2008 GMC Yukon Denali XL problems
NHTSA has received 57 complaints about the 2008 GMC Yukon Denali XL, and 30% of them involve air bags. Next are body & structure (11%) and engine (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 57 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 30% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 89,000 miles 44 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 44 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 89,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 97,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 95% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the GMC Yukon Denali XL with enough data (19 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was rear ended at approximately 8:00 am this morning. Both my vehicle and the truck that hit me likely suffered damage that will result in them being totaled by the insurance companies. I have a major concern about my airbags not deploying. I have not yet read the police report, but the dodge ram truck that hit me while I was stopped at a light hit my yukon with great force. This was on a highway (204th street) in elkhorn, ne
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 GMC yukon denali xl. When starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the computer was reset. Approximately one week later, the check engine light re-illuminated and the dealer informed the contact to continue driving the vehicle and the light would shut off. Approximately 30 miles later, the check engine light shut off.
2008 denali xl - door lock failures. 1st repair was under warranty @ 34000 miles, replaced left rear door lock. 2nd repair was 8/4/10 for left front and right rear door locks replaced for $487.00 @ 40,000 miles (over warranty). Dealer explained that many 2008 & 2009 GMC denalis have been coming in with door lock failures. This is a safety hazard as you cannot unlock the rear doors from the outside when a child is in a carseat for instance. Should be a recall.
Was waiting for a red light to change and suddenly my dashboard lit up saying it was reducing power to the engine, disabling stability control and something else.. I was not able to drive the car for for 2 hours after that... I.got the car towed to my house and when I went back to fallowing morning the car started with out the engine light on..2 days after the same thing happened while driving on the highway at 65 MPH, it was a scary experience since the car reduced power very fast to 20 MPH..
This is twice that I've received the p2138 throttle body sensor code, which causes reduced engine power and has subsequent issues around stabilitrack/awd. The first time was in the middle of an intersection, we limped out of the intersection at 3 MPH. Today, my wife limped home from the store. This is extremely frustrating and should have been recalled a long time ago!!