2003 GMC Yukon XL Denali problems
NHTSA has received 42 complaints about the 2003 GMC Yukon XL Denali, and 31% of them involve electrical system. Next are engine (10%) and stability control (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 42 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 miles 38 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 | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 38 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 69,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 67,000 miles (13 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported.
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.
Frontal impact between my 2003 yukon xl denali and a 1992 honda prelude. Impact to my vehicle in front left corner # 40 MPH causing minor damage to my vehicle resulted in my vehicle catching fire within 30 seconds of impact. My vehicle was totaled as a result of the fire, not the impact.
Consumer states transmission can be shifted from park without foot being applied to the brake. Contrary to information existing in the owner's manual consumer's 2 year old child changed gear from park causing a collision that resulted in major damage to the vehicle. Vehicle was parked for thirty minutes before the child inserted the key and turned it to accessory and was able to shift gears. The vehicle struck several trees and two fences. The air bags didn't deploy.
We were driving up in the mountains and we lost power briefly to the engine. The lights flickered and the dash board went out. Then the loss of engine power came on and the stability/traction came on too. This has happened weekly for the last two years. This last time was alarming since we were coming down a mountain in a storm and could have been stranded up there with no running vehicle to keep us warm. This needs to get a recall or investigation going on these vehicles.
About a month a ago my 2003 yukon xl all of a sudden would not drive over15 miles an hr in rush hour traffic. I took the truck to the shop to have diagnostics ran. I was told it was the battery. The truck ran for about a month then all of a sudden the battery was back dead. Returned the truck back to the shop another battery was put in. It's been about another month. This time I was driving from miami to jacksonville and the truck lost power 100 miles outside jacksonville on I-95 north.