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GMC Acadia brake failure problems

36 of the 5,599 owner complaints about the GMC Acadia describe brake failure, most of them for the 2025 model year.

owner complaints
36
worst model year
2025
typical mileage
59,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below

By model year

  • 2026
    1
  • 2025
    10
  • 2024
    7
  • 2021
    4
  • 2020
    1
  • 2019
    1
  • 2018
    2
  • 2017
    3
  • 2016
    1
  • 2014
    1
  • 2012
    1
  • 2008
    4

What owners say

Filed Oct 23, 2026 · Brakes · MI

On October 23, 2026 at about 7:25 AM, while my wife was driving our leased 2025 GMC Acadia (20,773 miles) with our son in the car, the vehicle displayed 'Brake assist failure. Press hard to brake. Speed limited.' The ABS and traction control warning lights came on and the brake pedal became very hard to press due to loss of brake assist. No crash or injuries occurred. This failure matches the eBoost electronic brake control module issue under the federal safety agency Engineering Analysis EA26006 covering 2024-2026 GMC Acadia. My wife is afraid to drive the vehicle. The vehicle is currently at the dealer for repair. I am requesting that the federal safety agency record this incident and that GM be required to remedy this safety defect and release us from the lease.

Filed Oct 3, 2026 · Brakes · CA

I was driving my car and my brakes felt weird. Then warning lights came on and my car told me that my brakes weren’t working and I would need to push them hard to stop. I put on my hazard lights and turned into a side street and was able to safely stop in the parking lane next to the curb. I shut my car off and then turned it back on. At that point, everything looked normal except for the engine light was on. I started driving again and within less than five minutes, the brakes went out again. I again was able to make it to a side street and stop, but was in a no parking zone. I was able to slowly make it into a parking lot and safely into a spot.

Filed Sep 25, 2026 · Brakes · AL · crash

Purchased NEW 2026 GMC Acadia on XXX XXX - Fastened seat belts, Started vehicle in a driveway, Switched into forward gear and Vehicle lurched forward while Depressing the brake with no braking action occurring (BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR). Shut off engine and depressed the Emergency Brake Button to stop the vehicle. Vehicle struck another vehicle upon stopping causing several thousand dollars damage. XXX - Notified [XXX]/[XXX] the dealer, no help. Called GM and filed a Case #XXX. Vehicle inspected by GM on XXX. No response forthcoming from GM or the dealer yet after 6 weeks since the incident. XXX - Called for a wrecker to have vehicle towed to the dealer where it was purchased. While awaiting the tow truck I completed a video of damage to both vehicles, before starting the vehicle (first time after the accident) the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floor. Started vehicle and brakes regained some braking ability to drive onto a roll back tow truck and delivery to the dealership above. Fortunately, this brake failure happened in a private driveway and not within a busy intersection where major injuries likely would have occurred. STILL WAITING ON GENERAL MOTORS!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 22, 2026 · Driver assistance, Engine · OK

Today, on [XXX] outside of Sapulpa Oklahoma, while in the inside lane of three southbound lanes, cruise control on at 80mph. The car suddenly reduced power, air conditioning stopped, assisted power brakes stopped working, gauge cluster full of flashing warnings. Pulled to the right shoulder, stopped with difficulty. Had to pump and stand on brakes to get stopped. Shut off engine, then restated and everything stated working again. Scary situation in heavy traffic. Lucky to be alive!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 17, 2026 · Brakes · AL · crash

When backing into my driveway the brakes failed. I was nosing the car across the street towards the neighbors driveway so I could put the car in reverse and back it into the driveway. I applied the brakes while traveling at about 3-4mph when the brakes had little resistance and went straight to the floor and the vehicle continued moving forward. Attempted to apply brakes again and the same result. Ended up hitting the neighbors parked car in their driveway. Luckily it was a very low rate of speed so there was minimal damage and nobody was hurt. There were no warning lights present before, during, or after the incident. The vehicle got towed to a local GMC dealership who could not replicate the issue. Insurance is still looking into the issue.

Filed Sep 17, 2026 · Brakes · AL · crash

When backing into my driveway the brakes failed. I was nosing the car across the street towards the neighbors driveway so I could put the car in reverse and back it into the driveway. I applied the brakes while traveling at about 3-4mph when the brakes had little resistance and went straight to the floor and the vehicle continued moving forward. Attempted to apply brakes again and the same result. Ended up hitting the neighbors parked car in their driveway. Luckily it was a very low rate of speed so there was minimal damage and nobody was hurt. There were no warning lights present before, during, or after the incident. The vehicle got towed to a local GMC dealership who could not replicate the issue. Insurance is still looking into the issue.

Filed Sep 10, 2026 · Brakes · CO

While driving my 2020 GMC Acadia SLT AWD Turbo with my young daughters in the vehicle, the brake pedal suddenly and sporadically lost all hydraulic pressure and sank nearly all the way to the floorboard. The vehicle would only gradually roll to a slow stop. Simultaneously, the dashboard illuminated with ABS and Service ESC notifications. After turning the vehicle completely off and restarting it, the braking system temporarily reverted to normal function before randomly failing again on a subsequent drive. The vehicle was brought to a local brake shop where it was dangerously misdiagnosed, and it is currently at a GMC dealership for an emergency teardown. Previously, without any warning, the vehicle would also experience a brake failure upon backing out of my garage. Once the brake was immediately pressed again, it would work. This intermittent loss of total stopping power constitutes a severe, life-threatening manufacturing defect.

Filed Aug 25, 2026 · Brakes · TX

While driving the brake vacuum pump exploded leading to catastrophic brake failure. My husband was driving and was able to stand on the brakes to get the car to stop, but had i been driving, I am not strong enough to have stopped the car. I have 3 children with my youngest being 1. If this had happened with me and my kids, we could have had a major wreck and/or DIED! GM is aware of the brake vacuum pump issues but does not have a recall on the part. The braske assist light did not come on the dash until brakes were lost.

Filed Aug 22, 2026 · Brakes · AL

I was driving my 2025 GMC Acadia Denali on [XXX] with cruise on. Suddenly sound and banner notifications were telling me that I had no brakes. I immediately hit brake to break cruise and vehicle went faster. I managed to get cruise off from steering wheel. Put flashers on and took foot completely off gas. I was very fortunate that I didn’t hit someone or that no one hit me. After about 2 miles, I was able to pull in an empty church parking lot and get stopped. After getting stopped I was 2.4 miles from [XXX]. I was towed to GMC dealership in Montgomery, AL and diagnosed with defective master cylinder and no brakes. Very concerned because GMC has not issued a recall because the master cylinder failure has occurred many times before. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jun 11, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · TX

Today, June 11, 2026, my wife and 9 month old baby were on their way home from running errands in town when the vehicle started to violently shake, becoming frightened my wife tried to apply pressure to the brakes. When she pushed down on the brake pedal nothing happened and the pedal hit the floor. Our brand new 2025 GMC Acadia AT4 had just suffered catastrophic brake failure. So she pulled off onto the side of the road in hopes the uneven terrain would slow her down just enough to put it into park. Luckily enough it did. If it would have been 10 seconds later she would have been on a one way bridge where the speed limit is 60mph with no brakes. Four days prior to today on June 07, 2026 I sent a message to the individual that I bought the car from at the GMC dealership and told him that we had warning lights come up on the dash. He had me try and reset the screen but nothing happened. I asked when we could get it into a shop so it could be looked at he said that he would have someone reach out and schedule a time. I proceeded to ask if we were ok to drive the vehicle until then.To which he responded "If the vehicle isn't giving you issues mechanically, you should be good". Fast forward to today June 11, 2026 my wife is driving and has catastrophic brake failure. The vehicle was then towed by roadside assistance to the GMC dealership.

Related recalls

Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: disc: caliperReported November 4, 2016 · 1,844 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2017 Cadillac XT5 vehicles manufactured April 16, 2016, to May 9, 2016, and 2017 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured April 19, 2016, to April 22, 2016. The front brake calipers may have a torn or misaligned caliper piston seal which may allow brake fluid to leak.
Risk
If there is a brake fluid leak, braking performance may be reduced, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front brake calipers, replacing the brake caliper assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 12, 2016. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006 (Cadillac), or 1‑800‑462‑8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 16096.

Recall number 16V802000 · Recall details

Questions about the GMC Acadia brake failure

Which GMC Acadia years have brake failure problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2025 (10 complaints), 2024 (7 complaints) and 2008 (4 complaints).

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