The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle and attempting to shift into park, the vehicle failed to recognize that the transmission was in park(P). There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that several attempts were required to shift the vehicle into park(P) to turn off the vehicle. The contact further stated that on other occasions, the vehicle remained stuck in park(P) and failed to shift into drive(D). The contact related the failure to TSB: 19-NA-205. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
2018 GMC Acadia: stuck in gear or won't shift
12 of the 399 complaints about the 2018 GMC Acadia describe stuck in gear or won't shift.
- owner complaints
- 12
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- recalls
- 1
Stuck in gear or won't shift by model year
What owners say
Gear shifter will not go into park.
Car will not shift into park therefore I cannot turn the car off without disconnecting the battery. Dangerous bc you don’t know if the car is in park or not when you have to get out and stand in front of car to life hood and disconnect battery.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon arriving at her destination, the contact shifted into reverse to park the vehicle; however, after parking and shifting to drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond. The contact became aware after several attempts that the transmission was stuck in park(P). The blank warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the inline shifter wiring harness. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 19-NA-206. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 111,000.
Vehicle will not shift to park- The cars engine is off and will not turn on, while the car physically will not turn off. I have to move the shifter until vehicle recognized it was in park. resulting in me getting stuck in my vehicle. Multiple reports from other owners with no fix provided by GMC.
The vehicle will not shift into park. This is a common problem with this vehicle, many lawsuits. When you walk away one has concerns that the vehicle is actually in park or not.
After being driving vehicle will not shift into park. When shifter is moved into park position vehicle is not recognizing this and will continue to move. Gear shifter has to be wiggled around for vehicle to finally get into park or at all. Safety concerns - if vehicle is not in park mode vehicle can roll away or continue to move causing damage or injury to persons or property. Online research indicates this is a nationwide problem and there are several lawsuits against gmc concerning this issue. All instances seem to be associated with the Acadia.
CAR DOES NOT GO INTO PARK AND WILL NOT SHUT OFF. says shift to park when this happens the car does not shut off correctly and must be restarted and jiggle shifter to turn off. this seems to be a well known problem and is on many years of Acadia
Vehicle does not recognize when it is in park. At times vehicle will not go into park and makes me concerned for my family's safety. My understanding is that gm is aware of this issue.
When you shift to park the vehicle does not go into park. Took it to the dealership and they replaced the jumper harness (84733196) on may 1, 2020. That did not fix the issue on july 24, 2020 dealership replaced the shifter (84699764) trans control. This occurs when we are stationary attempting to place the vehicle into park from driver or reverse.
Will not shift to park when stationary in driveway and public parking space, multiple attempts to shift to park. Appointment made to try and fix, happened 3 times in one week.
The vehicle will not always go into park. In order to get it into park you have to repeatedly shift out of park and back into park until it will go into park. If it is not in park the vehicle will not lock and will not power down. Since it will not go into park if the vehicle was on a hill and it did not go into park then it would have the chance to roll down the hill. I have not attempted to see if it will roll down the hill nor am I going to try but seeing how it shows on the instrument cluster that the vehicle is in neutral I'm sure it will roll if given the chance. When shutting off the vehicle after you have put the vehicle in park on the gear selector a message comes up on the screen that says shift to park it has taken up to 20 tries of shifting the vehicle in and out of park until park will engage. As you can see in the picture all gauges are at their lowest point showing no power to the vehicle and the shift indicator is in the neutral position with the message on the display reading shift to park.
Service bulletins that may apply
- This service bulletin provides information on the harmful effects of ethylene glycol in transmission fluid.
- This service bulletin informs the technician of an alternate lift procedure that has been developed when...
- This service bulletin provides information on some vehicles that may rock or move slightly forward or...
- GM is receiving damaged (cracked or broken) transmission cores returned to the reman facilities
- This service bulletin provides information on Driveline Clunk Noise and what is acceptable and what is...
- This bulletin provides information on the harmful effects of water or ethylene glycol in transmission fluid.
- This service bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of seeing an intermittent...
- This Warranty Admin service bulletin provides guidelines for Dealers Not Required and for Dealers Required...
Related recalls
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles and 2017-2018 GMC Acadia vehicles. The right front intermediate driveshaft may fracture and separate while driving.
- Risk
- If the front right intermediate drive shaft assembly separates while driving, the vehicle will lose propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. If the assembly separates while parked on a grade, without the park brake engaged, the vehicle may move unintentionally, increasing the risk of a vehicle roll-away.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the right front intermediate drive shaft assembly, free of charge. The recall began August 25, 2017. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782 or Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020. GM's number for this recall is 17329.
Recall number 17V516000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2018 GMC Acadia won't shift
Is stuck in gear or won't shift a common problem on the 2018 GMC Acadia?
12 of 399 owner complaints about the 2018 GMC Acadia (3%) mention stuck in gear or won't shift. The model year with the most reports is 2008.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 GMC Acadia?
There is 1 recall and 69 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2018 GMC Acadia
Battery drain 14Check engine light 11Loss of power 7Jerking 6Transmission failure 6
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2018 GMC Acadia?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history