KnownCarProblems2013 GMC Acadia Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 135 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 GMC Acadia, most often about the electrical (28% of complaints, typically around 65,000 miles). It is 14th of 20 Acadia model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2013 GMC Acadia problems
Electrical
38 complaints · 28%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles.
Gm is in non compliance with global safety field investigations dcs5011 ...d&s motors rugby nd [a gm dealer] states they can not get the kit-Acadia my 2013-14 part no. 84651473 ---- my vehicle required repair within that extended warranty time from. I am now on my 3rd failed because of water intrusion , the new wiring…
Vehicle has approx 60k miles, blind spot sensor stopped working suddenly. This is a hazard as the driver comes to depend on this indicator and it goes out suddenly with the location of the sensor under the wheel well/bumper. Resulting cost to repair was over $600 (for passenger side) at the dealership. And I was told…
Air bags
29 complaints · 22%Half of these problems showed up before 95,000 miles.
My transmission has been acting up since 50,000 miles A/C acting up since 70,000 miles air bag light keeps coming on dealership wants to charge me for warranty work one dealership refuse to work on my car
Service air bag warning lite comes on. Dealership advises $12-1400 in repair costs. Have had other electrical issues with car. Spent almost $1000 replacing wiring harness to side detection. Had to replace most of dash wiring harness due to water damage which couldn't determine if manufacturing issue or accident…
Transmission
27 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 99,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2013 GMC Acadia. After the vehicle was parked, the vehicle continued to move forward and dragged the contact as she was exiting. The vehicle rolled over the contact's left leg and crashed into a light post. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The contact sustained injuries that required…
Transmission has bad shudder in it taking off and while pulling slight grade on highway. Vehicle has 120849 miles on it. The transmission has a slip in it when trying to accelerate quickly.
Other or unspecified
21 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 52,500 miles.
While driving the car it lost power, all the dash light went off, then the power steering shut down, while driving 45 miles an hr. Once able to pull over, the car shut down and could not start back up. The key would not come out of ignition. Had it towed to the local dealer the car was bought from. They reported it…
My Acadia engine light came on when I put it in drive won't go anywhere. Acadia doors keep unlocking and locking was at my house in driveway. Engine light went off everything is fine. Took it to dealership and they said it's the transmission module making car think it's in park but can't fix it unless my engine light…
Engine
21 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 77,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2013 GMC Acadia. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 40 MPH and the traction control, stability control, and engine reduced power warning indicators illuminated after the failure occurred. The engine failed and the vehicle was towed to the dealer (jack maxton chevrolet east dublin road…
The contact owns a 2013 GMC arcadia. While driving at low speeds and making a turn, the vehicle stalled. Also, the stabilitrak disable and traction control disable warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to team one chevrolet buick (1616 lansing rd, charlotte, mi 48813, ([phone]) where it was diagnosed…
Lights
10 complaints · 7%Parts named most often: headlights.
The car headlights suddenly started going out (while driving) intermittently. To get them to turn back on, I have to toggle the headlight switch through all the settings in the hopes that they will come back on (which they occasionally do.) this happens when the car is going fast, slow and not moving. It happens in…
Headlights have been replaced twice since purchasing the vehicle in may 2015. Most recently, both headlights went out at the same time. Fuses we checked. Prior to the last headlight change, the lamps very very dim and as such visibility was poor, so much so that it was a safety hazard.
Steering
8 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 89,000 miles.
While driving on the highway, power steering suddenly failed making driving the vehicle difficult and dangerous. Turning in particular was severely compromised with no warning or indication of an error.
While coasting up to a redlight the car engine lurched and stalled shutting off. This left me coasting with no power steering and no power brakes. Very scary. I was very fortunate I didn't hit anything. We have since found out this is due to a gm known problem with the torque converter. Gm has a service bulletin…
Speed control
6 complaints · 4%Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
The contact owns a 2013 GMC Acadia. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the front tires spun without the vehicle moving. The engine stability and traction lights illuminated. In addition, the contact noticed smoke emitting from the engine. The failure recurred on numerous…
While driving at varying speeds, vehicle's traction control powers off. As a result, the car looses all power, steering wheel locks, and I am unable to steer or break. Once the car powers down or is turned off, it will restart. Usually the engine light indicator will turn on. It has powered down at it's peak frequency…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2013 GMC Acadia recalls
Air bags: critical fasteners
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.
Full defect summary
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.
Seat belts
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 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (buick), 1-800-462-8782 (gmc), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). General motors re
Full defect summary
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 fatigue and separate over time.
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.
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
Outboard front seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On august 31, 2020, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened engineering analysis (ea) ea20002, as an upgrade of recall query (rq) rq19003. This investigation, related to recall 14v-266, was opened to investigate instances of detachment of the flexible steel seat belt anchor cable attached to the outboard side of the front seats in vehicles manufactured by general motors (gm). The subject vehicles included model year (my) 2009 through 2014 gmc acadia, buick enclave, and chevrolet traverse suvs as well as my 2009 through 2010 saturn outlook suvs. These vehicles were previously repaired for this defect under recall 14v-266. The subject vehicle population is approximately 1.3 million v
Seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On may 19, 2014, general motors llc (gm) notified the office of defects investigation (odi) that it would conduct safety recall 14v266 to address fatigue and separation of the flexible steel cable that connects the front outboard seat belts to the seat-mounted belt pre-tensioner in 1.4 million model year (my) 2009-2010 saturn outlook, 2009-2014 buick enclave, gmc acadia and chevrolet traverse (lambda platform) vehicles.the remedy was to inspect for signs of damage and replace pre-tensioner anchor cables as needed. Re-work was conducted to relocate the pre-tensioner anchor cable out of the occupant entry path. Odi has subsequently received four (4) vehicle owners questionnaires (voq) reportin
Questions about the 2013 GMC Acadia
- What are the most common problems with the 2013 GMC Acadia?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (38 complaints, typically around 65,000 miles); air bags (29 complaints, typically around 95,000 miles); transmission (27 complaints, typically around 99,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2013 GMC Acadia have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 8, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2013 a bad year for the GMC Acadia?
- It is 14th of 20 Acadia model years by number of complaints, with 135 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.