2021 GMC YUKON Complaints

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle shut off with the message to restart the vehicle displayed. The contact was able to pull over and restart the vehicle after several attempts; however, the failure reoccurred soon after the vehicle was restarted. Due to the failure, the vehicle was initially towed to a dealer but was later towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic performed a diagnostic test and diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The vehicle remained in the possession of the independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

We purchased a new 2021 GMC Yukon Denali in July 2021.We have had continuous issues with the truck starting almost immediately after we purchased it and ending with a catastrophic engine failure despite only have ~81,000 miles on it. Even more concerning is that the engine failed while my two of my children were driving with 3 of their friends. The car seized up in the middle of a busy road while driving 55 mph. The kids had to coast to the side of a busy road where they exited the vehicle and waited for a tow truck. Despite regular oil changes and maintenance, we have experienced non-stop problems with the truck * Aug 2022 (29,470 miles): Engine wire chaffing relating to the fuel pressure sensor. Transmission slipping. * Oct 2022 (34,220 miles): “Grinding noises” related to brakes. Faulty brake sensor and brake replacement. * Nov 2022 (35,954 miles): Continued “grinding noises” * May 2023 (51,163 miles): Continued “grinding noises” which were again “shrugged off” by the dealership despite us bringing in the truck for the 3rd time related to this issue. Transmission slipping (transmission torn down, clutch assembly replaced, etc.) * Oct 2023 (62,365 miles): Continued “grinding noises” (4th time bringing the truck in for this reason). * Sep 2024 (81,000 miles): Catastrophic engine failure while driving on a busy road at 55 mph. Based on discussions with a wide range of mechanics, dealerships, shops, individuals within the automative industry, we have come to understand that the issues we have been facing with our truck are not unique. To be clear, we have experienced: i) the same problem repeatedly over a short period of time; ii) repeated unsuccessful attempts to fix the same issues; iii) a prolonged period for repairs where we did not have the vehicle; and iv) significant value loss due to catastrophic engine failure. Further, these problems compromised the safety of my family and has significantly disrupted our life.

Engine is consuming 3qt oil every 1,000 miles. Has been consuming oil since 34,000 mile mark and the transmission has been slipping where it revs very high before downshifting. GM has asked for an oil consumption test to be done and now we are 9,000 plus miles into it and they still say it's fine. This car is not worth the price. I can't even take it out of town due to needing the oil consumption every thousand miles by GM request. Complained about engine knocking at 22,000 miles and they said it was normal and I know it's not

Rear end locking up still after 3 attempts at repair. Concerned about an accident when the vehicle stops moving in traffic.

At approximately 14,000 miles my 6.2L V8 engine had a lifter go bad on the truck. GMC covered this with warranty at the time. The truck seemed to perform well until I hit approximately 94,841 miles and then a lifter went bad again. I had an 85,000 warranty and this repair was not covered. I was quoted $6,500 to repair the truck by the dealer. I made a social media post and tagged GMC. GMC reached out to me directly and took $1,000 off of the repair and I paid $5,576.48 out of pocket to repair the lifters. GMC also offered an extended 2 year warranty on the engine at that point that is expires in September of 2025. I currently have 143,000 miles on the truck and my intent was to drive this truck for as long as humanly possible. I was told that this was designed to be a 500,000 mile truck. My engine is now burning approximately 2.5 to 3.5 quarts of oil between oil changes and I'm worried that there is something else wrong with the engine and that another lifter will go bad. I love my truck and can't afford another $6,500 to $10,000 repair. I sometimes get this car and other cars serviced for an oil change at the Mavis Auto in my neighborhood and the shop director who has been in the business has a friend who is a mechanic with GMC and he told me that his friend was given directive that if one lifter went bad 100% of the lifters, the housing and CAM shafts were to be replaced. (I'm not a mechanic so I may be missing some details here) Anyway - I've been informed about the NHTSA Investigation Into the V8 Engine in my truck which has opened my eyes to other mechanical defects associated with my truck. I'd like to make this report to protect myself and my investment. I do not want incur additional expenses related to manufacturer defects and I do not want to feel unsafe on the road with this vehicle.

My vehicle has software that controls the rear gate, cameras, and my safety features for blind spots—seat buzzer to warn of collisions and voice activated phone system. I recently had a safety recall involving my back wheels locking up during driving. I had the recall done by Power Chevrolet and it affected my cameras, which I noticed were longer accurate immediately after leaving the dealership. My seat buzzer kept buzzing warning me of a collision due to the cameras inaccuracy. I am unsure if it affected my blind spot warning but my car was unsafe to drive as the safety features fill in many blind spots in this big vehicle. Additionally I had been having issues with my back gate opening when it should not resulting in two stops to close it— one in Costco and one on [XXX] outside of Philomath, Oregon. These are safety issues. To get the software issues resolved, it cost an additional $210 for the updates and my back gate is still not fixed and no solution is offered. My fear is that people will be unaware their cameras or safety features are no longer properly calibrated and hit something or even worse, be unable to pay for software updates to make these features functional resulting in more crashes. I was unaware of the software updates ( I did all updates GMC pushed) needed to be done and this just continues on with more software updates to be released requiring future payments. I bought this car new and this was not disclosed or even discussed. GMC can push down updates that make other updates necessary and be an unending source of revenue for them. Oregon just passed a right to repair law but cars are exempt. This will result in unsafe vehicles on the road. My oil change cost me $350 with $210 the software updates. What were these safety related updates not done as recalls? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Upon cold start vehicle rattles when idling down and growling noise when accelerating upon left or right turns. Also, has constant vibrations with sound of metal rattling at speeds above 30 mph. Forward collision light on without a significant amount of mileage on vehicle. I have taken my vehicle to dealership at least 5 times referencing the vibrations. Growling noise was heard by service advisor last visit October 2024, and he stated it probably were the tires. I advised him that brand new tires were put on vehicle, April 18th 2024, rear vibration has never stopped from time of purchase. I have asked dealership to check drivetrain as it is a know issue for 21 Yukon Denali. Vehicle has not received recall but was manufactured at Arlington plant where the parts of the drive shaft was not properly heated and differential is known for issue upon cold start. Vehicle powertrain warranty is due to expire August 2025 or 60,045 mileage. Therefore with that, the vehicle was placed in service August 2020 months before unproperly heated driveshaft recall was determined. My vehicle should be on the list for this recall as GMC noted this to have occurred on vehicle prior to 07/2021. In addition, a chirping noise comes from front of vehicle while idling and when automatic stop starts back up.There are already known recalls for two of issues noted above.

On Friday, [XXX] at approximately [XXX], my family was traveling on [XXX] at [XXX} in Colorado. Our 2021 Yukon Denali XL all of a sudden shut down without warning while going up the mountain at a spot where there was no shoulder. The car would not restart despite multiple attempts. We called 911 several times and waited in the lane of interstate traffic for approximately 45 minutes for emergency vehicles to arrive to block the lane. It was one of the most harrowing experiences of our lives. Our car was nearly hit five times by semi-trucks and cars that could not change lanes fast enough, and all we could do was put our flashers on, honk the horn at incoming cars, and tell our four children to lean back in the seat and prepare for impact. When the tow truck arrived, they could not get the car in neutral and the tow truck had to winch the Yukon on the flatbed to tow it. The car was towed to Raton, New Mexico. The mechanic said that he tried to put a bar on the engine and turn it over but it would not move. The vehicle is still at the mechanic’s shop in Raton, New Mexico. I am in the process of trying to get it towed to a GMC dealership. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The motor on my 2021 Yukon completely failed while driving on a busy state road. The blown motor was replaced by a local GMC dealership, so I do not know it's status or if it'd be available to inspect. My safety was greatly put at risk. I am blessed that my wife and children were not with me, if they were, I would be even more furious. While driving on a busy state road, the tachometer dropped to zero and the truck automatically shifted into neutral. I quickly realized the engine had shutdown, and attempted a restart while coasting. The motor would not restart and I was lucky enough to coast into a nearby parking lot. Had I been in traffic, on the highway, or at a stop light, the situation could have been even more dangerous. As it was, I was stuck in below freezing temps for several hours waiting for triple A. They sent the wrong tow truck twice, and I eventually cancelled the triple A call and called a local wrecking company to come tow the car more than 24 hours later...luckily in the interim I was picked up by a family member. The issue was simply stated to me by the mechanics at the local GMC shop as the motor had "blown", they didn't know why, and they completely minimized the magnitude of the situation. To the best of my knowledge the blown engine has only been looked at by GMC employees. There were NO warning lamps or other symptoms associated with any such failure of this type - which in my opinion, makes the matter even worse and more dangerous. I am frankly furious that GMC is not doing more to address these known catastrophic issues. They have said they will not extend the powertrain warranty and I've read online that people have had their "new" motors blow the same way that the old ones did.

My 2021 Yukon Denali has roughly 70k miles and this is now the SECOND time that my engine shut off while driving >55mph on the interstate in the past 3 months. The first time, I had the sensation that the car was running out of gas when I went to accelerate. After about 5-10 seconds, the engine turned off, but the electronics stayed on. I coasted to the side of the road and tried multiple times to start it without success. The engine sounded fine while turning over and over, but it would never start. That episode turned out to be a bad fuel pump control module, and after roughly $400 at the local Firestone auto repair shop, I was on my way (FYI, they didn't diagnose it; I learned that was the likely problem by reading online forums and basically demanded they replace the FPCM). Now, here I am about 3 months later, and it happened again, just two days after I had the vehicle serviced at the GMC dealership for a check engine light that was intermittently coming on. The technicians said I needed an update to the Engine Control Module which was completed. The main difference was that this time, I had zero warning. There was no sensation of running out of fuel or funny noises from the engine. I just went to give it gas and noticed it wasn't working. There was a warning on the dash saying push button to start the vehicle (once again, the electronics stayed on when the engine shut off). After coasting to the side of the road, the battery seemed to be good, but the engine wouldn't turn over. I had it towed to the shop and am being told I will likely need a new engine!