general problems of the 2021 GMC Yukon

The vehicle has experienced recurring suspension, drivability, and pulling issues associated with the 4-corner air ride leveling suspension system since early ownership. The first major incident occurred at approximately 4,600 miles when the vehicle displayed suspension warnings and would not accelerate properly past highway speeds. Since that time, the vehicle has repeatedly experienced pulling during acceleration, unstable ride behavior, suspension/leveling concerns, alignment-related issues, and drivability instability. The problem has been reproduced multiple times and documented through approximately 16 repair visits and roughly 74 cumulative days out of service. Dealership service records include repeated suspension inspections, drivability evaluations, wheel alignments, and related repair attempts. The issue remains unresolved and the vehicle is currently back in service again for the same concern. The recurring pulling and instability create safety concerns because the vehicle does not consistently track properly during acceleration and normal driving conditions. Suspension warning messages and drivability symptoms first appeared early in ownership while the vehicle was still under factory warranty. I have also found many similar owner complaints online involving the same suspension system in comparable gm full-size SUV models.

When turning on the car, a message pops up on the dash and will not go away. Dashboard says “ service safety restraint system”.

March 29th 2026 my 2021 Yukon xl engine stalled while driving at 45mph (no prior warning lamps or messages, restart engine came on dash) causing me to immediately pull over and come to a stop still in traffic, it shifted my vehicle into park, I was in an in an un-safe spot and was stuck in park (conditions not correct for shift on dash) because my vehicle would not allow me to shift to neutral and push it to the side of the road, (could not jump start) had towed to dealership and mentioned engine failure and fuel pump control module recalls but according to them it was a starter issue, I asked them to still check the fuel pump control module regardless. Picked up vehicle and a week later April 14th the exact same thing happened vehicle stalled while driving dash said restart engine while coasting (no prior warning lamps or messages) forcing me to pull over where it rolled to a stop and locked itself into park leaving me in unsafe conditions again. Had towed back to the same dealership and waiting to hear back from them.

Vehicle could not detect key fob, key fob had normal operation(lock, unlock, remote start, tailgate open and close, all functional) but unable to start vehicle or power vehicle accessories. Windows opened with key fob and could not close windows, could not put vehicle in neutral, was stranded for 6 hours, unable to scan vehicle due to lack of key detection not allowing accessories to operate to attain connection with modules, unable to tow because couldn’t get vehicle in neutral. Vehicle battery good, key fob battery good. Was stuck with vehicle because couldn’t not close windows. Very unsafe and inconvenient situation.

Driver side mirror starts moving on its own without any physical buttons being pressed. Accident notification system has failed and has produced a cel.

The vehicle shifted into neutral while driving, locked out gear selection, triggered a transmission warning, and now will not restart.

Vehicle: 2021 GMC denali mileage: ~48,000 miles purchase price: $62,000 issue: airbags & crash sensors failed to deploy complaint text: I am filing a safety complaint regarding my 2021 GMC denali. I was involved in a rear-end collision at approximately 45 mph, where I struck another vehicle straight on from behind. The impact was severe enough to total my vehicle, yet no airbags deployed, and no forward collision warning or crash sensor systems activated. This is especially concerning because this vehicle was previously involved in a front-end collision (not my fault) and underwent extensive repairs. I was assured all systems were repaired and functioning properly. Additionally, my vehicle had completed recall work related to safety systems prior to this crash. This is the second front-end crash involving this vehicle where airbags failed to deploy. Given the speed and severity of the impact, airbags should have deployed. The failure of these systems placed my life at serious risk. The vehicle has since been totaled and taken by insurance, but I am requesting that this failure be formally investigated as a potential safety defect in the airbag and sensor systems. I am extremely concerned that the vehicle’s safety systems were either defective or not properly restored following repairs and recalls.

I’m not happy with just a change in oil viscosity because the car has already been on the road for 70000 miles before we were aware of the recall on the engine. Changing the oil viscosity doesn’t help when there is a underlying engine problem it should be replaced not just change your oil and send you on your way because now I’m always wondering and worried if the engine will still fail when my kids and wife are in the car. Furthermore I just had it inspected and the oil changed to new viscosity a week ago and the oil level is already half way on the dipstick so I’m taking back to the dealership to express my concern. If I would have known this was going to be an issue with this SUV I would have purchased something else. I’d just like the engine replaced so that I don’t have to worry every time I pull out of the driveway with my family. My power steering assist still whines and there is no open recall on it. I think GMC should be responsible for replacing engines and power steering assembly and power steering motors on 2021 GMC Yukon denalis because of the wear and tear they have endured before the recall was taken care of by adding a different viscosity oil because the damage has already been done.

Electronics- module went out @40,000 brand new car drive train teal differential went out.

I attempted to start my vehicle and it turned over and at the end of trying it sounded like it wanted to start. This repeated itself with no change. I contacted the dealer which I purchased it from and the service mgr said it was the fuel pump control module. Numerous 2021 Yukon had this problem and there is both a service bulletin and a recall for this part. N212332040. My vehicle is not on recall. I attempted to have it towed to the local chevy dealer and was unable to as no local tow company had the tool to put the transmission in neutral. They all wanted to drag it onto the trailer. Bad design that it can not be put in park if it’s not running. I purchased a replacement fuel pump control module part 13554821 from the dealership. I installed it and the problem was fixed. I have the defective part if needed. This would have been much more of an issue if it happened anywhere other than my house, especially with the inability to put he transmission in neutral !!.

I was driving from new orleans with my family when traveling at 75 mph when it’s like the transmission started straining and the engine was losing power/pressure it’s like the engine or transmission was struggling I’m not sure what was causing it but it was a scary experience knowing I’d my kids and my wife with me and we were out in the middle of nowhere.

Vehicle: 2021 GMC Yukon denali component: fuel system, gasoline – fuel pump control module incident date: 7-10-2025 mileage 61,263 location: sr 2006 coats, nc summary of complaint: while my wife was pulling out of our neighborhood in our 2021 Yukon denali, the vehicle suddenly shut off while navigating a slight curve. It came to a complete stop in the roadway and could not be restarted. The engine would not crank, and the vehicle could not be shifted into neutral, making it impossible to move out of traffic. The Yukon remained disabled in the roadway for over an hour and ultimately had to be towed. Upon inspection, the dealership mechanic immediately identified the issue without even running diagnostics. He confirmed it was a failed fuel pump control module, which he stated is a common issue with this model. This failure represents a serious safety risk, particularly had it occurred on a high-speed interstate or in dense traffic. A sudden loss of power and inability to move the vehicle can result in dangerous roadside situations or collisions. GMC needs to address this recurring defect before it leads to more severe incidents or injuries. No warning lights or indicators appeared prior to the failure.

For whatever reason our 2021 GMC Yukon denali is not listed in the current 2025 GMC motor recall including cams and lifters and accompanying parts. While driving our truck about a mile from the house the vehicle began seizing and shaking (almost as if we had blown several tires); we immediately pulled over and accessed. Called dealership and had truck towed there immediately. We are told that it needs cams and lifters and that b/c our VIN does not pull up a recall that the repairs will cost ~$9800.

Rear view camera fails to display on screen when vehicle is shifted to reverse. Failure remains during the remainder of ignition on cycle. The failures does not generate system error codes. Dealer service unable to diagnose failure.

My vehicle showing service safety restraint system and airbag light . When check with dealer code b14dc has appeared ( driver inboard seat side air bag high control).

Complete failure of infotainment system in cold weather. This is a safety concern because most controls are operated through the infotainment system and can DE distracting to a driver who is trying to operate all features of a vehicle while driving. For instance having cold children in the rear seats and not knowing if the heat is activated in the rear of the vehicle and at what temperature or if it is blowing at all. There is no manual indication of rear climate. This is already a safety bulletin for 2021 Yukon that for some reason my vehicle is not included in. Gm recall number: n212327470 I want my vehicle included since this is a safety concern ( see above ) and this should be a real recall rather than a notification or safety bulletin.

While on a red light and foot on the break, the car turned off completely and would not turn back on after many tries. Truck was towed but mechanic did not find any issues with vehicle as he turned it on with no issues. All lights flashed and indicated battery was low but was not warned prior. The previous week, the truck shut off completely as well but it turned on quickly.

I purchased the vehicle in July 2024. I drove the car for 10 days, and when I was driving 65 mph, the check engine light blinked three times and then went off. After that, the engine made a sound that was not there before. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they had the car for many weeks, concluding that the lifters broke and the engine needed to be replaced. The dealership said they replaced the engine and the car was returned to me towards the end of August. Since then, the ac has been worked on three different times in the past year and on the third attempt, there is finally cool air coming out of the driver's air vents. The driver's seat ac blowers malfunctioned and were repaired. The dealership put the original engine's belt back on and then broke. The electric system inside glitches from time to time when you first start the car. The front windshield wipers will randomly swipe while driving. After getting a regular oil change, the car sprang an oil leak due to the cap not being tight enough. Over the past 5 months, there has been a random popping sound in the front driver's side area when coming to a stop that two dealerships can not figure out. The belt in the engine still makes a high-pitched sound when first starting up and lasts for about 1 minute. While in park or sitting at a light, the engine will idle up and down from time to time. The vehicle has been worked on by the dealership where it was purchased and also a GMC dealership.

“service steering column” notice appears on dash board. Steering wheel is locked and car won’t start leaving us stranded. Dealer could not diagnose problem. Car started at dealership. Took it home. One month later happened again.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon denali xl. The contact stated that during rainy weather, rainwater leaked into the vehicle through the drainage hose, causing an electrical short. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was confirmed that the drainage hose and wiring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

Fuel pump power control module sku number 13537053 brand new GMC denali less than 9000 miles had serviced for 5 previous recalls drove for a week. Truck completely shut down on road no power will cause serious or death if person is on highway as engine turns off and car shuts down due to electric shift cant put car in neutral not even with key from key fob so if get vehicle towed cant even shift into neutral big fail on gm part and will cause major issues as vehicle just shuts off do to this issue no service light. Major accident waiting to habit and back ordered parts on a expensive machine.

The lighting on the entire interior infotainment area will randomly go bright and dim all by itself. I was almost in an accident on the interstate due to this. It was blinding and distracting to have the lighting dim and then go bright. It has been randomly doing this for about a month. I called GMC and they said they had no record of this happening on other vehicles, however when I searched for the issue with my vehicle, I realized other GMC owners have experienced the same issue. I was able to get a video of it happening one morning while waiting in my driveway to drop my kids off at the bus stop. I was in the parked position. There are no warning or messages when the lighting malfunctions, so I am not at all prepared when the car turns the lighting to max brightness. It poses a risk when driving by blinding the driver, causing the driver to loose focus while driving trying to adjust the lighting back to dim. It is an unnecessary distraction. The dealership couldn't confirm any malfunctions in my car. As previously stated, I have a video of the malfunction, but I am not able to upload it. I am willing to send via email.

The SUV shown safety message, it was diagnosed with airbag not deployed. This is very important specially for the rear backseat. GMC doesn’t want to be responsible and makes customer pay.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the vehicle independently reversed without warning upon touching the gear shifter. The vehicle first backed into a cement barrier and then lunged forward into an intersection while she repeatedly depressed her brake pedal to no avail. The contact managed to call 911 and while speaking with an operator, she was able to regain control of the vehicle. The contact hit a parked vehicle as well as a barrier during the failure. Once the contact regained control of the vehicle, she pulled into a gas station where she was met by police. A police report was filed. The contact suffered mental anguish as a result of the failure. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where they were unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The vehicle was then towed to an independent body shop where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. The VIN was not available.

Large fire started at rear of car. Car was parked on driveway and no one was inside. Noticed a burning smell before fire started. Could not locate any smoke. Vehicle rear burst into flames 20 minutes later. Fire department responded quickly and was able to put out the fire before it reached the house. Vehicle is totaled. Vehicle was inspected by fire department and police after fire was extinguished. They believe the fire was electrical. Vehicle is currently being inspected by insurance company. No warning lamps or messages appeared. Rear windshield wiper stopped working 2 weeks prior to fire.

The vehicle had a sudden loss power shortly after I started the vehicle. When I pressed down the gas pedal, the vehicle turned off. It was only a 20 mph zoned residential neighborhood so I was able to safely coast to the side of the road. I dont think I could have safely gotten to the side of the road if it had been on any type of a multi lane road. There was no warning, no lights, no sounds that there was a problem. I had the truck towed to the local dealership as I was 120 miles from home. The mechanic at dealership said it was a faulty “fuel pump power control module“ and that they are failing a lot. Last I heard that the part was on nationwide back order. There was a recall for this very same problem over a year ago but my vehicle is not part of the recall. Yet the problems are still occurring with many similar vehicles (tahoe / Yukon).

I own a 2021 GMC Yukon denali that had total brake faliure last Tuesday. I had it towed to a local GMC dealer and are repairing it under warranty. I was lucky to be on a back road when my brakes went out. I had no warning lights come on prior to hitting the brake pedal and was able to coast to a stop on the shoulder when I applied the brakes, the pedal went to the floor and did nothing. You can't stop the car with the parking brake because it is electric. My concern is what if I was on a busy road when this happened or what if this happens to a family in traffic they could be seriously hurt or worse yet killed. I do have good photos of my instrument panel with all of the warning lights coming on after I tried to stop. In good conscience feel that I have to at least try and report this to gm, the state and anyone else that will listen. If nothing comes of this at least I tried and just hope no one gets hurt if this happens again. My wife refuses to ride in that vehicle until I have solid answers. The dealer said they will have my car repaired this week and are replacing the master cylinder and ecs this is fine but why did it happen and how can I be sure it won't happen again? I believe in gm and have a 2023 Yukon denali on order. I would hope that after 3 years of this model they have most of the little quirks worked out. A rep from gm did contact me and at first was talking about buying my car back but changed that today. My case number is 9-8497380349 . The problem is I have no idea when my new car is coming in our should I just cancel it and find something else. In my opinion this is a very serious problem.

The vehicle had a total failure of its rear safety package which includes blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, rear parking sensors and rear safety alert. The warning illuminated on the dash that all of these functions were offline and service was needed. We took the Yukon to a gm dealer and they replaced a computer and had a hard time getting it to program. This failure also affected the hvac system in the car, with the fan staying on high. After 23 days of service, the dealer thought they fixed it. After two weeks of having the vehicle back the same alert came on 5-6 times in the same day, with another safety package failure. Now the alert doesn’t come on but none of those safety features work, they are all offline. It is bad enough driving a 20’ long vehicle without the safety package working, but now it is worse in that the car doesn’t alert you to the fact it isn’t working and you might not remember that it is defective. This could cause a collision on the highway or result in the driver backing into something or someone, relying on this technology.

I was driving 30 mph when the car went into neutral and rolled to a stop. When I put on the brakes the engine shut off and it went into park. It would not restart or shift out of park . I was stuck in an active busy road. The car was towed to the dealer. They said it was a problem with the bcm. GMC had put out a bullletin which was to reprogram the bcm. My concern is that if this had happened on a busy interstate in traffic at highway speeds the results could have been fatal.

This new 2021 GMC Yukon denali we purchased on June 2, 2021 has a very sophisticated controls system that includes a feature, entitled "brake assist," that is designed to detect "rapid brake pedal applications due to emergency braking situations and provides additional braking to activate the antilock brake system (abs) if the brake pedal is not pushed hard enough to activate abs normally. " "brake assist disengages when the brake pedal is released. " after I left the dealership (June 2nd), I noticed that the "service brake assist" light had illuminated on the driver information center (dic). I pulled off the road to check the owner's manual, and then continued home trusting that no immediate hazard existed. I subsequently set up an appointment with the dealership for a checkup. A week later, the dealership downloaded a new software package from GMC. The brake assist light did not appear when the engine started, so I left for home (50-minute drive at moderate speeds). Enroute to my home, I stopped at a store and turned the engine off. Started home a few minutes later. While accelerating past 45 mph, the brake system independently engaged, which threw me against the steering wheel and into the windshield. As the SUV decelerated through 20 mph, the brakes automatically released. I was not hurt, nor did I lose angular control of the vehicle. I completed my drive home and parked the Yukon normally. Did not drive it again until returning to the dealership a few days later. This second visit did not bear fruit. After significant explorative work, the lead mechanic drove the vehicle several miles under a multitude of conditions, but could not duplicate the problem or get the light on the dic to extinguish. At my request, the dealership returned possession to me with the light still illuminated. I have driven the vehicle several miles since then with the "service brake assist" light still illuminated. I suspect this is a GMC software problem.

Travelling down the highway 69 mph with my wife and three small children when the dash flashed multiple error codes, engine speed limited to 62 mph, and brakes essentially went out. Was able to get safely stopped. Contacted dealership and they advised shutting it off for 20 min and it would "reset". It did not reset and we refused to drive it in such unsafe circumstances without adequate brake function etc. GMC roadside assistance came and towed it away. Could have resulted in much worse outcomes and we are thankful no one was injured. Very nervous to drive it again after we get it back, not knowing if it will malfunction again.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the message “safety restraint unavailable” was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery voltage was low. The battery was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on two other occasions, where the system was reset, but the failure reoccurred approximately two months later. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.

Driving approx. 62 mph on a highway, went to slow down and unable to brake, upon pushing down on the break there was resistance, after pumping the breaks multiple times I was eventually able to slow down with a lot of force. Messages on dashboard read "brake system failure" "62 max speed esc, service esc, service trailer break system, and forward collision system unavailable. " abs, esc and check engine light all illuminated on dash screen.

We were coming back from a trip with my children and this vehicle was barely 2 weeks old with 0 miles and we were on a highway when all the emergency lights on the dash went off. It was flagging the electrical system, the engine, the brakes. Honestly all the lights possible went off. The vehicle was lagging and it felt force when we pushed on the gas. Our hands were gripping the steering wheel to keep it in lane till we could get off.