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2013 GMC Yukon XL problems

The most common problem on the 2013 GMC Yukon XL is body and structure, typically around 62,000 miles. It has fewer complaints than a typical Yukon XL model year.

Fewer complaintsAmong the best years of this model
Year score
88/100
Owner complaints
22
Recalls
4
Service bulletins
1,608
Worst area
Body

The worst 2013 GMC Yukon XL problems

Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.

  • Body
    10
  • Airbags
    5
  • Brakes
    1
  • Engine
    1
  • Seat belts
    1

Problems by type

Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.

  • Body
    10
  • Airbags
    5
  • Brakes
    1
  • Engine
    1
  • Seat belts
    1
  • Visibility
    1

Recalls 4

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 5, 2021 · 692,526 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."
Risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020; and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.

Recall number 21V053000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 5, 2021 · 1,778,128 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020; Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006; and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328800.

Recall number 21V054000 · Recall details

Electrical systemReported October 1, 2014 · 106,307 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
Risk
If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1‑800‑521‑7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1‑800‑222‑1020 (Chevrolet), and 1‑800‑462‑8782 (GMC). GM’s number for this recall is 14515.

Recall number 14V614000 · Recall details

Power train: automatic transmissionReported January 2, 2013 · 54,686 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles, manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect", and FMVSS No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention." The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.
Risk
As a result, the vehicle may shift from Park with the ignition key removed or the ignition key in the OFF position. The vehicle may also shift out of Park without application of the brake pedal while the key is off. Either of these scenarios may cause the vehicle to roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible vehicle crash and/or injury.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2013. Chevrolet owners may call 1‑800‑630‑2438. Cadillac owners may call 1‑866‑982‑2339. GMC owners may call 1‑866‑996‑9463.

Recall number 13V001000 · Recall details

See all 4 recalls for the 2013 GMC Yukon XL

Defect investigations

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureOpened September 17, 2021, still open

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.

EA21002

Technical service bulletins for the 2013 GMC Yukon XL 1,608

Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.

See all 1,608 bulletins for the 2013 GMC Yukon XL

What 2013 GMC Yukon XL owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Mar 12, 2025 · Engine · 150,000 miles · OK

The contact owns a 2013 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning light was illuminated; however, the "Service Engine" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the lifters needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the lifters needed to be replaced once again. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer again to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Jun 13, 2024 · Airbags · 156,000 miles · MS

The contact owns a 2013 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V053000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The dealer informed the contact that should the dashboard get cracked, replacing the dashboard would be at his expense. The contact called another local dealer, Cannon Motors LLC (100 N Thacker Lp., Oxford, MS 38655), who informed the contact about the dashboard possibly being cracked and the associated fees. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Oct 4, 2018 · Airbags · TX

I have a message on my dash stating to service airbag I'm afraid for my safety or the safety of my passenger due to this message involving the airbag

Filed Jul 26, 2018 · Airbags, Body · AL

There is a crack in my dashboard that could serious injury or death if the airbags deploy.

Filed Apr 27, 2018 · Body · 82,000 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 gmc yukon xl. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked on the front driver's side. The failure occurred without warning. The contact called and took the vehicle to countryside chevrolet buick gmc (n8167 kellom rd, beaver dam, wi 53916, 920‑354‑6097) where the technician took pictures of the failure and stated that the dashboard needed to be replaced at the owner's expense. The manufacturer stated that there was no recall and the vehicle was out of warranty. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency. The failure was not repaired. The failure mileage was 82,000.

Filed Mar 29, 2018 · Body · FL

Defect caused dash to crack at the passanger airbag, I am concerned about my children being injured from the cracked dash as well as the shards flying and injuring my child if I were to be in an accident.

Filed Dec 18, 2017 · Airbags · 60,000 miles · TX

Dashboard cracked by front passenger airbag. Spontaneous crack with no external cause. It was not a hot day. Stationary vehicle.

Filed Dec 8, 2017 · 67,000 miles · SC

The dashboard around the airbag and steering/instrument cluster has severely cracked and broken. This is a safety hazard in the event of an accident the dashboard pieces become shards of shrapnel propelled by the airbag and/or impact of the crash. There have been no wrecks, modifications, or any other actions that would cause this damage - it is the result of faulty production.

Filed Sep 20, 2017 · Body · TX

The dash board near the steering column just cracked as well as the interior driverside front door. Both pieces appear to be cheap plastic. I have received a quote for $1600 to fix the door and $1000 to fix the dash when these are both defect from gm.

Filed Aug 15, 2017 · Seat belts · 75,000 miles · TX

The driver's seatbelt will not lock. The driver is unable to wear a seatbelt while driving. This is a huge safety concern for me.

Used buying checklistWhat to check on a 2013 GMC Yukon XL before you buy

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Questions about the 2013 GMC Yukon XL

Is the 2013 GMC Yukon XL reliable?

Owners have filed 22 complaints about the 2013 GMC Yukon XL, fewer than a typical Yukon XL model year.

What is the 2013 GMC Yukon XL year score?

The 2013 GMC Yukon XL scores 88 out of 100 (good). The score compares it with the other model years of the GMC Yukon XL: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.

What is the most common problem with the 2013 GMC Yukon XL?

Body and structure, with 10 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles. Next is airbags (5).

How many recalls does the 2013 GMC Yukon XL have?

4 recalls, covering air bags, electrical system and power train.

What year does the GMC Yukon XL have the most body problems?

The GMC Yukon XL model years with the most body complaints are 2015 (12 complaints) and 2013 (10 complaints).

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