general problems of the 2018 GMC Acadia - part 1

Car does not turn off, says “shift to park” but car already is in park and car won’t turn off.

Vehicle dies with no warning, no warning lights, no power even emergency flashers are inoperative, almost like it got hit by an emp.

Shift to park message has appeared again and the engine will not cut off. First happened in Feb 2020, mileage was 31,143. Took to dealer and new wiring harness was installed. Had to take back to dealer April 2020 for same problem; shifter assembly was replaced at that time. Shift to park message came back on August 2023. Took back to dealer and shifter harness replaced again and jumper harness was installed. Mileage was 52,993. Shift to park message has once again appeared, December 2025. Having to put car in park and push engine on/off button numerous times before engine will finally shut off. . . . . Sometimes having to unhook battery in order to kill the engine. This will be the fourth time we have had the same recurring issue repaired. My husband read through over half the 352 registered complaints and at least three fourths of them were all about the shift to park problem! as a female, I don't feel safe driving my Acadia not knowing if the engine will cut off or if it's actually in park or if the car will roll. Why can't gm fix this issue!!!!!! they should definitely be held accountable instead of ignoring the complaints!.

My car says shift to park when I try to turn it off. Leaving my battery to drain.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, the “shift-to-park” warning light illuminated with a continuous audible alert. The vehicle was unable to recognize that the transmission was in park(p). Several attempts were needed to shift to park. The battery was disconnected to turn off the audible alert. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under an associated recall. During the recall repair, the shifter and wiring harness were replaced with part numbers: gm84955381 and gm84733196. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

Shifter problem 2018 GMC Acadia. I never received a recall notice or bulletin about shift to park shifter problem.

Shift to park warning is coming on when car is clearly in park. Have to jiggle gear shift to get it to go off. It is just random. Sometimes stays on. I am reading this is a big problem with this model car. Called dealer and they said they would have to replace gear shift.

My Acadia has the shift to park default it has been fixed 3 times and now it is popping up again for the 4th time which means I can't turn my vehicle off it takes forever to get it to go off please help please help.

Shift to park warning. Vehicle will not power down.

When I put my vehicle in park, the message “shift to park” pops up. It has been doing this for well over a year. I have already had to replace a battery once due to this because I didn’t realize it was still on. It does not happen everytime I park but at random times. The more it happens, the longer it takes for it to go off. At this point, I can only hope my car is really in park. I jiggle the shifter, hit the “ +|- “ on the shifter and have to turn the vehicle off and on about five or six times. Eventually it will go off. It took me 20 minutes today for it to go off in 100 degree heat. The vehicle’s ac is not running when trying to get the shifter to go off. It keeps the electronics running but not the ac. I keep waiting to receive a recall on this vehicle because of this issue but still nothing. I have noticed there is a recall for this but not vehicle. I have already replaced one battery due to this issue and do not want to continue to replace batteries and worry if the vehicle is really in park or not.

Battery saver ignited comes on and and the entire dash flickers and turns off ! this happened in a middle of an intersection and I could move my car. We jumped it and went to the nearest auto zone replaced the battery . It was pulling 89 amps . The next day it popped up again and we replaced the alternator. Upon replacing this there was oil everywhere! and we don’t know where it is coming from . Now shift into part light comes on !.

Shift to park- recall on 2017-2018 Acadia’s started having issues several months ago- was occasional note constant. I see there has been a recall at one time and it is ac known problem. I am on my 2nd battery!.

When putting my GMC Acadia in park and shutting off the push start ignition the alarm goes off saying it’s not in park when it is clearly in park so I have to continuously start the car and try to keep putting it in park and shut ignition off. I googled it and saw there was a recall so took it to dealership but my VIN was not included. I feel my safety is at risk as my battery also went dead stranding me in another city with my young grandkids on February 23rd, and I had a large bill to get a jump as well, I believe due to this same electrical issue! we are waiting on estimate now to get it fixed which is ridiculous as it is the same issue that is covered on many other of the same model vehicles! you should really look into this and maybe other electrical safety concerns costing consumers thousands of dollars on all these GMC vehicles it doesn’t seem fair. Thank you.

There is a current recall on the 2018 GMC Acadia for a "shift to park" issue. It clearly states that GMC is aware of this issue and my vehicle is having this issue but for whatever reason, I am being told we are not part of the recall. My VIN is not coming up with it either but we are having the same issue.

Shifting to park and vehicle stating the vehicle is not in park, won't let me turn the vehicle off. Transmission going out, brought to many shops letting me know that the transmission is not working properly but won't give an engine light if anything is wrong with vehicle, wont show on readers what is wrong with vehicle. Electrical, doors will automatically lock and unlock most times lock and locks me in the vehicle having me have to climb through the windows and having to leave my windows open or locks me out the vehicle and can only get in by climbing in the trunk. Testing has been done and brought to gm to figure out the issue, and they replace the computer in it but still has the problem. I have had shops tell me these are all huge issues that needs to have a recall because my vehicle is not the only GMC Acadia that does all this. How is any of this safe for me and my kids.

After shifting car to “p” park, it still says shift to park and drains the battery.

My vehicle has a persistent shift to park issue. My vehicle cannot be safely turned off. My vehicle needs to be restarted multiple times and the gearshift moved to the park position for the chance that it will register being in the parked position so the vehicle can be safely turned off.

When vehicle is put into park I keep getting a "shift to park" message and cannot turn off my vehicle. I cannot lock the door.

Sold 2018 GMC Acadia by lee GMC in auburn. Acadias shift to park was defective, dealership replaced before sale did not disclose, shift to park and transmission malfunctions occurred. I returned Acadia to the dealership several times and they would never properly fix or address my concerns now my vehicle is unsafe to drive. I have documentation to support the claims in my letter, I can send as well if you’d like. Thank you will send attachment.

Truck lost power randomly while driving on freeway spend so much money on fixing it this has to do something with the way the built it.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while shifting the gear shifter into park(p), the "shift to park” message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was forced to shift from drive(d) to park(p) repeatedly before the failure was corrected. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel would become sticky with the "steering assist reduced - drive with care," message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the infotainment system glitched and performed independent functions, causing the driver to be distracted. The contact stated that the infotainment system was replaced when the vehicle was purchased due to the failure; however, the failure recently recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of several failures and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

The car is put in park but the it doesn’t detect that it’s in park and won’t turn off. You can’t get out of your car because the won’t turn off. There were no errors before this. I get an error message that says shift to park. I have to shift the car into drive and then park several times to make the car turn register that it’s in park the dealership has not looked at my car. Nothing has ever been wrong with my car. I have read online that it’s a problem for many people with arcadia vehicles .

The vehicle has experienced repeated electrical and engine-related malfunctions, including random engine shutdowns while driving and random no-start conditions. The thermostat and cooling system failed and were replaced in 2024. Multiple sensors have failed. The braking system remains noisy even after brake replacement. The lane detection safety system does not provide audible alerts. The vehicle is currently operational and available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the vehicle has randomly shut off while driving on both highways and city roads in azle, texas. This occurred while my two children were in the vehicle. When the engine shut off, there was a risk of losing power steering and braking assist, which could have caused an accident, especially at highway speeds and in traffic. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? the thermostat and cooling system failure were confirmed and repaired by a service center in 2024. Electrical and sensor issues have occurred repeatedly but have not been fully diagnosed or resolved. Brake noise persists despite replacement. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? unknown. The vehicle has been serviced by repair facilities, but the manufacturer has not provided a definitive diagnosis for the engine shutdown and electrical failures. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure? when did they first appear? yes. Various warning lights and symptoms appeared prior to failures, including cooling system warnings and sensor alerts. Electrical issues and battery failures have occurred repeatedly, with batteries lasting only 2–3 years. Symptoms began after purchase and have continued throughout ownership. Additional details the brakes have been noisy even after replacement, and the lane detection system does not produce audible warni.

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. .

Shift to park error notice comes up on dash when car it turned off and in park. Car is clearly in park, but error code “shift to park” appears on screen. Beeping occurs until car is turned off and shifted to r or d and then shifted back to park and turned off. This error happens several times a week, including twice today 6/22/24. I have to restart my vehicle and shift it to r or d then back to park several times before the error is cleared.

Gm has acknowledged that there is a "shift to park" problem with 2017 and 2018 GMC Acadia's. This design flaw/ part failure does not recognize that the vehicle is actually in "park" so you cannot shut off the engine. In addition, the dash lights remain on which eventually drains the battery. Sometimes the car will roll as if it's in neutral. Gm is very aware of this problem. However, they do not have a permanent solution. Gm should be required to issue a nationwide recall to correct the situation by totally disabling the electronic part. In six years of ownership, I've encountered this problem 3 times: 5-14-19, mileage 13,266, 1-27-21, mileage 29,381and most recently 5-30-24, mileage 65,057. This 3rd repair cost me $721. 88.

I purchased this car in may 2024 and it has done this since the day I bought it. When I shift into park and turn the car off it alerts me that I need to shift into park but it already is, I have to squeeze/jiggle the button on the shifter to make it stop. I feel this could cause some serious problems.

Shift to park appears on the dash display also with a chime warning, when the car is physically in park and the engine is cut off. The shift to park display and the chime stays on causing a complete drain of the battery.

We purchased our 2018 GMC Acadia, used with 15,798 miles on the odometer, on [xxx] from john wiesner, inc. On [xxx], with 20,344 miles on the odometer, we began experiencing a "shift to park" message when trying to turn the vehicle off, even though the vehicle shifter indicated that the vehicle was in park. Though the vehicle would turn off, we could not clear the "shift to park" message or stop the associated audible alarm without a great deal of effort. A wiesner dealership confirmed the problem, determined that a switch in the shifter assembly was not grounding, and replaced the transmission control assembly under warranty. All was well until early 2024, at approximately 47,500 miles, when we began experiencing the same problem. The dealer said we must pay $500+ for a repair and that if we failed to get the problem repaired we risked being unable to get the vehicle into park and unable to turn off the vehicle. Being unable to stop the "shift to park" message or to stop the audible alarm at the very least will run the battery down and being unable to put the vehicle in park or turn it off risks an injury to us or others. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Shift to park issue is getting worse. I couldn’t turn my car off for hours today. The recall is still pending for this and GMC is doing nothing after thousands of class action lawsuits and complaints. Keeping my car running for hours on end while in park because it won’t turn off is causing electrical issues and using tons of gas. I have to get with an attorney at this point because I can’t use my car lots of the times because I can’t leave it running and unlocked all day while I’m at work or at the store. It’s a massive safety issue. GMC needs to take accountability and fix these vehicles. This has been ongoing for 2 years now.

I bought a used 2018 GMC Acadia in oct. 2023. Initially the thermostat would go out and a check engine light would come on. This seems to be a common problem in GMC Acadia's and there are multiple blogs on this online (e. G. [xxx] ). Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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.

For months after putting car in park it displays a "shift to park" message. It won't let you fully shut down vehicle. Some times I can start it again, back up a little, put it back in park for it to shut off. Not one time though. You have to do it repeatedly. Maybe 6 or 7 times before it works. Most times I just finally have to walk away from the vehicle. Problem being it won't let me lock my car - which the police in our area keep warning us to do to prevent the vehicle thefts. It also continues to 'bing', running down the battery, which could leave me stranded somewhere. I looked this up on line assuming it would be a recall because it is a 'known defect' and there are thousands of complaints on line of people having the same issues and dealer won't take care of. There are lawsuits. This should be a recall.

The thermostat stops working and my a/c stops blowing cold air, and driving assist stops and engine light goes on. It is a rampant problem among GMC Acadias with no reason or fix. Please advise.

The shift to park in my 2018 GMC Acadia was faulty. On many occasions and randomly, the car would be in park but would not turn off, saying I needed to shift it to park in order to turn the car off. This has left me unable to turn my car off resulting in dead batteries and missed appointments and being late for work. This defect is well documented by gm in tsbs pit5616a, 18-na-297, and 19-na-206, which describes the exact symptoms and repair that I had to have completed. This problem has been on going and as a teacher I cannot continue to be late for school because my car, though in park, would not turn off. Given gm’s prior acknowledgement of this defect, I believe reimbursement is warranted. I have never been notified of a recall on this.