2008 GMC Acadia Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Acadia years
- Far more complaints than other years 1st of 20 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 5 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 854 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 GMC Acadia. That is the most of any Acadia model year in the database (20 years). The most reported problem area is power train (279 complaints, 33%), typically at around 77,400 miles. Complaints mention 22 crashes, 13 fires, 38 injuries. There are 5 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 854owner complaints
- 5safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 22complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2008 GMC Acadia problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train problems | 279 | 33% | 77,400 | “wave plate” (23%) | $5,500 |
| Electrical System problems | 153 | 18% | 86,000 | “water leaking” (8%) | — |
| Air Bags problems | 150 | 18% | 83,455 | “air bag” (45%) | $1,100 |
| Steering problems | 133 | 16% | 74,000 | “steering pump” (23%) | $1,350 |
| Engine problems | 124 | 15% | 97,970 | “timing chain” (15%) | $4,150 |
| Structure problems | 87 | 10% | 74,130 | “water leaking” (16%) | — |
| Unknown or Other | 63 | 7% | 114,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) problems | 57 | 7% | 110,797 | “traction control” (39%) | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 47 | 6% | 87,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 36 | 4% | 83,629 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 25 | 3% | 86,118 | — | — |
| Visibility | 23 | 3% | 78,610 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 20 | 2% | 34,250 | — | — |
| Suspension | 16 | 2% | 74,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 14 | 2% | 81,500 | — | — |
| Seats | 12 | 1% | 63,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 11 | 1% | 92,086 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 11 | 1% | 89,584 | — | — |
| Equipment | 5 | 1% | 58,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 4 | 0% | 100,552 | — | — |
| Wheels | 4 | 0% | 105,169 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 3 | 0% | 125,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 0% | 62,000 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 3 | 0% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 2 | 0% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 2 | 0% | 78,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 2 | 0% | 161,043 | — | — |
| Firerelated | 1 | 0% | 150,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0% | 200 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 1 | 0% | 9,500 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2008 GMC Acadia recalls (5)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Structure:body:hatchback/liftgate
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
Air bags:side/window
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Electrical system
Problem: Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Electrical system
Problem: Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Visibility:windshield wiper/washer:linkages
Problem: Gm is recalling 88,809 my 2008 buick enclave, and my 2007-2008 gmc acadia and saturn outlook vehicles currently or previously registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. If a buildup of snow or ice on the windshield or on the wipers restricts the movement of the wiper arm, the windshield wiper linkage may become detached from the motor shaft and the wipers may become inoperative.
Risk: If this were to occur, driver visibility could be reduced, which could result in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a new wiper crank arm, driver's side link, and a crank arm nut. The recall began o october 13, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Loss of Headlamp Illumination (DP12003) — opened Jun 4, 2012, closed Jul 24, 2014.
- Non-crash engine compartment fires (EA08010) — opened Jun 12, 2008, closed Sep 8, 2008, led to recall 08V441000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driverâs side air bags deployed; however, the vehicle was not involved in a crash. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to start the vehicle and the…
Lifegate wont open all the way airbag light is on and truck shimmering when I drive it
The car would not shift causing me to pull over on the side of a highway to restart the car this happened 5 times in a row b4 the car would shift into proper gear
Lift gate closes by itself I have to put a pole to hold it up and it wonât hit me, it says the air bags needs to be serviced, stabilitrak keeps going off, ball bearing needs work. Radio wonât turn on no sound on air signals, the body chasis something popped while driving, the tracking control…
The traction control turns on and then the shifts donât work and I canât drive since there is no speed also the rpm and the gas the speed and the battery gages start flickering up and down then I turn off the truck and it continues to work fine but after 40 miles or so it does it all again
Other GMC Acadia years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Acadia | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 Acadia | 67 | 0 |
| 2024 Acadia | 61 | 0 |
| 2023 Acadia | 45 | 4 |
| 2022 Acadia | 49 | 3 |
| 2021 Acadia | 151 | 2 |
| 2020 Acadia | 106 | 6 |
| 2019 Acadia | 387 | 2 |
| 2018 Acadia | 396 | 2 |
| 2017 Acadia | 705 | 4 |
| 2016 Acadia | 236 | 4 |
| 2015 Acadia | 243 | 4 |
| 2014 Acadia | 463 | 6 |
| 2013 Acadia | 135 | 3 |
| 2012 Acadia | 296 | 5 |
| 2011 Acadia | 269 | 5 |
| 2010 Acadia | 343 | 4 |
| 2009 Acadia | 331 | 7 |
| 2008 | 854 | 5 |
| 2007 Acadia | 428 | 5 |
See all GMC Acadia problems by year, every GMC model, or the GMC VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 GMC Acadia?
Owners most often report power train, electrical system, air bags problems. The top one, power train, accounts for 279 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2008 GMC Acadia?
Yes, 5 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2008 GMC Acadia a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Acadia model years, the 2008 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.