2018 GMC Acadia Electrical System
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
SHIFT TO PARK WARNING IS COMING ON WHEN CAR IS CLEARLY IN PARK. HAVE TO JIGGLE GEAR SHIFT TO GET IT TO GO OFF. IT IS JUST RANDOM. SOMETIMES STAYS ON. I AM READING THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL CAR. CALLED DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE GEAR SHIFT.
My vehicle has a persistent shift to park issue. My vehicle cannot be safely turned off. My vehicle needs to be restarted multiple times and the gearshift moved to the park position for the chance that it will register being in the parked position so the vehicle can be safely turned off.
When vehicle is put into Park I keep getting a "Shift to Park" message and cannot turn off my vehicle. I cannot lock the door.
Shift to park- recall on 2017-2018 Acadia’s Started having issues several months ago- was occasional note constant. I see there has been a recall at one time and it is ac known problem. I am on my 2nd battery!
Shift To Park appears on the dash display also with a chime warning, when the car is physically in park and the engine is cut off. The shift to park display and the chime stays on causing a complete drain of the battery.
There is a current recall on the 2018 GMC Acadia for a "Shift to Park" issue. It clearly states that GMC is aware of this issue and my vehicle is having this issue but for whatever reason, I am being told we are not part of the recall. My VIN is not coming up with it either but we are having the same issue.
Component/System: Transmission selector / electrical system (“Shift to Park” defect) Yes, vehicle is available for inspection upon request. I own a 2018 GMC Acadia. Since I purchased the vehicle used in June 2019, the car has frequently displayed a “Shift to Park” message even when the vehicle is in park and the gear shifter is fully engaged. This message prevents the car from turning off completely, leaving electrical systems running, the ignition on, and draining the battery. This issue has persisted nearly daily for the past five years. I brought the vehicle to a GM dealership in September 2020, while it was still under factory warranty, but the problem was not diagnosed or repaired at the time. The dealership could not reproduce the issue, but it continued regularly afterward. I am now paying nearly $900 out of pocket to have it repaired. Safety Risks: The vehicle does not fully shut down, increasing risk of electrical malfunction or battery failure. I am often unsure whether the car is truly “off,” which could pose a fire hazard or lead to the car rolling unexpectedly if the system misreads the gear position. This defect has also caused me to get stuck in unsafe areas, repeatedly turning the car off and on, jiggling the shifter until the system registers park. The constant battery drain has left me stranded with a dead vehicle multiple times. Reproduction / Confirmation: The issue has been reproduced by an independent repair shop and will be fixed at my expense next week. A GM dealership inspected it in 2020 but failed to diagnose or confirm the issue at that time. Inspection: The vehicle has been inspected by a GM-authorized service center. Not inspected by police or insurance representatives. Warning Messages or Symptoms: The “Shift to Park” message appears on the dashboard even after the vehicle is correctly shifted into park. This began shortly after purchasing the vehicle in June 2019, worsened over time, & still has the inability to turn off properly.
When putting my GMC Acadia in Park and shutting off the push start ignition the alarm goes off saying it’s not in park when it is clearly in park so I have to continuously start the car and try to keep putting it in park and shut ignition off. I googled it and saw there was a recall so took it to dealership but my vin was not included. I feel my safety is at risk as my battery also went dead stranding me in another city with my young grandkids on February 23rd, and I had a large bill to get a jump as well, I believe due to this same electrical issue! We are waiting on estimate now to get it fixed which is ridiculous as it is the same issue that is covered on many other of the same model vehicles! You should really look into this and maybe other electrical safety concerns costing consumers thousands of dollars on all these GMC vehicles it doesn’t seem fair. Thank you.
SHIFTER PROBLEM 2018 GMC ACADIA. I NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE OR BULLETIN ABOUT SHIFT TO PARK SHIFTER PROBLEM
We purchased our 2018 GMC Acadia, used with 15,798 miles on the odometer, on [XXX] from John Wiesner, Inc. On [XXX], with 20,344 miles on the odometer, we began experiencing a "Shift to Park" message when trying to turn the vehicle off, even though the vehicle shifter indicated that the vehicle was in park. Though the vehicle would turn off, we could not clear the "Shift to Park" message or stop the associated audible alarm without a great deal of effort. A Wiesner dealership confirmed the problem, determined that a switch in the shifter assembly was not grounding, and replaced the transmission control assembly under warranty. All was well until early 2024, at approximately 47,500 miles, when we began experiencing the same problem. The dealer said we must pay $500+ for a repair and that if we failed to get the problem repaired we risked being unable to get the vehicle into park and unable to turn off the vehicle. Being unable to stop the "Shift to Park" message or to stop the audible alarm at the very least will run the battery down and being unable to put the vehicle in park or turn it off risks an injury to us or others. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The car is put in park but the it doesn’t detect that it’s in park and won’t turn off. You can’t get out of your car because the won’t turn off. There were no errors before this. I get an error message that says shift to park. I have to shift the car into drive and then park several times to make the car turn register that it’s in park The dealership has not looked at my car. Nothing has ever been wrong with my car. I have read online that it’s a problem for many people with Arcadia vehicles .
Thermostat fails frequently leading to reduced steering assist and temp gauge drops to below cold while fan runs on high. Along with sporadic blackout on all interior screens/instrument panel.
For months after putting car in park it displays a "Shift to Park" message. It won't let you fully shut down vehicle. Some times I can start it again, back up a little, put it back in park for it to shut off. Not one time though. You have to do it repeatedly. Maybe 6 or 7 times before it works. Most times I just finally have to walk away from the vehicle. Problem being it won't let me lock my car - which the police in our area keep warning us to do to prevent the vehicle thefts. It also continues to 'bing', running down the battery, which could leave me stranded somewhere. I looked this up on line assuming it would be a recall because it is a 'known defect' and there are thousands of complaints on line of people having the same issues and dealer won't take care of. There are lawsuits. This should be a recall.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear liftgate warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon inspection, the liftgate was closed. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the liftgate failed to latch securely and a bungy was used to keep the liftgate closed. The contact stated that the dome light illuminated indicating that the doors were open; however, the doors were securely closed. The contact stated that the roof light was turned off and the radio failed to operate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. The VIN was not included.
Shift to park switch is defective. Switch will not register transmission is in park causing an alarm that runs battery dead. Car has set in my driveway 3 months unable to drive.
When shifting the car into Park the P lights up and the car appears to be in Park, but an alarm goes off when you press the stop button to turn the car off. Action Required : Shift into Park. You have to restart the car and move the shifter or press the button on the shifter to get it to recognize that the car is in Park. This has gotten worse, last time it took over 20 minutes to get the car to recognize it. I have the car scheduled to go to the shop tomorrow. Warranty has expired due to date. Car only has 17,760 miles on it. 05/27/2022 was the last time the car was driven. I am sure they will try to charge me for this. It is a known issue and there seems to be a class action law suit over it. TSB - 19-NA-206 Dated September 2019. This should be a recall.
Vehicle does not recognize when in park, safety issue as passenger or driver could step out of vehicle while still in reverse. Unable to shut down vehicle due to not recognizing vehicle is in park.
My “Shift to Park” warning light pops up when attempting to park the car and shut off the engine. My wife had the problem at the grocery store and was very upset. This problem is constantly happening, my wife refuses to drive the car. I called the GMC dealer to get it looked at and was told it would be 2 weeks until they could diagnose the problem. Also it would cost $150 to look at it and I see the repair could be between $400 and $2000. The warning lights won’t stop and the constant bell dinging won’t stop until the battery is dead. All anyone has to do is Google “ shift to park” to see this is a defective switch. Many states have filed class action suits. A recall needs to be issued. My car has 33k miles on it.
MY 2018 GMC ACADIA WAS BOUGHT NEW. IT HAS AN ISSUE WITH THE SHIFTER REGARDING "SHIFT TO PARK". WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PLACED IN PARK THE SENSORS OR COMPUTER DOES NOT RECOGNIZE IT AND YOU HAVE TO SHIFT IN AND OUT OF PARK TO GET IT RECOGNIZED. MY CAR HAS ROUGHLY 42OOO MILES ONLY AND WAS STATIONARY WHEN THIS OCCURRED. I CALLED MY LOCAL GMC DEALER IN NEW JERSEY AND THEY SAID IT WAS NOT UNDER RECALL, IT IS A KNOWN ELECTRICAL SHORT AND MY VEHICLE IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. THEY WANTED 400.00+ TO FIX THE PROBLEM OR ISSUE. UPON AN INTERNET SEARCH I LEARNED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL. I FEEL AS A CONSUMER THAT GMC SHOULD GENERATE A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE REGARDING "SHIFT TO PARK". THANK YOU
SHIFT VEHICLE INTO PARK AND THEN TURN VEHICLE OFF. WARNING LIGHT COMES ON WHICH SAYS "SHIFT TO PARK." TURN VEHICLE BACK ON. MOVE SHIFTIER FROM PARK TO DRIVE AND THEN TURN VEHICLE OFF AGAIN. WARNING LIGHT COMES ON AND WARNING "SHIFT TO PARK." DO THIS A FEW MORE TIMES AND IT FINALLY THE WARNING STOPS. IT DOES THIS INTERMITTENTLY.
WILL SAY THAT VEHICLE IS NOT IN PARK AND WILL NOT SHUT OFF. CONSTANTLY SAYS REMOTE DEVICE NOT DETECTED DESPITE ME USING THE REMOTE TO START OR TURN THE VEHICLE OFF. WILL NOT OFFICIALLY TURN OFF SAYING REMOTE NOT DETECTED AND RADIO WILL STAY ON. I CAN USE THE REMOTE TO TURN IT BACK ON BUT THE RECEIVE THE SAME ERROR MESSAGE, THIS HAPPENED 4 TIMES WHEN WE PARKED AT THE BALL FIELDS SUNDAY. HOW FRUSTRATING THAT WE HAD TO HANG BY THE CAR HOPING THE NEXT TRY IT WOULD COOPERATE. THIS IS CLEARLY A PROBLEM THAT GMC NEEDS TO FIX. THESE ARE NOT ONE TIME ERRORS, I HAVE SOME TYPE OF ERROR DAILY.
"SHIFT TO PARK" MESSAGE READS ON DASH, WHEN THE CAR IS IN PARK AND THEN IT WONT LET YOU TURN THE CAR OFF. I HAVE SPEND OVER 20 MINUTES TRYING TO GET IT TO "READ" THAT THE CAR IS IN PARK. I EVEN TOOK IT INTO GMC TO "FIX" THE PROBLEM. THEY "FIXED" IT BUT NOW IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 GMC ACADIA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF WITH THE START/OFF BUTTON, THE VEHICLE CONTACT WAS ALERTED IN THE MESSAGE CENTER OF THE VEHICLE TO PLACE THE VEHICLE IN THE PARK. THE CONTACT STATED THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER WAS ALREADY IN THE PARK POSITION WHEN THE MESSAGE WAS DISPLAYED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HERTRICH BUICK GMC LOCATED AT 26953 SUSSEX HWY, SEAFORD, DE 19973, 302-629-9144 TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE IGNITION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 31,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
SHIFT TO PARK WHEN I ATTEMPT TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE. WON'T GO OFF AND CAN'T TURN THE VEHICLE OFF
"SHIFT TO PARK" ISSUE. WHEN OUR 2018 GMC ACADIA IS PLACED IN PARK, THE DIC DISPLAYS THAT THE VEHICLE IS NOT IN PARK WHEN IT IS INDEED IN PARK. NEVER SURE IF TRANSMISSION IS TRULY IN THE PARK POSITION AND CANNOT ROLL, BUT THERE IS NO CONFIRMATION OF THIS. THIS INDICATION FAILURE PREVENTS US FROM LEAVING THE VEHICLE FOR A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME UNTIL WE (IF EVER) SEE THE PROPER "PARK" INDICATION.
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Quick Summary
The 2018 GMC Acadia has 42 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.