2003 GMC Yukon Denali electrical problems

Filed Jan 4, 2018 · Electrical · FL

My vehicle, due to factory alarm system, is unsafe and unfit to drive -- a death trap on wheels. It turned the vehicle off, while driving, and locked me inside! I was thankfully driving down the fl keys, on a bridge but at the end of the bridge, so I was able to coast down and off the bridge to a shoulder... If it had died anywhere else on the bridge or on an flat road I may have been stuck there, blocking traffic at the minimum, in an accident and dead if rear-ended and pushed off bridge...because the doors locked and I would have been unlikely to escape my sinking truck...to say nothing of the fall itself. If I had been going on the interstate and I was in a middle lane for example, I could have easily died because my truck suddenly stopped, without indication, and I got rear ended by any number of vehicles, including large semi trucks. If I had a dead keychain fob for the alarm, I would have been locked inside the truck as well -- because only the keychain was able to unlock the doors. If my phone had died or I had no signal, I would be trapped inside as well if and until help arrived unless I got desperate enough to smash out a window. All the mechanics I have taken it to have struggled to resolved the issue, but it is something the truck should have been recalled for and fixed for free by gmc -- a serious safety issue. I have researched and seen other similar trucks by gmc having the same problem with factory alarms and my mechanic says he has had 2 other, different makes/models, just arrive with nearly same problem, as if by fate and he is having trouble fixing those as well -- because its a factory embedded alarm problems. It remains unfixed to this day and I am not able to drive the vehicle until it is fixed.

Filed Jun 8, 2015 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 82,000 miles · MO

Truck started to have major eletrical issues. Blubs burning out often sockets burning out had to replace too often. Light covers melting. Headlights out and will not come back on for days, have to tap them to get them to come back on. Horn blows from alarm all times of the day and night. Inside lights on dash, steering wheel and doors will not work at times all lights are not functioning correctly. Lights at times too often will not work at all. Stability warning light comes often. Afraid truck will catch fire from the electrical issues.. Please help!!!!

Filed Feb 6, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 125,000 miles · MO

Driving on hwy going aprx 65mph. Vehicle said reduced engine power and started slowing down. I had to pull to side of the road. I managed not to be rear ended. This has happened often. It is a potentially life threatening situation. Gmc know about this problem and how difficult it is to find the proper fix. Someone is going to die due to their lack of action. It's not safe.

Filed Apr 15, 2013 · Electrical · 159,000 miles · OK

I have a 2003 gmc yukon denali, it recently begin a skipping like motion on the speedometer. Then after about a week it started reading off by about 30 MPH now when driving its sits at zero 90 percent of the time, the other 10 percent of the time it stay at 15 MPH no matter how fast or slow I am moving.

Filed May 11, 2012 · Electrical · 90,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 gmc yukon denali. The contact was driving 60 MPH when all of the gauges on the instrument panel became stuck and some were providing inaccurate readings including the fuel gauge and the speedometer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 90,000.

Filed Apr 16, 2012 · Electrical · 98,000 miles · CA

Off and on since last year I have had problems with my electrical system. Just out of the blue the check engine light will come on and the "reduce engine speed" message will show up on the dashboard. And my speed will shut down and the vehicle will only go about 25mph. We had taken it in to a shop and they were unable to find the issue and said it was just a low battery. Well after replacing the battery it continues to do this off and on. Once the car is shut off and restarted it would be fine until the next incident. Now while doing research on this issue I have read that many people are having this problem. Some people have experienced this while on the freeway going 65mph. The engine will just reduce speed automatically. Why is this not a recall for safety reasons? What has to be done for there to be a recall on this issue?

Filed Dec 16, 2011 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 97,000 miles · GA

I have had multiple ongoing electrical issues with this vehicle. Starting in 2005, the exterior electronics (I.e. Signal lights, stop lights, head lights, etc) began to malfunction. For example, I would trigger the signal for one direction and all of the signals for all directions would trigger... Even pressing the brakes triggered all of the exterior signals. The dealer had a hard time isolating my problem, but after several visits, the dealer was finally able to diagnose and rectify it... They isolated it to a junction box where all of the electronics terminate. However, by this time, my vehicle was out of warranty, so I had to cover the costs for repairing the problem myself. My most recent issues, which, by the way, seem to be common issues, are triggered by a message stating, "reduced engine power". This particular issue does not always render the same results... Sometimes the vehicle's speed will significantly decrease to nearly a halt, but other times I may just experience increased idling of the engine, even if I am at a complete stop. My understanding, according to hundreds of reports that I have read on the message boards, is that this issue is caused by either a wiring harness that leads from the accelerator to the throttle body or it's a defective throttle body altogether. I have experienced intermittent electrical problems with my windows as well, but this appears to be a minor issue when compared to the other two that I addressed above. I will file a formal complaint with gmc corporate office today and see where that goes.

Filed Nov 22, 2011 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 117,000 miles · OK

December 2008- instrument cluster went out- speedometer no longer working december 2008- battery gauge no longer working march 2009- stabilitrak issues...sometimes the stabilitrak would work and at times it would not work july 2009 to january 2010- reduced engine power (almost cause 2 wrecks) could not perform a diagnosis...could not read computer. Changed fuel pump. No more reduced engine power message august 2011- wheel bearing issues. Reduced engine power (almost caused wreck...backed up traffic) september 2011- gas pedal sticking november 2011- reduced engine power...happens 5 times within a 30 mile trip. Attempted to resolve problem several times, but running out of options. Have to kill car in middle of highway or intersection to get car to work properly.

Filed Oct 6, 2011 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 gmc yukon denali. The contact stated that the instrument cluster gauges would either become stuck or would flicker back and forth between readings. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure but denied any assistance with repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 119,000.

Filed Jul 28, 2010 · Electrical · 96,851 miles · KS

While driving on a trip the speedometer in my 2003 gmc yukon denali froze on 72 MPH. Speedometer remained stuck on 72 MPH for the next 2 hours, still showing 72 MPH even when the vehicle was completely stopped. I shut the car off and restarted it whenever possible for the next 2 hours. Each time after I would restart the vehicle the speedometer would drop slightly (about 5 - 10 MPH at a time) till it reached 36mph, then it would not drop any lower. Speedometer remained stuck on 36 MPH for 2 days. I eventually disconnected the vehicles battery for approx. 30 minutes. After reconnecting battery speedometer appeared to correct itself. During the next month I have had numerous, sporadic incidents where the speedometer will freeze up while driving. This is a very unsafe and potentially dangerous situation. Also the light directly behind the speedometer has burnt out, as well as numerous other gauge, switch, and indicator lights.