GMC · NHTSA safety record

2010 GMC Yukon Denali

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 53 safety complaints about the 2010 GMC Yukon Denali with the US government. Of those, 5 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 21 complaints, 40% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 79,000 miles, the median across the 39 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2010 to May 2019 · How this is counted

What is on file

53 complaints on file

Complaints

Describe a crash

Mention fire

People injured

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 28 · 53% 28 53%

AIR BAGS 21 · 40% 21 40%

STRUCTURE 13 · 25% 13 25%

ENGINE 6 · 11% 6 11%

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 · 4% 2 4%

WHEELS 2 · 4% 2 4%

POWER TRAIN 1 · 2% 1 2%

SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 2% 1 2%

STEERING 1 · 2% 1 2%

0 12 23

One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 53.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 18.

20 15 10 5

10 2010 12 2012 14 2014 15 2015 16 2016 17 2017 18 2018 19 2019

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2010 to 2019.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2010 GMC Yukon Denali. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER Filed August 27, 2015

4 injured

THE DASH BOARD IS CRACKED. THIS STARTED OFF AS A SMALL CRACK ON THE TOP LEFT CORNER OF THE AIR BAG ON THE DASH, IT HAS SPREAD ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE DASH TO THE AREA OVER MY INSTRUMENT PANEL AND HAS NOW SUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DASH AS IF THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SUPPORTS UNDER THE MIDDLE OF THE DASH TO HOLD IT UP. I SEE THAT THERE ARE NO RECALLS ON THIS, BUT I AM WORRIED THAT IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN AND THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED THAT PIECES OF THE DASH WOULD GO EVERYWHERE AND CUT US UP EVEN WORSE THAN AN ACCIDENT. I ALSO SEE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON THIS MATTER WITH NO AVAIL. I WISH THAT SOMEONE COULD SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. I DO NOT WANT TO PAY FOR A NEW DASH JUST TO HAVE IT DO

NHTSA complaint 10759812, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY Filed December 1, 2010

1 injured · 15,000 miles

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 GMC YUKON DENALI. THE CONTACT ENGAGED THE AUTOMATIC TRUNK MECHANISM AND SUDDENLY THE TRUNK LID CLOSED ON HIS HAND WHICH RESULTED IN A MINOR INJURY TO THE HAND DURING THE IMMEDIATE CLOSURE. THE CONTACT STATED THERE WAS NOT AN ALERT SAFETY FEATURE EQUIPPED ON THE VEHICLE FOR THE TRUNK CLOSURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 15,000.

NHTSA complaint 10368500. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed May 14, 2019

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 GMC YUKON DENALI. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER (GILCHRIST CHEVROLET BUICK GMC DEALERSHIP TACOMA, 6014 S TACOMA WAY, TACOMA, WA 98409, (253) 777-3085) WHERE IT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V381000 (AIR BAGS) BUT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR LONGER THAN 3 YEARS. THE CONTACT WAS UNCERTAIN AS TO WHEN THE REMEDY AND PART MAY BE PROVIDED SO THAT THE VEHICLE MAY BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER PROVIDED NO FURTHER DISCLOSURE FOR THE REMEDY AND PART. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA complaint 11207509. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER Filed March 19, 2019

80,000 miles

DASHBOARD IS CRACKED. AN ENTIRE PIECE CRACKED OFF JUST OVER THE STEERING WHEEL AND IT CRACKED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE NEAR THE AIR BAG. I AM NOT CERTAIN EXACTLY WHEN IT CRACKED.

NHTSA complaint 11190032. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER Filed November 16, 2018

80,000 miles

CRACKED DASH, I BELIEVE IT'S A SAFETY ISSUE. IF I WERE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT I FEEL IT WOULD CAUSE SHRAPNEL TO BE FLY EVERYWHERE. VERY SHARP PLASTIC WOULD FLY AS ANY PASSENGER ESPECIALLY IF THE FAULTY AIR BAGS WENT OFF.

NHTSA complaint 11152073. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER Filed August 8, 2018

140,000 miles

DASH CRACKED OVER THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG IN ABOUT FIVE DIFFERENT PLACES

NHTSA complaint 11118632. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed July 27, 2018

125,000 miles

I BOUGHT MY 2010 YUKON DENALI USED FROM A LOCAL USED CAR DEALERSHIP IN BIRMINGHAM, AL. WHEN I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE THE DASH LOOKED TO BE FINE. EARLY IN THE SUMMER I BEGAN TO HAVE CRACKING RIGHT ABOVE THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND QUICKLY SOON AFTER NOTICED A LOT OF CRACKING AROUND THE AIRBAGS. THIS MAKES ME VERY NERVOUS IF I WERE TO BE IN AN ACCIDENT; WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE DASH PIECES? THEY WOULD BECOME PROJECTILES. AFTER RESEARCHING THE INTERNET IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THIS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH SEVERAL OF THE GMC FAMILY OF SUVS FOR ABOUT A 5 YEAR PERIOD. GM HAS EVEN CHANGED THE DESIGN OF THE REPLACEMENTS DUE TO THE CHEAP WORKMANSHIP OF THE ORIGINAL PRODUCT. THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED AS A

NHTSA complaint 11114158, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY Filed July 16, 2018

DASHBOARD CRACKED. THERE IS A CRACK ALL OF A SUDDEN ON THE DASH PANEL ABOVE THE ODOMETER. VEHICLE IS GARAGE KEPT AND NOT EXPOSED TO DIRECT SUN OR EXTREME COLD MUCH AT ALL.

NHTSA complaint 11111717. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the GMC Yukon Denali

Model year	Complaints	Deaths
2016	18	—
2015	73	—
2011	96	—

Other 2010 GMC models

Acadia 343 Terrain 290 Sierra 1500 168 Yukon 105 Sierra 34 Yukon XL 28 Sierra 2500 10 Canyon 8

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every GMC on this site — 149 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file, published October 2, 2026.

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by guarledes
Independent developer and analyst