup camera often does not have a clear picture. Very grainy and static.

Shift to park light remains on after you’ve put the car in “park” which could potentially run the battery down. Car does not recognize when it is in “park”. Have to “jiggle” the gear a bit, in hopes that it turns off.

When I stop and put me car in park it usually gives a warning shift into park.

Shift to park appears when vehicle is already in park and the vehicle will not turn off.

When I put my car in park I will get a "shift to park" notiication and will have to move my car multiple times to get it to register. There is a recall for this exact problem on other 2017 GMC Acadia but does not fall under my VIN #.

I’m just reporting several known issues. First, with code p2138, which I got today at oreilly after my car started throwing warnings. I used my parking brake briefly and afterwards got the following warnings on my car: “steering assist is reduced, drive with care”, “engine power reduced” , “propulsion power is reduced” , “service parking brake”. I’ve never even had one of these warnings. I’ve only gotten “shift to park” which is another known & common issue. With this p2138 code, it can affect acceleration and essentially loss of control over it, but seems I suddenly have several issues. Recently the infotainment system is possessed, touch screen stops working, it calls people by itself, beeps and scrolls by itself and is essentially useless. Might as well be driving at 1997 something or other, at least I could play a tape or cd. This is denali trim at 87k miles. Primarily though I’m concerned with this code, if it’s legit, it is very dangerous. How unreliable and unsafe to not know.

When placed in park a message appears to shift to park and the vehicle electrical system stays energized.

After shifting to park and attempting to turn off my vehicle, I receive an “action required shift to park” error message. I’m assuming the vehicle is in park but I’m not certain and worry about it moving or rolling. It is difficult to get it to turn off by jiggling the shifter and turning the vehicle on and off. At times, I am not able to get it off and then the vehicle will not lock and the battery goes dead. According to my VIN there is not an active recall but brief internet search states there has been numerous reports, recalls, and lemon law returns due to this.

Twice the shift to park function of the vehicle has failed, once in 2020 and again in 2025, it appear that there is a recall for the year make and model vehicle, but for some reason my particular VIN in not included in this recall. The recall needs to be expanded to address this safety issue.

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off. The contact shifted from park (p) to drive(d) and was eventually able to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that the letter p(park) was outlined in yellow and was illuminated on the instrument panel. Additionally, the contact stated that while attempting to close and lock the driver's side door, the door failed to lock securely. The contact stated that the failures occurred simultaneously. The contact stated that the failures were intermittent. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

Shift to park warning comes on & you can't lock the vehicle nor will it shut off completely. I've had to start & reverse several times before it engages/recognizes that it is in park. Obviously this is a known issue by reading all the other posts relating to this. Please issue a recall. . . .

The known ‘shift to park’ GMC vehicle defect could cause vehicle to rollaway and possibly hit someone.

Shift to park error message when vehicle is in park and engine will not shut off. Not recognizing microswitch in the console. Needs a recall.

My sound no longer works, the radio is constantly going out now I have no sound, no blinker clicks, no emergency notification warnings, no door chime, nothing.

I was traveling at the posted speed limit of 80 mph on rt 90 in south dakota at 10:30 pm and the GMC Acadia was working without any issue when all of a sudden various warnings flashed on the dashboard with one of them being power saver mode engaged. Within about 3 minutes various other warnings flashed and the vehicle motor turned off along with all of the electrical systems. Luckily, I was able to maneuver the GMC Acadia to the shoulder of the highway safely. The vehicle would not start and for about a minute or so we were trapped in the Acadia. We could not unlock the doors or wind down the windows until I pressed the start/stop bottom several times. Onstar did not work either. Once we could get out of the Acadia, my wife called 911 and in roughly 20 minutes or so, a police officer arrived at our location. We also called aaa and had a tow truck take the broken down GMC Acadia to a garage for repairs. It turns out that the alternator went bad and rendered our GMC Acadia useless in roughly 3 minutes from the initial warning. There was absolutely none of the tell tale warnings of a bad alternator. We did not see or observe any dim lights, hesitating starts or any other things associated with a bad alternator prior to the 3 minute warning before the vehicle completely was inoperable. We are very lucky to be alive. If route 90 was more congested with traffic at the time of this incident, we might have been serious injured if not killed. Imo this GMC Acadia is a death trap. This vehicle warns the driver when the key fob’s battery is low many weeks before it needs to be replaced. It should warn you more than 3 minutes if not several hours prior to the vehicle being completely immobilized. It should be noted that the check engine light came on several hours before this incident and I called onstar and they ran the diagnostics and returned a p0420 code which is related to emissions. The check engine light turned itself off about 1 hour before incident.

I keep getting a message for shift to park when my car is already parked. My battery keeps draining for no reason even through my battery is good. I could be driving and my truck just shuts off without warning and my battery dies. Then when it shuts off all these other lights comes on. I have to let it sit for a second then it starts back up. This has been going on for months. I took it to the dealership and they ran all type of test and couldn’t figure out why it was doing it.

Ppark to shift code.

2017 GMC Acadia "shift to park" known failure. When you place the vehicle in the park position, mechanically it seems to be in park but the control says shift to park. When traveling long distance from home you can find yourself in a position where you cannot leave your car. You cannot lock it or turn it off properly. This is an ongoing problem known to gm and listed in many technical bulletins including bulletin no. 19-na-206 date September, 2019. A recall should be issued for this problem. We found ourselves stranded hundreds of miles from home with a vehicle we could not shut off or secure. This may cause you to leave your car unattended, unlocked and running if you cannot get it to park and shut down.

Shift to park alert pops up when turning vehicle off. Vehicle is in park. This prohibits the vehicle from turning off. Per my investigation other GMC Acadias made in 2017 also have experienced this which results into either prohibiting them from turning their vehicle off or their battery dying. This is a safety hazard because it increases risk of being stranded due to malfunction.

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the radio independently switched to different settings. Due to the failure, the speedometer was no longer be visible. The contact stated that the failure caused the driver to be distracted while driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

Vehicle shut down while driving and start showing shift to park message had it check and issue keep having shift to park message.

My vehicle won’t shift into park.

This vehicle has a severe water leak after rain event from body. Leaks into electrical, floor boards, roof. Dealership not able to locate water leak location. Have been working on it going on a month. We recently purchased the vehicle used.

Shift to part to turn off vehicle but vehicle does not recognize shift to park and repeatedly requires turning the car back on to try to maneuver gear shift until it finally recognizes it is in park and can be turned off. I have had to restart my care 10-20 times before it finally recognizes it is in park and will turn off and unlock the doors. This is a repeated issue that has been going on for at least 6 months but happened again today requiring 17 restarts.

Vehicle will randomly drop into a lower gear which causes the engine to rev up, then a warning light comes on indicating that the steering assist and abs system are offline. Not what you want to have happen when driving 70mph on the highway. Problem has been ongoing for ytears and GMC insists it is a transmission problem but another thing I have noticed whenever it happens is that the battery voltage increases. Seems like GMC shipped these cars with weak alternators which would explain the myriad electrical problems this vehicle and others like it have had.

Went to burt watson the end of may. Paid $250 to diagnose 3 problems. Trans was intermittently kicking into passing gear when starting from a stop position, a service engine light and passenger side blind spot warning would come on when nothing was there and other times wouldn't recognize a vehicle was there. Around the middle of July the battery began draining intermittently leaving me stranded at night away from home. The rear defogger began turning itself on and couldn't be shut off and was very hot to the touch. The drivers seat moved all the way forward on its own pressing me into the steering wheel and dash while I was driving at highway speed. Forcing me to change 2 lanes of traffic trying to get to the side of the road. I was told by the service manager that the rear fuse block had shorted out do to water intrusion from bad drain ports. This was replaced, and then I was told something else was draining the battery. And this was "one " of the things not covered by warranty. There is a service bulletin stating that there may be pinholes at the top of the a-pillars and d-pillars yet the dealership stated a new windshield was needed. There are several service bulletins indicating that such leaks can reek havoc on the electronics. The dealership has changed their estimate several times with still no solution in site. The vehicle has been sitting at the dealership since July. At one point it was communicated to me that gm would assist in the cost of the repairs when and if job was ever completed. They are now stating the cost to repair the issues is $5500. 00 and is my responsibility.