Problems · NHTSA complaints
2013 GMC Acadia problems
Owners filed 140 complaints about the 2013 GMC Acadia with NHTSA between Jun 2013 and Aug 2026. The most-cited component is electrical system (39).
Complaints
140
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
5
Reported by owners
Fires
8
Reported by owners
Injuries
4
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Electrical system39
- Air bags32
- Power train27
- Engine21
- Exterior lighting10
- Steering8
- Vehicle speed control6
- Electronic stability control (esc)6
- Fuel/propulsion system5
- Structure5
- Seat belts4
- Lane departure4
- Service brakes3
- Seats2
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 30, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
2
6
4
4
16
22
25
17
11
12
8
3
4
6
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 6 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 16 |
| 2018 | 22 |
| 2019 | 25 |
| 2020 | 17 |
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 12 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 4 |
| 2026 | 6 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Electrical system
39 reports5 fires
“Transmission causes problems in can be on interstate and be switching lanes and it loses power and wont go takes forever to shift out. It will cut out and you can barely get pulled off side of rd in time. Electrical the battery voltage goes crazy up and down causing vehicle to power surge bad or at night time lights will go out for no reason while driving every now and then you can smell something melting or burning also the engine gets so hot but it's right temperature cooling fan runs constantly even when car is cool.since all the problem with Transmission the suspension is off some how. Its like it's not stable”
Air bags
32 reports3 crashes2 related recalls
“I think my vehicle is apart of this recall: March 17, 2014 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V118000 Side Impact Air Bags Wiring Connections 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.”
Power train
27 reports1 crash
“Dear Sir/Madam, For the 3rd time now, my transmission is being rebuilt. After purchasing it from the dealership and it was still under warranty GMC Bakersfield rebuilt the transmission, then again in 2020 at 119,000 miles it broke down again and All Automatic in Bakersfield rebuilt it for $3500 and now here it is 2026 and only 60.000 miles later again All Automatic is having to rebuilt the transmission again and asking now for another $4950. I was excited to finally hear there was a recall, only to find it was only for 2014 GMC Acadia's. The transmission have failed again and yes it is available for inspection at All Automation in Bakersfield, CA on Quantico. During the course of breaking down the my safety and the safety of my children was at risk. My vehicle was jumping, jerking the RPM's were all over the place and at one point in the course of driving on the freeway it felt like it lost power and nearly stopped. This has been an ongoing problem since the purchase of the vehicle. It has been inspected and diagnosed by All Automatic. There were no warnings, messages or symptoms that were constant. It was sporadically slipping up until the time it gave out. I…”
Engine
21 reports4 fires
“I bought a 2013 gmc Acadia with a 3.6l engine and I was driving it home, and the engine locked up on me, and it didn’t throw a code or anything, it just shut off and wouldn’t start back up, and later I find out that it had an oil leak from somewhere and now I have to have the engine replaced, which is 13k dollars, the vehicle is located at walker Chevrolet in nitro wv, I’m a single dad of 5 children and I can’t afford to fix this vehicle at that price, I asked if they could take payments to replace it, and they said not and that they would NOT Release the vehicle back to me until it is paid for, and now I’m stranded with 5 children with no way to go to the store or anything. The engine locked up on me in the middle of the four lane in st albans wv, and I almost got hit by vehicles that were behind me and everything.”
Exterior lighting
10 reports
“Left rear brake light dose not work, that is also the left rear turn signal. Part number 13582912 brake/turn signal bulb. GMC can not provide me with one. Chevrolet can not provide me with one. None of the chain store parts companies have them either. I have call GMC customer service line and also Chevrolet customer service line. They are of no help. Thank You.”
Steering
8 reports
“AT LOW SPEEDS OR STOPS THE POWER STEERING GET SUPER TIGHT LIKE I DON'T HAVE ANY POWER STEERING. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE PUMP IS LEAKING AND IT SHOULD BE REPLACED. I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD IT A YEAR AND IT NOT COVERED. THEY EVEN KNOW ITS AN ISSUE. SEEN A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. WHY IS THIS NOT FIXED ????”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 30, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.