Owners have filed 5,079 complaints on the GMC Yukon, covering 1992–2026. The system named most often is Air Bags (807 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2015, 2011; cleanest: 1992, 1993, 2026. 183 reports describe a crash, 46 a fire, 8 a death. On average the car was 5.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on GMC Yukon
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 5,079 Yukon complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 807 Read
I have an outstanding recall on my 2014 Yukon. This recall is several years old. As far as I can tell nothing has been done on this recall. This is a safety recall! Previously I owned a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban with the same recall on it. I was told that no parts were available for the repair. I repeat this is a SAFETY…
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while stopped on the highway a Crown Victoria crashed into the rear driver's quarter panel and a Honda Civic crashed into the front bumper of the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. There was a police report filed. There was no reported fire. The contact…
I was involved in a vehicle accident on 10/6/2021 where my vehicle was stuck by an uninsured motorist driving recklessly on the interstate causing a total of 4 car collision. My vehicle was a a 2021 GMC YUKON SLT SUV, in which I was struck on rear drivers side quarter panel and again by another vehicle in the front…
Engine 492 Read
The contact owns a 2008 gmc yukon. The contact stated while driving 35 mph the vehicle stalled. When the contact looked underneath the hood, the contact observed that the vehicle was on fire. The police and fire department extinguished the fire. The origin of the fire was unknown. A police/fire report was filed. There…
The engine started a soft, cyclic tapping sound intermittently on 2/28/26 while I was out of town on a trip. No alerts showed on the GM systems app. On 3/1, while driving home from the trip, the car started hard braking at cruising speed and the engine died and would not restart. I had the car towed to the closest GM…
Engine starting clicking during highway drive then engine failed mid-drive and engine was trying to restart on its own mid drive. Vehicle totally stalled out in the street, with numerous attempts the engine did not start. Total mileage on car was 2,900
Electrical System 409 Read
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 contact owns a 2015 gmc yukon. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle stalled without warning on two separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing on six separate occasions. The cause of the failure could not be determined. On another occasion, the contact was…
Wiring to radiator fan caught on fire. I was driving the car when I smelled smoke. When I pulled over smoke was coming from the hood I opened the hood and there was open flames on the fan wiring wiring
Exterior Lighting 354 Read
The contact owns a 2022 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed in a parking lot, she suddenly saw a blinding glare and then crashed into a light pole. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that her two infant children were inside the vehicle with her and that there were no…
The gmc yukon models in all trims, have faulty LED strips that cause the brake lights to fail on the left, and right brake light assembly. The frustrating part is it works intermittently, and when it's off a slight tap will momentarily bring it back on for the duration of the jolt. This leads me to believe that it's…
The contact owns a 2003 gmc yukon. While stopped at a light, the front headlight caught fire. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. Gmc stated that they would have a dealer inspect the vehicle and repair it at the owner's expense. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The failure and current mileages…
Power Train 350 Read
The contact owns a 2005 gmc yukon. When accelerating from first to second gear at 1,800 rpms the transmission slipped into second gear. The vehicle decelerated and the contact pulled off the road. The failure occurred while driving 65 mph. The vehiclewas currently at the dealer and the transmission will either be torn…
I was driving my vehicle and exiting the hw. The rear wheel of the driver side broke off and separated from the car which caused my car to hit the cement beerier on front and the side of the driver side of the vehicle. Then the car turned 180 degrees and hit the beerier on the passenger side and the rear of the car.…
Car was parked in front of our house and combusted in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. Car was exploding and engulfed in flames...completely destroyed via fire and the worst damage was in the engine compartment. Cause of the fire is unknown although based on research sounds like NHTSA campaign…
Structure 253 Read
The contact owns a 2010 gmc yukon. The contact stated that there were cracks in the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to mark christopher auto center (located at 2131 e convention center way, ontario, ca 91764) where it was determined that the 2010-14 models experienced the same failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed…
The contact owns a 2006 gmc yukon denali. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact crashed into a telephone pole, it broke and fell on the roof of the vehicle. The dealer is trying to order parts and the roof skin; however, the gm manufacturer does not have it in stock and doesn't know when the parts will be…
Was driving about 30mph and hit the brake pedal, the brake pedal went to the floor and we ran into a trailer. The brake lines were rusted so bad that they busted, and caused the brake fluid to leak out. The estimate to repair the brake lines alone is $2800
Service Brakes 227 Read
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and completing a turn, the forward warning collision system alarm sounded, but the vehicle failed to activate automatic emergency braking. As a result, the vehicle collided with another vehicle ahead. The air bags did not…
Have no brakes at low speed due to faulty vacuum pump
Low speed break failure. In my driveway, in parkinglots, usually after having foot on break to "roll" and then stop again, no breaks, or have to put two feet down to stop. I hit a car in front of me two days ago after waiting at a red light, starting to roll because they rolled, then they stopped, and I hit the break…
Steering 125 Read
After pulling out from parking lot into roadway, steering wheel locked up (right) and vehicle proceeded uncontrolled into a telephone pole - injuring driver. Driver stage 1 & 2 together with seatbelt pretensioner deployed upon impact. No warning lamps or defect symptoms prior to time of failure. Inspection revealed…
The contact owned a 2021 GMC Denali. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering. The vehicle failed to turn and crashed into a tree. There were no reported injuries. There were no warning lights. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign…
During maneuver in parking lot trying to turn around steering got extremely stiff which resulted in me running into side walk, ramp. The only part of my vehicle that was damage was the driver side front wheel. Curb rash beyond repair. At the time I was not aware of vehicle recall and did not file an accident report
Yukon 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 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2025 | Air Bags,engine,forward Collision Avoidance | — | — | |
| 2024 | Back Over Prevention,forward Collision Avoidance | — | — | |
| 2023 | Back Over Prevention | 1 | — | |
| 2022 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2020 | Back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2019 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 10 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 8 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 3 | 5 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 19 | 7 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 9 | 7 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 10 | 5 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 15 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 20 | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 14 | — | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 1995 | Electrical System | 4 | 1 |
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 | 1,977 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.6 |
| Worst single series | 24 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.3 years |
A model average of 2.6 hides a worst series at 24. 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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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 Yukon?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2015, 2011 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 Yukon years are the cleanest?
2026, 2020, 2025 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the GMC Yukon have?
5,079 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1992–2026. Of those, 183 describe a crash and 46 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.