Owners have filed 5,049 complaints on the GMC Acadia, covering 2007–2026. The system named most often is Power Train (804 reports). Worst years by volume: 2008, 2017, 2014; cleanest: 2026, 2023, 2022. 124 reports describe a crash, 68 a fire. On average the car was 5.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on GMC Acadia
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 5,049 Acadia complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 804 Read
The contact owns a 2016 gmc acadia denali. While the driver was placing the kids in the car seat, with the key removed from the ignition switch and the gear shifter in park, a ticking noise was heard. The vehicle rolled away and crashed into a pillar. The fuel tank ruptured and caused a fire. The vehicle was towed to…
While driving vehicle stalled multiple times in the middle of the road, with service transmission and engine light coming on, causing unsafe conditions, causing accident and leaving passengers stranded. Battery being drained and needing to be replaced multiple times within 2 years. Vehicle stopping and shutting off on…
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park with the engine running, the vehicle suddenly rolled away. As a result of the failure, the vehicle crashed into another parked vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was not…
Air Bags 639 Read
The contact owned a 2014 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact was avoiding crashing into another vehicle when the contact's vehicle crashed into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that some good Samaritans assisted the contact in getting out of the…
The contact owns a 2026 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while at a stop sign and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into the rear passenger's side of a Semi Truck. Both the AEB and the IAEB failed to engage during the incident. The vehicle sustained severe front-end…
Struck a deer traveling at 65 mph & air bags did not deploy
Electrical System 633 Read
I was traveling in my 2021 gmc Acadia in which I have had numerous issues with is the almost 4 years I have owned it. The back up camera 2 weeks after purchase it went out in June of 2021. After that The vehicle In October of 2021 I get in the vehicle on rainy day. Infotainment systems reads error with the SD card…
I got into an accident because my back up crap camera did not warn me that a car had turned behind me. Also when and backing up and a car is coming it doesn’t indicate the car is coming until it’s behind me. I’ve taken it to the dealer and they say there’s nothing wrong with it. Also there is no break when you come…
I bought my car [XXX] it had 7 miles. I loved my car. Then in January 2021 things just went crazy. It started with park light on. My forward brake assist warning didn’t work, my back up camera in and out . My braking and stability were on and off. Then weird codes like. Engine at half power, unable to shift soon and…
Steering 512 Read
In motion on the highway 401 north ontario canada, the vehicle erratically increased speed and brakes were noir effective, lost control of the steering wheel which caused a massive accident involving multiple cars and resulted in multiple injuries
On July 26, 2024, I was driving my 2018 Acadia, with my cruise control set to 48 in a 45 MHP zone. Nearing a bad curve, I sneezed. When this happened, I tapped the brakes to disengage the cruise control, my passengers side tires exited the road and with both hands on the wheel I tried to slowly bring my tires back to…
Front right driveshaft separated while driving causing a pull to the right
Engine 228 Read
The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park, the brake was released, and the vehicle lunged forward and collided with a Rental Movie machine coming to a stop at a building. No safety features were activated. The air bags were deployed. The contact sustained leg, hand,…
The contact owned a 2013 gmc acadia. The contact stated that while in for service the mechanic noticed the odor of smoke and fuel inside the vehicle. Later while the vehicle was parked a fire had started from within the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During…
The contact owns a 2011 gmc acadia. The contact stated that the front of the vehicle caught on fire as it tried to enter the interstate from a ramp. The contact and her passenger quickly exited the vehicle after she pulled off to the shoulder. The complete front of the vehicle was destroyed by the fire. A police…
Exterior Lighting 141 Read
The contact owns a 2012 gmc acadia. The contact stated that the daytime running lights failed to illuminate. The contact mentioned that when replacing the light bulb, the base of the bulb and the plastic harness was burnt and melted. The contact stated that the bulbs were replaced on multiple occasions. The vehicle…
The contact owns a 2011 gmc acadia. The contact stated that the day time running lights had failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the bulb had gotten too hot and melted the casing, light bulb, and housing unit. The components needed to be replaced for both head lights. The…
The contact owns a 2011 gmc acadia. The contact noticed that the front passenger side headlight had burned out. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was repaired; however, the failure recurred on the driver side approximately two weeks later. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed that the headlight…
Service Brakes 119 Read
The contact owns a 2022 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal to stop, smoke began to fill the cabin of the vehicle. The transmission was switched to the park position and the contact exited the vehicle and discovered flames and smoke coming from the front brake rotors. Moments later a…
We filled a report on 04/04/2026 with NHTSA at 12:16 pm but can't find a copy of the whole report. My husband John Chandler was driving our 2025 GMC Avadia Elevation. He was backing out of a parking place when he noticed it wouldn't stop while putting his foot on the break. He was able to put it into drive and it…
As I was stopped in line behind a car at the ATM, my foot slipped from the brake, I quickly placed it back only to find that I ended up going forward. I quickly moved my foot more to the left for the brake only to end up going forward even faster hitting the car in front of me. I then put my left foot firmly on the…
Structure 83 Read
Rear view camera stopped working as I was backing up and ran into a pole damaged my right rear wheel well and panel
My 2013 gmc arcardia slt model burst into flames on its own on the morning of friday, july 17th. I came home around 9:45pm and parked my SUV in the backyard. The next thing I know is that the fire department was at my door waking me up to the SUV ablaze. The only work that was done to my vehicle was to have my oil…
The contact owns a 2008 gmc acadia. While driving approximately 70 mph, smoke and flames began to emit from the roof of the vehicle without warning. The fire department extinguished the fire and filed a report. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was…
Acadia years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Air Bags,forward Collision Avoidance,power Train | 1 | — | |
| 2025 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2024 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags,structure | 3 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 2020 | Air Bags,seats | 4 | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 9 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 14 | 2 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 5 | 8 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 6 | 9 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 4 | 8 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 6 | 11 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 19 | 12 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 12 | 5 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 1,514 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.3 |
| Worst single series | 23 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.2 years |
A model average of 3.3 hides a worst series at 23. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Acadia?
By complaint volume, 2008, 2017, 2014 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Acadia years are the cleanest?
2026, 2023, 2022 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the GMC Acadia have?
5,049 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2026. Of those, 124 describe a crash and 68 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.