2018 GMC Savana Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Savana years
- Not enough data 16th of 31 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 7 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 3 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 GMC Savana. That ranks 16th out of 31 Savana model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is engine (1 complaints, 33%), typically at around 72,634 miles. Complaints mention 1 crash. There are 7 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.

- 3owner complaints
- 7safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 1complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2018 GMC Savana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 1 | 33% | 72,634 | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 1 | 33% | 13,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 33% | 8,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 1 | 33% | 13,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 1 | 33% | 13,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2018 GMC Savana recalls (7)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Electrical system:wiring
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2003-2023 Chevrolet Express Cutaway and GMC Savana Cutaway incomplete vehicles equipped with wiring for an optional rear heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. When the HVAC blower motor circuit is left unused with exposed connectors and wiring, the circuit can corrode and overheat.
Risk: An overheated electrical circuit increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will properly seal the rear HVAC blower motor circuits at the left side B-pillar, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 2, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GMC's number for this recall is N222386050.
Tires
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, XT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, Traverse, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, 2018-2021 Chevrolet Express, GMC Savana, 2019-2020 Chevrolet Blazer, Silverado 1500, GMC Acadia, Sierra 1500, and certain Continental tires sold to the aftermarket for various model year 2018-2021 vehicles. The affected tires were cured for too long during production.
Risk: Over cured tires may develop a break in the sidewall resulting in sudden air loss or a belt edge separation which could lead to a tread/belt loss. Either condition can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 22, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212329050.
Equipment
Problem: Unicell Body Company Inc. (Unicell) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savanna, 2018-2019 Hino 155, Ford Econoline and Transit and Isuzu NPR, and 2018 Ram ProMaster-based vehicles equipped with ASA Electronics Voyager monitors used to display the back-up camera image. The affected monitors may revert back to the factory default settings which may cause the camera image to be reversed.
Risk: The driver may inadvertently turn the wrong direction to avoid an object behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Unicell will work with ASA Electronics to notify owners and offer a remedy, free of charge. The recall began May 9, 2019. Owners may contact ASA Electronics customer service 1-800-384-4400 or Unicell at 1-716-853-8628.
Visibility:glass, side/rear
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vehicles. One or both of the rear-quarter windows may be tempered glass instead of laminated glass. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 226, "Ejection Mitigation."
Risk: Tempered glass increases the risk of injury in the event of a side impact or rollover crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the tempered glass windows with laminated glass windows, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-586-596-1733. GM's number for this recall is N192218960.
Electrical system
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Express and GMC Sierra vehicles equipped with a single, manual, rear climate control module (CCM). If the temperature is set to maximum heat or the mode knob is set to maximum floor vent and an electrical short occurs, components within the CCM may overheat.
Risk: If the CCM overheats, there is an increased risk of a fire in the vehicle's headliner.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the electrical insulation from a wiring connector within the CCM to remove the fire risk, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18299.
Tires:pressure monitoring and regulating systems
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vehicles with certain combinations of front-tire and gross-vehicle-weight option codes. The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) may be incorrectly calibrated, causing the TPMS warning lamp to illuminate when tire pressure reaches 37 PSI, not 41 PSI. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Risk: If the low tire pressure telltale is not illuminated at the correct tire pressure, the driver may have less time to react to a low-tire-pressure situation, which could affect the driver's ability to control the vehicle in certain situations and could increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will check the PSI information on the remote control door lock receiver (RCDLR) and tire placard match, and if the information is different the RCDLR will be reprogrammed. This repair will be done free of charge. The recall began August 27, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18255.
Equipment
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, 2009 GMC Topkick 5000, 6000, 7000 and 8000 Series and Isuzu F Series, and 2009-2018 Chevrolet Express, and GMC Savana vehicles, equipped with certain Plastic-Handle Fire Extinguishers or Push Button 'Pindicator' Fire Extinguishers. These extinguishers may become clogged, preventing the extinguisher from discharging as expected or requiring excessive force to activate the extinguisher. Additionally, in certain models, the nozzle may detach from the valve assembly with enough force that it could cause injury and also render the product inoperable. For a full list of the affected fire extinguisher models visit: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RMISC-17E062-5427.pdf
Risk: In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde to get a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began June 11, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Isuzu customer service at 1-866-441-9638. GM's number for this recall is 18146.
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
- 6L90 Transmission Failure (PE23016) — opened Sep 27, 2023, closed Jan 10, 2025.
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 2018 GMC Savana. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle stalled. The oil pressure light was illuminated. After several attempts, the vehicle failed to restart. The Police Department was called, and the Officer helped to push the vehicle out of the…
My 2018 van is an explorer conversion with 13000 miles on it. It was taken to gmc for repairs for what the tech is calling a "death wobble". Basically the van at unpredicted times gets into a rough shaking in the front end that forces you to stop. This happened while braking going down steep grades…
After waiting my turn to pay a toll on the ohio turnpike exit in toledo, the van did not stop when i applied the brakes and i ran into the back of the car ahead of me. My van brakes had been working as we eased up to the toll both with about 6 cars ahead of me. I had my foot on the brakes the whole…
Other GMC Savana years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Savana | 0 | 3 |
| 2025 Savana | 0 | 4 |
| 2023 Savana | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 Savana | 2 | 2 |
| 2021 Savana | 2 | 3 |
| 2020 Savana | 0 | 2 |
| 2019 Savana | 5 | 5 |
| 2018 | 3 | 7 |
| 2017 Savana | 7 | 6 |
| 2016 Savana | 6 | 7 |
| 2015 Savana | 2 | 4 |
| 2014 Savana | 1 | 7 |
| 2013 Savana | 2 | 9 |
| 2012 Savana | 3 | 7 |
| 2011 Savana | 1 | 5 |
| 2010 Savana | 3 | 4 |
| 2009 Savana | 2 | 8 |
| 2008 Savana | 3 | 7 |
| 2007 Savana | 6 | 3 |
| 2006 Savana | 7 | 7 |
| 2005 Savana | 13 | 5 |
| 2004 Savana | 12 | 7 |
| 2003 Savana | 22 | 11 |
| 2002 Savana | 12 | 0 |
| 2001 Savana | 19 | 0 |
| 2000 Savana | 49 | 2 |
| 1999 Savana | 49 | 1 |
| 1998 Savana | 33 | 1 |
| 1997 Savana | 46 | 1 |
| 1996 Savana | 35 | 2 |
| 1995 Savana | 2 | 0 |
See all GMC Savana 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 2018 GMC Savana?
Owners most often report engine, lane departure, service brakes problems. The top one, engine, accounts for 1 complaint.
Was there a recall on the 2018 GMC Savana?
Yes, 7 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2018 GMC Savana a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Savana model years, the 2018 has too little data to compare. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.