2008 GMC Yukon Denali problems
Owners have filed 75 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 GMC Yukon Denali. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 31% of complaints. Next are body & structure (11%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 75 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 77,000 miles 48 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 | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 48 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 77,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 108,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
None of these complaints report a crash, fire, injury or death. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 100% 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 11th most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the GMC Yukon Denali with enough data (20 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.
The vehicle does not accelerate when the accelerator is pressed. The vehicle take 5-10 seconds before responding, resulting in delay of merging and stalling at stop lights. It becomes dangerous when entering a highway and taking off, I have had individuals almost slam into me and I have ran into a construction zone. It suddenly take off, leaving the driver off guard.
Transmission gear indicator, prnd3, and driver information center impossible to read under conditions of bright sunlight.
Vehicle has transmission defect. Merging into traffic is very dangerous. The transmission often selects too high of a gear and there is no power for the vehicle to accelerate. This puts the driver/passengers in danger due to oncoming traffic. After several seconds, the vehicle will sometimes downshift into too low of a gear, causing it to lunge forward at an extremely high rate of speed that is difficult to control. Happens all the time.
The rear passenger door does not lock or open with the remote or front drive door switches. Turns out that the lock actuator has gone bad and has to be replaced. My son is 4 years old and due to the fact that we can not lock the door from the front - he opened the rear door while car was driving . Luckily he was in car seat. This could pose a serious problem for parents with young children. While the car was under warranty the same rear passenger door side lock actuator was replaced 3 times.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 GMC yukon denali. The contact stated that the front driver's side exterior and interior power doors would not open when using the automatic key fob. The doors could only be opened manually. In addition, the rear lift gate would not release unless manually opened. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000. The VIN was unavailable.