GMC Acadia Electrical System Problems
Owners have filed 1,083 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the GMC Acadia across 20 model years. The 2017 model year has the most (193). The words owners use most often: “shift park” (22% of reports).
- 1,083electrical system complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 13mention a crash
- 21mention an injury
- 4related recalls
- $1,000typical repair cost reported by owners
- 39%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Shift park: mentioned in 236 of 1,083 complaints (22%)
- Turn off: mentioned in 147 of 1,083 complaints (14%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical electrical system repair on the GMC Acadia at $1,000, and half of them between $540 and $1,700.
Based on 24 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2013–2026), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?
Based on 598 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 1,083 complaints, 13 mention a crash, 30 a fire, 21 an injury.
GMC Acadia electrical system complaints by model year
| Model year | Electrical System complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Acadia | 3 | 33% | 900 |
| 2025 Acadia | 4 | 6% | — |
| 2024 Acadia | 8 | 13% | 600 |
| 2023 Acadia | 9 | 20% | 9,757 |
| 2022 Acadia | 15 | 31% | 28,000 |
| 2021 Acadia | 38 | 25% | 4,800 |
| 2020 Acadia | 28 | 26% | 1,700 |
| 2019 Acadia | 105 | 27% | 26,000 |
| 2018 Acadia | 109 | 28% | 32,000 |
| 2017 Acadia | 193 | 27% | 34,504 |
| 2016 Acadia | 25 | 11% | 47,783 |
| 2015 Acadia | 28 | 12% | 50,000 |
| 2014 Acadia | 90 | 19% | 72,000 |
| 2013 Acadia | 38 | 28% | 65,000 |
| 2012 Acadia | 41 | 14% | 84,000 |
| 2011 Acadia | 47 | 17% | 75,000 |
| 2010 Acadia | 45 | 13% | 67,640 |
| 2009 Acadia | 47 | 14% | 70,000 |
| 2008 Acadia | 153 | 18% | 86,000 |
| 2007 Acadia | 57 | 13% | 91,232 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (4)
Electrical system
Model years: 2014
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
Risk: If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GMÂs number for this recall is 14515.
Electrical system:software; electrical system: instrument cluster/panel; fuel system, gasoline
Model years: 2014
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured March 26, 2013, through August 15, 2013. In the affected vehicles, the engine control module (ECM) software may cause the fuel gauge to read inaccurately.
Risk: An inaccurate fuel gauge may result in the vehicle unexpectedly running out of fuel and stalling, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECM to correct the fuel gauge reading, free of charge. The recall began on June 27, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14007.
Electrical system
Model years: 2007, 2008, 2009
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
Model years: 2007, 2008
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> .
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
I get error electric Steering assist reduced or unavailable drive with care at around 84234 miles on my car . Upon looking up problem on Internet it has to do with the Thermostat. I also found where Gm has a bulletin N252508350 which only seems to cover certain vehicles with the same problem. This…
The contact owned a 2026 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that there were software updates perform on the vehicle and the vehicle experienced issues with a module failure with reading the information downloaded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where technicians restarted and successfully…
Receive error message about Power steering that shuts off AC and Temperature gauges. Happens constantly when vehicle is driven on freeway. Requires the battery to be disconnected and it resets until the next time.
While attempting to turn vehicle off, the message shift to park was given. Could not shut vehicle off! Has happened multiple times in the past, then disappears for awhile. Comes back again at will. Have seen multiple complaints on this issue falling back to a defective micro-switch within the…
While driving home from work the car displayed a "No Fuel" warning, despite having a full tank of gas. Within seconds of the display showing the car stalled out and stopped right in the middle of the road. It would not go into neutral and I had to be towed from the middle of the road to a mechanic…
Frequently asked questions
Do all GMC Acadias have electrical system problems?
No. NHTSA has 1,083 owner complaints about electrical system for the GMC Acadia. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the GMC Acadia electrical system?
Yes: 4 safety recalls list electrical system. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
How much does it cost to fix electrical system problems on the GMC Acadia?
Owners report a typical cost of $1,000 (half paid between $540 and $1,700), from 24 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about electrical system problems on the GMC Acadia?
The most frequent phrase is “shift park”, in 236 of 1,083 complaints, followed by “turn off” (147).
Other GMC Acadia problems
- Power Train problems (1,377)
- Air Bags problems (908)
- Steering problems (809)
- Engine problems (746)
- Exterior Lighting problems (278)
- Structure problems (250)
- Service Brakes problems (242)
- Electronic Stability Control (esc) problems (196)
See all GMC Acadia problems.