2023 GMC YUKON Complaints

Following a catastrophic engine failure in my 2023 GMC Yukon XL Denali, I discovered that the vehicle could not be shifted into neutral once the engine failed. This prevented the vehicle from being moved out of traffic if it had stopped in an active lane. The inability to place the vehicle into neutral after a loss-of-power event creates a serious safety hazard, particularly on high-speed roadways. In the event of a failure occurring in traffic, occupants may be left stranded in a travel lane with no ability to push or reposition the vehicle, significantly increasing the risk of a rear-end or multi-vehicle collision. This condition occurred immediately following the engine failure and was not accompanied by any prior warning or instructions to allow safe vehicle repositioning. I am unaware of any manual or mechanical override that would allow the vehicle to be shifted into neutral under these conditions. This design behavior represents a safety defect because it compounds the danger of a propulsion loss by preventing drivers from removing the vehicle from harm’s way.

I am reporting a catastrophic engine failure involving my 2023 GMC Yukon XL Denali, which was subject to a GM-issued recall related to engine failure. On January 10, 2026, at approximately 1:00 a.m., while traveling at highway speed (approximately 65+ mph) on a multi-lane highway, the engine suddenly failed without warning, resulting in a complete loss of power. I was forced to make immediate evasive maneuvers to reach the shoulder while avoiding semi-trucks and other vehicles. The sudden loss of power created an extremely dangerous situation for myself, my passengers, and surrounding traffic. After the engine failure, the vehicle could not be placed into neutral, preventing it from being moved out of traffic if it had stopped in an active lane. This design issue significantly increased the risk of a collision. I was stranded on the roadside for several hours in cold conditions awaiting a tow. The failure was later confirmed by an authorized GMC dealer, who diagnosed the engine as failed and replaced the entire engine assembly. The vehicle and replaced components should be available for inspection through the dealership. The manufacturer had previously issued a recall for this vehicle related to engine failure, and I had requested a buyback prior to this incident due to safety concerns. That request was denied unless the vehicle experienced a failure. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms prior to the failure. The only warning message appeared after the engine failed, indicating an engine overheating or “engine hot” condition, which occurred after power was already lost. This incident represents a serious safety defect that resulted in loss of propulsion at highway speed with no advance warning.

While driving down the road, my 2023 Yukon 6.2L engine shut down, shifted to neutral, and a message on the screen said “press start again” leaving my family in a powerless vehicle in the middle of the road in moving traffic. There were no warning signs nor is my vehicle included in a current recall. The vehicle will be taken to the dealership tomorrow morning.

Vehicle was taken to dealership and test was run. Service manager notified me it passed and told us about change of oil. Then recently engine stopped on us twice on the interstate with no power. We finally got it to the dealer and while they were test driving it lost power and they had to have it towed. Now we have been told we are needing a new engine and have not been given any time line. We have also read that many time the solution even on the new engine is not fixing all issues. We just want a safe vehicle returned to us.

seatbelt has come undone on its own multiple times on the drivers seat. nothing was touching or near the red release button when this has occurred. it is not immediately happening but happens while driving. i think its happened five times in the past 1-2 months. i cannot figure out a rhyme or reason. i have never experienced this happen on any vehicle previously.

Catastrophic brake system failure. When leaving my home in Baltimore County, MD, at approx. 10:00am on February 3rd, my vehicle started up normally. As I descended down a hill in our neighborhood the brake system failed and the vehicle would not stop. By standing on the brake pedal I slowed enough to put the vehicle in park as I entered an intersection with the main road. I have since learned this is the 3rd GMC Yukon (years 2023-2024) that has had the same brake failure in 24 hours in our community.

At right under 40,000 miles the engine blew. The GM dealership that repaired my car would never tell me exactly what happened, and they were very sketchy about the whole experience, but it required a complete engine replacement from GMC when the engine quit working.

On January 19, 2026, Recall 25V274 was performed on my vehicle, and this was not disclosed to me when I picked up the vehicle from the dealership, Courtesy Buick GMC in Louisville, KY. I only found out when I got home and read through all the service notes. I contacted the dealer on January 19 after I got home, asking for explanation and have not heard back. The Recall Remedy failed. Since the service, symptoms of hesitation, lack of propulsion and low MPG persisted. As of Feb 1, the vehicle has suffered a transmission failure and is unsafe. The dealer told me verbally everything was fine, and in the service notes from Jan 19, they noted vehicle as 'Operating as Designed and Within Spec' despite performing safety recall work."

We had the L87 engine recall completed at 14,318 miles on Nov 20, 2025 on our 2023 Yukon XL Denali with the 6.2L engine. Engine passed all tests by dealer and we were sent on our way with 0W-40 and a new oil cap. Fast forward to Jan 21, 2026.... My wife pulled the vehicle out of driveway and noticed a deep pitched, knocking sound. She slowly started to drive down the street a bit and then the vehicle shut off and displayed a warning message on the dash (this was on a cold engine, not due to the absurd auto start/stop feature). She was able to restart and get vehicle back to the garage. We had just rolled 15,000 miles on the odometer the day before. Immediately called our dealer and had an appointment set for the next day. We were able to drive vehicle to dealer with knocking and reduced power during the drive. Dealer confirmed next day that an excessive amount of metal was found in oil and on oil filter element then supplied us with video evidence. A complete teardown has been ordered but no cause has yet been identified as of Jan 29, 2026. Service tech stated as we walked back into the dealer that "you are getting a new engine based on the amount of metal found in the oil sample". I asked about timeline for engine replacement and was told that we are looking at a month if not longer until we will get the vehicle back. We know that we are VERY fortunate to not have had the engine shutdown happen on a highway as my wife would have most certainly panicked in the situation possibly leading to a catastrophic event.

Full system error codes displayed on dashboard, Drive Train Error, Steering Colume error, brake system error, "Car will not operate a speed greater than 40 mph, happened 3 times dealership on first inspection advise it was an interface with the factory installed Lojack system and disconnected, Last same sincerio (note..no Lojack connected) same as above the new diagnosis is the battery low voltage to system and throwing everything off.