GMC Yukon XL Complaints (2016)

202 consumer complaints on file.

#11674962July 21, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
I have repair the trailer brake system warning light prior. Now again this faulty wiring module is constantly dinging and flashing warning messages while driving. It's very distracting and irrelevant considering I not towing anything. It covers the speedometer and is a complete nuisance.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11672770July 11, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning light started to flash. The contact stated that the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle shook violently. The contact pulled off the highway and the vehicle stalled. The contact restarted the vehicle, and the check engine warning light was flashing with DTC: P0300 displayed. The contact stated that the engine was making an abnormal knocking sound. The contact turned off the vehicle and the vehicle towed to the residence and then to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that a bearing in the cam shaft had failed and had sent metal shavings into the engine. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11672231July 9, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The transmission quit working and we were almost in an accident. This is a known issue on the interweb and I think GM needs to step in and help!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659061May 5, 2025
ENGINE
In June 2024 I took my vehicle to the dealership for a ticking/clacking noise. The dealership determined lifter failure and that the engine needed to be replaced because the lifters/cam were not readily available from the manufacturer due to a known issue with L87 GM motors. Long block was replaced 7/17/24. I believe this should be part of the recall issued against L87 motors and should be extended beyond the 2021-2024 years initially noted.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11651502March 29, 2025
ENGINE
6.2L collapsed lifter on cylnder 5. This os my second engine with the exact same problem as the first engine reason for replacement
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11649607March 20, 2025
POWER TRAIN
When accelerating from a stop, the engines revs up to really high RPM's before shifting hard into 2nd gear, and again while shifting hard into 3rd gear. This started in the last week. The engine/trans currently have ~133,000 miles. Accelerating slowly, not exceeding 1,500-1,700 RPM will reduce this occurence, but it takes significantly longer to get up to speed, which is a problem when entering 55 MPH traffic. We've had to pull off the road to avoid causing an accident while merging with traffic since the transmission seems like it won't shift, causing me to have to let off the accelerator to try and allow the transmission to shift so I can continue accelerating.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11640077February 1, 2025
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
After leaving a car wash on 12/19/22, the engine began sputtering and did not seem to be able to get any gas. After pressing gas pedal, the vehicle slowly moved forward, but was shifting hard. Pulled over in gas station parking lot and turned vehicle off. Checked Engine. Vehicle would not restart. Vehicle was towed to dealership. They uncovered a broken valve spring, which also caused the catalytic converters to fail. Total bill was over $7500
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11632955December 29, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Driving a company vehicle [XXX], heavy smoke started coming from under the drivers side dash. Unhooked battery, the smoke stopped. I had vehicle towed to a local garage. They advised the engine wiring harness and other wiring had caught on fire. They couldn't repair it. On [XXX]. I had the vehicle towed to the local GMC dealer in Bedford, VA. At first they said they could fix it, then around 7/3/24 they said the couldn't fix it, charging several hundreds of dollars. On July 5/2024 I had the vehicle towed to a GMC dealership in Lynchburg, VA who I had check with and said they could fix it. The first part of September 2024, this dealership advised me the couldn't fix the vehicle. I had the vehicle tow to our companies office in Lynchburg. The dealerships are saying they can't get the needed wiring harnesses. Our insurance company had sent an adjuster to the GMC in Bedford, VA. No warning lamps came on before the smoke. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11620715October 18, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
Driving back from Las Vegas for a family trip, traffic was heavy, a lot of stop-and go. I started to feel the brakes delay to stop. After a few minutes I was able to pick up a little speed and again traffic was built up. This time the brakes failed and got stiff. I had to slam on the brakes and practically stand up on the brakes in order for the car to stop. I barely avoided wrecking into the car in front of me. I was a few hours away from home and had to drive all the way with this problem. When I got home I took it in to the nearest dealer shop to get the brakes checked . I looked online and found out about the recall on the brakes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11618632October 8, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
Loses power randomly. More prominent at low speeds and turns. Has lost power going down the road, will turn back on. Stabilitrak lights and jerking steering wheel are more common. Will not always start right back up when it shuts all the way off/loses power. Loses clock but keeps radio stations. Had it scanned. Asked dealer about issues/recalls and information with nothing more than “this is not common” and “we need to schedule a time for you to bring it in”. Times were not soon and they made it seem like it is not an urgent/emergent situation. Would not agree to me being able to talk with a tech. Looked into this as it seems common but nothing definite. Bad battery cables seem prominent, grounding issues, electronic steering module, and a few others. Seems like a GM problem that is known but not being handled. Greatly disappointed after reading up on it. Many vehicles with similar problems had recalls. Not sure how that process works. I was told it depends where it was manufactured/assembled. Wife was able to get a video of it the other day.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11615730September 21, 2024
ENGINE
Having to replace an engine at one hundred and three thousand miles…not something I would expect
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11614993September 17, 2024
POWER TRAIN
Transmission constantly jerks taking off under normal operating conditions from a stop, has a hard time staying into gear (hunts for gear) while cruising at highway speeds.slips/slams into gear when attempting to pass.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604892July 27, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
The paint delaminated from the clear coat in certain locations (mainly hood and roof) although the vehicle body has been well maintained. This has caused a foggy scratched appearance to the affected areas where the rest of the car looks great. This problem is well known across many GM vehicles in the 2015-2019 range and has led to significantly decreased value of the vehicle itself
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604893July 27, 2024
POWER TRAIN
Code P0711 appeared during a scan after noticing some roughness during acceleration. Code shows transmission temperature sensor failure which is a known issue and recall for this vehicle model.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11595344June 19, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I purchased a used 2016 Yukon xl may 20 2024. Over the last month only put 2k miles on it. I continue to receive a message to service trailer brake system. I dismiss this and it continues to chime and be a nuisance popping up blocking my dash from seeing important things like speed etc and the noise is extremely distracting as a driver. I’m unable to use the hands free talking through Bluetooth as it interrupts quite frequently. This makes driving an extremely dangerous and unpleasant ride
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572380February 16, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
Merging onto highway and my car would not get up any speed . Was almost crushed by a tractor trailer. If I hadn’t had a long merge lane I could have been killed . Apparently my transmission failed. This is certainly a safety issue . Your car should not just quit! .called dealer and they said the problem is known but gmc is not doing anything about it! Please help 75,000 $ car should last !
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565155January 12, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle jerked and jumped forward. There was a loud sound coming from the engine. The accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate above 5 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire on the lifter in cylinders #1 and #7. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the warranty coverage was declined. The manufacturer was contacted and declined a buyback. No assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 96,891.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11563782January 5, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving and n the freeway around 70 miles and " TRAILER Brake SERVICE" message appears on the dash board screen We don't pulling nothing on that time and normally we don't use this car for pulling, the other message appears several times is very frustrating. I am the guy in charge for this vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11560465December 16, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Like many other complaints..when your driving and accelerating it jerks and try’s to change gears ect. Most recent issue is the temperature sensor went out and my fan was running on full speed. Well I got it fixed and within 2 months it has gone out again! Lastly, the paint on the hood and roof. When I bought the dealership fixed the hood and yet again it’s failing again..
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11559193December 8, 2023
SEAT BELTS
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear passenger's side seat belt inadvertently tightened around her daughter's stomach. The contact's daughter pressed the seat belt button and unlatched the seat belt; however, she was unable to remove the seat belt because it seized around her stomach. The contact had to cut the rear passenger's side seat belt to release her daughter. The contact's daughter sustained marks on her stomach from the seat belt, but no medical attention was received. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was offered a discount on the replacement of the rear passenger's side seat belt. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0

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