The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that with the stop/start feature activated and while attempting to park the vehicle, the accelerator pedal was slightly pressed in order to slowly move the vehicle forward. The vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and drove forward, over a curb, and crashed into a tree. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle sustained severe damage, but no air bags deployed. No injuries were reported, and no police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated the failure had occurred on multiple occasions. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 5,665.
GMC Acadia sudden acceleration problems
10 of the 5,599 owner complaints about the GMC Acadia describe sudden unintended acceleration, most of them for the 2017 model year.
- owner complaints
- 10
- worst model year
- 2017
- typical mileage
- 35,021
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
- 20232
- 20191
- 20181
- 20172
- 20161
- 20151
- 20101
- 20071
Often reported together
Transmission failure 1Stalling 1Jerking 1Hesitation 1Grinding brakes 1Brake failure 1No deployment 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled unexpectedly. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact also stated that while coming to a stop and attempting to depress the brake pedal, the vehicle lost motive power but unexpectedly lunged forward. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted after the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 85,695.
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after making a left turn and stopping at a traffic sign, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was hesitating before gaining forward momentum while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle bucked or lunged forward while accelerating. The contact stated that there was no warning light during the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the intermediate drive shaft was failing. The mechanic informed the contact of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 17V516000 (Power Train) and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer to be repaired. The contact had called a local dealer and was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
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, stomach, breast, and chest injuries. Medical attention was sought. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
While driving my 2016 GMC Acadia Denali home from work I noticed my speed getting faster so I let off my gas pedal. My engine then abruptly revved to the highest rpm and accelerated ON ITS OWN. My speed increased to almost 100 mph and I am going up a steep incline. I did not have my foot on the pedal and this car accelerated on its own and was only going faster and faster. I tried to brake but it would not slow my car down. I am in rush hour traffic and I feel like this is where I am going to die today. I continued to slam on my brakes to a point that I felt the brakes grinding but ultimately was able to slow the car down enough to get to the side of the road. However, I am unable to fully stop my car. After I was able to slow it down to a slow crawl (even with the engine rpms revving extremely high still), I was fumbling for my phone to call my husband and inadvertently took my foot off the brake and the engine jerked me again and caused my car to take off again with such force my whole body hit my seat back. I then slammed the brakes again and pushed the gear into park with such force to automatically stop the car, which was hard to do because the car was still moving. Once the car was in park, the engine continued to rev at the highest speed and I then turned my car off. I was such an emotional wreck after this I got out of my car and refused to get back in it to this day. This vehicle is possessed. I looked up this same issue with other GMC Acadias and found it has happened to others yet AGAIN GMC does not recall these vehicles. This is the second serious issue I have had with this vehicle and I want GMC to take my car back and I will NEVER own another GMC!
The first problem I had was the shift. I got it fixed. I have it all documented. Now for the second time in the past 2 weeks my car has flashed every warning light possible. I took it in the first time and was told the codes did not store and to keep driving it. I finally got a video of the problem happening and dropped it off for a second time. During the problem all gauges go to zero and the gear symbol disappears. The last time I drove the car it accelerated on its own and I did not have control of the vehicle.
Tl* the contact rented a 2018 gmc acadia. While the contact's friend was driving 40 MPH, the engine revved and the vehicle accelerated on its own. The brakes failed to stop the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle drove through a partition and crashed into a brick wall. The air bags deployed. All four occupants in the vehicle were injured and received medical attention. The contact suffered chest pain, another occupant sustained a cut on the head, and the other two occupants suffered fractures. A police report was filed. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a tow lot. The failure mileage was unknown. .*bf .*bf 'parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).'
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 gmc acadia. While driving various speeds, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and the contact had to exert excessive pressure to the brake pedal. The contact then heard an abnormal noise coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle independently disengaged and slowed down. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and made arrangements to have the vehicle towed to a dealer. The failure mileage was 35,021.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 gmc acadia. While attempting to park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning causing the contact to crash into a light post and another vehicle. A police report was filed. She then applied the brakes in order to stop the vehicle, stating that speed had increased 100 percent. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the manufacturer was notified and sent an investigator to retrieve the black box from the vehicle. After inspection, the manufacturer advised the contact that the vehicle was operating as designed and that the failure was caused because she had depressed the accelerator. The contact was awaiting repairs to the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 26,733. Updated 11/07/11 *bf the contact disputes the manufactures claim that the vehicle operated as designed and claims the accelerator pedal was not pushed. The contact was awaiting repairs to the vehicle. Updated 01/23/12
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 gmc acadia. While driving at any speed, the traction control light remained illuminated. As a result, the vehicle suddenly slowed down. While driving 30 MPH, the traction control light dimmed and caused the vehicle to lunge forward. The contact lost control of the vehicle and struck two mailboxes on the side of the road. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was in the process of being diagnosed when the crash occurred. The current and failure mileages were 21,273. Updated 07/08/08. *bf updated
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the GMC Acadia sudden acceleration
Which GMC Acadia years have sudden unintended acceleration problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2017 (2 complaints), 2023 (2 complaints) and 2007 (1 complaints).
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