178 of the
1,948 complaints filed about the GMC Canyon
are about the transmission —
9% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2016.
178
Complaints
9%
Share of all complaints
2
Crashes
1
Fires
Transmission & Drivetrain complaints by model year
The ignition key gets stuck in the ignition after shutting off the car. The key may not be removed from the ignition. The failure of the transmission shift control mechanism directly impacts the safe, mechanical operation of the vehicle's powertrain and transmission park-lock functions. The vehicle was taken to a local GM dealer and the problem was recreated. This is a known problem with the transmission shift control assembly for several model years (2020 - 2023). Also, there was a previous class action lawsuit (Jefferson & Riley class action settlement) which specifically covered a predefined list of early-generation model years (including the 2017–2019 GMC Acadia, 2019 Chevy Blazer, and 2016–2019 Malibu/Traverse/Volt). GM continued using similar microswitch shifters in newer vehicles like your my 2022 Canyon. I had no prior warning lamps but the symptoms occurred infrequently after I purchased the vehicle on March 29, 2023. I am the original owner of the vehicle and in July 2026 the problem became frequent - on an almost daily basis. I took the vehicle to my local GM dealer and I was initially told to use my spare key and see if that fixes it. In August 2026, I took it back to the GM dealer and insisted that a diagnostic be done, at which time they agreed that the transmission shift control assembly was faulty. My concern is that GM continued to use the same defective part in newer GM vehicles even though this part was previously determined to be defective in the Jefferson & Riley class action settlement.
NHTSA complaint #11758789 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 - 20 MPH, the message to decelerate immediately was displayed on the instrument panel, and the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to 1st gear. The failure had occurred several times, at times while driving 75 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to replace the valve body and solenoid. The second time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, it was determined that there was a failure with the transmission caused by an inoperable wiring harness connection. The vehicle was repaired. The failure persisted, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer a third time but had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
NHTSA complaint #11755849 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On many occasions, over several years of ownership, ''NEW in 2018, the trans has had violent shift Problems. I could only find 1, ONE instance where a person was "injured'' by ANY of the GM 8L transmissions. My neck is hurting Now. I'm compelled to do this for Others who been Scammed by GM as they still sell a 8 speed rewrapped. I can't believe this has been protected against being called a SAFETY ISSUE By any Gov. agency. I got my truck in Retirement and Know I can't and won't Tow a Trailer or Boat Like I planned to. If I cause a wreck, Knowing the Defect, I will be held Responsible, Not GM LLC. It just did something new on 7/23/26. it stuck I a mid range gear and wouldn't shift, I Bumped it into Neutral to slow down and Recover proper control. I've said enough, be safe if you Have an 8 Speed from GM, or a 10 speed too.Read UP.
NHTSA complaint #11753768 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was pushing the accelerator, and the transmission hesitated at about 45 mph. For about 2-3 seconds, the vehicle would not upshift. The RPMs revved, and finally the vehicle slam-shifted into gear. The vehicle drove normally for the rest of the drive cycle.
NHTSA complaint #11747612 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2022 GMC Canyon AT4 Crew Cab. After the vehicle is shifted into Park and the engine is shut off, the ignition key cannot be removed from the cylinder. The key is physically locked, the steering wheel will not lock, and the vehicle cannot be reliably secured. The only workaround is to restart the engine and cycle the shifter repeatedly until the interlock releases the key. Recurring. Safety implications: operator cannot reliably power the vehicle off in an emergency, cannot lock the steering column, and may be forced to leave an unattended vehicle in accessory mode — fire, electrical, and theft risk. The defect is documented in GM's own literature. GM Bulletin PI1429 and GM TSB 19-NA-206 address this exact symptom on the Canyon/Colorado platform. NHTSA-archived GM TSB MC-10113734 (March 2015), "Ignition Key Cannot Be Removed and/or Does Not Rotate to the 'Off' Position," names the 2015 GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado. The 2022 Canyon uses the same shifter and ignition-interlock architecture. Documented cause: failure of the transmission control lever microswitch that signals "Park" to the interlock solenoid. Documented fix: replace the shifter assembly. Reported to an authorized GMC dealer while still under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Dealer recorded the concern verbatim — "key stays locked in ignition when shifting to Park" — and closed it "unable to duplicate," no repair, despite the open bulletins. A second GMC dealer later refused to inspect, with the service advisor stating on the service drive that there is no fix, that they see this on Canyons and Colorados all the time, and that he had seen another such vehicle the day before. No diagnostic, no repair order. GM's Technical Assistance Center has since taken the position that the bulletins above do not apply to this vehicle, which is inconsistent with the bulletins themselves. No crash, no injury, no fire. Reporting a manufacturer-documented ignition-interlock defect GM is refusing to repair.
NHTSA complaint #11740040 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
With 94 Miles my brand new GMC Canyon AT4 I leased had a catastrophic failure while i was driving it, the front axle essentially exploded. The findings were that their was no oil/lubricant installed in it from the factory which made this happen. I now have to wait many months for the dealership to repair my vehicle while i have a "loaner" with a bunch of restrictions on it. And i have to pay my lease the entire time it is being worked on because of a factory fault. If i had been going more than 25 mph this would have resulted in a crash/injury.
NHTSA complaint #11737043 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This is a known problem with GMC and Chevy trucks, known as the Rumble. At approximately 45mph and up, the truck feels like it’s going over rumble strip and the back end is slipping. This causes the steering wheel and truck to shake. It could result in the loss of control if it gets too bad. I took it in for diagnostic testing, which confirmed that it was the transmission. They recommended a triple flush and replacement of the transmission fluid, as well as a computer upgrade. I had them complete the recommended service. As of right now it seems to have helped. But if it returns the next steps is to replace the torque converter. There were no warning lights, nor messages indicating an issue.
NHTSA complaint #11719602 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving in the snow, the 4WD function became inoperable, and the vehicle lost traction and started skidding. The "Service 4WD" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was determined that a chip inside of the casing of the 4WD feature was inoperable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
NHTSA complaint #11715011 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The main issue is the transmission... It shudders. Now I have to change the oil every 10K miles on it, or it will start shuddering again. It first started when the truck had 50K or a little more miles in it. The issue was resolved, I thought... Then it did it again at 69K (Just out of the warranty). I called the dealership and they stated I had to pay if I wanted an oil change, and they could not do an oil flush even if I paid for it. So I said OK, I will take it to a mechanic, and I did and "fixed" the problem. I used the oil GM recommended and the shuddering stopped. BUT then, another 10K miles and it starts again. I have changed the oil a lot of times... It now has 128K miles in it, and this last time, I had to change the oil at 9k miles because of the shuddering... What will be next? I will have to change it at 5K miles, just like the motor oil? It is sad to see all these people having the same issue as I do, and GM does not do anything about it. I've done a lot of research... There is a guy that fixes the issue eliminating a specific valve, in the transmission, and updating the other ones with higher quality valves they make to fix the problem. I'm sure it would cost GM some money, but these trucks are expensive, you know? It is sad that no one is trying to help consumers when companies sale these cars and trucks to the public for a very high price and they do not take care of the mistakes they make when producing them. Please help us making GM fix this transmission issues. It is not fare for us consumers to be having trouble with new vehicles. Thank you for your time.
NHTSA complaint #11711123 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Truck began idling very rough. Went straight to the dealership. They shut the truck off and it would not restart. No CEL or messages on the dash. Tear down reveled a failed exhaust valve in cylinder #4. Truck has 10,000 miles. A replacement engine has been ordered under warranty. Luckily, we happened to only be a few miles from a dealership when the failure happened. There was no warning, no prior symptoms what so ever.
NHTSA complaint #11710979 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,929.
NHTSA complaint #11698993 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
At random the power steering and traction control turn off making it difficult to drive.. This happens randomly and has become unable to steer. Once the vehicle is turned off for a period of time you can start it up and the steering returns. The issue was reported in the 2015 models. That recall needs to extend into the 2016 models since most of the parts were most likely manufactured tot eh same specs as the 2015. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent repair shop. The dealership wanted $200 for just the diagnostics. Every time this happens it becomes very difficult to drive and is a safety issue. The issue first appeared 2 months ago and after the restart stopped. Then all of a sudden it seems to occur daily.
NHTSA complaint #11694867 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the engine oil was changed several times, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the serial gateway module, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to a transmission specialist, who determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced; however, the transmission was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
NHTSA complaint #11689681 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Transmission shifting issues. The transmission will shift very slowly (engine revs high and vehicle lurches) when driving the truck each morning. I reported the issue to the dealership within 0ne month of purchasing the truck in 2019 and again in 2024. The dealership stated there is nothing wrong with the transmission. The transmission is now starting to slip at low/moderate speeds when accelerating. The vehicle has less than 50,000 miles.
NHTSA complaint #11683591 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Transmission has been shuddering since 15,000 miles till now. Dealerships says it's normal on these transmissions, 6 fluid and filter changes and now at 72,000 miles the transmission is failing just outside of warranty. They scammed me and kept my transmission barely alive until warranty ran out and now they want 8k-10k for a replacement. They knew. Dash goes crazy from the touch screen to the digital information screen in the speedometer. They say it's normal and happens on all the units. But it's distracting and has been messing up since bought the truck new. Again they just kept saying it was nothing they can do. Now they say it needs to be replaced after my warranty has run out. DEF system is failing conveniently after the warranty has run out. It's dangerous because they programmed the truck to go into limp mode when anything emissions related fails stranding me anywhere at anytime. Emission failures like sensors should not restrict travel. This is a major issue with the diesels in these trucks and they need to be forced to remove anything that's not dangerous to the health of the engine or drive train from the software or hardware from being able to restrict travel. In every situation I've been restricted to limp mode by dirty particulate sensors, but the code that pops and puts my truck in limp mode says that the NOX sensor is bad. This is false and is just a way for GM to get service at their dealers. Then they charge customers a fortune to replace parts that don't need to be replaced when you can just remove and clean the four particulate sensors and the restrictions will clear themselves shortly after. EMISSIONS RELATED ISSUES SHOULD NOT RESTRICT TRAVEL BY ANY MEANS! It is dangerous to be stranded on a trip because your emission sensors may be malfunctioning.
NHTSA complaint #11680750 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle vibrated and shuddered abnormally. The contact stated that there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but became a recurring failure. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had recently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics who informed the contact of a known transmission failure and a national recall. The contact searched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V797000 (Power Train); however, the local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included, and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.
NHTSA complaint #11679892 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Formal Complaint to NHTSA: 2019 GMC Canyon Transmission Issue To Whom It May Concern at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): I am writing to formally report a recurring and dangerous transmission issue in my 2019 GMC Canyon, and to request that NHTSA open an investigation into why General Motors has not issued a safety recall — despite widespread complaints and technical service bulletins. My vehicle exhibits jerking, hesitation, slipping, and hard shifting — especially during acceleration or when moving from a complete stop. These symptoms are consistent with hundreds of other consumer reports across forums, NHTSA complaints, and class-action lawsuits tied to GM’s 8L45 8-speed automatic transmission. I was quoted approximately $5,700 for a transmission repair and $8,800 for replacement. This problem is not simply an inconvenience or comfort issue. Hesitation and sudden surges in acceleration pose a legitimate safety hazard, especially when merging onto highways, pulling into traffic, or driving on slippery roads. At times, I’ve experienced delayed throttle response and unexpected lurching — which could easily result in a rear-end collision or intersection mishap. Despite the well-documented nature of this defect, GM has not recalled these transmissions — and owners are left to bear the financial burden of expensive repairs on a known design flaw. That is unacceptable. NHTSA’s mandate is to protect consumers from safety-related defects. In my view, and in the experience of many other drivers, this transmission issue meets the criteria for a recall: - It affects safe operation and control of the vehicle - It has been confirmed by internal GM service documentation - It recurs even after manufacturer-prescribed remedies - It places drivers, passengers, and others at risk Please consider this a formal request to investigate this matter and hold General Motors accountable for a recall or reimbursement program for affected consumers. Joanne Holstein
NHTSA complaint #11675601 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
there seems to be electrical issue. the fan won't stop running even when shut off. the thermostat stop working with pretty low milage along with the tire sensors. Fixed the previous issues. Furthermore, while driving the vehicle stop working and had to use the momentum to park on the side of the road causing a unexpected break down. The vehicle won't start. This again seems electrical and the dealership want to charge for this. The vehicle is damaged since the manufacture and huge safety issue. Please urge to get a recall for all this items since it seems immersive expensive and unsafe to have to repair all this issues.
NHTSA complaint #11674524 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.