2019 GMC Acadia complaints

There is a shift to park issue. When I place the shifter into park and the car is in park, I turn the vehicle off and I have a message action required “shift to park”

Shift to Park is not working properly. Have to start engine and shift to park as much as three times to get the light to go off and radio and bells to quit dinging. I can't tell if car is in park or not and could be dangerous to leave it.

Getting a “Shift to Park” message when the vehicle is already in park

When the car is put In park there is a message that appears on the display when pushing start/stop to turn the car off "shift to park". The car has already unlocked and it turns off and restarts but the message keeps popping up

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the electric power steering (EPS) warning light illuminated, displaying the message "Steering assist Might be Inoperable". The contact stated that following the message being displayed, the vehicle overheated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure had since become a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the thermostat. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 70,000

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(P), the transmission failed to shift into park, and the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact also stated that when she started the vehicle, the reduced steering power warning light illuminated, and the failure caused the battery to be replaced once. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

There is a “shift to park” message. The vehicles fails to recognize that it is in park and display a message urging me to “Shift to Park.” When this happens, I am unable to shut the car off, and this could cause my vehicles to roll away if it is not properly in Park. I would have to constantly wiggle and move the electronic shifter to get it to recognize that the shifter has been placed in the ‘Park’ position. This has resulted in me getting stuck in my car until I get the message to stop, which often time takes several tries and minutes.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while shifting into park(P) there was a beeping warning chime, and the gear shifter symbol was flashing. The shift to park message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was first intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the entertainment center changed and moved through all channels without touching the screen. While in park, the vehicle failed to turn off as desired. The shift-to-park message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the entertainment center needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

When vehicle is put into park and you go to shut off the car it gives a message to shift to park. Diagnosis reveled that there is a service bulletin SB#19-NA206 which tells the mechanic to replace the the shift control assembly and add jumper harness to cure shift to park message when vehicle is turned off. Previous years of this vehicle model were covered under recall . This model year should also be under recall for this problem.

Car won’t go into park. This happened with my 2018 Acadia and now my 2019. It keeps saying shift to park for the car to turn off when it already is in park

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The low oil message was displayed. The contact added oil to the engine. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil gasket and plate needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 72,885.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the transmission was shifted into park(P); however, the shift to park warning light was illuminated and the vehicle failed to shut off. The contact stated that the failure had worsened. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

The vehicle would continuously not register as being in park.

The steering assist code comes on , the temp gage goes down , and it’s immediately hard to steer . All the lights come on , and drained the battery, this has happened several times

Traveling at interstate speeds the vehicle had an short in the Body Control Module due to the HVAC drain leaking into the vehicle. The vehicle displayed a series of alarms brake, steering, and shutoff. We had no power, steering, brakes, or lights. The issue was discovered by Dave Sinclair dealership. It had been in for a sensor issue 3 months prior.

Shift to park error every time I park my car. It takes multiple times of shifting and what not to get the vehicle to shut off. I will be making a appointment with my dealer.

Vehicle is constantly giving “shift to park” error. The steering mechanism has also been compromised, and the vehicle makes persistent jerking motions with accelerating. This could be quite dangerous.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while parking and attempting to turn off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed, though the gear shift indicator had displayed that the vehicle was in park(P). The contact stated that she restarted the vehicle, shifted from park(P) to drive(D) continuously until the vehicle responded as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while shifting the into park(P), the message to “Shift to Park” warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

I just purchased this vehicle and within a day, it was already giving an alert that something was wrong. Says "action required, shift to park". My car was in park. It was not shutting off due to the notification, which leads your battery to drain. The next day, as I was driving with my kids, the headlights start flickering, and then shut off. It left us driving in the dark and nearly causing a wreck because someone didn't see us coming because it was too dark. The dealership said they look at it, so I don't know what will happen moving forward. It's definitely not safe unless the issue is addressed.

Im getting new tires on my car and was told the alignment cannot be done due to the rear tow links needing replaced. I was told it's a known issue with Acadias and should be covered under a recall I called my dealership and it's not a recall.

"Shift to park Warning light" comes on when turning off vehicle when vehicle is in park.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling and shifting into park(P) the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle was in the park(P). As a result, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the contact was not informed of the result. The vehicle had not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

For a few months I intermittently get an engine light on, the temperature gauge goes to zero, the AC stops working, and an error that driver assist in unavailable. This will happen for a fee days and return to notmal where everything is fine. This happens on and off again. I google searched this and it is a huge problem with GMC Acadias. I used an obdII scanner and get a P0128 coolant error when this happens even though the temperature is fine. I just recently went over the new car warranty and GMC will not tell me if this is covered or not.

“Shift to park” message frequently appears and unable to turn vehicle off, will drain battery if left on. First appeared infrequent within 1st year of lease, brought to dealership service, they were unable to reproduce and stated they did not know what was wrong with vehicle if they couldn’t reproduce the message. Fast forward 4 years, I have now purchased the vehicle and message and condition appears very frequent almost daily. Returned to dealer service was advised by customer service manager “ I know exactly what it is it is in the gear shift” but since car is no longer in warranty I would have to pay out of pocket. I attempted to explain that I did I bring it back when it would have been on warranted and was told they couldn’t find anything wrong!!! I have replaced battery multiple times due to power drain from not being able to clear “shift to park” message. Last battery lasted less then 1 year!! I feel GMC is aware of the issue and did not take care of problem when it was under warranty and is now forcing the finiancal burden to replace/repair parts to me!!!

Thermostat gets stuck, generally in open state. AC also is disabled in this condition, soft code (no MIL) mentions "limited steering available" and temp gauge on dash goes to 0. Hard code eventually comes (solid Check Engine light on the dash). Code, MIL, and temp gauge can be cleared and fixed by disconnecting battery negative terminal and reconnecting it, and it will run consistently for a while, though it will return. Online there are no thermostat modules for this engine available (3.6L V6, also in Cadillac XT6, Buick Enclave, and Chevrolet Traverse) showing that thermostat replacement is widespread. Online forum searches also describe widespread thermostat issues for this engine, at roughly $1200 per fix. A reliable thermostat is critical for long-term engine functionality, and should not need replacement at half of design life (~75-80k miles). Though this one tends to fail open instead of close, overcooling of an engine still could have its own issues, and failing closed could lead to engine overheating.

2019 Acadia originally displayed a shift to park message at 12K miles and vehicle was still under warrantee. New shifter harness was installed and a wire harness jumper added. GM covered the cost of repairs. At the time I was told hopefully the repair fixes it but a chance it won't and will need to bring it back in. Two years later at 36K miles it occurred again but was out of bumper to bumper warrantee so GM would not cover and dealer would not give any discount. Both the dealer and the GM claim rep I talked to were not able to adequately explain why this is not considered in the powertrain warranty which is still valid. GM did reimburse 50% of the cost of repair but I am still out ~$380. This issue seems well documented across numerous models / years of GM products.

The shift to Park locks up and will not allow the vehicle to turn off. Receive an error message that the vehicle is not in Park.

There have been no reported recalls yet my vehicle is on it's third battery since purchasing it? How is this possible?

The electrical and gear shift failed, causing a problem that GMC calls “shift to park.” Even when the car is placed in park, the car does not recognize that it was placed in park and cannot be turned off, preventing the driver from leaving the running car. This is a known problem that multiple dealers are aware of and there even appears to be a recall and lawsuits on the 2018 Acadias. However, on my 2019 Acadia, which has the same problem as the 2018 vehicle, this is a problem that costs hundreds of dollars to fix. This should be recalled because it renders the vehicle a safety hazard because it cannot be turned off and it is a known GMC problem that they refuse to fix.

I’ve had 2 issues with the thermostat going bad. The official part is called the water outlet assembly that includes the thermostat. I’ve also had several others tell me they have had this issue.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after the transmission was shifted into park(P), the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The contact shifted the gear shifter into several other gears and was able to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Several times we were unable to put the vehicle in park which would not allow the car to be cut off. I went on line to read reviews about this kind of problem and found bulletin 19-NA-206 describing the shifter assembly as a common problem on this vehicle. A Gen shifter harness was replaced at a cos of $589 with a two year warranty and was told that this will probably happen again. (Gen Shifter Harness) We are now afraid to take trips now because we use to make many stops in small towns to visit relatives. My wife wants to get another kind of vehicle because of this problem. We have purchased four cadillacs and two GMC vehicles from Coulter Cadillac but no problems with the Cadillacs.

My 2019 GMC Acadia started having the known "Shift to Park" issue that is affecting these make/models. This is a known issue and GMC has not issued a recall for it, nor are they covering any cost of repair. When the car is put into Park, the screen displays a message that says "Shift to Park". This results in being unable to turn the car off. The vehicle will not lock either when the message is displayed. On several occasions, the car would not start because of this issue. We took it to the dealer and they are fixing the issue for just over $500 USD.

Steering assist warning came on and my wife panicked. She was on the highway and it came on and she could fill it in the stereo wheel. Temperature gauge stays on 0.

Vehicle has been bucking and jerking when trying to accelerate. Going up a hill is scary (especially with my kids in the car) because it slows the car down trying to find a gear. Dealership says it's a torque converter but since so many Acadia's are being recalled for transmission issues, we feel ours should be included as well. Dealership is making us pay for a transmission flush which doesn't make sense because if it weren't for these issues, we wouldn't need to have a flush.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate with the "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care" message displayed. Additionally, the temperature gauge remained on cold. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no failure was found. The failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was determined that the thermostat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000. The VIN was not available.

While driving the temperature gauge shuts down completely to C - the check engine light comes on and a message appears on the dash saying "Steering Assist Reduce Drive With Care". Any air conditioning goes from cold to hot and the fan under the hood goes to high automatically and wont shut off. We have been informed that this is a known error that has existed for a long time now, with no recalls to date. I cannot schedule my vehicle for repairs yet because I do not have the money to pay for the repairs. They are saying that the placement of the thermostat and sensor, which need to be replaced in order to fix this problem, are located in a very difficult spot to get to. Saying that it will take upwards of 4-5 hours to get everything fixed, which increases the amount of money to fix this issue. My 2019 GMC Acadia just started doing this about 2 months ago and I have 54000 miles.

When I put my car in park and try to turn my vehicle off I get an error message saying “shift to park.” The problem is the car is already in park and I am unable to turn the off. I usually have to start the car back and drive back and forth before the car actually recognizes it is in park. Im concerned for my safety.

The vehicle’s steering assist reduced, drive with care notification came on. The vehicle lost steering assist control and made it very difficult to steer. The slightest move causes a major shift in the intended direction. This is very dangerous.

When trying to turn car off, shift into park, and a message is on the driver screen to "shift to park". The car is already in park. The car will not stop running unless the "shift to park" message is gone. After looking on internet, was able to toggle the shift gear button to remove the "shift to park" message. This started about 4 months ago, it did not happen all of the time. At first, I would have to attempt to restart the car, and then try to turn car off. After investigating this on the internet, was able to turn car off by toggling the gear shift button. This problem was not a surprise to the car dealership. Apparently it is a common problem, and a recalls have been made by GMC for this issue, but not for the year of my car. My car was no longer under warranty, so had to pay $348.04 to fix this.

The car is is giving a warning to Shift to Park even though the car is in park. GMC says this is a known issue and could become a safety issue but is not coving under warranty or recall.

Initial battery died completely when vehicle was 2 years old (17 months ago). This week got a steering assist drive with care message and everything pointed to codes signaling low voltage. Battery tested with a bad cell. GM will not cover the cost to replace a battery when not one but two have gone bad well before the middle of their earful lives. GM claims there is nothing electrical drawing from the battery causing both the go array. Bad customer service on GM’s part. Logically this issue should be covered as it is not a typical maintenance replacement. It’s something causing two batteries to go bad!

I have the shift to park error where my car is not recognizing that it is in park and will not shut off. I have been held hostage inside my car, late for work, etc because my car will not shut off because it is not registering that it’s in park. Also, my breaks are unbareably loud with whatever switch they made to the “new” brake material.

After exiting the highway onto a side road, the vehicle began to shake violently (like we were on a very bumpy road). I pulled into a parking lot thinking we had a flat tire. Then the vehicle suddenly came to a stop and would not move forward and would not move backwards. There was no flat tire, but I noticed that the front left tire was turned inward in the direction that the steering wheel was turned, but the front right tire was also turned inward at a much greater angle. At first glance, I could see behind the tire that the tie rod had detached from the front right tire resulting in no steering capabilities for the vehicle. The tie rod has a large bolt that attaches it to the tire, and the bolt was missing. Had this happened on the highway just a few minutes earlier, the resulting accident could have been catastrophic. I paid to have the car towed to the dealership and when the tow truck driver arrived he took one look at the vehicle and said "this should have never happened". The dealership could not explain how the tie rod lost the bolt and there was no visible damage to the tie rod. My concern is that had this happened at 60mph, the car could have flipped or the car would have been abruptly turned into the median wall at 60mph. Tried to upload images, but could not upload.

Get the message "shift to park" The car is parked but it is not recognizing that it is in fact parked. It makes it impossible to exit the vehicle and turn it off. To get the message disappear and exit the car the gear has to be wiggled. I checked this online and previous GMC vehicles were recalled because of this. And it has a possibility of hurting the transmission as well. This happens quite often. So there no exact date.

Gear shift notification problem. Unable to turn engine off after receiving "Shift to Park" message and the gear shift is visibly in the "Park" position. In addition, the doors would not lock. My wife was forced to stay in the unlocked running car in a store parking lot for 25 minutes, until the car just "turned off" on its own. Unsafe for a woman (or anyone) to have to do at 10:30pm. This puts drivers in a really vulnerable position. Vehicle taken to dealer Jan 30, 2023. Was told they were familiar with the problem.

I'm not sure what this is but I'm not reporting damage I'm reporting the factory model. This vehicle seating is not appropriate for the body size of the front of the vehicle. I've had two other acadias and I didn't have this type of issue. The side of the vehicle where the mirror is located is so large is can cover the view of two cars. And even adjusting the seat doesn't help. You literally have to lean up to loom out the front windshield to make sure you are in the correct place. It's a safety hazard and whoever manufactured this particular car did not do so well

Steering Assist reduced drive with care" displayed on screen when I was driving. The temp gauge stayed on C, Heat works fine, Happened for a few days.