2018 GMC Acadia Power Train
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
I have increasing issues over the last several months, most especially this last week or so, with the SHIFT TO PARK. Every time I place it in park the dashboard says SHIFT TO PARK and bings at me continuously. I try turning the vehicle off and on again numerous times and have to place in reverse and park again a few times before it "clicks" into park and allows me to leave the vehicle. I know my year and model are part of a recall for this issue, there are class action lawsuits about it as well as Lemon Law incidents in numerous states. I have called GMC and received no help, I asked to escalate it to a manager, I was told that would happen within 24-48 hrs yet no manager ever called me. I was left to place a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and a GMC "scripted" representative called me and told me that MY vehicle has not been recalled, yet my model and year has been -- this makes zero sense since MY vehicle is having the recalled issue. I asked again to escalate it, a supervisor is supposed to call me within 2hrs (July 9th at 4:10pm EST) but emphasized that the supervisor will also tell me that GMC will NOT pay for my recall because my VIN has not been recalled. This is how they get away with not paying for the vehicles issues. HOW is my vehicle now NOT part of their recall when it's a known issue and my vehicle IS having this issue?? I drive 2 toddlers around, my grandchildren, and now I have this issue on a vehicle that is barely a few years old and I've only owned for 3 years. Again, my YEAR & MODEL vehicle has known issues with this SHIFT TO PARK and GMC is refusing to remedy it.
Vehicle when being placed into park utilizing the gear shifter begins to say “vehicle not in park” when the vehicle is in park. This happens almost every time the vehicle is placed into park. In order to clear that notification, you have to put the vehicle in drive and park multiple times and hope that the computer recognizes the vehicle in park to unlock the doors and shut the vehicle off.
I purchased my 2018 GMC Acadia in 2021. Two days after I purchased the "Shift to Park" error occurred. I contacted the dealer and they said that yes these cars are not recognizing they are indeed in park. After several phone calls back and forth they agreed to repair. Well now 3 years later it began to show the Shift to Park error once again. I looked up to see if they had recalled yet and GM has recalled on SOME vehicles but not sure why others like mine are excluded. I would assume this is a safety issue since the car cannot recognize its in park. I am also not returning to the dealership for repair since I don't believe it was repaired to begin with or the replacement parts are also defective. This seems to be that it will be an ongoing issue and additional costs to me every time this issue comes up.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly accelerated and decelerated erratically, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart, but the failure persisted, and the vehicle was unable to accelerate above 20 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
SHIFT TO PARK - I originally thought I was turning the car off too quickly. I would put the car in park and hit the button. Then I would get an error message (with Loud beeping) "SHIFT TO PARK." The car will not turn off completely or stop beeping until i turn it back on, and shift into drive and back into park. This last week the problem has escalated and keeps giving me the error message. I have had to leave my car with loud beeping and unlocked. I am driving with a battery charger hoping I will not have to use it. I am shocked this is NOT a recall.
11/22/24 shift to park issue appeared. Happens constantly. I just bought car on 10/26/2024. I know by looking up shift to park issues there was a recall on 2017 an 2018 cars.
Vehicle shifts hard from 1st and while driving when getting up to speed from 2nd gear and 3rd, etc. Happens every time it's driven.
Erroneous error code on heads up that car not in park. Appears to be in park, error code can be reset by activation/deactivation of trigger switch on shift lever. Provides unclear message if car is or is not in park, vagueness makes me question vehicle park status overall. Issue was very intermittent in 2022, frequency of erroneous error code increasing now happens 1 out of 5 times when shifting to park.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that intermittently when the gear was shifted into park(P) and the vehicle was turned off, the "shift into park(P)" message was displayed. The contact stated that she was unable to lock the vehicle and that the interior lights remained on. The vehicle was not yet taken to an independent mechanic or local dealer for diagnosis or repairs. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V516000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the transmission was shifted into park(P) however, the "Shift to Park" message was displayed after the contact pressed the Auto Start/Stop button. The contact had to depress the brake pedal while pushing the Auto Start/Stop button to turn the vehicle back on and then shift the transmission from drive(D) to Park(P) approximately 3-4 times before the failure was corrected. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the dealer had previously replaced the gear shift assembly; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,211.
I shift the car into park but the vehicle tells me the car is not in park and won't shut off. GM charged me $656.00 to replace the switch and harness.
Shift to park issue. Vehicle appears to be in park but message appears. You have to continuously wiggle shifter and shut car off and off until it registers it is in park. I have no way of knowing if vehicle is truly in park or not. For safety reasons I cannot park in an incline due to concerns the vehicle will roll backwards. Several TBS bulletins have been issued by GMC on this known issue and they deny any responsibility of fixing the situation with a recall. The NHTSA needs to step in and investigate and require GMC to remedy this dangerous defect
CAR DOES NOT GO INTO PARK AND WILL NOT SHUT OFF. says shift to park when this happens the car does not shut off correctly and must be restarted and jiggle shifter to turn off. this seems to be a well known problem and is on many years of Acadia
When I put the car in park, I get the message "Shift to Park". It does not do it every time but it is happening more and more. I have to wiggle the gearshift or restart the car and shift to neutral to try it again. I am wondering about the safety issue and will the vehicle roll if I am not able to get the message to go away? I have researched this and it is happening on a lot of vehicles.
I am communicating concerns about my 2018 GMC Acadia. I continue to have problems with the Park/shift to park. I have had this problem consistently escalating this year. It was occurring 2 or 3 times per month, now it is occurring weekly. I cannot turn off the vehicle when placed in park. I went to the dealer (FC Kerbeck) in New Jersey, where I was told I had to pay for this problem $515. This seems to be a manufacturer flaw. I think this is a recall part. This is not my responsibility, I did not do anything to my vehicle for this consistent problem. This “shift to park” is dangerous, as it can lock you in your vehicle.
After being driving vehicle will not shift into park. When shifter is moved into park position vehicle is not recognizing this and will continue to move. Gear shifter has to be wiggled around for vehicle to finally get into park or at all. Safety concerns - if vehicle is not in park mode vehicle can roll away or continue to move causing damage or injury to persons or property. Online research indicates this is a nationwide problem and there are several lawsuits against gmc concerning this issue. All instances seem to be associated with the Acadia.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that on three separate occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the gears inadvertently shifted from second gear to third gear and then to neutral. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on three separate occasions where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was then taken back a fourth time where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
When I place the gear in park and shut car off, the display states to shift car to park. A loud continuous beep ensues and I would have to start and turn car off several times. The car does not lock nor stop on its own.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while turning off the vehicle, the place shift lever into park message was displayed. The contact had to restart the vehicle several times and move the shifter into the park position for it to disengage. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who informed the contact about the button on the gear shifter that may be used to reset the system. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,400.
I purchased vehicle in 2018 and by 2019 it started showing a message that said error Shift need to park but I was parked and gear in parking mode .I reported to dealer but said they couldn't help me since my warranty was over due to my job I drive alot so I was over the mileage. So they itbwouldnt be covered since then it goes off and on same message and now I can't get off car until it goes off because I'm afraid to let go of brake if the parking gear don't work. I reported to dealer in time to get assistance but they just brushed it off blamed me for the mileage Maybe causing it but I see here I'm not the only one complaining about message "Shift".
In 2019 my GMC Acadia had the “shift to park” issue in which my vehicle would not shut off and I would have to repeatedly start and shift the gear shift before it would shut off. The problem was “fixed” at the dealership in June 2019. In May 2022, the “shift to park” issue started again. At the dealership now and was informed that since the vehicle is out of warranty, I would be responsible for repairs this time. This is a safety issue that GMC is well aware and should not happen to begin with let alone after repairs. In no way am I going to be held responsible for repairs that obviously were done with either defective parts or parts that were limited to only 3 years without my knowledge. If I knew I would have to do the same repair in 3 years and I would be responsible for it, I would have argued for better parts to begin with. GMC needs to know that this is a real problem that needs to be dealt with immediately.
When I park my 2018 GMC Acadia, my infotainment screen states the following warning: "SWIFT TO PARK", but I have already put my car in PARK. This warning started appearing around 28,000 miles; my currect mileage on my Acadia is 28,379 miles. I have checked if there are any recalls on this issue, but found none, but this issue started appearing in the 2017 models
Car won’t go into park though I’ve shifted to park. Car starts beeping and displays “SHIFT TO PARK!” even though the vehicle is shut off and gear shifter is in park position. I took to dealership, they stated, “gmc NEEDS to recall this, we have to repair every single GMC Acadia we sell with unfortunately the same defective parts” it’s a $500 fix. I just use my parking break everytime I park now.
The GMC Acadia displays a "shift to park" error. The truck is in park (or appears to be) and the truck says it is not and will not allow it to be turned off. This is a common error with the truck and GMC is refusing to take responsibility and this can cause a fatal error if the truck is not in park and rolls away.
The shift leaver when putting in park has an error code that the vehicle is not in park when it shows it is. The dealer said this is a common problem and replaced the shift leavers wire harness for 600.00. When this happens there is no way to turn the veh power off and it rolls a little before it engages.
Trend Over Time
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Quick Summary
The 2018 GMC Acadia has 108 Power Train complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.