2004 GMC Yukon Denali problems
Owners have filed 141 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 GMC Yukon Denali. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 40% of complaints. Next are brakes (11%) and stability control (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 141 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 40% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 120 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 | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 23 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 23 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 18 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 120 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 65,000 miles (45 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the GMC Yukon Denali with enough data (80 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 yukon denali. The contact stated while merging into traffic, the front of the vehicle crashed into the front passenger side door of another vehicle. The contact mentioned the front passenger air bag failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The front passenger sustained head trauma, knee and ankle was fractured. The rear drivers side passenger sustained a ripped eye lid, and the rear side passenger sustained 4 fractured teeth and damaged her intestine.
My 18-year old daughter narrowly escaped death the evening of may 1st while driving my 2004 GMC yukon denali. She was in a relatively "routine" accident in which she lost control of the vehicle at approximately 40 MPH and struck a tree head-on in a residential area of colorado springs. A good samaritan pulled her from the vehicle seconds before the vehicle erupted into a massive fireball that completely gutted the vehicle.
At approximately 1:54 pm I was leaving work and I didn't get about 1,000 feet when I began to see smoke coming from the center console area where the cigarette lighter was. I pulled over into a gas station and took the cup holders out trying to search where the smoke was coming from. I then saw smoke coming from the vents on the dashboard. I also saw smoke coming from the battery compartment under the hood. I opened the hood and more smoke with coming from the vent.
I have two GM vehicles, a 2003 tahoe & a 2004 denali. Both vehicles started having speedometer problems this week. Standing still the speedometer reads 30+ MPH, start moving & they are reading well over 120 MPH. I no longer have any idea how fast I am traveling in either of my vehicles. This is unsafe & GM should immediately recall all affected vehicles & fix this problem quickly. I have 8 children & would like to know that I am driving at a safe speed at all times.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 GMC yukon denali. The contact stated while driving at a slow speed and trying to make a turn with the brakes applied; the steering wheel became difficult to make a right turn. The contact received NHTSA campaign id number: 04v045000 (service brakes, hydraulic) dealing with the hydro-boost module, but the dealer and manufacturer refused to repair the vehicle. The current mileage was 119,000.