2001 GMC Yukon XL Denali problems
NHTSA has received 29 complaints about the 2001 GMC Yukon XL Denali, and 41% of them involve brakes. Next are engine (14%) and steering (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 29 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 41% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 92,000 miles 28 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 28 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 92,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 105,000 miles (12 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 7 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 94% of model years in our database.
It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
My complaint pertains to heated seats - I was driving home from pa on 3/16/08 in the early am. My 17 yr old son was in the front passenger seat and a friend of his, mike was asleep on the middle row of seats. He had a blanket wrapped up to make a pillow and laid it on the seat. My son and I begin to smell a foul odor and assumed it was the manf. Plants that we were passing by. It wasn't until mike was awakened by the heat on his hand, that we realized the seat was smoldering.
First there was a tire blowout, tire separated with 11/32 thread left. Second at least 1 seat belt did not hold. Third no airbags went off. Fourth the roof caved in like a "v" shape in the drivers compartment, by the windshield.
On june 11, 2011 I drove my 2001 GMC yukon xl from carle place ny to summit nj. The trip consisted of mainly highway mileage. Everything seemed fine until I reached my destination. I made a left into a parking lot and the brake pedal became unresponsive. I pulled into a spot and jammed on the brakes. The vehicle rolled and hopped the curb and bumped into a fence. I broke a few boards. I put the truck in neutral, rolled back into the spot, and used the parking\emergency break to stop.
As vehicle is slowing to a stop, the ABS engages lifts the brake pedal, essentially allowing the vehicle to roll forward, and requiring a quick reaction to strongly depress the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. This is caused by a faulty and corroded ABS speed sensor, which has been recalled on these vehicles from 2002, but the recall does not include the 2001 year.