ProblemsGMC › 2023 Acadia

2023 GMC Acadia Problems & Owner Complaints

39 NHTSA owner complaints
3 crash 1 fire 4 injury

Age-normalised, this year draws ~9.8 complaints per year on the road — ranking 14 of 15 GMC Acadia years we track (1 = most complaints per year).

Thinking about buying a specific GMC Acadia?

This page shows problems reported across all 2023 GMC Acadias. Before you buy that one car, enter its VIN: get a free open-recall check, then unlock the full $19 safety report: every complaint, safety ratings & a downloadable PDF for that exact vehicle.

Checking a specific 2023 GMC Acadia? Enter its VIN

Free recall check · optional $19 full safety report before you buy

What owners report

Power Train is the most-reported problem area on the 2023 GMC Acadia, cited in 12 of 39 filed complaints (31%).

Engine is next (11 complaints, 28%), followed by Electrical System (9), Steering (3), Air Bags (2).

Across all complaints, 3 report a crash, 1 report a fire, 4 report injuries.

The most safety-critical cluster is Service Brakes: 2 injury report(s).

Complaints by vehicle system

Owner complaints filed with the U.S. NHTSA for the 2023 GMC Acadia, grouped by the vehicle system each cites. A single complaint can name more than one system, so the group totals can add up to more than 39.

Power Train 12

“I find the location of the lower gear shifters + and - to be physically far away from a driver's normal reach, making a driving hazard. If you want to change gears as is typical in mountain driving in steep descents, the driver has to lean awkwardly away from all mirrors and standard driving position making it a potentially hazardous situation for the driver and occupants to be in. It has nothing to do with comfort, but rather normal functionality, keeping the driver and their attention unadjusted on the road, all surroundings with minimal, if any changes to their physical posture while in t…”
NHTSA complaint #11753346, 2026

“Vehicle would not run due to a failed fuel pump control module. With a non-running engine, the transmission could NOT be placed into Neutral to be able to movie vehicle out of the road. Needed tow truck to move vehicle. This condition placed many people at risk as the vehicle could not be moved out of the way until a tow truck arrived.”
NHTSA complaint #11728726, 2026

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled, and the engine lost automotive power. The vehicle was able to restart. During a second failure, the vehicle lost automotive power and stalled in the middle of the highway, and the vehicle was unable to restart. An alert message was sent by OnStar reporting a transmission or engine failure and advised that the vehicle needed immediate service. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a fuel pump module failure. The manufacturer was not not…”
NHTSA complaint #11728307, 2026

Engine 11 2 crash 1 injury

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park, the brake was released, and the vehicle lunged forward and collided with a Rental Movie machine coming to a stop at a building. No safety features were activated. The air bags were deployed. The contact sustained leg, hand, stomach, breast, and chest injuries. Medical attention was sought. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.”
NHTSA complaint #11574065, 2023 · crash · 1 injury(ies)

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that with the stop/start feature activated and while attempting to park the vehicle, the accelerator pedal was slightly pressed in order to slowly move the vehicle forward. The vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and drove forward, over a curb, and crashed into a tree. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle sustained severe damage, but no air bags deployed. No injuries were reported, and no police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated the failure had occurred on multip…”
NHTSA complaint #11720724, 2025 · crash

“Vehicle would not run due to a failed fuel pump control module. With a non-running engine, the transmission could NOT be placed into Neutral to be able to movie vehicle out of the road. Needed tow truck to move vehicle. This condition placed many people at risk as the vehicle could not be moved out of the way until a tow truck arrived.”
NHTSA complaint #11728726, 2026

Electrical System 9 1 fire

“The contact’s daughter owned a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated the seats were previously repaired at the local dealer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, the vehicle caught fire. The fire had extinguished on its own. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment or police reports filed. The contact called the local dealer who referred her to the insurance company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The insurance company informed her the failure was due to the electrical system and deemed it a total loss. The V…”
NHTSA complaint #11526947, 2023 · fire

“TELEMATIC CONTROL MODULE WENT OUT. ON RESEARCH, IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND THERE IS NO FIX BECAUSE THE MODULE IS BACK ORDERED. NO TIME GIVEN FOR WHEN AVAILABLE. WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD OUR NAME TO SEE IF IT CAN BE INCLUDED IN A RECALL. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)”
NHTSA complaint #11711729, 2025

“My 2023 GMC Acadia experienced a complete electrical system failure while driving on an interstate highway. During the incident, the vehicle lost all electrical power, including hazard lights and steering assistance, and could not be shifted into neutral. The vehicle became immobile in active traffic and required police-ordered towing due to safety risk. This incident was the second alternator failure within six months. The second failure involved a GM-installed replacement alternator that failed prematurely. Both incidents required towing, and the second created a significant roadway safety…”
NHTSA complaint #11706360, 2025

Unknown Or Other 7 1 fire

“The contact’s daughter owned a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated the seats were previously repaired at the local dealer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, the vehicle caught fire. The fire had extinguished on its own. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment or police reports filed. The contact called the local dealer who referred her to the insurance company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The insurance company informed her the failure was due to the electrical system and deemed it a total loss. The V…”
NHTSA complaint #11526947, 2023 · fire

“Vehicle would not run due to a failed fuel pump control module. With a non-running engine, the transmission could NOT be placed into Neutral to be able to movie vehicle out of the road. Needed tow truck to move vehicle. This condition placed many people at risk as the vehicle could not be moved out of the way until a tow truck arrived.”
NHTSA complaint #11728726, 2026

“Infotainment system freezing, screen shaking, touch screen not working, disconnecting from android auto, unable to connect to phone.”
NHTSA complaint #11726886, 2026

Steering 3

“Temperature gauge dropped to zero or no reading, message displayed on screen "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care", continued to drive speed limit, when parked fan runs after car is shut off, in a few days the temperature gauge started working again, then the cycle repeats about once every 2 weeks for a couple months before engine light came on last week & when checked at a local parts place was told temperature sensor malfunction. Read multiple accounts of this same issue online”
NHTSA complaint #11719045, 2025

“I purchased my 2023 Arcadia FFWD SLT a few months ago used with 11,000 miles. During the past few months I have noticed when reaching a speed of 45-60 mph the vehicle vibrates. I took the vehicle to the dealership on 10-10-24 and they said they could not find anything but they did not do an intensive problem search. I am concerned the problem may be related to a transmission recall dated 6/23. I did a search but no recalls came up my VIN but the vehicle has a major vibration when going 45-60 mph.”
NHTSA complaint #11619248, 2024

Air Bags 2 2 crash 1 injury

“Struck a deer traveling at 65 mph & air bags did not deploy”
NHTSA complaint #11608274, 2024 · crash · 1 injury(ies)

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that with the stop/start feature activated and while attempting to park the vehicle, the accelerator pedal was slightly pressed in order to slowly move the vehicle forward. The vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and drove forward, over a curb, and crashed into a tree. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle sustained severe damage, but no air bags deployed. No injuries were reported, and no police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated the failure had occurred on multip…”
NHTSA complaint #11720724, 2025 · crash

Before you buy this car, see its exact open recalls + full $19 report Enter the VIN of the 2023 GMC Acadia you're looking at, free recall check first

Back Over Prevention 2

“Infotainment system freezing, screen shaking, touch screen not working, disconnecting from android auto, unable to connect to phone.”
NHTSA complaint #11726886, 2026

“Car's back up camera screen has gone black on several occasions. The vehicle has been in the repair shop , this is my fourth time trying to get it repaired. The screen goes black with a red circle and triangle on the screen when the car is put in reverse. This makes backing up difficult because of the vehicle size and blind spot . This problem developed in the first month of having the vehicle and again the vehicle is back in for repair the fourth time for the same issue I've had the vehicle in service for eleven months.”
NHTSA complaint #11608665, 2023

Fuel/Propulsion System 2

“I am experiencing a recurring P04FB diagnostic trouble code on my 2023 GMC Acadia, related to the crankcase pressure sensor. GM issued Bulletin No. PIP5841C, which attributes the issue to moisture buildup freezing inside the sensor. Their recommended fix is to remove the sensor, blow out any moisture, and reinstall it. However, this is not a permanent solution—the code returns within days, suggesting an inherent design flaw in the PCV system. Additionally, the replacement sensor (Part #12718935) is on national backorder, making it impossible to obtain. Many owners across multiple GM models us…”
NHTSA complaint #11643702, 2024

“Purchased Vehicle Oct.21 2022. In first week, vehicle left my wife stranded twice, and myself once. When error occurs, vehicle goes into limp home mode and cluster illuminates all lights, says serivce brakes, transmission, engine, fuel tank reads "E" (when is was just full), PRNDL buttons are flashing and will not allow park, does not respond to throttle inputs... only way to be not stranded as the vehicle will not restart is to disconnect battery or wait 15-20 minutes as the vehicle seems to incorrectly "heal" its errors and allow the engine to restart. I noticed this when the tow truck ca…”
NHTSA complaint #11494274, 2022

Service Brakes 2 2 injury

“While driving under normal conditions, the vehicle experienced a sudden, violent deceleration. The emergency braking and collision avoidance systems activated spontaneously, as if the vehicle had struck or was about to strike an object. There was no obstacle, impact, or external threat present. This uncommanded braking caused significant physical stress and injury to the occupants. Critically, multiple safety systems failed during the event: The seat belts did not lock, failing to restrain the occupants; The airbags did not deploy, despite the severity of the deceleration; no warning indi…”
NHTSA complaint #11681063, 2025 · 2 injury(ies)

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, while attempting to depress the brake pedal, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the brakes. A dealer and independent mechanic were contacted. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the brake pads wear was uneven on the driver’s side and the driver’s side front caliper needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the result was not provided. The brake pads were…”
NHTSA complaint #11676817, 2025

Vehicle Speed Control 2

“I find the location of the lower gear shifters + and - to be physically far away from a driver's normal reach, making a driving hazard. If you want to change gears as is typical in mountain driving in steep descents, the driver has to lean awkwardly away from all mirrors and standard driving position making it a potentially hazardous situation for the driver and occupants to be in. It has nothing to do with comfort, but rather normal functionality, keeping the driver and their attention unadjusted on the road, all surroundings with minimal, if any changes to their physical posture while in t…”
NHTSA complaint #11753346, 2026

“Shortly after leasing the vehicle in December of 2022 I noticed the transmission would slip when accelerating. It also jumps when down shifting as I'm slowing down - as well as after place the car into drive. I did bring the vehicle back to GMC in early 2023 explaining the aforementioned. I was told that there was too much transmission fluid which was the causing the issues I was experiencing. They reduced the fluid levels and sent me on my way. Unfortunately their assessment and solution did not remedy the problem. I intend to bring the vehicle in again, but based on past experience, I will…”
NHTSA complaint #11548177, 2023

Visibility/Wiper 2

“I was driving on the highway, and the sunroof was closed and the cloth screen that would allow or not allow sun to come through was also closed. Then out of nowhere there was this explosion sound which scared me so much, I almost wrecked the car and at first, I thought maybe someone shot at my car and shot one of my windows but as I got to the side of the road I realized that none of my windows in the car had been shot and that it was the sunroof and I noticed that cause pieces of glass came into the car from the sides of the cloth barrier. This happened so fast and was so loud that it almost…”
NHTSA complaint #11727817, 2026

“Whenever the vehicle's windshield washer is used the smell of the fluid enters the vehicle. This is particularly acute when the HVAC system is used at the same time. Since the label on the washer fluid container says the fluid is poisonous and the vapors are harmful and cannot be made nonpoisonous, I feel I should report this. I have had 4 GMC representatives confirm this is indeed happening. One rep was the Field Engineer Supervisor. All of this is documented as I have had this examined 4 times at the request of the GM customer service representative. Case [XXX], Status update for your 2023 G…”
NHTSA complaint #11631765, 2023

Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 1

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle began jerking with the "Service Stabili-trak" message displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed; however, the dealer tightened the battery terminal. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,000.”
NHTSA complaint #11627581, 2024

Exterior Lighting 1

“When approaching on coming traffic with bright light on high beam, my car will not change from high beam to low beam , nor can I manually. change. also Right mirror has indicator of on coming traffic approaching comes on for no reason”
NHTSA complaint #11584011, 2024

Forward Collision Avoidance 1 2 injury

“While driving under normal conditions, the vehicle experienced a sudden, violent deceleration. The emergency braking and collision avoidance systems activated spontaneously, as if the vehicle had struck or was about to strike an object. There was no obstacle, impact, or external threat present. This uncommanded braking caused significant physical stress and injury to the occupants. Critically, multiple safety systems failed during the event: The seat belts did not lock, failing to restrain the occupants; The airbags did not deploy, despite the severity of the deceleration; no warning indi…”
NHTSA complaint #11681063, 2025 · 2 injury(ies)

Fuel System 1

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled, and the engine lost automotive power. The vehicle was able to restart. During a second failure, the vehicle lost automotive power and stalled in the middle of the highway, and the vehicle was unable to restart. An alert message was sent by OnStar reporting a transmission or engine failure and advised that the vehicle needed immediate service. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a fuel pump module failure. The manufacturer was not not…”
NHTSA complaint #11728307, 2026

Lane Departure 1

“When approaching on coming traffic with bright light on high beam, my car will not change from high beam to low beam , nor can I manually. change. also Right mirror has indicator of on coming traffic approaching comes on for no reason”
NHTSA complaint #11584011, 2024

Seat Belts 1 2 injury

“While driving under normal conditions, the vehicle experienced a sudden, violent deceleration. The emergency braking and collision avoidance systems activated spontaneously, as if the vehicle had struck or was about to strike an object. There was no obstacle, impact, or external threat present. This uncommanded braking caused significant physical stress and injury to the occupants. Critically, multiple safety systems failed during the event: The seat belts did not lock, failing to restrain the occupants; The airbags did not deploy, despite the severity of the deceleration; no warning indi…”
NHTSA complaint #11681063, 2025 · 2 injury(ies)

Structure 1

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle, it was discovered that there was water and condensation inside the rear middle brake light assembly. The contact later discovered that during rainstorms, rainwater had leaked into the rear seating and hatch area of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the failure was due to a manufacturing structural error and the vehicle needed body work to be performed to correct the failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failur…”
NHTSA complaint #11672148, 2025

Suspension 1

“The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken for maintenance, and the tech informed the dealer that the passenger’s side rear suspension toe link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who confirmed that the passenger’s side rear toe link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to Manufacturer's recall number: N222364330; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the…”
NHTSA complaint #11693647, 2025

Tires 1

How we read this (methodology)

How to read this: raw complaint totals are not a clean reliability score — a model year with more cars sold, or simply more years on the road, accumulates more complaints regardless of how good it is. So this page leans on two signals that are not distorted by sales volume: the share of complaints falling on each vehicle system (the breakdown above) and NHTSA's own crash / fire / injury / death flags. When we compare model years of the same model, we normalise by years on the road (complaints ÷ vehicle age) rather than comparing raw totals. Age-normalised, the 2023 GMC Acadia draws about 9.8 complaints per year on the road, ranking 14 of 15 among the GMC Acadia model years we have ingested (1 = most complaints per year on road).

Before you buy this GMC Acadia

Don't buy on the strength of a problems page alone. Check the exact VIN of the car you're looking at. The open recalls are free, and the full $19 safety report pulls every complaint, safety rating and a downloadable PDF for that one vehicle.

Related

Data source: U.S. NHTSA (nhtsa.gov). SaveVIN surfaces public recall data and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.

SaveVIN

Free vehicle recall & safety reports using public U.S. NHTSA data.

Uses public U.S. NHTSA data SaveVIN is an independent service, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to NHTSA, the U.S. government, or any vehicle manufacturer.
For official recall notices, check nhtsa.gov/recalls and register your vehicle with its manufacturer. SaveVIN alerts are best-effort and do not replace official notices.