2017 GMC Yukon Complaints

POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 07/25/2026

While traveling at highway speeds, my 2017 GMC Yukon SLE suffered a sudden, catastrophic Active Fuel Management (AFM) valvetrain lifter and camshaft collapse. This caused an immediate and highly dangerous loss of vehicle propulsion in live moving traffic on I-95, creating an extreme physical safety hazard for my family. General Motors has extensive, documented internal corporate knowledge of this severe design defect under Technical Service Bulletin TSB #18-NA-073.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 08/01/2024

The paint on my hood, roof and mirrors has peeled off and the gray coating is showing. I have own many GM vehicles and have never had this happen before.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 01/03/2026

The recall repair for the brake vacuum pump did not hold for this vehicle. Even after the repair, several years later, the brakes would get hard as a rock, especially at low speeds and there was difficult stopping the vehicle. Due to the special Warranty on this recall, I was able to get the brake vacuum pump replaced at no cost. However, the recall repair failed initially. This is a safety issue.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 06/01/2026

Passenger brake Led Circuit board prematurely failed resulting in the entire assembly needing replacement. The assembly is $500 and higher. This is a safety issue and though there was a class action lawsuit, the light fails after 72000 miles which appears to be when GMC wont replace the part. $500 for a tail light replacement is a financial burden to be able to keep the car on the road. There is no warning when the light fails. Please consider a recall on the tail lights.

SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 08/13/2025

So the shock strut system up front has a grommet that holds it in. The repair order said they put a shock simulator in the car and it gave false reading saying it was good and it came out broke break line and caused me to jump a curve to stop the vehicle. ALSO Now the THE TAIL LIGHT IS OUT AND NO WAY TO REPAIR IT NO ONE HAS THE LIGHT. Also this car is on its third transmission

ENGINE — Filed 01/12/2025

Engine blew at less than 80,000 miles

ENGINE — Filed 04/12/2026

My engine starting making a knocking/ticking noise out of no where. I was traveling alone on the highway so I stopped to check it. I got to a gas station and google searched it and it came up that the LS 6.2 engine that is in my vehicle was recalled on other models because of this issue. I did have a mechanic look at it as well and he agreed it is that same issue that was recalled in other models.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 08/19/2022

The 2017 GMC Yukon has serious transmission issues that GM continues to ignore, and it is going to get someone hurt. I was stopped at a red light, and when it turned green, I pressed the gas pedal but the car would not move. I pressed harder, and then it suddenly lurched forward about 30 feet. If there had been a car in front of me, I would have hit them and likely caused injuries. When I took it to the dealership, they said it needed a full transmission replacement, which was not covered. I had to pay out of pocket. I was only about $10,000 outside the warranty when it failed, and GM refused to stand behind their product or help in any way. I was already financing the vehicle and should not have had to pay for a new transmission on a car that was less than four years old with relatively low miles. This is not just my experience. Many others have had the same issue. GM knows about it and chooses not to acknowledge it. They are lucky no one has been seriously injured or killed because of it. Going to attach all of the proof of people "coincidentally" experiencing the same issue.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 03/02/2026

The 8-speed automatic transmission (Hydra-Matic 8L90) on this 2017 GMC Yukon SLT 5.3L V8 has failed. This is a repeat failure — the transmission was previously rebuilt in 2020 under a GM recall/service action for the same known defect affecting this transmission type. The transmission has now failed again in 2026, approximately six years after GM's prior repair. Prior to failure, the vehicle exhibited hard shifting, shuddering during acceleration, and hesitation between gear changes — symptoms consistent with the known defect pattern documented across 2015–2019 GM vehicles equipped with this transmission. The failure was confirmed by a service center. The vehicle is currently not safely drivable. Safety concern: erratic and unpredictable gear changes, including sudden lurching and hesitation during acceleration, create a dangerous condition for the driver, passengers, and other vehicles on the road. GM has been contacted through their Customer Assistance Center (case opened). GM's initial position was that they cannot assist because the vehicle is out of warranty. However, this is a repeat failure of a previously repaired known defect. GM issued 13+ technical service bulletins on this transmission and has been aware of the root defect since at least 2018. A federal class action (Speerly v. General Motors, E.D. Michigan) covering this exact vehicle type and transmission has been certified and upheld by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The prior GM repair did not remediate the underlying defect.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 08/15/2017

Slipping Gears: Many Yukon Denali owners report experiencing unexpected gear changes or loss of power while driving. Hard Shifting: This problem manifests as harsh or abrupt gear changes, often accompanied by noticeable jolts when shifting from one gear to another. Unusual Noises: Grinding, whining, or clunking sounds when shifting There has been a class action lawsuit for this. I'm not sure why it has not been recalled in all states.

ENGINE — Filed 12/17/2025

My truck lost power while I was driving. Took to a shop and they found that a had a bad lifter. I have all of my service records from the GMC dealership where I had my vehicle serviced on a regular basis.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 02/01/2025

This has been going on for a while now, but it’s getting worse overtime. If I push on my brakes more than twice the brake pedal locks up and I have to push extremely hard to get my vehicle stopped.. luckily I have never been going fast and had to worry about this. This is normally when I am pulling into a parking spot or I am backing up that I have to tap on my brakes a few times. A couple of times I have bumped the pole in front of my parking spot due to not having brakes. I just put in a general date as to when they started to get worse.

ENGINE — Filed 01/01/2025

I started noticing issues with my transmission around 55,000 miles on it. It first started with no noticing that it wouldn’t gear down when it needed to, and then when it finally did gear down, it would really jerk the vehicle. I started calling GMC then and questioning and putting in a claim. Just went back-and-forth four months. Now it was getting worse to where I could feel the transmission slipping it wouldn’t kick into upper gear or lower gear. Again, I was still calling GMC and reporting these issues. I was told to take it and have a transmission oil change, which I did costing me $300. I still noticed this problem and I continue to call. I kept being told that they would have somebody call me back which nobody ever called me back to find out specifics. I took it to a GMC garage have them put it on a machine, and I was told that it needed a new transmission and this wasn’t something GMC was covering. This new transmission cost me $6200 and was done on 1/5/25. Please remember this vehicle only had 64,000 miles on it, which is absolutely ridiculous to need a transmission at this mileage. I again had called in January 2025 reporting this and was told someone would call me back and never heard from them.

ENGINE — Filed 11/29/2025

Sitting at stop light engine began running rough and smoke coming out. CEL came on and began flashing, pulled over and had it towed. Diagnosis was PO300 misfire, dead miss on cylcinder 4, cylinder plug 4 is fuel fouled, cois is fine has good spark- caused by failed lifters. Needs engine replacement. Vehicle always serviced, garage kept and in mint condition with 89K miles.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING — Filed 09/15/2021

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that the lifters were previously replaced in 2021 at the manufacturer's expense. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine was running rough. The vehicle was taken to an unknown auto part store, where it was diagnosed with an engine cylinder malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the engine had experienced lifter failure or a more severe failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed by the dealer, and that the manufacturer might help in covering the cost of the repair. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: EA25007 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 81,638.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 10/03/2025

At parking lot speeds, there have been many incedents of brake failure, when pressing pedal to stop pedal pulsates and becomes very hard to stop the yukon. there seems to be a vacume or booster issue. Yukon will be fine for days then reaccure when slowing at stop sign or waitng at red light and moving foward in slow traffic to sign or llight and then in happens again. scary and unreliable when using brakes at low speed intersections or continous stop and go's

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 09/14/2018

This happened 5 years ago but I never reported it. GMC 2017 Yukon. I put my SUV in park, and entered and exited it several times while parked in my driveway. When I went to grab my purse (standing at drivers side door, reaching for purse on passenger seat) the car rolled. I was on a sloped driveway. The car rolled backwards, and I tried to jam it into park more strongly, but it just made a grinding noise and kept going. I was knocked over by the car door, pulled under the car and ended up having my legs run over by the car. I sustained injuries which affect me to this day. I was transported to the hospital by an ambulance after a 911 call, so I presume there is a police report. I was injured and dazed. This happened on [XXX]. I am only reporting it now since I never thought about doing so before I read an article today about cars being recalled for this problem. If other people have my model of car and this is a problem, I would want them to know. I was thinking maybe I hit the gear shift with my purse and knocked it out of park, but this should not have happened without the brake depressed. I was standing next to the drivers side door when this happened. I did have the car taken to the dealership to be examined, and they said it was ok, but could not really explain how this happened. I still have this SUV but am very cautious about any situation where the car could roll when in park and cause injury. The car crashed into a tree and that stopped the rolling. Has there been other reports of this happening with this model of car? I would like to know, because if there is a problem that has come to light in this, I will get a different vehicle! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,AIR BAGS — Filed 10/13/2022

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while driving at 20 MPH with her daughter in the rear passenger seat, the message "Grade Braking Active" was displayed. The contact stated while making a right turn in an intersection, she depressed the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from colliding with the vehicle before hers. However, the brake pedal went down to the floorboard and failed to respond. The contact then quickly veered to the right to prevent a crash. The vehicle hit a curb and was propelled to the left across three lanes and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained bruises on the forehead as she hit her head against the steering wheel. The contact also sustained soreness on the neck and shoulder; however, the contact did not seek medical assistance. The contact's daughter did not sustain any injuries. The occupant of the other vehicle did not sustain injuries. A police report was filed. The contact's uncle met her at the scene and drove the vehicle back to her residence. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they would send a field technician to diagnose the vehicle. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19V645000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and 20V603000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact's vehicle remained at her residence. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

AIR BAGS — Filed 08/11/2022

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - Airbags How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Airbags did not deploy during the car accident. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? -No Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? -No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - None.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 10/02/2019

THE GMC YUKON MODELS IN ALL TRIMS, HAVE FAULTY LED STRIPS THAT CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO FAIL ON THE LEFT, AND RIGHT BRAKE LIGHT ASSEMBLY. THE FRUSTRATING PART IS IT WORKS INTERMITTENTLY, AND WHEN IT'S OFF A SLIGHT TAP WILL MOMENTARILY BRING IT BACK ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE JOLT. THIS LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S FAULTY CONNECTION INSIDE THE SEALS BRAKE LIGHT ASSEMBLY. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE ON OWNER FORUMS OF GMC YUKON'S . THIS IS KNOWN AS THE NEW YEAR MODELS 18-19 ARE NOT HAVING THE SAME ISSUE.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 09/13/2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 GMC YUKON. WHILE DRIVING 14 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP AND THE BRAKE ASSIST AND CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT A MODE FOR THE BRAKES WAS SWITCHED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,698.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 04/14/2018

WHEN DRIVING OCCASIONALLY YOU HAVE TO PUSH REALLY HARD ON THE BRAKES TO STOP. 9/10 TIMES BRAKES WORK NORMAL BUT ONCE IN A WHILE YOU HAVE TO PRESS VERY HARD TO STOP. WAS PULLING INTO MY DRIVEWAY AT A VERY LOW SPEED BRAKES WERE HARD TO PRESS AND RAN INTO THE WALL OF THE GARAGE. BROUGHT TO THE DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW AND STILL NOT FIXED.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 04/28/2019

LOW SPEED BREAK FAILURE. IN MY DRIVEWAY, IN PARKINGLOTS, USUALLY AFTER HAVING FOOT ON BREAK TO "ROLL" AND THEN STOP AGAIN, NO BREAKS, OR HAVE TO PUT TWO FEET DOWN TO STOP. I HIT A CAR IN FRONT OF ME TWO DAYS AGO AFTER WAITING AT A RED LIGHT, STARTING TO ROLL BECAUSE THEY ROLLED, THEN THEY STOPPED, AND I HIT THE BREAK AND NOTHING HAPPENED. MY HUSBAND HAS TAKEN THE CAR MULTIPLE TIMES TO BE LOOKED AT FOR THE BREAKS NOT WORKING FOR AT LEAST 6 MONTHS.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 01/03/2019

HAVE NO BRAKES AT LOW SPEED DUE TO FAULTY VACUUM PUMP

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 03/09/2018

VEHICLE FIRE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED POINT OF ORIGIN WAS IN LEFT REAR TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY. CAUSE DETERMINED TO BE AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE. VEHICLE WAS STATION, HAD NOT BEEN DRIVEN AND WAS PARKED IN ATTACHED RESIDENTIAL GARAGE. FIRE DESTROYED VEHICLE AND EXTENDED TO RESIDENCE. THIS REPORT IS BEING MADE BY THE COUNTY FIRE MARSHAL. VEHICLE OWNER INFO IS JOSEPH C. LAVECCHIA, 10 LONG HILL ROAD, NEWTON NJ 07860