Service Brakes Problems of GMC Acadia - part 1

When backing up brakes abruptly apply themselves for no reason at all. This happens all the time the dealer says there is no problem with my vehicle, but the rear breaking abruptly keeps on applying.

See all problems of the 2024 GMC Acadia 🔎.

Purchase vehicle on August 13, 2025 with 27 miles on it. Drove home from dealership. Started the car on Friday morning and all of these warning lights appeared - electronic stability control, brake assist service, brake light indicator, abs indicator, traction control indicator, collision warning indicator. Car only had 69 miles at the time. Took vehicle to dealership on August 18, 2025. After diagnostics were performed, it was determined that the master brake cylinder is the issue. The part is on back order and there is no estimated time of when the part will be received and installed. Dealership rep told me that it was safe to drive the vehicle to the dealership. Service technician then explained to me that I should not be driving the vehicle.

While driving under normal conditions, the vehicle experienced a sudden, violent deceleration. The emergency braking and collision avoidance systems activated spontaneously, as if the vehicle had struck or was about to strike an object. There was no obstacle, impact, or external threat present. This uncommanded braking caused significant physical stress and injury to the occupants. Critically, multiple safety systems failed during the event: the seat belts did not lock, failing to restrain the occupants; the airbags did not deploy, despite the severity of the deceleration; no warning indicators or diagnostic alerts were present before or after the incident. These failures directly contributed to physical injuries, including tbi (concussion, spinal trauma, etc. ) which required emergency medical treatment and ongoing care.

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Subject of the problem: service brakes/hydraulic brakes problem of the vehicle: while driving, the brake pedal sometimes suddenly goes all the way down without resistance, and the vehicle does not slow down as expected. In order to regain brake pedal twice. Frequency of the problem: this issue occurs intermittently, but it poses a serious risk because the vehicle may not stop when needed. I already had the brake booster kit and hose replaced at an authorized GMC dealership because I was told this was the cause. However, the exact same problem continues to happen after the repair. Safety concern: this appears to be a defect that affects braking performance and safety. The issue occurs intermittently while driving (e. G. , at stop lights, low-speed braking, or during normal driving). It has happed multiple times since the repair. This problem could cause loss of braking power and result in a crash. It is extremely dangerous and has not been resolved by the manufacturer's recommended repair. I have called the GMC service center at 18004678782 and 18002221020 with this problem. They told me that they could do nothing about it and to deal with the dealership directly myself and they can not do anything. I have talked to the dealership but they just tell me there was another problem other than the initial problem they told me. The dealership did the first checkup and that problem was not fixed. Then went in again because the same problem was happening so they did another checkup and told me there was another problem not the initial problem they told me. The second checkup they did, the part and labor was $2,700. I went in with the same problem and have to pay that much. The problem was not solved with the initial diagnosis they gave and now have pay extra ($2,700 - second checkup price) to fix the problem they did not fix. Thank you.

See all problems of the 2017 GMC Acadia 🔎.

At startup today vehicle displayed “brake assist failure. Press hard to brake. Speed limited. ” it also displayed “service. ” it also displayed “esc,” and the word “service. An internet search indicated this may be a common problem of this vehicle, caused either by a software error in the electronic brake control module, or due to a defective brake master cylinder. There is a gm service notice for these defects, n242471431. Regardless of the cause, the brake is extremely mushy, and requires a high degree of force to stop the vehicle. Gm says there is no recall due to this defect. This is a brand new vehicle and therefore it must be a defect in the vehicle. Given that braking is a fundamental safety issue, it’s hard to believe there is no recall already issued.

Upon starting the vehicle the vehicle immediately starting moving while foot on brake and moved from park to reverse or drive. Unable to stop the vehicle in idle gear and no gas pedal applied. Power steering warning and no brake assist warning on the dash. Unable to stop vehicle within 20ft while traveling at idle speed. Vehicle lights and warnings have been reproduced and is currently at a dealership awaiting further inspection. Vehicle is available for third party inspection if needed. Vehicle at barker Buick GMC, 6444 w main st, houma, la 70360 on 8/4/25.

Dash lit up with abs, traction control, and esc warnings. Technician stated the entire brake system needed to be rebuilt. There is currently no eta on when the parts to be able to accomplish this will be available.

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.

See all problems of the 2018 GMC Acadia 🔎.

Brake assist warning message and brake light appeared a couple of weeks ago, along with others. Brought the car into the dealer, who initially thought they cleared the errors and reported no additional issues when they ran the diagnostics. Nothing was cleared. Vehicle application and monitor also does not show an issue, even though the warning appears at each start up and none of the related safety systems work (abs, esc, aeb, etc. ) that rely on the brake pump. Information from the dealer and owners manual are in conflict, with the dealer allowing me to drive while the owner's manual indicates it should not be driven with the brake light lit. They have now "diagnosed" a "failed" master cylinder unit that includes electronics and the pump. The car had about 4500 miles on it when the issue occurred. I am at a loss for if it should be driven and trusted or not.

Vehicle had a "service esc" and "service brake assist". Dealership said the master cylinder is bad and it is not safe to drive. Now its sitting at the dealership with no eta on parts and no loaner cars.

Brake master cylinder failure. Received warning lights on the dash and took to the GMC dealer for the diagnosis. Dealer stated the car is not drivable because the brakes could fail. The head mechanic at the dealership confirmed that the cylinder is the problem. They had no idea as to how long it would take to find a replacement cylinder.

New 2025 GMC Acadia denali vehicle with only 5,600 miles driven. When starting SUV I pressed start button and brake pedal. I felt the brake pedal pulse down. Once started, the dashboard lit up with warnings of service esc and service brake assist. Quickly took to dealer, they ran diagnostic tests and revealed the master brake cylinder is out. Dealer said I should not drive it due to danger of brakes completely failing! dealer has other 2025 Acadia's come in with no brakes at all due to same issue and they are still there waiting on same part. Dealer and gm have no estimate of when they will have a new master brake cylinder as this part is on back order. A case has been created with gm regarding part availability delay. My research has revealed numerous owners of 2025 Acadia, traverse and enclave with this same master brake cylinder failure and no parts available waiting months. Brake failure is a major safety hazard! gm has stopped selling the 2026 Acadia, traverse and enclave. They should recall all 2025 Acadia, traverse and enclave!.

I purchased the vehicle, and twelve days later while operating the vehicle I experienced full braking power failure. My foot was to the floor board while trying to get the car to slow down. Up until the point of brake failure, there were no warning lights or "symptoms" that would alert me as to an impending problem. My young child was also in the car so that was extremely scary also. During this time, the "service brake assist" light and abs light came on. I was able to slow the car down enough, restart the car, and the brakes seemed to work, however all of the related braking lights were on my dash. It was brought to the dealer the next day. The dealer has noted that its the master cylinder that needs to be replaced. However, they replaced it, and the new master cylinder has also failed, so they'll need to try and replace it again. I'm concerned this issue could cause severe accidents in the future if it continues to not be addressed.

Approximately July 12 2025 while driving to dinner two warnings showed on the driver information cluster (1) check brake assist (2) check esc. Took vehicle to dealer the next business day for diagnosis. Service department stated the problem was the ebcm or electronic brake control module and the parts are on a nationwide backorder. Since the part failure all brake system associated lights on the gauge cluster are illuminated and non of the associated safety systems are functional including but not limited to abs, stabilitrak, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise, crash avoidance or standard cruise control.

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia c1. The contact stated that his wife was parking in the driveway and upon shifting into the park gear, the vehicle sensor would not register that it was in park, therefore not allowing the engine to be shut off. The contact stated that his wife proceeded to turn the vehicle on and off while continuously shifting the gears until finally placing the shifter into park, and successfully turning the vehicle's engine off. The contact noted that his wife exited the vehicle; however that moments after a loud bang could be heard, and upon inspection, the contact noticed that the vehicle rolled into the garage with the entire front bumper. No property damage was reported. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The vehicle was going 3 mph at the time of the crash. The vehicle did not need to be towed. No warning lights were illuminated however, the "shift to park" message will display on the instrument panel. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The local dealer was contacted however, the vehicle was not diagnosed as the contact was advised that the vehicles VIN was not included in any open recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

Car driven off the lot 06/14/2025 on Sunday 07/06/25 (21 days from purchase) while driving home from a 30 minutes away from home trip with 3 young children with me, the car gave multiple alerts and service warnings. "service brake assist" and "service ecs" lights / symbols related to the following were also displayed: traction control system (tcs)/ electronic control stability light, anti-lock brakey system (abs); brake system warning light, forward collision alert and break light I stopped the car immediately and pulled to the side of the road. After restarting vehicle, lights were still displayed and service alerts still on. Power steering was very diminished and the breaks were struggle to break. Acceleration was also impacted and every time I breaked it appeared as though the car was trying to accelerate. I was able to drive the car home slowly following back roads. On Monday 07/07/25 I called the dealership and arranged a tow to their facility. On Tuesday 07/08/25 after multiple "unavailable to take your calls" I was finally able to connect with a service technician who indicated the break master cylinder needed to be replaced. I was not given an eta on the completion of this repair. I have owned the car for 21 days. It has 1073 miles on it!!! I have 3 young children! the original route home was via a very heavy interstate! what if the brakes failed me while driving an interstate! I praise god I was able to get home safely with my children.

Multiple brake warning lights came on while driving vehicle.

I purchased the car on April 19, 2025. Drove the car about 8000 miles and then all of a sudden the dash lights all lit up for the brakes, abs, traction control. I pulled the car over and turned it off. When I restarted my car, the lights continued to stay on and it told me to service immediately. I called my dealer and they could not get me in within 2 weeks so I took it to another local GMC dealer who could get it in to look at it that week. I took it in on July 9th, and then received a called a couple days later telling me that it had a bad brake control module that they needed to order. A week later was told the part was on backorder. Two weeks later was told the part came in but it was still missing the brake master cylinder and reservoir. At that time, I was told the eta was unknown and I have been calling back every week. On August 23rd I filed a complaint with GMC and have struggled to get anywhere with them. They tell me the dealer has the parts and the dealer tells me that they do not. I still have no eta and it has been officially 2 months without a car. I am told that it is not safe to drive.

The vacuum pump on my 2021 GMC Acadia failed causing my breaks malfunction. This problem was confirmed by a certified mechanic that repaired it. This is in conjunction with the NHTSA recall issued under n192268490.

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After having vehicle for one month, a "service brake assist" message was displayed on instrument cluster. Vehicle was taken to dealership for service and was told the master brake cylinder needed to be replaced and will take a while due to a nationwide shortage on the part.

At approximately 4900 miles, the brake master cylinder failed on my vehicle. It has been at the dealership for over a month awaiting parts for repair.

The esc, abs, and traction control, yellow warning lights, brake, red warning light. Diagnosis is abs, module, and master brake cylinder bad 2025 GMC Acadia denali, 1150 miles. No parts available because these are all needing work! people are having near misses and collisions due to this problem! put a stop production order until these are fixed!.

Abs, ebcm, traction control and brake lights on.

Whenever parking the car and trying to stop (shut off) the engine it will randomly say “shift to park” and I cannot shut the vehicle off.

See all problems of the 2019 GMC Acadia 🔎.

My car has less than 8,000 miles currently. On June 5, I started my car and lights were on saying I needed service and maintenance. I believe it was around 4500 miles at the time. I took it in once, where I bought my car, they said it just needed an update. The next day, all of the same lights were on. Turns out, I need a new brake master cylinder. It’s on back order. I bought this car in April. It’s been in the shop for a month. This is ridiculous. - the notifications said I needed electronic stability control and service brake assist maintenance.

After having my 2025 GMC Acadia elevation for 2 weeks, I turned it on and six lights on the dash lit up. Esc, abs, tractions control and more. I was leaving a store at the time this happened and drove home. Also, my cruise control would no longer work. Took my Acadia to the dealership the following business day to be serviced, only to be told a week later that the master brake cylinder needed replaced. This part of course was on back order. My new part arrived two weeks later, only to discover that two additional one-time parts (seal and reservoir) are now needed. These parts are also on back order with an estimated ship date of mid to late July.

I was driving along [xxx] . I stopped at walmart and shopped for about 2 hours. I was leaving walmart and was stopped at a red light at the exit from walmart [xxx] and traction control light comes on and a message came up and stated traction control off and to service stability control and the vehicle loses power right at the light. I checked everything I could and dis connect the battery for about 30 minutes and connected the battery back up vehicle still would not start. After sitting there for 3 hours the vehicle starts up. A week later the same thing happens again. I had to go through all the steps again so after a couple of hours. The vehicle started up. A few days later it happens shin but this time I'm at a stop sign on a busy road. I called road side service for a tow. No one showed up so I went through ll those same steps of disconnecting the battery and hooking it back up after a couple of hours and it stated up. I drove it home and started doing some research and found something saying to change the brake pedal position sensor so I done that and it worked for a few days and started doing the same thing all over again. S week later I drive it to the store and got almost home and the vehicle shut down again and would not start back up. I had it towed to my uncle shop nd he done a diagnostic on it and got about 4 or 5 codes. All of those things are very expensive to purchase. I just ran the VIN to check for recalls on the vehicle but couldn't find any but it should have been a lot of recalls because there are so many of these vehicles the exact same model and year with trouble with stability control nd brake and traction control issues. All the issues they hd on this car tht I have should not have been sold to anyone except the manufacturer. I wish I could just get my money back that I paid for it. $4700. 00 not included in the work I had done like the cv axles replace on both sides in the front. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2012 GMC Acadia 🔎.

I have had my 2025 GMC Acadia denali for 1 week with 336 miles on it. When I went to start it on the evening of [xxx], I felt the brake pulse. Then the dash lite up with message to service esc. The brake icon was lite up red and abs was lite up yellow color. I took my vehicle to our local jeff fender GMC dealership the next morning. The service tech did a brake pressure test which passed. He cleared the codes. When I went out to leave the dealership, the codes came back on. The service tech said it is not safe to drive because my brakes can fail at anytime. Service said they need to replace the master cylinder. With this issue, my brakes could fail & a horrible crash could occur causing injuries and/or death. Service rep told me this has happened to a new yukon too. My husband called the dealership in lake city, FL, where we purchased the Acadia from & spoke to a service rep. He told my husband he has seen this in yukons, terrains & sierra pick up trucks. This brake issue with the master cylinder should be a recall due to the potential dangers of a horrible accident that can occur if the brakes fail. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I was driving down the road and all the sudden my breaks locked up. Like I had to stand on the break with both feet for it to barely stop. After getting it to the repair shop they said my vacuum pump exploded. My problem is it’s very well taken care of car and absolutely no warning light was on. I had no warning at all just all the sudden wouldn’t stop. Now I’m 7,600 in the hole because of this and very upset my not even 5 year old car is having these problems.

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 🔎.

While car is in park, I get the "shift to park" warning after driving the vehicle.

I have a 2018 GMC Acadia that is now displaying " shift to park " while the vehicle is in park. Upon extensive research I see GMC did issue a recall however, my particular VIN was not included. Its now displaying the error message which would lead me to believe it is part of the recall. I called my local GMC dealership (langhorne, PA. ) and they said this was not covered since my VIN was not issues a recall.

It's a problem that occurs when my Acadia fails to recognize that the gear shifter is in the park position. As a result, the car doesn't fully shut down, leaving the engine running. Unable to shut down vehicle if shift doesn't fully activate brake notice, and could be a safety issue if it truly doesn't park. I have not taken the vehicle to a dealer or services to have the problem reproduced yet. It also has not been inspected yet, however, after doing research online, GMC did put a recall notifying owners that this may be a problem in vehicles from years 2017-2021. When I place the shifter into park, the car does not recognize it, and alerts me to put it into parking. It started appearing 2 months ago.

When pressing brakes to start the car the pedal goes all the way to the floor with little or no resistance. It has happened three times in 3 months. Took it to gm dealer after the first two incidents and they did a software update. Took it in again after the third incident and they did nothing.

Yes, my vehicle is available for inspection upon request. When I go to put my 2019 GMC Acadia in "park" the shifter states it is in park & the dashboard shows it in "p. " however, when I turn the vehicle off, an error message comes up reading "shift to park" and my car wont fully shut off. You can feel the car move forward or backwards a tiny bit (depending where vehicle is parked). This makes me have to turn the vehicle back on, shift into "drive," back into "park," and then shut the engine off and pray the "shift to park" display doesn't come up. This process was repeated this morning when I arrived at walmart 3x before it finally shut off, then when I got home it happened at least 8x before I could safely leave my car in my garage without the worry of it not truly being in park. This has gotten to the point I have bought wheel chalks to put around my car tires because I am afraid this vehicle could roll down my driveway into my neighbor's house or kill some kid playing in our culdesac. I let the last place I was at know & they told me GMC was aware of the issue, but that there was no way to fix it (auto revival in justin, TX). I am unsure as to whether this issue happened for them or not, as nothing was mentioned after being told GMC is aware. That was on January 10th, 2024. No one else has looked at it besides that. It seemed to be occurring less frequently for several months, and then now it is the worst it has ever been.