CSR

GMC · NHTSA safety record

2021 GMC Acadia

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

146

Complaints

6

Crashes

0

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 GMC Acadia have filed 146 safety complaints with NHTSA between November 2020 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 37 of them (25%). The typical failure was reported at 27,792 miles, the median across the 27 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose by half year on year: 49 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 25 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

22V709000 · September 22, 2022

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with the optional Surround Vision feature. The rearview camera coaxial cable connectors may have been crimped improperly, causing the rearview camera to fail or function intermittently.
The risk
An inoperative rearview camera can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the coaxial cables, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2023. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N222378380.

General Motors, LLC · up to 95,231 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

21V422000 · June 3, 2021

The defect
General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia vehicles. The fuel supply lines may be improperly attached and seated.
The risk
Improperly attached and seated fuel supply lines may loosen or separate, causing a fuel leak and increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace fuel supply lines as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 1, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212335590.

General Motors, LLC · up to 572 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Rear-View Camera Failure

PE22006

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened July 22, 2022 · closed November 21, 2022 · led to recall 22V709000

back-over prevention

On July 22, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE22-006) to assess alleged failures of the rear-view camera (RVC) in Model Year (MY) 2020-2021 Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia vehicles. The complaints report that the screen for the RVC is black, sometimes with a red triangle and a circle with a line through it. To date, ODI has received a total of 18 complaints and several EWR Field Reports with allegations of the RVC image failing to display when the vehicle is in reverse. The reports have been received over the past 28 months with most occurring with low vehicle mileage.During the investigation, ODI learned incorrect crimping specifications were utilized in the production of the coaxial cable connector. Improper crimping leads to loss of connection between the RVC and dashboard screen that results in failure of the RVC image to display. Failure or malfunction of the RVC image to display results in reduced visibility of the area behind the vehicle. This limited view may lead to an increased risk of incidents resulting in injury and/or property damage while the vehicle is in reverse.The improperly crimped connectors were only present on subject vehicles equipped with the optional RVC surround vision feature (UV2). Vehicles not equipped with the optional RVC surround vision feature were not affected by this failure. On September 28, 2022, General Motors (GM) filed a defect information report (NHTSA number 22V-709) recalling certain MY2020-2021 Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with the optional RVC surround vision feature (UV2). GM will replace the coaxial cables with properly crimped connectors.In view of the recall action being taken by GM, ODI is closing this preliminary evaluation. NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.nhtsa.gov. The ODI identification numbers for the complaints cited above can be found below: 11343838, 11390254, 11406709, 11415261, 11415501, 11425365, 11429267, 11431846, 11446363, 11463278, 11463901, 11471702, 11475437, 11476809, 11477176, 11481806, 11484360, and 11484360.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 146.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 25%
ENGINE 29 20%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 23 16%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 14%
POWER TRAIN 17 12%
SERVICE BRAKES 17 12%
STEERING 16 11%
AIR BAGS 8 5%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 7 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 5%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6 4%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 4 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 43.

2020 2025 2026
2020 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.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

I was traveling in my 2021 gmc Acadia in which I have had numerous issues with is the almost 4 years I have owned it. The back up camera 2 weeks after purchase it went out in June of 2021. After that The vehicle In October of 2021 I get in the vehicle on rainy day. Infotainment systems reads error with the SD card that Issue progressed I called dealer finally I get service appointment after strike and my vehicle sits at Roger’s Pontiac GMC 2660 Michigan Ave Chicago IL 60616 for 10 hours now I placed thread around the crowl and by knob. Car was not touched I was told it was a internal issue and that the GM Engineers would need to replace the infotainment system They looked at it again In

NHTSA complaint 11647636, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash

The vehicle was traveling at a very low speed in a parking lot and impacted a light pole. All front airbags deployed and the drivers steering wheel airbag deployed severely breaking the drivers arm, causing shoulder injuries, and neck injuries. The occupant would have been completely fine had the airbags not deployed.

NHTSA complaint 11502824. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

I opened my power lift gate to load groceries in the trunk. It opened without issue. As I loaded the groceries the lift gate came crashing down on my head. This happened in the festival foods parking lot around 5:05 pm today (7/16/23). Once I moved out from under it I saw the left arm was popped off. I popped it back in , there is a metal piece that was messed up. It came/ happened out of nowhere. I’ve never had an issue with it.

NHTSA complaint 11532590. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

crash · towed · 2,500 miles

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while his wife was reversing the vehicle, the accelerator pedal was stuck to the floorboard and the vehicle crashed into the garage wall. No medical attention was received. No police report was filed. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to tow the vehicle to their location to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was awaiting a tow truck and had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.

NHTSA complaint 11427862. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
No incident but steering assisted reduced could cause an issue. Also the fix is to reset the computer by detaching the negative pole on the battery. This could be an issue due to the heat in the car someone could get burned.

NHTSA complaint 11754182. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I have seen numerous complaints for this same issue. My 2021 Acadia with 31,600 miles failed to start when parked in garage. It turned over just fine but wouldn't fire as if it wasn't getting any fuel. I had it towed to my regular mechanic. He troubleshot it and told me it was the "Fuel Pump Power Control Module". He said he could replace it but it would have to be programmed by a GM dealer as he didn't have the equipment to do that. So I had it towed to the local GMC dealer. Two tow bills equal $360. There is a recall for this issue. It is called "Emission Recall N252516900, Fuel Pump Power Control Module". part number 13554820 I have yet to receive a recall notice. I have seen mentioned

NHTSA complaint 11751305, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
My brake pedal got stiff when I was driving. I had zero control of my brakes. I was informed by a GMC dealership that my BRAKE BOOSTER blew up causing my brakes to stop working and metal shrapnel to be sent into my engine. My 2021 vehicle is a complete loss. GMC has done NOTHING to help me.

NHTSA complaint 11746671. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION

42,200 miles

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was unintendedly drifting to the right. The vehicle was taken to Dally Tire Company, where it was diagnosed with rear links failure and misalignment. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The dealer scheduled an appointment and provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 42,200.

NHTSA complaint 11745670. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving and all of a sudden my break pedal was inoperable. It was stiff and unable to be used. Luckily I was only going 40 MPH. I pulled into a parking lot and my car started shaking and apparently the metal parts from the vacuum pump blew into my engine, which completely wrecked my engine. I nearly could have died and now my 2021 car is completely destroyed.

NHTSA complaint 11743108. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Display suddenly says "Steering assistance reduced, drive with care" Temp gauge goes to C and stays there. Radiator fans speed up and stay on after the car has been turned off. Dealer unable to find a diagnostic code for the problem.

NHTSA complaint 11741035. 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
2020 97 6
2019 379 2
2018 390 2
2017 701 4
2016 234 4
2015 242 4
2014 461 6
2013 135 3
2012 296 5
2011 269 5
2010 343 4 1

Other 2021 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.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst