2008 Gmc Acadia
The Verdict
The 2008 Gmc Acadia has 856 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (249 complaints) and transmission (235 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 5/100, it earns a "Total Klunk" rating. If you're shopping for a Gmc Acadia, consider the 2023 model year which has 95% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2023 has 95% fewer complaints
View the 2023 Gmc Acadia dashboard →
Klunk Score: Total Klunk
Among the most complained-about vehicle years on record. Strongly consider alternatives.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
| Year | Body | Brakes | Electrical | Engine | Transmission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 111 | 4 | 100 | 65 | 151 |
| 2008 | 199 | 21 | 249 | 152 | 235 |
| 2009 | 128 | 2 | 65 | 83 | 54 |
| 2010 | 159 | 4 | 62 | 86 | 37 |
| 2011 | 108 | 7 | 82 | 64 | 19 |
| 2012 | 132 | 5 | 71 | 58 | 34 |
| 2013 | 29 | 1 | 61 | 25 | 21 |
| 2014 | 65 | 6 | 238 | 71 | 29 |
| 2015 | 71 | 4 | 119 | 24 | 19 |
| 2016 | 50 | 4 | 110 | 13 | 17 |
| 2017 | 166 | 31 | 201 | 71 | 212 |
| 2018 | 119 | 15 | 68 | 38 | 147 |
| 2019 | 88 | 11 | 75 | 56 | 140 |
| 2020 | 25 | 5 | 22 | 33 | 11 |
| 2021 | 30 | 18 | 30 | 53 | 13 |
| 2022 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 3 |
| 2023 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 7 |
| 2024 | 13 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| 2025 | 11 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Complaints
Lifegate wont open all the way airbag light is on and truck shimmering when I drive it
The car would not shift causing me to pull over on the side of a highway to restart the car this happened 5 times in a row b4 the car would shift into proper gear
Lift gate closes by itself I have to put a pole to hold it up and it won’t hit me, it says the air bags needs to be serviced, stabilitrak keeps going off, ball bearing needs work. Radio won’t turn on no sound on air signals, the body chasis something popped while driving, the tracking control keeps turning off, the seats move while driving, catalytic converter are moving car only go 12 mpg.
The traction control turns on and then the shifts don’t work and I can’t drive since there is no speed also the rpm and the gas the speed and the battery gages start flickering up and down then I turn off the truck and it continues to work fine but after 40 miles or so it does it all again
Transmissions will not shift out of 1st gear. And puts out a 752 code. This can happen at anytime. Vehicle will suddenly lose power at any time.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while her daughter-in-law was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made a popping sound, and then the fuse box near the passenger's side headlight caught fire. No warning light was illuminated. The contact's daughter-in-law was able to exit the vehicle. There were no injuries, and medical attention was not received. Bystanders called the police and fire departments. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. Police and fire department reports were filed. The fire chief informed the contact that the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction. The vehicle was towed to the residence and had not yet been deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the battery had previously been replaced; however, the battery failed to retain a charge. The contact had to recharge the battery every day to start the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that water had leaked from the windshield and cowl to behind the glovebox, causing the battery to fail; however, no repair was recommended. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
Deer hit me on the highway at 2am on December 26th. No air bags deployed.
UNKNOWN 2008 GMC ACADIA back lift starts to open and then shuts right back down. try to raise it manually and it falls right back down. It can really hurt someone. would like to know what causes it to do that and if there is a recall.
Check engine light came on for the TCM. Car has had issues shifting (very rough shifting) and the manual shift option does not work. Was told the TCM had to be replaced. Attempt was made to replace it with a refurbished TCM but that couldn't be programmed to the car. Was then told I would have to buy a brand new one, which is very expensive, and that there was no guarantee that would fix the problem. Car can not be driven over 20mph without risking burning up the transmission. Car also jerks forward very hard when trying to gently accelerate.
Airbag light on 24/7, ABS malfunction traction control system turns off randomly, wiper blade fluid not spraying (front, rear) engine misfire on idle, clear/white smoke from hood and burning smell.
The contact owned a 2008 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, a grayish-colored smoke as well as an abnormal sound emit from the engine without warning. The contact pulled over and exited the vehicle as the vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames. The contact called the fire department and they extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed(#23-046145) and no injuries were reported. The contact stated that the highway barrier was damaged as a result of the fire. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
Started losing power and had problems cranking. Now won't cranking at all. P0123 error code.
Head gaskets and engine default and ground wire system defaulted.
Turned key to start,it did not.mechanic said timing chain failed.
The air bags light came on with no reason truck never being in a crash, the abs and the off road light is on too, the break lights are on while you don't step on the pedal and they go off when you step on it...
Passenger Airbag warning light has been showing on my dash since I purchased the vehicle in October of 2021. I brought the vehicle to an auto repair shop to have it checked, and was told that the airbags would malfunction if I were to get into an accident that called for them to deploy.
Liftgate Malfunction: When rear liftgate is manually opened on vehicle, it continues to make a noise after it is completely opened. This noise sounds as though the liftgate is still in the process of opening. There is also an issue when closing the liftgate. Although it is properly closed, it will show a warning sign moments later in the car saying it is opened. When the car is put back in park to check, the liftgate is closed, but the latch has released. So the liftgate is able to be opened without pressing the button to open it. Sometimes it can take a few times of closing the liftgate for it to stay latched and properly closed. The automatic opening function of the liftgate does not work as well.
Warning message appears on dash showing windshield wiper fluid is low/empty when it doesn't need it. This warning message remains lit even when the fluid has just been refilled.
It was in a front end Collision the airbags didn’t deploy my insurance said they totaled the car out due to needing a lot of money to fix it and I contacted gm about it they said there was no recalls and no repairs were don’t to it
856 total