NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2021 GMC Acadia.
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash | |
| Side Crash | |
| Rollover |
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash |
Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
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.
Consequence: Improperly attached and seated fuel supply lines may loosen or separate, causing a fuel leak and increasing the risk of a fire.
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.
Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
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.
Consequence: An inoperative rearview camera can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Rear view camera won’t display when out in reverse. Also, when the camera does come on, it’ll flicker off and on
On March 27, 2026, I experienced a complete brake failure while driving a 2021 GMC Acadia in a school zone at approximately 3:00 PM. When I pressed the brake pedal, the vehicle did not respond. I attempted multiple times, including using the emergency brake, which did not activate immediately. The vehicle remained in motion for several minutes in an area with children and parents present. The emergency brake only engaged after approximately 30–45 seconds of repeated attempts. I was forced to steer off the road to avoid a collision. The vehicle had been inspected at a GM dealership on March 16, 2026, just eleven days prior, where the brake system was evaluated and no issues were identified. After the incident, the dealership diagnosed a leaking vacuum pump, which is a component that supports the brake booster system. This failure occurred without warning and created a dangerous situation. I am concerned this may indicate a broader safety defect.
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the coolant fan was running after the engine was turned off. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone to be diagnosed due to the check engine warning light being illuminated. The contact was informed that DTC: P1098; was retrieved, which indicated a fault with the coolant control valve. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was confirmed that the coolant control valve had failed. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The contact related the failure to the Manufacturer Recall Number: N252508341. However, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.
The 2021 GMC Acadia has 2 NHTSA recalls and 135 consumer complaints on file. It received an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars in NHTSA crash testing. The high number of complaints suggests potential reliability concerns — review the complaint details above before purchasing. For the most detailed information about a specific vehicle, decode its VIN using our free decoder above.
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| Side Crash |
| Rollover |
My vehicle’s steering became dangerously stiff while driving on the highway, nearly causing my wife to be involved in a serious accident. While she was traveling on I-95 in Miami, Florida, the steering suddenly got so hard that she could barely control the vehicle and was unable to turn the wheel properly. This created an extremely dangerous situation and put her life, as well as the lives of others on the road, at risk. She was thankfully able to get off the highway, and I had to come take over the vehicle to make sure she got home safely. This was terrifying and completely unacceptable. A failure like this should never happen while a vehicle is in motion. When I took the vehicle to the dealership, I was told I would have to pay over $3,500 for the repair. That is outrageous for such a serious safety issue. I also found information online showing recalls for similar steering problems in GMC Yukons, yet GMC Arcadias do not appear to be included. That is deeply concerning, especially since this same dangerous defect is clearly affecting my vehicle. This issue could have caused a major crash, severe injuries, or even death. GMC needs to take responsibility for this problem instead of forcing customers to pay thousands of dollars for a dangerous defect that should be addressed as a safety recall.
Car has had multiple issues with check engine light coming on for the last 2 years and stays on especially during the winter months. The purge pump has failed multiple times. The cooling fan has run after engine shutting off for multiple years now. The thermostat has been failing for the last 6 months. Now yesterday low power protection suddenly turned on driving on the expressway limiting power in the middle of traffic. Was able to get off at exit without accident and get car home. I guess we have to pay out of pocket to get fixed. This is a known issue that GM fails to include every VIN with the 2021 year or certain models and VINS.
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle started running rough before the vehicle stalled. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to restart. There was no warning illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel pump module had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the part to do the repair was on backorder. The contact researched online and associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V639000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the model year and VIN were not included in the recall. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.
Car was taken in for an oil change at 62k Miles. Dealer advised that it needed a radiator replaced. At 64k miles it was brought into the dealer for warranty work due to a failing thermostat. While being diagnosed, we were told not only the radiator needed to be replaced, but the oil cooler also needed to be replaced. So a 5 year old car with just over 60k Miles had the thermostat/sensor fail and need to be replaced. A radiator fail and need to be replaced and and an oil cooler fail and need to be replaced. Vehicle has been at a GM dealer for all maintenance. No crashes or reasons these parts should fail. Vehicle has never towed anything to but any sort of strain on the cooling system.
Had vehicles looked at twice and serviced once for the transmission slipping. No issues were found when looked at and light was deleted. Took to another mechanic who drained and refilled transmission. Transmission still slips after service. This happens at acceleration and continues til 3rd gears where it jerks in between gears. Stops while driving continuously, the starts up again if stopped for any reason.
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and DTC: P04FB; was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with moisture of the crank case. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure was a quick fix and was covered under the warranty. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times and was covered under warranty. The contact was informed that there was no fix for the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was approximately 29,000. The contact attempted to trade in the vehicle, and the purchasing dealer checked the VIN and retrieved a Carfax Report. The Carfax Report indicated that the mileage on the Title on 11/04/2024 was 58,000; however, on 02/04/2025, the mileage was 28,000, and the vehicle had been in an accident in the past.
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle started, and the contact exited the vehicle and ran into the house for a while. The contact stated that while reentering the vehicle, the contact noticed that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was employed by an independent mechanic, and the vehicle was driven to the place of employment. The independent mechanic attached the mobile diagnostic tester to the vehicle and retrieved DTC: P023F, which indicated fuel pump secondary circuit failure. The contact was advised that the fuel pump module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V422000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the VIN was not associated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,200.
Been happening for a year and a half. Muffler is very loud and rattles constantly. Getting worse over time. There is a current recall but my vin isn’t included even though my car is having the same issue.
The electronic dashboard goes black while driving. I was driving to work on the highway at highway speeds and the entire electronic dashboard went black including the hud display and the radio screen. The radio screen turned back on and auto reconnected to my phone and android auto. I was able to safely get to an exit and park, turn off the car and restart and the dash did come back on to then go black about 5 minutes later this time the hud stayed on and I was able to get to work where the car sat off for 8 hrs , when leaving work the dash stayed on. The radio screen would turn off randomly and unable to connect to a programmed cell phone via Bluetooth or data cable. I brought the vehicle in for a service and this issue plus the concern of the transmission shuddering. The dealership found the problem and both the dashboard and radio needed service updates and both were charged to fix. A service update should not be charged for the dash as you have no speedometer when it goes out. There was no warning or alert that the dash or radio needed an update.
Cars is not keeping track of temperature showing engine is cold after 30 minutes of driving, fan runs for extended periods of time after shutting off, check engine light comes on, steering assist alert comes in screen. All of this happens in a cycle. To stop it the battery has to be unplugged and reconnected resetting the car and everything goes back to being fine for a short period of time.
My car suddenly out of the blue started overheating. By the time I could get stopped safely and turn the car off the engine fan kept running to try to cool it down. I’ve never had any issues with my car. It only has 47,000 miles on it. I now have to have it towed to a mechanic shop to get diagnosed, but I’m hearing that it’s probably a thermostat and that the GMC Acadia’s are famous for that being a problem. I’m not sure why GMC would not do a recall on this part! this is an extremely expensive fix.
Showing 15 of 135 complaints