2011 GMC Yukon Denali problems
Owners have filed 117 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 GMC Yukon Denali. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 22% of complaints. Next are body & structure (13%) and brakes (3%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 117 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 75,000 miles 81 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 16 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 25 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 23 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 81 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 75,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (14 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a fire. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 93% 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 2011 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the GMC Yukon Denali with enough data (85 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 car seat warmer in the back of the car caught on fire while our seven year old was asleep in the car. He was in his booster seat. The seat warmer was not on. (this was in august 2018.) we smelled a burning smell and there was a smoldering flame under his legs. The car was stationary, not in motion. It was idling in a parking lot.
The seat caught on fire while the car was running. My child was sleeping and smoke was coming out from under his booster seat and his legs. I contacted GMC and they said this had never happened before and we should contact our insurance company, though, when we took it to the technicians at the dealership (for the inspection), they saw where two wires were on top of one another and the seat had caught on fire. This is a serious problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2011 GMC yukon denali. The contact stated that while driving at speeds of 55-60 MPH and trying to apply the brakes, the vehicle would shimmy. He did not have complete control of the vehicle and he felt that it was unsafe to drive. The contact stated that the check brake system light illuminated twice. Furthermore, the transmission shifted "hard" at times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The vehicle had not been repaired.
While parked, a full-width crack formed in the an approximately 1-inch-wide section of the dashboard, immediately forward of the front passenger airbag compartment. I am concerned that, in the event of an airbag deployment, this compromise in dashboard integrity will create projectiles within the passenger compartment.
Cracked dash of. Center and behind the steering wheel. December I got in the vehicle and noticed a black line on the dash. Closer observation, I found a crack. 1000 dollars to repair. I am concerned about air bag release and the integrity of the dash.