2019 GMC Acadia Complaint Log

When the vehicle is put into park and I turn the vehicle off I get an alert on my console saying "Shift to Park". I called GM customer service and was told "harness" had been replaced in 2020. I bought the vehicle in 2021. Last year I had to replace the "harness" and it is doing it is now doing it again.

Failure to be in park alarm when shifter is in park. Must play with shifter back into park to stop alarm bells and notice on dash. Supposedly there was a recall issued however not shown on this site per my vin #1GKKNXLS7KZ107842. Very irritating, please advise.

Shift to Park message, and chime remain on after car shift handle is already placed in Park. Car rolls. Ongoing problem/defect well documented/reported among other similar units.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to register that the transmission was in park(P) and the vehicle failed to turn off. The contact stated that the vehicle continued to beep. The "Shift to Park" message was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle required to be turned off and restarted several times, or to be driven to shift to park(P) successfully. Upon investigation the failure, the contact linked the failure to GM Technical Service Bulletins: 18-NA-297 and 19-NA-206. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a faulty shift control, and the dealer determined that the shift assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 52,280.

July 31, 2025 Our 2019 Gmc Acadia would not shut off in a parking lot, I was 45 minutes from home. A message on display says shift to park. This is a safety concern as the vehicle might not be fully secured in park, the vehicle won't shut off and will drain your battery. There is an ongoing class action lawsuit related to this issue, alleging that GM has been aware of the problem for some time but has not provided a satisfactory fix according to Lemon Law Auto Fraud. I called the gm dealer and they quoted me $500 to fix this issue.

Vehicle's "SHIFT TO PARK" warning is often displayed when vehicle shifter is in PARK and then the engine is turned off. Often takes several attempts to correct the problem by restarting and turning off the engine or by manipulating the shift lever while in PARK. These is a current recall for this issue with the same year, make, and model of vehicle. Checking the VIN against the NTSB recall list shows this vehicle is not included in the recall.

Last week, the coolant gauge , on our 2019 GMC Acadia, was reading below "C".... The "Steering Assist" warning was disabled on the on-screen display and the Air conditioning stopped working. Took the car to a mechanic, who read the codes.... Mechanic stated that all symptoms were based on a defective GM thermostat. The thermostat was "stuck-open" causing the "steering assist" to be disabled as well as the A/C from being disabled as well. It seems GM has updated the part since when the series of Acadia were manufactured. After getting it repaired, at of our pockets, we researched and noticed that thousands of other GM Acadia owners had the same exact 3 symptoms: (1) malfunctioning coolant reading (2) "Steering assist" disabled (3) a defective ("stuck-open") thermostat..... Symptoms were exactly the same for all parties involved. We have owned many vehicles never had a thermostat fail before 65k Miles.... It became a safety issue since the car disables the "steering assist" based on the thermostat being stuck open. Contacted GM corporate which stated unless a recall, there would be no compensation. GM needs to make it right for the thousands of GM owners whose car has the 3.6L engine In short, this is a major issue since the car's steering system is NOT working correctly We would like a recall to be initiated. Thank you.

When putting my vehicle in PARK and pressing the button to shut off my car, a warning appears on the dashboard saying “WARNING: PUT VEHICLE IN PARK.” & it is in park. I have to wiggle the gear shifter in order for the warning to go away and if it won’t go away, then my car won’t turn off. There was a recall on it in 2018 & I need mine fixed. Somehow, my vehicle was not apart of the recall but it needs to be. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

with the "Shift to Park" function, where the vehicle displayed the message even when it is in park, preventing the me from turning off the ignition

shift to park issues when placing the vehicle in Park

Car gives “shift to park error” around every 5th time I turn it off. I have to turn the car back on and repark it to be able to actually turn off

1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The issue was with the gear select switch and jumper harness, related to the "Shift to Park" malfunction in my 2019 GMC Acadia. Yes, the components were available at the time of the repair with the GMC dealer. 2. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The vehicle would not recognize when it was in "Park," which prevented it from being turned off. This could lead to unexpected vehicle movement or battery drain, and creates a safety risk if the driver assumes the vehicle is secure when it is not. It also poses a hazard if the vehicle cannot be safely shut down in an emergency or in unsafe conditions. 3. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, the issue was reproduced and confirmed by a GMC dealer during an appointment on July 22, 2025. They diagnosed the problem and verified that the gear select switch and jumper harness needed replacement. 4. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle was inspected and repaired by an authorized GMC dealer. 5. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No, a "Shift to Park" warning message appeared and the vehicle would not allow me to turn it off without shifting in and out of park multiple times. This first occurred on July 18, 2025, and continued until the repair was made.

Since buying my 2019 GMC Acadia multiple times a day my auto shift to park will not allow me to lock my door as normal. It says there is no recall associated with my Vin Number however my particular Year, make and Model has the same issue. Please make this make since.

Thermostat stuck open and a steering assist light came on engine temp needle at zero. Check engine light came on, Had to have thermostat and coolant engine temp sensor replaced

In March 2025 my 2019 Arcadia with only 44112 miles begin indicating a Shift to Park error message when I parked and shifted into park the error message showed on the instrument panel and the warning alarm sounded and would not stop showing the error message until I restarted the car and shifted from drive to park repeatedly. I couldn’t get out and close the door, and the warning stop, it would continue to sound the warning. The only way to stop the warning message and alarm was to stay in the car and repeatedly start the car shift to drive into park switch it off and if it still showed the error and warning, do it all over again. This could take up to several minutes and many tries. If I had of left the car all the warning would have been sounding indicating it wasn't in park. I didn't know if it was really in park or not and if not, the car could have potentially rolled off causing injury or damage. To try and determine what was the cause of this problem I searched the internet to find a solution, to do a reset or simple fix and discovered that GMC had known about this issue since 2016 and the only solution was an in the shop repair requiring replacement of some parts. The "Shift to Park" error in GMC vehicles is considered a safety issue by many owners and has led to class-action lawsuits. The issue, which prevents vehicles from recognizing when they are in park, can lead to the engine not shutting off, potential for vehicle roll away, and even entrapment inside the vehicle. On April 16, 2025 I had the repair done at Hayward Allen, Cadillac – GMC dealership, 2590 Atlanta Highway, Athens Georgia 30604. The total repair cost was $732.36 (invoice attached). ). I sent a copy of this invoice by email to GMC customer service. After customer service reviewed the amount they call and informed me they could only reimburse me a total of $73.24.

I took my 2019 GMC Acadia in for an inspection and was informed that the toe links were loose and fail inspection. Upon researching this failure, I found that there is a recall for this, but my VIN was no included. I don't understand why not given what I'm seeing from other owners. I quote from the GMC Authority site: [XXX] "GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have issued a recall for certain 2022 model-year Cadillac XT5, Cadillac XT6 and GMC Acadia crossovers over an issue related to the rear toe links. The problem: affected vehicles may have a left-rear suspension toe link with a fastener that was not properly tightened during assembly at the factory. The GMC Acadia is built at the GM Spring Hill plant in Tennessee, but will soon be moved to the GM Lansing Grand River plant to make room for the Cadillac Lyriq. The Cadillac XT5 and XT6 are also built at Spring Hill and will remain there for the foreseeable future." Based on other feedback seen, it appears this should be a recall for my vehicle as well. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I noticed when I put my car in park and turn key off, it’ll ding to warn me to “shift into park” this been becoming a problem recently and it’s been happening more often.

When trying to park car, vehicle will not detect the shifter is in park. If the car does not detect its in park it will not turn off and stays running hampering your exit from the vehicle. This is truly an unsafe condition due to not knowing how to get the car to shut down as well as not knowing if the car will roll if you do get out.

When vehicle is placed in park, it is still showing a "shift to park" message once car is turned off.

Shift to park issue. This 2019 Acadia Denali has been serviced twice for a shift to park issue:(It’s a known problem that occurs when Acadia vehicles fail to recognize that the gear shifter is in the park position). The first time was under warranty in 2022 and it has just been serviced again for the same problem. The system is the same as the older GM recall for this problem and the recall should also include this model as well but unfortunately it does not.

Shift to Park Vehicle does not recognize the gear shifter is in the park position. Vehicle does not fully shut down.

Shift to park light comes on and car won't shut off

Car has delayed shifting, and jolting when switching gears. Transmission temp gets up to 270 degree while driving

About a month ago when I shifted my vehicle into park and shut the vehicle off, "Shift to Park" appeared on dash display for which I had to restart the vehicle, shift it into another gear and attempt to shutoff the vehicle again. Occasionally this would work but not all the time. Other times when shifting into other gears did not work I had to restart the vehicle, press the shifter button multiple times and then was able to shut the car off with no "Shift to Park" appearing. On 7/11/25, Arrived to work and had to performed the shifting the vehicle into another gear and was able to shut the vehicle off. When I went to leave for lunch, the car would not start at all, check the GM App and it stated "Critically Low Battery". A co-worker helped jump the battery and I was able to start the vehicle. When I went to leave work for the day, the vehicle would not start again with no notification as to why. My co-worker jumped the battery again and vehicle started now with all the system lights on dash staying on and warnings displayed. 7/12/25 Vehicle struggled to start and all system lights were still on. Later in the day, the vehicle would not start and all overhead, dash, display, taillights would not shut off. We jumped the battery and took the vehicle to our local dealer.

Won't shift into park alert came on. Vehicle wouldn't shift into park. Danger of vehicle roll off? Took to GM dealer who replaced GM part 13545094 transmission controller aka shifter assembly. It is believed this defect was detected and recalled on 2018 GMC Acadia models. My 2019 was made in 2018. In service date 10/04/18.

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated the center rear seat belt failed to extend as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,456.

On my 2019 Acadia, the message shift to park keeps appearing on my dash when I shirt the car into parked. It's getting more frequent and when I called GMC it's a well known problem to where the lady taking my appointment says yes we are aware it's happening alot. They want to charge 800 to fix a problem that should be a recall. It's a well known problem and there has been cases and suits brought up and GMC will not make a recall on this even though the mechanic said I can't believe this hasn't been recalled. Can you help with making GMC do a recall in the Shift to Park. Thank You

Component: Shifter Assembly & jumper harness Safety concern: Can't turn off vehicle - Carbon Monoxide poisoning, physical safety when parking not at home, as I would have to leave vehicle running... Message in dash was present when I brought vehicle to dealer. Dealer also replicated No inspection other than dealer. Part returned to me. Warning message has been coming on for past 60 days or so, progressively getting more frequent I receive a 'shift to park' message in telltale after I have shifted to park. At times, vehicle will not shut off until shifter is manipulated for several minutes. I have concerns that I cannot park vehicle in garage, if I cannot shut it off. GM is well aware of issue, but has yet to recall them. Dealer actually had replacement shifter in stock for a same day repair.. I was charged $778.98 for the repair, and GM's customer assistance center response to me simply was to file a complaint with NHTSA. My wife does not feel safe driving, as there is no guarantee vehicle will turn off. Dealer replicated issue when I brought to dealership. Dealer has replaced part and has them. Warning lights only appeared when problem reared itself, initially began about 60 days ago, but is not occurring on approximately 2 of 3 shut downs.

Whenever parking the car and trying to stop (shut off) the engine it will randomly say “shift to park” and I cannot shut the vehicle off.

We receive a shift to park message when we try to turn our 2019 GMC Acadia off. The vehicle is already in park, but an alarm bell keeps going off telling us it is not. The vehicle will not allow us to shut off the vehicle properly and results in battery drain and inability to lock the vehicle. We have noticed there is a class action lawsuit and recalls from previous year's models and the 2019 model manufactured in Ohio, but ours was manufactured in Tennessee. Our year, make, and model isn't listed in the class action lawsuit and/or a recall. This is very frustrating considering the number of similar issues/complaints in regards to this shift to park problem. I feel GMC as the manufacturer should be held liable for a faulty part and they have failed to correct this issue in later models since they were aware of the issue with the 2017-2018 Acadia models built in Tennessee.

When I placed the vehicle in park, the dashboard alert/warning would signal "shift to park". This would continue to go off for quite some time, and it continued to get worse and take longer to shut off. Eventually the alarm would not go off I turned the car back on and off, nor if I engaged with the shifter. I could not leave my vehicle in this state, and I was unable to determine if my vehicle was truly in park, which is a huge safety concern to myself and others. This also caused the battery to drain, and could impair being able to start and run the vehicle. This problem has occured on many GMC vehicles, and there have been recalls issued for the other cars. I would like a recall issued for my VIN as well. I spent $800 fixing this issue and GMC will not cover the cost, even though this is a known problem with other Acadia's (even 2019).

This vehicle has an electrical deficiency when trying to park, The console will NOT recognize that the vehicle is in park, causing bell warnings, beeping, and an INABILITY to lock the vehicle, thus draining the battery. We cannot walk away from it, nor ever leave anything of value in it. This is a recurring problem, causing stress, and having to start, shut off, re-start, wiggling the shifter knob, MANY times and HOPE that the electrical system will recognize that the vehicle IS in Park. sometimes this can take 20 minutes, IF it works at all. If not, We have to leave someone IN the vehicle when this happens, in order to do anything! This is a KNOWN problem with this shifter, and there SHOULD be a recall on it!

When I turn the ignition off it sends me a message that I must shift to park. The car is in park at that time that I get the message. I restart the car and move the shift to reverse or drive and move the car and place in park and that may correct the problem or I may have to do this once, twice even three times before it corrects. The warning bell will continue to ring and the radio continues to play until I can get the situation corrected.

Our Arcadia 2019 with 40000 miles has shift to park problem. 2017 thru some 2019 had recall notice and were fixed by GMC. Why doesn't it apply to this vehicle. We had to pay $1500 to dealer. There is an obvious problem and they have admitted it. Time for government to step in or do a class action lawsuit looks like they are filed by state

When I park my car it beeps and says my car is not in park. Many other models of the 2019 GMC Acadia, along with other GM vehicles, may be affected by a "shift to park" recall. This recall addresses a defect where the vehicle may display a "shift to park" warning message even when the vehicle is actually in park, potentially preventing the ignition from being turned off and the key from being removed. This is exactly what my car is doing but they say my VIN is not included in the free fix. I brought my vehicle after it died to a GMC dealership and they said it will cost 1,000 to fix. My safety is at risk because I drive to different locations as a therapist and I often drive home at night in remote locations.

Shift to park error message consistently displayed forcing repeated restarting of the vehicle so that it finally recognized that the vehicle was in park and would unlock the doors for safe exit from the vehicle. This was a known issue by General Motors and they have 2 class action lawsuits filed n the states of Ohio and Tennessee for this issue with well over 110,000 vehicles affected. General Motors refuses to acknowledge this defect and fails to issue a recall. Their only offer when I took this vehicle to a GM certified dealership was to offer 15% towards the replacement of the shifter assembly. The excuses made were the vehicle was out of warranty as well as over in mileage. I bought this vehicle used from an Acura dealership and accepted delivery of it on [XXX] with approximately 33,417 miles. I started to experience the shift to park error message at 36,013 miles in early May 2025. By the time I was able to receive instructions from GMC customer care and secure repair for this issue the vehicle mileage was approximately 37,000 miles. It is not a pleasant feeling to be trapped inside your vehicle until you can get it to finally recognize that the vehicle truly is in the park mode. With the hundreds of thousands of vehicles on the road with this issue I feel GM should recognize their problem and perform a vehicle recall. This flaw had been installed in numerous GM vehicles manufactured as early as 2017. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Some times when vehicle is shifted into park it doesn’t recognize it is in park. I have to turn the vehicle off and restart it, shift into drive and back into park. Sometimes it takes a few times. My neighbor has a 2018 Traverse and had the same issue.

While driving the thermostat will go to zero and the steering assist is disabled. I have read a lot of forums that this is a known issue. The only way to reset it, so we have A/C is to disconnect the battery and it will last a day or two and do the same thing.

Shift to park issue car is in park car is not recognizing it and won’t turn off accessories

I'm going to have to replace my thermostat and most likely my sensor. It will pop up saying (steering assist is reduced drive with care) my temperature gage on my dash will sometimes will not go up, my heat is acting funny. I've had also when I put it in park saying it's not actually shifted into park.

My Acadia keeps an error message of "Shift to Park" this has been happening on and off for about 8 months. Now it goes on every time I try to shut my car off. I have to stop and start it up to 20 times before it shuts off. I am concerned that I may be somewhere and won't be able to turn it off. I know there have been recalls for this and I need this repaired. It's obviously a flaw on GMC and honestly, I should not have to pay for it. At this point, the car is only used close by my home. I don't feel safe using it. Please help. Not only me but all drivers affected. Thank you

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon reaching his destination and shifting the vehicle into park, the vehicle failed to recognize that that the shift lever was in park. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The shift to park warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 61,000.

When shifting into Park the car still states to "shift into park" on the dash and will not fully shut off. i still need to take the car into the dealer for service to fix. This seems to be an issue.

I have had intermittent issue with a message to shift the car to park when I shut it off. It was in park. If I wiggled the shifter it would often correct. That went on for a few years on and off. Lately it was more persistent. I brought it into the dealer and they replaced a harness and a switch. Seems that a harness would not go bad unless it had a manufacturer defect. I have seen a lot of reports on this issue on online blog sites. Seems to be a common problem. The problem with this defect is that when it is sin that mode, you cannot safely secure the vehicle and warning bells keep ringing. So the vehicle cannot be left like that and expect it to be secure.

I have a 2019 GMCAcadia Denali with less than 60000 miles. The problem I have with the vehicle is I get a error that say "Park to Shift. I don' know if it is in park or not. I am afraid that it isn't in park and will create a safety issue and injuries. It is my understanding that the same problem with the 2020+ GMC Acadia and is listed in a RECALL. Why isn't 2019 not included in this recall?

For 3 weeks now, my dash keeps telling me to shift to park when my gear shift is already in park. Car will not allow me to secure it because it thinks the car is not in park!

My 2019 GMC SLT seems to be having sensor problems. I keep getting a message that my driver assist is reduced and my A/C only blows out hot air. It’s done this to me randomly id say about 4-5 times. It will go off as I’m driving and than my temp gauge goes to zero. I did research and alot of other users have the same issue and say thermostat or thermostat sensor. If I disconnect my negative on battery and wait a few minutes it will work again.

Error shift to park it come and go all the time. You cannot lock your car when this happens. Cost 500.00 to repair.. common problem for r This year.

Im a travel nurse and I was working in Vermont. As I was driving on the highway in New York on my way back home a shift to park light came on, a stabilitrak light came on, power steering light came on, ABS light came on, and my check engine light also came on. My vehicle started slowing down as I was driving and my lights on my dashboard were turning on and off and my speedometer was not working. I was able to pull to the side off the highway so I could get out of harms way. I made a call to OnStar for help and they asked to if I made it to a safe location. As the car was still on I was able to take the next exit and ended up in an auto zone parking lot. As I made it in the parking lot I turned the vehicle off but only the engine turned off but everything else stayed on and the shift to park light kept coming on when the vehicle was in park. I was in the parking lot for 3-4 hours freezing in my vehicle until onstar came to tow my vehicle. By the time onstar came my battery in my car had drained and it was a new battery. I was told that I would have to contact auto transport to transport my vehicle to Louisiana at the dealership where the vehicle was purchased. I paid $1600 to transport my vehicle back home and I had to find a way to make it back to Louisiana. I didn’t have a credit card so a friend of mine was able to rent me a vehicle to get home and I paid a total of $1700 on a rental because the dealership in Louisiana couldn’t give me a time or date the vehicle would have been finished. I have been to the dealership 3 times now for the same problem in less than a week. I have paid $1500 altogether to fix damages on my car that I noticed other vehicles with the same make and model had the same issues. I never had a problem with my vehicle before everything just started happening all at once. I’m currently having to pay for car rentals to get to and from work and to make sure my kids get back and forth to school. My vehicle in at the dealership again for the 3rd t

Shift to park. Shows it’s in park but it is not