Power Train Problems of GMC Acadia - part 2

"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.

See all problems of the 2018 GMC Acadia 🔎.

Our arcadia 2019 with 40000 miles has shift to park problem. 2017 thru some 2019 had recall notice and were fixed by GMC. Why doesn't it apply to this vehicle. We had to pay $1500 to dealer. There is an obvious problem and they have admitted it. Time for government to step in or do a class action lawsuit looks like they are filed by state.

See all problems of the 2019 GMC Acadia 🔎.

I have gotten a alert on my vehicles dashboard after parking saying "shift to park" my car won't turn off until I can wiggle the shifter just right or have to take it out of park, back to drive back to park. I didn't have my radio on once and I didn't notice it wasn't all the way off and my battery went dead.

See all problems of the 2017 GMC Acadia 🔎.

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.

Some times when vehicle is shifted into park it doesn’t recognize it is in park. I have to turn the vehicle off and restart it, shift into drive and back into park. Sometimes it takes a few times. My neighbor has a 2018 traverse and had the same issue.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon reaching his destination and shifting the vehicle into park, the vehicle failed to recognize that that the shift lever was in park. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The shift to park warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 61,000.

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

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while attempting to shift into park(p), the vehicle failed to turn off, with the "shift to park" message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle eventually turned off. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 17v516000 (power train). The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

When shifting into park the car still states to "shift into park" on the dash and will not fully shut off. I still need to take the car into the dealer for service to fix. This seems to be an issue.

Drive shaft has excessive play.

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.

I have a 2019 Gmcacadia denali with less than 60000 miles. The problem I have with the vehicle is I get a error that say "park to shift. I don' know if it is in park or not. I am afraid that it isn't in park and will create a safety issue and injuries. It is my understanding that the same problem with the 2020+ GMC Acadia and is listed in a recall. Why isn't 2019 not included in this recall?.

For 3 weeks now, my dash keeps telling me to shift to park when my gear shift is already in park. Car will not allow me to secure it because it thinks the car is not in park!.

The vehicle keeps shaking specially at the first and second gear, up to 40miles/hr and at any up hills roads. I took it to the mechanic and he said that it’s an issue in the transmission and needs to be replaced. Also the engine fan randomly turns on automatically, and a warning message stating “steering assist reduced. Drive with care”.

Leaking transmission fluid.

See all problems of the 2024 GMC Acadia 🔎.

The vehicle stalls when air start kicks on so when stopped auto stop kick on and when your ready to go the go stalls to turn back on. I have also lost power to the car randomly. Power train issue on car keeps coming on with engine light. I have taken to dealer when car was under warranty and they were very dismissive to my issue. They changed some sensor under warranty and they said the issue was fixed. But the issue remains and it’s causing several issues to the car with also a fueling code to the engine light.

See all problems of the 2020 GMC Acadia 🔎.

Very bad shuttering when driving, took it to transmission shop and they said it needs to be replaced.

I have had nothing but issues with this vehicle from the day I purchased it. I should have been more leery of purchasing a vehicle with so few miles on it as a certified vehicle. First issue lift gate wouldn’t work. Had to have sensors replaced twice. Next was the purge valve sensor that has went bad 3 separate times. Then the crankcase vent sensor. Paid a fee for diagnostics, it was not repaired took it back when the engine light came back on, they replaced it without charging but I was advised it’s not covered under warranty. And most recently my check engine light came on yet again today now reading an issue with the engine cooling system. Unfortunately the dealer is so booked out, my only option is to drop it off and hope they can get it in by a cancellation or no show. Seems there are new issues ever 3-6 months with the car.

See all problems of the 2021 GMC Acadia 🔎.

A couple of months ago, I tried to put my car in park and shut it off the same way I have for years. The car made a rapid alarm sound and displayed a shift to park message on my dashboard. In order to get the car to shut off correctly, I had to squeeze the button on the shifter and gently push forward and backwards until the car recognized that I was in park. This now happens approx. 1 in every 15 times I try to turn off my vehicle. When this happens, I do not know if my car is actually in park and this is just a sensor issue or if the car is in fact struggling to shift to park!? if that's the case, couldn't it roll into someone or some thing? I remember Jeep having this issue a few years back, where people were killed when their "parked" Jeep rolled over them. I think a famous actor was one of those victims in his driveway. Has GMC ever released a statement as to why only some VIN #s are included in this recall, when many of us on here are experiencing the same issue??.

The vehicle would not recognize the truck was shifted to park. The gear shift was replaced in 2024 and the same problem occurred 9 months later. The first GMC repair location did not connect the shifter cable correctly, causing the problem to persist. I had to pay twice to resolve an issue seen in many of the 2017 GMC Acadia models. This problem should be considered a recall, and charges for repair should be covered by GMC.

Vehicle gives, “driver assist reduced drive with care” warning randomly. Lane change will no longer work and engine light will come on. Problem is sporadic and does not stay active. Engine light will shut off after a day. Once vehicle is shut off cooling fan runs extremely loud and for a long period of time draining battery.

2014 GMC Acadia denali when accelerating the car is sputtering and slipping. The rpms are increased. There is a delay in shifting and it is rough. The car jerks and has a pause when accelerating. This is an expensive repair. Is GMC going to help or make it a recall? my local mechanic suggests it gets repaired as soon as possible or sell it - am not comfortable selling it with a bad issue. Unsafe. GMC needs to correct this. GMC - do your part and make this right for your customers. I read many complaints regarding this issue. How many complaints does it take before GMC will make a recall on this issue? I also have a recall on the airbag. I have been having an issue with the light on for 2 years and called many times on it. Last year they said there was no active recall. I see now that there is one. I called and was told that I should have received a letter. I never received a letter of the official recall and the repair is covered. I am now waiting 4-8 weeks for the dealer to get the part in and for them to then call me to schedule an appointment. Why do they not have them in stock? I have been scared every time I drive my 2014 GMC Acadia knowing at any point the airbag could go off at any moment or if I was in an accident it may not inflate to save me. This is terrifying as a driver. Especially knowing that serious injury or death can happen. I hope GMC is going to do the right thing and make the transmission issue a recall and have parts on hand at dealers to get repairs fixed. What is GMC going to offer me and other customers to help pay for this serious issue to be fixed? as well as, pay for a rental car while waiting to get the issues resolved.

See all problems of the 2014 GMC Acadia 🔎.

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.

Torque converter is going bad, hard shift when going slow then speeding up, stuttering at random times, vibration, hard shifting into reverse. No check engine light. Acadia known for transmission and torque converter problems.

See all problems of the 2015 GMC Acadia 🔎.

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.

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after shifting to park, the vehicle could not immediately be turned off. The message "shift to park" was displayed. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle was able to be turned off. 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 contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 17v516000 (power train). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 59,000.

Shift to park. Vehicle does not turn off when in park. This recall is in effect on other 2017 Acadias but for some reason ours is not under the recall. Had this issue in 2020 and it was repaired at our cost. It is now doing the same thing.

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.

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(p) to turn off the vehicle, the message that the vehicle was not in park(p) was displayed. The contact stated that the gear shift indicator showed that the vehicle was in park(p). The contact shifted to drive(d) and then back to park(p) several times before being able to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was 89,776.

Shift to park. Shows it’s in park but it is not.

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 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(p), the message to “shift to park” was displayed. The contact shifted from park to neutral and back to park until the proper gear was recognized. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.