2011 Gmc Acadia problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (60) · Exterior Lighting (37) · Engine (28)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Gmc Acadia model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
210 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (5)
Air Bags:critical Fasteners 2021-04-08 · campaign 21V246000 · 108 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2015, 2017 Buick Enclave, 2010-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, and 2011-2016 GMC Acadia vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not be properly attached.
Risk: Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202321200.
Structure:body:hatchback/Liftgate 2015-06-30 · campaign 15V415000 · 691,144 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power li
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
Seat Belts 2014-05-20 · campaign 14V266000 · 1,339,355 vehicles
Defect: General Motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through May 14, 2014, Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured June 6, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured April 9, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and 2009-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through March 18, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cable that connects the seatbelt to the front outboard seating positions may fatig
Risk: If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.
Fix: General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in July 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on July 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on July 11, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-
Air Bags:side/Window 2014-03-17 · campaign 14V118000 · 1,176,407 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repai
Visibility:windshield Wiper/Washer:linkages 2012-04-09 · campaign 12V151000 · 47,846 vehicles
Defect: GENERAL MOTORS (GM) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE, BUICK ENCLAVE, AND GMC ACADIA VEHICLES CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN ALASKA, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, IDAHO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH DAKOTA, UTAH, VERMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN, WYOMING AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. SNOW OR ICE BUILDUP ON THE WIN
Risk: IF THIS OCCURS, DRIVER VISIBILITY COULD BE REDUCED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL TIGHTEN THE WIPER ARM NUTS, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 20, 2012.
Service bulletins (1,496)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP4902V · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-08 · PIP4902U · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2025-11-20 · PIT5214G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have had multiple repair attempts that are being performed on customer’s vehicles that exhibit vibration conditions without utilizing the support of general motors technical assistance center. if va
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,496 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-05-10 · Electrical System · 🔥 fire“the relay for the fan at the top of the fuse/relay box on the right side when facing the front of the vehicle. (under the hood) gets hot and blows the relay and melts the spot where the relay prongs plug in. causing the need for a new fuse box and circuit problems within the fuse box connectors. the fans, specifically the a/c fan does not kick on w…”
2025-12-29 · Unknown Or Other“we purchased the vehicle on august 20, 2025. at which time we paid over $4,800 for the vehicle. i will be trying to submit all files pertaining to the vehicle. we are both disabled and on the fixed income from ssi. however, a week after purchasing the vehicle all issues began to rise up. there was no transmission fluid, the oil need changed, catal…”
2025-03-18 · Air Bags“my air bag light keeps coming on saying to service it. i saw the recalled issues before with the other acadias and was thinking maybe my year model would need to be looked into as well. i haven't ever had a wreck for them to come out but the light comes on frequently. …”
2025-03-07 · Power Train“transmission shudder from torque converter …”
2024-12-10 · Unknown Or Other“tailgate system has failed causing tailgate to force closed after opening halfway. risk of being pinned between the car and tailgate. similar to previous recall power liftgate prop rod recovery, gate is not being controlled or caught. …”
2024-06-17 · Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner“system failed from wear on the rear ac hose from the power steering hose rubbing on it. creating a leak in my ac system …”
2024-04-12 · Engine“i had issue with the timing chain an have check engine light is on i have heard other people having problems with there timing chain. it starts hard. i've had it looked at multiple times. i feel like this is a safety concern. it has low miles on it …”
2023-09-26 · Seat Belts“not sure but the ex owner of the vehicle told me the it had a recall on the drivers seatbelt (wasn’t due to a car accident)…”
2023-09-04 · Engine“the engine light came on. had a mobile mechanic look at it, he ran a diagnostics, it showed a p0017 code. he advised to get another opinion on how to repair, as he said it may need a new engine. took it to a local repair shop, was told the same thing. the acadia runs fine, and only has 116k miles. the problem is that it will not pass the required e…”
2023-05-01 · Seat Belts“seatbelt locks and does not release…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.