2023 GMC YUKON XL Complaints

on 2/28/26 i experienced complete engine failure on my 23 Yukon. I was going 70mph on the highway when the engine kicked and and kicked into neutral. the car spent 6 weeks in the dealer to have the engine replaced. i picked up the car on Wednesday, 4/15. On 4/16, i was once again driving, as normal when it suddenly turned off and kicked into neutral. 1 day after I picked up the vehicle it is once again being towed back to the dealer for the same symptoms it had when the entire engine had to be replaced. Both times, there is no warning. The car dings and a message comes up saying "restart vehicle". On 2/28, the car would not restart. On 4/16, the car did restart but only temporarily This is a major safety problem. The first occurrence I was going 70mph on the highway when i lost power. The second occurrence, I was driving 20mph on my neighborhood street and suddenly lost all power.

I own a 2023 GMC Yukon Denali. In Nov. 2023, at about 4,000 miles, the vehicle suffered a complete engine and electrical failure at highway speed while I was traveling with my husband and three small children. It suddenly lost all power in the fast lane, including acceleration and engine function. Steering became extremely heavy, consistent with loss of power steering assist, and the electronics shut down. We had to guide the vehicle across traffic while coasting downhill to the shoulder beyond a guardrail. Traffic had to avoid us, creating a serious safety hazard. The vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was towed and required a complete engine replacement under warranty. After that replacement, additional issues followed. There was an HVAC/defrost concern. In June 2025, the vehicle again became inoperable without warning while parked at a store. It would not start despite repeated attempts, including by a dealership representative. A diagnostic scan produced over a page of error codes, but the dealership could not identify a cause and stated the vehicle was safe. In Dec. 2025, the vehicle engine was inspected under a recall and I was told there were no issues. In Feb. 2026, the vehicle lost heat and was found to have no coolant despite regular maintenance and recent inspection. In Mar. 2026, at about 37,700 miles, the vehicle developed a loud clunking noise while driving. I stopped driving and returned it to the dealership, where I was told the engine had failed again and required another full replacement. The vehicle has now had two engine failures and three engines installed in less than three years. There were no warning lights or prior indications before these failures. I no longer believe this vehicle is safe or reliable for transporting my family.

The panoramic sunroof on my 2023 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate XL spontaneously exploded while driving westbound on I-20 on March 13. There was no impact from road debris, no vehicles ahead, no overpass, and no external cause. The failure sounded like an explosion or gunshot. Tempered glass shattered with the sunroof in the closed position, showering the interior with glass fragments. Five occupants were in the vehicle at the time. No injuries occurred, but the sudden explosive noise and shower of glass created an extreme distraction and safety hazard while operating the vehicle at highway speed. The incident could easily have caused a loss of vehicle control on the interstate. The component that failed is the factory-installed panoramic power sunroof glass, standard equipment on the Denali Ultimate trim. The vehicle was taken to Lugoff Chevrolet for inspection. The dealer confirmed the glass failure and submitted a request to GM for warranty or goodwill coverage. GM offered to cover only 10% of the repair cost, characterizing the failure as an out-of-warranty wear issue despite the spontaneous nature of the defect. There were no warning signs, cracks, chips, warning lamps, or any indication of a problem prior to the failure. The sunroof was closed at the time. The vehicle has been dealer-maintained with no modifications to the sunroof or roof structure. This is a known industry-wide defect. NHTSA has previously investigated spontaneous sunroof shattering and documented over 4,000 complaints. GM has acknowledged awareness of this issue in other GM vehicles and previously issued corrective actions for sunroof glass on the Buick Regal and Chevrolet Cruze. Other GMC Yukon owners have filed NHTSA complaints describing identical failures. The failed sunroof glass and vehicle are available for inspection upon request.

The vehicle has the L87 GM engine. It lost complete power and the engine seized up and would not start again. Fortunately I was able to roll into a neighborhood and get off the main road with no issues. The dealer has confirmed the seized engine and a replacement engine has been ordered with no ETA. There was no prior warning of the failure, besides a shuddering, like I was running out of gas, and then a lose of complete power.

The onstar module of my 2023 GMC Yukon has failed. This is a wide spread issue with recent model GMC's. There are thousands of reports of the same thing happenings. When an onstar module fails, the vehicle loses its safety features. No lane departure, no collision detection or pre-collision braking, no critical system checks. Even the gas and mileage components stop working correctly.

The contact owns a 2023 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that the vehicle was losing oil, and the engine was running rough. There was an abnormal burning odor after driving the vehicle. The vehicle received an oil change; however, two weeks later, the oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was determined the oil level was approximately 2 quarts low, and another oil change was performed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

2023 Yukon XL Denali passed the pico scope changed to 0W40 and 3 months later stopped working in the middle of driving just completely shut down. Engine started to smoke had it towed to dealership and they removed my oil filter and found crankshaft bearings in the filter. Needs a new engine now. Bought it brand new only has 45,000 miles on it currently.

2023 GMC Yukon XL 6.2L V8 experienced progressive engine defects starting in first year. At 7,445 mi (Jan 2023), first dealer visit for engine issues. At 10,315 mi (Apr 2023), Cyl 2 fuel injector failed (internally open), vehicle TOWED to dealer, replaced under warranty. At 14,982 mi (Aug 2023), identical Cyl 7 injector failure (internally open), replaced under warranty. Two identical failures on different cylinders within 15,000 mi indicates systemic defect. By 30,409 mi (Aug 2024), dealer performed engine decarbonization due to carbon buildup from fuel injection issues. Dealer recommended additional decarbs at 38,077 mi and 42,577 mi. At 56,028 mi (Mar 2026), engine suffered catastrophic failure: piston ring failure causing excessive oil consumption and engine destruction, requiring full engine replacement. This matches GM's known 5.3L/6.2L V8 piston ring defect (subject of $150M class action settlement). Defective injectors caused incomplete combustion, carbon buildup on piston rings, ring tension loss, and catastrophic engine failure. Vehicle also has unfixed suspension defect (camber bolt/alignment). Vehicle visited dealer 8+ times. Engine failure poses serious safety risk from sudden power loss at highway speeds. Vehicle available for inspection.

Transfercase was casuing the Yukon to serge when in auto mode. No codes warning lights were presented. The dealer did not find any codes but when the transfer case was removed the oil was drained to which metal shavings were found in the oil. After getting the Yukon back the transmission began to exibit the same type of issues. Currently the Yukon is back in the shop.

High pressure fuel pump housing failed and filled the cabin with fumes. Rendered the the Yukon unsafe to drive with fuel flooding the engine compartment. Took the dealer 57 days to repair the car. No warning lights, only indication was the fumes in the cabin.