KnownCarProblems2008 GMC Acadia Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 854 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 GMC Acadia, most often about the transmission (33% of complaints, typically around 77,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Acadia model year since 2000 and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2008 GMC Acadia problems
Transmission
279 complaints · 33%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, driveline, clutch assembly.
I'm concerned about the safety of the 2008 GMC Acadia and similar gm vehicles, as I was driving with my family out of town when the transmission suddenly had problems shifting in and out of gears. While driving the weekend after thanksgiving and approximately 4 hours from home, our 2008 GMC Acadia started…
I was driving down the highway on friday afternoon at 65 MPH when I tried to accelerate to pass a vehicle, and the engine just revved nearly to the redline. I was able to reach the exit, where I pulled over, put the car in park, then back into drive to start off again. At this point, the car would not shift out of 1st…
Electrical
153 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 86,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, wiring, propulsion system.
Blower motor inoperative. Replaced 08/12/11 and 06/06/12. It has an intermittent problem at the moment. Living in the north in the winter time it is impossible to defrost the window if the blower motor doesn't work.
Headlamp wiring melted the headlamp module and bulb receptacle there was no fire but there could have been I was informed there was a service directive on this that expired on 12/31 but I still had to pay $240 to have it repaired when I googled the problem I found multiple complaints about this defect. I feel it is…
Air bags
150 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 83,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the vehicle was recently repaired under recall NHTSA campaign number: 14v118000 (air bags). The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 84,000. Updated 08/19/14 updated…
For several months, the front passenger air bag warning light would illuminate, and the message center would display 'check air bag'. Two weeks ago, it became not intermittent, but constant. I took the car to my GMC dealer and was told $735 repair - air bag passenger pressure module needs replacing. There are hundreds…
Engine
144 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 92,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system, cooling system.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate over 20 MPH. The stabilitrac and several other warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle shook violently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be…
My Acadia's transmission failed (the 3, 5, r wave plate) while 4 hours from home. It has now been at the dealership for 22 days ... The transmission has been taken out 3 times and still can't "get it right". This is a huge mess that gm has not handled well at all. They will not let the dealership put a new…
Steering
133 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles. Parts named most often: rack and pinion, hydraulic power assist, hydraulic power assist system, column.
We purchased our 2008 Acadia in 2011, it had approximately 30,000 miles on it at the time of purchase. Less than thirty days after purchase we had to replace the front rotors. At 40,000 miles we had to replace the front brakes; the air conditioner backed up, which required maintenance to the blower motor; and the head…
I have had the rack & pinion steering rack replaced 2 times since I've owned the vehicle (bought new in july 2008) dealership replaced both after getting ugly with them, now at 75,000 miles transmission went out,replaced it. Got it back from dealer and now the steering locks up when turning, usually happens when…
Body and structure
87 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
2008 GMC Acadia slt has severe water leakage inside the cabin that cause significant damage to interior carpeting and panels. Electrical problems also begin to happen such as back up assist disabled, air bag light flashing, rear windshield wipers not shutting off and more I am sure will happen as water enters the…
Back hatch on vehicle will not open. Replaced fuse and still will not open, there is not a safety open included with this vehicle therefore the door cannot be opened from the inside. The full vehicle is not able to be used and is unsafe for third row riders in the event of an accident.
Other or unspecified
63 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 114,000 miles.
During acceleration the vehicle vibrates when going between 35 and 45 MPH. Was not able to reproduce issue at dealership last fall, but is now getting much worse. Happens almost everytime the vehicle accelerates.
Takata recall- I purchased a 2008 GMC AWD Acadia about a year ago. While test driving the vehicle I noticed a whiny sound that I informed the dealer about upon return. The dealer checked it out and told me it just need power steering fluid. So he filled the fluids and I heard nothing for a month or so. I took the…
Stability control
57 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 111,000 miles.
My family and I were driving out of town and then started to feel the car jerk at times and then out of no were it said stability traction control off and reduced power of engine and then engine started to make a terrible noise and shaking like it was going to give out. I could barely pull over. I have taken it…
Check engine lights are on, and stability lights on, dealer says problem is due to timing chain problem. There is technical bulletin out for this vehicle located here: http://www-odi.NHTSA.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/ucm422873/csc-10043857-8394.pdf GMC is not offering to fix this problem without a large fee…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 GMC Acadia recalls
Body and structure: hatchback/liftgate
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.
Full defect summary
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 liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Air bags: side/window
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 repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Full defect summary
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.
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamb
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
Visibility and wipers: linkages
Risk: If this were to occur, driver visibility could be reduced, which could result in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a new wiper crank arm, driver's side link, and a crank arm nut. The recall began o october 13, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 88,809 my 2008 buick enclave, and my 2007-2008 gmc acadia and saturn outlook vehicles currently or previously registered in the following states: 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. If a buildup of snow or ice on the windshield or on the wipers restricts the movement of the wiper arm, the windshield wiper linkage may become detached from the motor shaft and the wipers may become inoperative.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Loss of headlamp illumination
Summary
As of july 16, 2014, out of a population of 248,453 subject vehicles, NHTSA received 473 consumer complaints of inoperative head lamp. Many of these complaints indicated that the head lamp harness suffered damage from overheating. After reviewing the complaints, odi found: -69% (328) alleged that a single head lamp was inoperative. -18% (86) alleged that both head lamps were inoperative but not at the same time. -9% (41) alleged that both head lamps were inoperative but the complaints did not indicate whether the failures had occurred at the same time. -4% (17) alleged that both head lamps were inoperative at the same time. -one additional complaint cited wire harness damage to both sides bu
Non-crash engine compartment fires
Summary
In a letter dated august 27, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) notified NHTSA that it will conduct a safety recall (NHTSA recall number 08v-441) to address a safety relateddefect that can result in engine compartment fire in approximately 850,000 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield washer fluid option.the subject vehicles of this investigation comprise over three-quarters of the recall population. According to gm, a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the windshield washer fluid heater module may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor or cause smoke and in rare cases it may cause a fire.as a remedy, gm
Questions about the 2008 GMC Acadia
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 GMC Acadia?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (279 complaints, typically around 77,000 miles); electrical (153 complaints, typically around 86,000 miles); air bags (150 complaints, typically around 83,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 GMC Acadia have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 30, 2015 (body and structure). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the GMC Acadia?
- It is the most complained-about Acadia model year since 2000, with 854 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.