CSR

GMC · NHTSA safety record

2016 GMC Acadia

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

234

Complaints

8

Crashes

2

Fires

16

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2016 GMC Acadia have filed 234 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2016 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 130 of them (56%). The typical failure was reported at 50,000 miles, the median across the 63 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints halved year on year: 14 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 44 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (4)

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

23V334000 · May 10, 2023

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2017 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, due to a manufacturing defect.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the driver's air bag module, free of charge. GM began mailing final owner letters February 23, 2024 and will continue mailing through December 2025. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N232404980.

General Motors, LLC · up to 995,085 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:CRITICAL FASTENERS

21V246000 · April 8, 2021

The defect
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.
The risk
Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
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.

General Motors, LLC · up to 108 vehicles across all model years covered

SEATS

15V833000 · December 11, 2015

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured November 6, 2015, to November 12, 2015. The affected vehicles have a the third row left lower seat frame that may have welds that are not in the correction location.
The risk
If the seat frame is not welded in the correct places, the seat may not perform as intended, and in the event of a crash, the seat occupant could be at an increased risk of injury.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the third row left side lower seat frame, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 29, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782 or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is 21930.

General Motors LLC · up to 2,633 vehicles across all model years covered

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR

15V609000 · September 29, 2015

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured August 18, 2015 to September 24, 2015. Due to a manufacturing defect, the windshield wiper motor may overheat when used.
The risk
A wiper motor that overheats increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
GM has notified owners, and dealers will replace the windshield wiper motor cover assembly, free of charge. Owners are advised not to use their front windshield wipers until the wiper cover has been replaced. If weather conditions prevent operation of the vehicle without using the windshield wipers, GM will make arrangements to pick up the vehicle for servicing. The recall began on September 30, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 15780.

General Motors LLC · up to 29,295 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 234.

AIR BAGS 130 56%
STEERING 26 11%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 25 11%
POWER TRAIN 20 9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 9%
ENGINE 12 5%
LANE DEPARTURE 9 4%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 5 2%
SEAT BELTS 5 2%
SERVICE BRAKES 4 2%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 1%
SEATS 3 1%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 66.

2016 2024 2026
2016 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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

SEATS

8 injured · crash · towed · 44,003 miles

ON APRIL 5, 2018, MY FAMILY AND I (FRONT PASSENGER) WERE IN A HEAD ON COLLISION. UPON IMPACT MY SEAT'S LOCKING MECHANISM LOST CONTROL OF MY SEAT CAUSING ME TO BE THROWN FORWARD AND IMPACTING THE DASHBOARD, WHICH I BELIEVE CONTRIBUTED TO MY INJURY, FRACTURED L1 AND L2.

NHTSA complaint 11091687. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

1 injured · fire · crash · towed

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 GMC ACADIA DENALI. WHILE THE DRIVER WAS PLACING THE KIDS IN THE CAR SEAT, WITH THE KEY REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH AND THE GEAR SHIFTER IN PARK, A TICKING NOISE WAS HEARD. THE VEHICLE ROLLED AWAY AND CRASHED INTO A PILLAR. THE FUEL TANK RUPTURED AND CAUSED A FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SAFE LOCATION. THE DRIVER SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES AND THE PASSENGERS WERE UNINJURED. THE DRIVER REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER AND THE DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA complaint 11000142. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 130,000 miles

The contact owned a 2016 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that when she had placed the vehicle in reverse (R), and was applying the accelerator pedal, all of the air bags deployed. The contact stated that she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into her neighbor's house. The contact stated that she was rendered unconscious. The contact stated that when she recovered consciousness the police were on scene and issued her a traffic citation. The contact stated that no emergency medical personnel were called to the scene of the accident. The contact stated that she had not gone to a doctor, but she had pain in her back and had bruises on both legs and feet. The contact stated that the vehicle

NHTSA complaint 11663648, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

I was in an accident and my AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. Filed claim with progressive insurance (claim # [XXX]) which they have declared the vehicle a TOTAL LOSS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11665505. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS
The cable that attaches the front driver seatbelt to the base of the seat (left side), suddenly broke when simply buckling the belt.

NHTSA complaint 11750306. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
TRANSMISSION BEGAN HESITATING AROUND 1800RPM WITH ONLY 92,000 MILES SHOWING ON THE ODOMETER. IT FEELS LIKE A FLUTTER AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS INTO THE NEXT GEAR. I HAVE HEARD THE 2016 YEAR GROUP HAS HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. BELIEVE A RECALL IS JUSTIFIED.

NHTSA complaint 11746913. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

fire

Without warning transmission overheated, blew out fluid and caught the front end of the vehicle on fire

NHTSA complaint 11742435. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
The torque converter has been going since before I bought this vehicle. When the RPMs are between one and two, the entire vehicle starts shaking and there is no acceleration. This is a huge safety concern, especially with traffic.

NHTSA complaint 11735163. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Hello. I got a recall and fixed in July 2021 for Blind Spot Sensors/Modules on my 2016 GMC Acadia SLT. Now 3.5 years later Im having the same issue with these sensors that are located in the rear bumper of the car, they get water damage, corrosion, and then fail. A very poor design. And seems like the recall didn't fixed the issue either. This must to be a common issue for this car, lots of complaints online even after the recall. And the car dealership wont cover it because it was already fixed at that time and my warranty on my car expired not to long ago. They said it would be about $2000 to fix. I feel like this prematurely failed and it was recalled once for the same issue but now

NHTSA complaint 11730950, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
Safety recall that has not been addressed by the dealership in over 4 months

NHTSA complaint 11730634. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the GMC Acadia

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 61 0
2024 55 0
2023 41 4
2022 48 3
2021 146 2
2020 97 6
2019 379 2
2018 390 2
2017 701 4
2015 242 4
2014 461 6
2013 135 3
2012 296 5
2011 269 5
2010 343 4 1

Other 2016 GMC models

Every GMC on this site — 144 vehicles, 425 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

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.

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