GMC · NHTSA safety record
Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 69 safety complaints about the 2011 GMC Yukon Denali XL with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 2 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 27 complaints, 39% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 76,000 miles, the median across the 59 complaints that gave an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers March 2014 to January 2020 · How this is counted
69
Complaints
1
Describe a crash
1
Mention fire
2
People injured
0
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.
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 69.
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2016 at 26.
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2014 to 2020.
NHTSA has not crash tested the 2011 GMC Yukon Denali XL. 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.
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.
2 injured · crash · towed · 50,000 miles
TAKATA RECALL: I AM WANTING TO KNOW WHEN THE RECALL WILL HAVE A REMEDY? I HAD AN ACCIDENT IN DEC 2016 AND THE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. I HAD A PRETTY SEVERE WRECK RUNNING INTO 3 VEHICLES WITH SUBSTANTIAL FRONT END DAMAGE INCLUDING BROKEN TIRE ROD. BELOW IS JUST A PICTURE OF THE DAMAGE. BODY SHOP WAS IN DISBELIEF THAT THE AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY??
NHTSA complaint 11204291. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
fire · 100,000 miles
THE SEAT HEATER IN THE REAR RIGHT SEAT OVERHEATED AND CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE MY 10 YR. OLD CHILD WAS SEATED IN IT. WE WERE IN MOTION AT THE TIME ON THE INTERSTATE. I BELIEVE THE HEAT MECHANISM FAILED AND OVERHEATED AND WOULD NOT SHUT OFF CAUSING THE CUSHION TO CATCH ON FIRE. MY INSURANCE WILL NOT COVER IT (I DID GET A ESTIMATE TO FIX COVER AND CUSHION) AND THEY SUGGESTED GM SHOULD INVESTIGATE AND FIX THE SEAT DUE TO A MAJOR DEFECT. GM WAS NO HELP AND WANTED TO CHARGE ME $800 TO FIX OR TURN IT INTO INSURANCE. THEY ACTED LIKE THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE AND I CAUSED IT SOMEHOW.
NHTSA complaint 11064603. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
149,600 miles
VEHICLE SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. NO WARNING SIGNALS AND HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE DAY. SPEED WAS 70 MPH
NHTSA complaint 11302086. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
95,000 miles
MULTIPLE CRACKS ON THE DASHBOARD. FIRST, BY THE PASSENGER AIRBAG, AND THEN ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE, ABOVE THE GAUGE CLUSTER.
NHTSA complaint 11231702. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
188,000 miles
ONE WEEK AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE I BROKE DOWN DUE TO AN OIL PRESSURE SENSOR. TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT I BROKE DOWN (STALLED OUT IN THE ROAD) DUE TO 2 LIFTERS COLLAPSING AND THE CAMSHAFT BEING DAMAGED. AFTER REPLACING ALL LIFTERS, THE CAMSHAFT, SPARK PLUGS AND WIRES, AS WELL AS ANOTHER OIL PRESSURE SENSOR JUST IN CASE THE OTHER ONE WAS BAD I STILL HAVE LOW OIL PRESSURE. THIS COST $3,000.00! I LEFT THE SHOP AND BROKE DOWN ON MY WAY HOME WITH A FLASHING ENGINE LIGHT AND THE STABILITRAK LIGHT AND MESSAGE FLASHING. IT SHOOK SO HARD I THOUGHT IT WOULD EXPLODE IN THE ROAD AND THEN STALLED OUT! IT WAS TOWED BACK TO THE SHOP WHERE IT CONTINUES TO SIT. ITS BEEN THERE 3 WEEKS. ITS BEEN AT THE SHOP
NHTSA complaint 11229916, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
67,000 miles
DASH IS CRACKED. NOT FROM ANY DAMAGE, IT JUST CRACKED ON IT'S OWN.
NHTSA complaint 11220399. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
177,895 miles
"TAKATA RECALL" DASHBOARD IS CRACKED NEAR PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG AND OVER THE THE STEERING WHEEL.
NHTSA complaint 11195418. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
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.
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