Twice the side detection system failed due to corroded wiring under the bumper which then led into the electrical system failing on side air bag detection/blind zone detection/traction control system/display monitor and blinkers all failing to the point of vehicle not starting. The safety is these features failed which were both safety and stability. Risks occur in becoming stranded and the problem was first noted by dealer to be a poor battery. GM pushed out a "Special Coverage Adjustment' to have the wiring/module kit to be ordered and repaired by a dealer for no charge. Stipulations was within 6 yrs or 80,000 from 'placed in use'. Warning lamps occurred after the corrosion was too far along to be rectified and after the 6n yrs off the lot. Manufacture GM issued the special adjustment but dealership did not provide notice beyond letter at point of failure in vehicle so that twice I have had to contend with this issue and pay in full for the service work performed. The second fail of this wiring system and module was within 3 years of first replacement.
2017 GMC Acadia electrical complaints
Page 2 of 8: complaints 11 to 40 of 193, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Seeing the intermittent shift to park messages when the vehicle has been shifted into park and the ignition is turned to the off position. Shifter wire harness jumper & transmission controls A malfunctioning shifter raises fears of potential rollaway accidents, even if such cases remain rare. For anyone who has to park on a slope, this fear can cause serious worry. Yes, there is a service bulletin (19-NA-206) No, this is 1 of the only problems I have had with this. The other issues I have had is the clear coating on the rims are peeling
Shift to Park warning comes on when the car is turned off and it is in park. When we park the the car and shift the car to park and turn the car off the warning "shift to park" comes on and the electrical systems will not disengage. The radio stays on, the car can not be locked, and the doors ding loud alarms if you try to exit the car. The only fix is to sit in the car for several minutes and flick the switch under the gear shift and hope that the shift to park warning eventually goes off and you can exit the car. It sometimes takes 8-10 minutes for this to happen. This first happened intermittently and now happens every time we turn off the car. It has been replicated in a dealership and service center. The independent service center that did our brakes said they were aware this was a common problem in GMCs and they experienced it. We have been told it is a microswitch and the repair option is not under any kind of recall or warranty and up to us to pay for the full repair even though it seems there are thousands of people online experiencing the same problem and paying hundreds of dollars for this fix.
Thermostat Issue (Steering Assist is Reduced Drive with Care) have changed this sensor 3 times in the past 3 years, there is no excuse for that. The emergency braking almost cause me and my daughter to be hit by a train when my car emergency braked while going over train tracks. this is unexcusable
Vehicle will not shut off, keep showing shift to Park, even when vehicle is in park with parking brake engaged. This has been a common occurrence and I see where people discuss a recall, but one is not available for my VIN.
The Car has over the last few years not turn off due to shift to park. This is concerning, due to we cannot turn the car off unless we strike the shifter few times assuming this is the remedy. It doesn't look like there is any type of recall but there should be.
Pulled into a parking space, put the car into park and tried to shut the car off. The warning system said I needed to shift to park. I was in park but could not shut the car off because the car thought I wasnt in park. Took 15 minutes of shifting from park to all gears and shaking the gear shifter before it finally let me shut the vehicle off. This is now the second time this has happened and ive had to have the same thing repaired. They are replacing the whole shifter assembly. Error reads SHIFT TO PARK. This is happening every few years now and at almost 1000 dollars to repair and only lasting a year or so, this is ridiculous.
The car is in park & ignition button has been hit to turn vehicle off. When engine is turned off all interior, exterior, dash, & ignition switch lights remain on with a notification on the dashboard stating to "shift to park". The doors can not be locked when this message is on the screen. It can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 15 minutes for the lights & dash to go out, allowing you to exit & lock the car. If you exit the car while the message still appears on the dash, not only are the lights on & unable to lock the car, but if someone where to get into the car, without the key fob, they can start the car & drive off. My husband & I were in a shopping center parking lot in July 2025 where the "shift to park" error came on. We sat in the car, 110 degrees outside, for 10 minutes waiting for the car to shut down. Finally we had to exit the car because we could no longer take the heat. My husband went back to the car, 5 minutes late, while I was in the store to see if the car had finally shut down. To his surprise the lights and dash where still on. He noticed the start button light was also still on & thought if he hit the button the lights would shut off, but no, the car actually started & again he did not have the key fob with him. This is a serious issue & needs to be addressed & I do not feel that I should be paying for this repair. My husband unexpectantly passed away in Sept 2025 & now I am left to deal with this on my own. I have to get this issue fixed as I can not take the chance someone will take my car someday nor do I want to continue to sit in my car for 10-20 minutes waiting for it to shut down. The dealership I took it to diagnosed it as due to a faulty switch in the shifter which means its poor workmanship & not related to owner usage. Please add this to the recall list so that I can get it fixed quickly or if I have to get it fixed prior to being approved by you I can at least recoup my money. Thank you
While driving get notice lane departure not working and thermostat registered zero, when code scanned, states low thermostat temp and able to reset with code reader. Will reoccur in minters to days later. This is an electrical issue to to the ability to reset with a code scan tool, but also a safety issue since it also effects the electrical safety ability associated with the sensor.
Backup camera often does not have a clear picture. Very grainy and static.
When I stop and put me car in park it usually gives a warning shift into park
SHIFT TO PARK Warning comes on & you can't lock the vehicle nor will it shut off completely. I've had to start & reverse several times before it engages/recognizes that it is in park. OBVIOUSLY this is a KNOWN issue by reading all the other posts relating to this. Please issue a recall....
Shift to park appears when vehicle is already in park and the vehicle will not turn off.
Shift to Park light remains on after you’ve put the car in “park” which could potentially run the battery down. Car does not recognize when it is in “park”. Have to “jiggle” the gear a bit, in hopes that it turns off.
When I put my car in park I will get a "shift to park" notiication and will have to move my car multiple times to get it to register. There is a recall for this exact problem on other 2017 gmc acadia but does not fall under my VIN #
Cannot shift out of park. AC stops blowing also. Electric seats stopped working. Replaced BCM modular, solenoid , entire shifter and more. It worked for two months. -Happening again. Cannot shift out of park and the AC stops working. Seat are working at moment. It’s all intermittent. Currently dealer will not help me. No warranty anymore. Im on a site where thousands of gmc’s have this same problem. Im gonna have to bring back to another dealer but no one can figure it out how to fix this. I sent my last bill. I also had one before that with the shifter assembly and solenoid replaced. I cannot find at moment
My vehicle won’t shift into park
I’m just reporting several known issues. First, with code P2138, which I got today at Oreilly after my car started throwing warnings. I used my parking brake briefly and afterwards got the following warnings on my car: “Steering Assist is Reduced, Drive with care”, “Engine power reduced” , “Propulsion Power is reduced” , “Service Parking Brake”. I’ve never even had one of these warnings. I’ve only gotten “shift to park” which is another known & common issue. With this P2138 code, it can affect acceleration and essentially loss of control over it, but seems I suddenly have several issues. Recently the infotainment system is possessed, touch screen stops working, it calls people by itself, beeps and scrolls by itself and is essentially useless. Might as well be driving at 1997 something or other, at least I could play a tape or CD. This is Denali trim at 87K miles. Primarily though I’m concerned with this code, if it’s legit, it is very dangerous. How unreliable and unsafe to not know.
After shifting to park and attempting to turn off my vehicle, I receive an “Action Required Shift to Park” error message. I’m assuming the vehicle is in park but I’m not certain and worry about it moving or rolling. It is difficult to get it to turn off by jiggling the shifter and turning the vehicle on and off. At times, I am not able to get it off and then the vehicle will not lock and the battery goes dead. According to my VIN there is not an active recall but brief internet search states there has been numerous reports, recalls, and lemon law returns due to this.
When placed in park a message appears to Shift To Park and the vehicle electrical system stays energized.
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off. The contact shifted from park (P) to drive(D) and was eventually able to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that the letter P(park) was outlined in yellow and was illuminated on the instrument panel. Additionally, the contact stated that while attempting to close and lock the driver's side door, the door failed to lock securely. The contact stated that the failures occurred simultaneously. The contact stated that the failures were intermittent. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.
Twice the shift to park function of the vehicle has failed, once in 2020 and again in 2025, it appear that there is a recall for the year make and model vehicle, but for some reason my particular VIN in not included in this recall. The recall needs to be expanded to address this safety issue.
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after shifting to the park position and attempting to turn the vehicle off, the engine shut off but the headlights and dashboard lights remained illuminated. Also, on multiple occasions, the battery had drained and the vehicle had to be jump-started. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the floor shifter harness was faulty and needed to be replaced. The floor shifter harness was replaced and the failure was remedied, but approximately two years later the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer. The contact was informed of the manufacturer's TSB to repair the failure and a new and improved floor shifter harness was installed which corrected the failure. The contact indicated that the manufacturer was aware of the faulty harness but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 45,000.
Shift to park error message when vehicle is in park and engine will not shut off. NOT RECOGNIZING MICROSWITCH IN THE CONSOLE. NEEDS A RECALL.
The known ‘Shift to park’ GMC vehicle defect could cause vehicle to rollaway and possibly hit someone.
Shift To Park. Vehicle does not turn off completely after pressing the stop button, while parked. The car horn alarms you the vehicle is not shut down. The vehicle will not allow you to lock the doors with the remote control.
My sound no longer works, the radio is constantly going out now I have no sound, no blinker clicks, no emergency notification warnings, no door chime, nothing.
I was traveling at the posted speed limit of 80 mph on [XXX] in South Dakota at [XXX] and the GMC Acadia was working without any issue when all of a sudden various warnings flashed on the dashboard with one of them being power saver mode engaged. Within about 3 minutes various other warnings flashed and the vehicle motor turned off along with all of the electrical systems. Luckily, I was able to maneuver the GMC Acadia to the shoulder of the highway safely. The vehicle would not start and for about a minute or so we were trapped in the Acadia. We could not unlock the doors or wind down the windows until I pressed the start/stop bottom several times. Onstar did not work either. Once we could get out of the Acadia, my wife called 911 and in roughly 20 minutes or so, a police officer arrived at our location. We also called AAA and had a tow truck take the broken down GMC Acadia to a garage for repairs. It turns out that the alternator went bad and rendered our GMC Acadia useless in roughly 3 minutes from the initial warning. There was absolutely none of the tell tale warnings of a bad alternator. We did not see or observe any dim lights, hesitating starts or any other things associated with a bad alternator prior to the 3 minute warning before the vehicle completely was inoperable. We are very lucky to be alive. If [XXX] was more congested with traffic at the time of this incident, we might have been serious injured if not killed. IMO this GMC Acadia is a death trap. This vehicle warns the driver when the key fob’s battery is low many weeks before it needs to be replaced. It should warn you more than 3 minutes if not several hours prior to the vehicle being completely immobilized. It should be noted that the check engine light came on several hours before this incident and I called Onstar and they ran the diagnostics and returned a P0420 code which is related to emissions. The check engine light turned itself off about 1 hour before incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMAT
I keep getting a message for Shift to Park when my car is already parked. My battery keeps draining for no reason even through my battery is good. I could be driving and my truck just shuts off without warning and my battery dies. Then when it shuts off all these other lights comes on. I have to let it sit for a second then it starts back up. This has been going on for months. I took it to the dealership and they ran all type of test and couldn’t figure out why it was doing it.
2017 GMC Acadia "shift to park" known failure. When you place the vehicle in the park position, mechanically it seems to be in park but the control says shift to park. When traveling long distance from home you can find yourself in a position where you cannot leave your car. You cannot lock it or turn it off properly. This is an ongoing problem known to GM and listed in many Technical bulletins including Bulletin No. 19-NA-206 date September, 2019. A recall should be issued for this problem. We found ourselves stranded hundreds of miles from home with a vehicle we could not shut off or secure. This may cause you to leave your car unattended, unlocked and running if you cannot get it to park and shut down.
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