156 of the
7,767 complaints filed about the GMC Acadia
are about the throttle and cruise control —
2% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2008.
156
Complaints
2%
Share of all complaints
13
Crashes
3
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
I find the location of the lower gear shifters + and - to be physically far away from a driver's normal reach, making a driving hazard. If you want to change gears as is typical in mountain driving in steep descents, the driver has to lean awkwardly away from all mirrors and standard driving position making it a potentially hazardous situation for the driver and occupants to be in. It has nothing to do with comfort, but rather normal functionality, keeping the driver and their attention unadjusted on the road, all surroundings with minimal, if any changes to their physical posture while in the drivers seat. The location of the gear shifters are in a totally unorthodox location, nearer to the passenger, rather than the driver.
NHTSA complaint #11753346 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My Acadia went into limp Mode displaying low power mode on the screen and wouldn’t start for a couple days after. Lights started illuminating on the dash as abs, traction control, and stanilitrack, then check engine light came on and my gmc app displayed code p2138. I have had since low power and extremely high gas consumption.
NHTSA complaint #11751463 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle has a serious transmission/drivetrain defect that repeatedly occurs when accelerating from a complete stop, especially onto an incline. The vehicle sometimes does not respond at all when the accelerator is pressed and fails to move, even though acceleration is being requested. In one recent incident, it remained stopped for about one minute before finally responding. During these events, the vehicle jerks and shakes severely and fails to gain speed as expected. This creates a major safety risk at stop signs, intersections, and uphill starts because the vehicle may not move when needed and cannot keep up with traffic. The problem has worsened, and during one of these incidents the check engine light came on. I have video evidence showing the loss of response to accelerator input, severe jerking/shaking, and the check engine light illuminating during the same event. The issue has been reported to dealers and GM customer service but has not been properly resolved.
NHTSA complaint #11728147 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle experiences a transmission/drivetrain defect involving delayed gear engagement, hesitation, and apparent slipping. When accelerating from a complete stop (especially onto an incline) the engine RPM increases but the vehicle fails to accelerate as expected. The vehicle jerks and shakes violently and is unable to gain speed. This issue is intermittent but highly repeatable and occurs almost every time when there is a slope immediately after a stop sign. It results in loss of acceleration, violent shaking, and inability to maintain or build speed, creating a serious safety risk in traffic. It first happened around 1 year (early 2026) after the new car purchase (Nov 2025). There are no warning lights or messages. The dealer claimed they were unable to reproduce the issue during a brief test drive without me present and incorrectly attributed it to a bulletin without performing a detailed diagnosis or repair or looking at the video we recorded on the issue. The issue persists and affects safe operation of the vehicle. No inspection has been done by police or insurance. In one instance, this occurred while other vehicles were approaching from behind, creating a dangerous situation where I could not accelerate to match traffic flow. This resulted in a high risk of being rear-ended due to the unexpected loss of acceleration. I am aware of other consumer reports describing similar transmission-related symptoms such as slipping, hard shifting, and hesitation in this model. Some complaints describe transmission issues occurring at low mileage without warning lights.
NHTSA complaint #11726103 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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 NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 85,695.
NHTSA complaint #11713932 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The electronic dashboard goes black while driving. I was driving to work on the highway at highway speeds and the entire electronic dashboard went black including the hud display and the radio screen. The radio screen turned back on and auto reconnected to my phone and android auto. I was able to safely get to an exit and park, turn off the car and restart and the dash did come back on to then go black about 5 minutes later this time the hud stayed on and I was able to get to work where the car sat off for 8 hrs , when leaving work the dash stayed on. The radio screen would turn off randomly and unable to connect to a programmed cell phone via Bluetooth or data cable. I brought the vehicle in for a service and this issue plus the concern of the transmission shuddering. The dealership found the problem and both the dashboard and radio needed service updates and both were charged to fix. A service update should not be charged for the dash as you have no speedometer when it goes out. There was no warning or alert that the dash or radio needed an update.
NHTSA complaint #11709819 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have the little feature that will brake for me if it thinks ima get in a wreck. However it’s glitchy!! I can be the only vehicle on road in BOTH directions, cruise set at 60 when out of nowhere the car slams on the breaks. We go down to like 52 then like nothing ever happened we are back to 60. This has happened several times. I have brought the car into my dealership tomorrow have the software updated and the camera recalibrated. Even after these steps were made this issue is still occurring. Happens about one to two times a week, so pretty often. My worries that I will be rear ended one day if this is not corrected.
NHTSA complaint #11695923 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I'd like to report a safety issue related to the frequency of the adaptive cruise control system on my 2024 GMC Acadia. In multiple instances while traveling at highway speeds (55+ mph), the system will brake heavily when no vehicle or impediment is in visible range. This failure can cause safety issues due to sudden braking at highway speeds potentially leading to traffic accidents and/or fatalities. This failure has happened multiple times, but most recently on 7/21/25, 7/25/25, 10/9/25, 10/21/25, 10/22/25, and 10/23/25. The vehicle was taken a GM dealer on 8/1/25, 8/15/25, and 8/26/25 and they dealership failed to diagnose the problem or indicated all systems were working as intended. The vehicle does not provide any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem.
NHTSA complaint #11695262 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Got onto the interstate and suddenly my car stopped but didn’t kill. My traction control light said off and then it said reduced engine power and my fuel went down to E. I couldn’t go but my car was still running. I killed it then waited a minute and started it again and it started moving slowly. Then it said service stabliltrak and traction system but since the light have went off. Around the same time I started hearing popping and crackling sounds from my speaker and now I have no interior sound at all just popping sounds no matter if my car is started or not. I’m scared it’s going to catch on fire or something
NHTSA complaint #11687331 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Vacuum pump on my 2021 GMC Acadia failed causing my breaks malfunction. This Problem was confirmed by a certified mechanic that repaired it. this is in conjunction with the NHTSA recall issued under N192268490.
NHTSA complaint #11670283 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I’m just reporting several known issues. First, with code P2138, which I got today at Oreilly after my car started throwing warnings. I used my parking brake briefly and afterwards got the following warnings on my car: “Steering Assist is Reduced, Drive with care”, “Engine power reduced” , “Propulsion Power is reduced” , “Service Parking Brake”. I’ve never even had one of these warnings. I’ve only gotten “shift to park” which is another known & common issue. With this P2138 code, it can affect acceleration and essentially loss of control over it, but seems I suddenly have several issues. Recently the infotainment system is possessed, touch screen stops working, it calls people by itself, beeps and scrolls by itself and is essentially useless. Might as well be driving at 1997 something or other, at least I could play a tape or CD. This is Denali trim at 87K miles. Primarily though I’m concerned with this code, if it’s legit, it is very dangerous. How unreliable and unsafe to not know.
NHTSA complaint #11658720 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the reduced engine power message was displayed. The RPM increased to high, and the engine revved. The accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V358000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the high-pressure fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
NHTSA complaint #11649181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Im a travel nurse and I was working in Vermont. As I was driving on the highway in New York on my way back home a shift to park light came on, a stabilitrak light came on, power steering light came on, ABS light came on, and my check engine light also came on. My vehicle started slowing down as I was driving and my lights on my dashboard were turning on and off and my speedometer was not working. I was able to pull to the side off the highway so I could get out of harms way. I made a call to OnStar for help and they asked to if I made it to a safe location. As the car was still on I was able to take the next exit and ended up in an auto zone parking lot. As I made it in the parking lot I turned the vehicle off but only the engine turned off but everything else stayed on and the shift to park light kept coming on when the vehicle was in park. I was in the parking lot for 3-4 hours freezing in my vehicle until onstar came to tow my vehicle. By the time onstar came my battery in my car had drained and it was a new battery. I was told that I would have to contact auto transport to transport my vehicle to Louisiana at the dealership where the vehicle was purchased. I paid $1600 to transport my vehicle back home and I had to find a way to make it back to Louisiana. I didn’t have a credit card so a friend of mine was able to rent me a vehicle to get home and I paid a total of $1700 on a rental because the dealership in Louisiana couldn’t give me a time or date the vehicle would have been finished. I have been to the dealership 3 times now for the same problem in less than a week. I have paid $1500 altogether to fix damages on my car that I noticed other vehicles with the same make and model had the same issues. I never had a problem with my vehicle before everything just started happening all at once. I’m currently having to pay for car rentals to get to and from work and to make sure my kids get back and forth to school. My vehicle in at the dealership again for the 3rd t
NHTSA complaint #11648452 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the cruise control feature failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle exceeded the set speed. The contact deactivated the cruise control feature; however, the vehicle failed to decelerate. The contact depressed the brake pedal, however the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact had to repeatedly depress the brake pedal before the vehicle finally stopped. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired or diagnosed by the independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
NHTSA complaint #11639188 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE SUPER CRUISE RANDOMLY KICKS OUT SOMETIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF A LANE CHANGE AND HAS EVEN KICKED OUT GOING OVER A HILL AND SENT THE CAR INTO THE OTHER LANE OF ON COMING TRAFFIC ITS HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES IN THE FIRST 3 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP FOR A TOTAL OF 18 DAYS IN THE SHOP GM SAYS THERE IS NO FIX AT THIS TIME. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES
NHTSA complaint #11624805 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The traction control turns on and then the shifts don’t work and I can’t drive since there is no speed also the rpm and the gas the speed and the battery gages start flickering up and down then I turn off the truck and it continues to work fine but after 40 miles or so it does it all again
NHTSA complaint #11618622 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle suddenly decelerated to 35 MPH. The vehicle stalled, and the "Steering Assistance Reduced" message was displayed. The vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer the following day, where it was diagnosed that the accelerator pedal and terminal connector were bent. The dealer retrieved DTC codes: P2138, and P2122. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 27,792.
NHTSA complaint #11616263 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
At 35-40 and 55-65 mph, the car slips/ pulls back. I took it to the dealer, my rep said it is a known issue and GMC issued a bulletin but will not recall it because it's too expensive. There are thousands of reports online. Please investigate.
NHTSA complaint #11559683 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The stabilizer/traction control keeps going off and it will stay off.i can turn,hit a bump or start it up and the traction control/stabilizer system is off.i almost had a accident on the freeway in the rain because it turned off out of nowhere and I almost lost control
NHTSA complaint #11555365 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.