general problems of the 2018 GMC Acadia - part 1

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!.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and occupied, the shift to park message was displayed while the vehicle was in park. Neither an independent mechanic nor the dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number:17v516000 (power train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 113,000.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate while attempting to shift gears. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked and made an abnormal sound, with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated there was black and white smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission, cooling system, and fuel system failures. The dealer also determined that the engine was leaking oil. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle required several repairs. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 126,000.

Urgent safety defect — recurring “shift to park” — rollaway risk vehicle: GMC Acadia | ~99,684miles same defect repaired free under gm goodwill in 2021 (shifter replacement, TSB 19-na-206) after 4 failed attempts. Now failed again in 2025 — vehicle will not shut off, drains battery, risks unintended rollaway. Gm dealer refuses repeat coverage despite prior admission of defect. This is a known design flaw — thousands of complaints — no recall. Demand immediate safety recall — this is a fire/rollaway hazard. Attached: 2019- 2021 repair order ($0), TSB 19-na-206, prior NHTSA complaint, previous tac case: 9-6623251184.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the "shift to park" message was displayed, preventing the vehicle from turning off. After researching the failure, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 23v172000 (power train). The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that a diagnostic test was needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while shifted into park(p), the vehicle was unable to be turned off. The message "shift to park" was displayed on the instrument panel even though the gear shifter was in park(p). The gear shifter was shifted to park(p) and wiggled several times before the transmission was properly shifted into park and the vehicle was turned off. The contact stated that the failure had occurred once before, and the battery cables were disconnected to turn off the vehicle. The contact became aware of an undisclosed recall online; however, the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,800.

Shift to park warning. Vehicle will not power down.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(p), but the “shift to park” message was displayed. The vehicle made chiming sounds. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth, then shifted into park(p) before the proper gear was recognized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

When placing the gearshift in park a warning on the dashboard says the vehicle is not in park and I get warning bells when shutting the engine off. This has been happening for almost a month.

"shift to park" warning error when vehicle is in park. Although I have heard there was a recall, I am not seeing any when I've entered my VIN #. The issue has happened multiple times over the last 6 months.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon arriving to his destination, the message "please shift to park" was displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to technical service bulletin: 19-na-206. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.

For the past two weeks, when the Acadia is put into park and the engine is turned off, the warning bell chimes nonstop and a dashboard message appears to put the vehicle into park even though it is already in park. The vehicle needs to be restarted and then put into drive or reverse and then back into park. With irregularity it may or may not work. Sometimes the car must be turned on and off 5 or 6 times before it recognizes that the transmission is truly in park.

The car no longer recognizes when shifted into park. It will not allow things like door locks and so on.

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.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon arriving to her destination, the contact shifted into reverse to park the vehicle; however, after parking and shifting to drive(d), the vehicle failed to respond. The contact became aware after several attempts that the transmission was stuck in park(p). The blank warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the inline shifter wiring harness. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to technical service bulletin: 19-na-206. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 111,000.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the gear shifter was shifted into park; however, the gear shifter failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the “shift to park” message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed shift to park gear. The contact stated the dealer had not provided a cause for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

While I was driving the vehicle started jerking and not changing gears. Several times it almost caused an accident with me and my son in the car. I turned the car on/off and restarted it at the red light, the exact same thing happens. Lucky a GMC dealer ship was near by. I was able to get there still jerking and not changing gears. No warning signs appear during this whole time. No prior issues with the transmission. Once I made it to the dealship then engine like came on. Really now! the dealer checked vehicle and stated the transmission is gone out. I was flabbergasted, almost $10,000 had to be replaced.

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.

Vehicle shudders and jerks while accelerating. This caused a scary incident while driving on ice.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that on several occasions while shifted to park(p), the message "shift to park" was displayed with an audible chime. The vehicle was turned off and after the contact depressed a release button under the shifter knob, the vehicle recognized the gear selected and was able to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

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 contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the "shift to park" message was displayed on the instrument panel. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission control harness needed to be replaced. The contact researched and was made aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,187.

11/22/24 shift to park issue appeared. Happens constantly. I just bought car on 10/26/2024. I know by looking up shift to park issues there was a recall on 2017 an 2018 cars.

My wife was taking the children to school when she arrived she placed the car into park and attempted to shut off the vehicle. Once the power button was depressed a beep was heard and the dash said shift to park. She had to turn the are on and off multiple times. I contacted gm and they said there is a defective pin in the shift controls but this issue is not covered by a recall.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and shifting to park, the vehicle failed to turn off. During the failure the message "shift to park" was displayed even though the gear shifter was in park(p). After several attempts, the vehicle was able to be turned off. The contact also stated that during the failure, the vehicle would roll backwards. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 70,000.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(p); however, the “shift to park” message was displayed. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth and then shifted into park(p) before the proper gear was recognized. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and restart daily and required to be jumpstarted. Additionally, while the transmission was shifted into park(p), the "shift to park" message was displayed, and the vehicle failed to turn off, causing the battery to become drained. Roadside assistance was able to jumpstart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to autozone and firestone, where the battery and alternator were tested; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact purchased a battery jump starter to jumpstart the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to pep boys, where the alternator, battery, and starter were all tested, and it was determined that the engine switch had failed. Pep boys advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was 81,737.

Vehicle when being placed into park utilizing the gear shifter begins to say “vehicle not in park” when the vehicle is in park. This happens almost every time the vehicle is placed into park. In order to clear that notification, you have to put the vehicle in drive and park multiple times and hope that the computer recognizes the vehicle in park to unlock the doors and shut the vehicle off.

On July 26, 2024, I was driving my 2018 Acadia, with my cruise control set to 48 in a 45 mhp zone. Nearing a bad curve, I sneezed. When this happened, I tapped the brakes to disengage the cruise control, my passengers side tires exited the road and with both hands on the wheel I tried to slowly bring my tires back to the road. However, I was unable to gain control and totaled the vehicle. A witness stated that she heard a loud pop coming from the vehicle before the wreck happened. I later learned from my insurance that the vehicle had a recall 17v516000 on it and I was never made aware of it. I believe that this was a factor in me not being able to control the vehicle.

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.

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. .

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.

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. . Read more...

All of this has been going on for a while but it's gotten to the point of dangerous. The shift to park keeps coming on preventing me from shutting the vehicle off even though it's, in fact, in park. Then, "steering assist reduced drive with care" keeps coming on. This will come on and off. Preventing the engine from heating up like it needs to be. Then the transmission keeps slipping. Was nearly rear-ended on the highway with my child in the car when it decided to start driving really rough and wouldn't allow me to shift to the next gear. This is also an ongoing issue. Another time I was almost hit in the side when this randomly happened on crossing the highway. This is absolutely absurd! I have had much older vehicles without all these issues with many many more miles! I can't count the amount of times this has caused us serious hazards not to mention almost costing me my job! interestingly enough, the same year/make/model has been recalled for the exact same issues yet for whatever reason GMC says my model "was not affected by the recall". Funny how it's having the exact same issues as the ones on the recall list! GMC needs to fix this before they cause people to die! I'm a healthcare worker and this is disgusting!.