CarComplaints.com Notes: Ahh, the ole' sophomore slump. The 2008 Acadia suffers from widespread transmission failure around 75,000 miles.

1.5

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
109,232 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2008 GMC Acadia brakes problems

brakes problem

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2008 GMC Acadia Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #37

May 012012

Acadia

  • 65,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The sunroof drainage tubes get clogged and leaked water which caused the fuse box in the dash to be filled with water. Also flooding all the floors and the battery compartment inside the car. Which in return causes the car to not shut off when you turn the key off and take it out. It also causes all kinds of sensors and check engine lights to come on on the dash like service airbag service stable track causes the traction control to turn off falsely tells you that engine oil needs changed also causes the battery to go dead for no reason also displays ac off engine hot

- Alexandria, OH, USA

problem #36

Aug 072017

Acadia

  • 98,000 miles
When travelling home on the highway after school shopping with my two children my vehicle suddenly reduced power, became uncontrollable and wouldn't allow me to get out of the way of the rapidly approaching vehicles behind me in time. I was able to get to the shoulder, after the reduced engine alert appeared. Stabiltrak was also disabled and one more feature I cannot remember. I had to shut my vehicle down and sit with two children in the car waiting for the car to somehow right itself. After 10 minutes I tried turning it on and the errors were gone and the car drove again, except rough. I took it to the local auto store and the diagnosed it with the code reader as tac. Throttle body. The person at the counter said they see this all the time with this vehicle. In fact, it should be a recall since it's so common and a clear flaw in the design. To the tune of $199 you can replace the part and have the same thing happen all over again at some other random, unsafe time! thank you GM for yet another unreliable family vehicle. I will have no choice, but to replace the part, as this is the car used for every day transportation in my household to school, work and back. Researching the internet horror stories can be found everywhere. It seems tragedy has to happen to make this $200 part a recall. Please redesign and replace. This mom cares for her kids.

- Cortland, NY, USA

problem #35

Jun 222017

Acadia

  • 160,000 miles
What's not wrong with this car"? I bought it used with an extended warranty. After a year everything went downhill. It has been in and out the GMC service at lease 3 times a year. I don't even know where to start. The airbag light is on but it isn't covered under the airbag recall. What about safety" there has been a check stability trac and traction lights on as well on several occasions. When those lights come on the vehicle decelerated while driving across the Kentucky bridge which almost caused a 12 car pile up. In addition, it also skips gears. When trying to speed up it jerks into the next gear like a hiccup. The dealership stated these problems were electric and wear covered under my extended warranty. I suggested that maybe the transmission was bad. However, they stated otherwise. Literally, 4 months later the transmission is out. But what a surprise no longer under warranty. Now I'm looking at a $5,000 bill. The service department stated that it is transmission failure due to an electric issue (out of my control). There is nothing that I could have done to prevent it from happening. But after talking to GM they, basically explained that they don't stand by their product after 100,000 and that they can't prove that the issues are actually manufacturers defect. I strongly disagree as there are hundreds of people experiencing the same hardships as me with the 2008 vehicle. On [xxx], for GMC Acadia, 2008 is the worst year with the most complaints for transmission failure. How aren't these already recalled by now? they are nothing but junk! not work anything. Even a GMC service rep. Said these were the worse year and get them in the shop all the time. Why won't GMC just isssue a recall and take them off the market. I have all the proof of regular maintenance and service receipts. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #34

Jun 212017

Acadia

  • 115,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 GMC Acadia. While driving various speeds, the electronic stability control, traction control, and ABS warning indicators illuminated. The contact stated that the electronic stability control malfunctioned and caused the vehicle to operate in the four wheel drive mode. Four by four center in essex, Vermont was made aware of the failure and stated that there was a timing chain failure that was common in that type of vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

- Jeffersonville, VT, USA

problem #33

May 102017

Acadia

  • 160,000 miles
As I was driving to pick my kids up from school, my traction control light come on indicating that my traction control was turned off. Then the stablitrack light came on. I pulled over because my vehicle felt like it was missing and about to go dead. I cut the vehicle off and waited about 10 minutes and started the engine again. The lights were off and it run fine. Two days later while on my way to work the lights started to come on again and then I received a message that the engine had reduced speed. I mashed the accelerator but could not drive faster than 20 miles per hour. There was a lot of traffic behind me and when my vehicle stalled I almost was hit from behind. I've called GMC and they were no help! this is a serious problem and needs to be addressed. I looked online to see if other Acadia owners have had the same issue and found multiple complaints. This really needs to be looked into and a recall to fix the issue before someone gets hurt. It's very dangerous for your vehicle to stall out on you on a main highway or interstate. Took it to a mechanic and they are not sure what the issue is. Others reported taking their Acadia to the dealership and having to pay to replace several parts and the issue is still not resolved.

- Quitman, LA, USA

problem #32

Feb 252017

Acadia

  • 148,000 miles
I have a 2008 Acadia which is equipped with a timing chain that has been known by General Motors to prematurely stretch and fail, and which can cause serious damage to other engine components, as well as activate certain sensors either prematurely or not at all. Your engine and key components and crankshafts and sensors rely on the timing chain in order to function properly. When you're driving in your vehicle and the timing chain gets stretched, the check engine light flashes on, the engine and transmission will power down and shut off, a loud buzzing sound will occur and hope to god you are not on the highway, because General Motors knows about the defect but still will not issue a recall on the prematurely stretched timing chains due to the extensive cost of repair. They have extended warranty coverage on certain similar models in 2007 and 2009, and have offer full replacement of the timing chain up to 10 years and 120,000 miles, but despite the same issue occurring in vehicles made in 2008 with the same defects, they have denied my service request. This a very costly and extremely unsafe condition to drive the vehicle in. It is terrifying when your engine misfires and powers down, and your warning lights flash with a loud buzzing alarm sound blaring through the speakers. The traction control, stabilitrak system, and airbag sensors are all adversely affected by the defective timing chain as well, and the manufacturer is well aware of this defect and unfortunately will probably not be held responsible until someone is killed in an accident as a result of a defective timing chain. I'm so disappointed in this vehicle and the lack of accountability through the manufacturer. They know it's a problem. They are aware of the defect. They even extended coverage to replace up until a certain point, but beyond that, they do not care.

- Wausau, WI, USA

problem #31

Nov 202016

Acadia

  • 178,050 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Steering became very tight while driving almost causing an accident. Could not hardly turn the steering wheel at all. Had never been notified this vehicle had defective parts that could have been replaced under a warranty extension. My husband travels for a living in his vehicle so he puts a lot of miles on it and when it first happened he had 178,085 miles and we had to replace a power steering pump. Now at 184,624 miles we are putting our second power steering pump and finding out that now the gear will have to be replaced. Don't know why we were not notified not to mention this vehicle is a death trap and my husband or someone else could have been killed by this happening. Now I look online and there are hundreds if not thousands of people having the same issue. Why was a recall not done on this? a warranty extension is not good enough when people can be killed this is as bad and the air bag recall if not worse. Updated 05/10/17

- Ringgold, VA, USA

problem #30

Nov 242016

Acadia 6-cyl

  • 142,000 miles
When it rains, water leaks from the air bags. Water also leaks from the light fixtures and dvd player in the middle seating. Water also comes in somewhere under the dashboard/electrical panel area, onto the passenger side floor. The last time it rained, there was standing water on my passenger side floor. This has happened while driving it in the rain and while it was parked. Stablitrak and traction control lights are constantly coming on - even after looked at. - I have pictures of lights on. Also constant service engine soon light problems.

- Wellsburg, IA, USA

problem #29

Sep 182016

Acadia

  • 125,000 miles
1) a transmission switch plate error - warranty repair (GMC never paid my hotel/rental car claim. On hwy with family. 2) transmission issue - paid close to $2000. I asked if this would lead to transmission failure; they told me no, car would be good to go.the person who helped me no longer works at the el paso dealership when I reported he tried to overcharge me. Driving on hwy in el paso with kids. 3) transmission - paid $4000+ for transmission (GMC claims not related to the previous repair); discussed with service dept if we should spend more money on the car...they told me the new transmission would work. (mileage was 125K) the transmission failed while moving from el paso to Colorado springs...no safe place to stop. 4) 2 mos later (now) - claim the timing belt failed and rh tie rods need repair and they say I declined a repair. I never discussed this needed repair and the possibility of a $2600 repair following this $4000 repair...so if they mentioned it, they never said you have $6600 worth of work in front of you. I already was concerned about paying $4000 after paying $2000. It happened on highway. GMC is more than aware of these issues with their cars and they are leaving their customers to deal with it. I have a 2002 GMC Envoy and never paid anything close in repairs. There are serious problems with this make and model. We are also a military family who travels quite a bit. We started getting errors on road trips and we even had the original warranty repair while we were out of town, causing us to be stranded on the side of the highway in the Washington DC area when our car just stopped. GMC is showing a total disregard for its customers. They are aware of these issues and they are not taking any responsibility for them. They are putting their customers in physical danger and wreaking havoc on our finances. This is disgusting and unacceptable.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #28

Aug 082012

Acadia

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Acadia. While driving various speeds, the vehicle shook, stalled, and shut off. The stability and traction control lights illuminated. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road, turned off the vehicle, and restarted it after a couple of minutes. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who reset the "stability and traction controls", but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

- Moreno, CA, USA

problem #27

Jun 162016

Acadia

  • 101,250 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I noticed that when driving on an expressway and would attempt to pass a slower moving vehicle, as I would move into the passing lane and attempt to accelerate, the car would hesitate for a few seconds, lose speed, then suddenly downshift and accelerate at an unexpected rate. I also noticed that the car would unexpectedly accelerate or decelerate under normal driving conditions. I bought the vehicle to the dealer for repair, they responded that they could find nothing wrong, but the what I was experiencing was characteristic of the 6-speed transmission on the vehicle. The problem continued and I found it dangerous. I returned the vehicle and the dealer's remedy was to "reset the transmission computer." During this time, I also noticed that the "service stabilitrac and traction control" warning would come on. It dosen't matter if your driving or idle or in park these warnings and problems still exist.the dealer fixed one wheel sensor but the problem still occurs. The service airbag warning lights still comes on there was a recall for that I had it fixed but warning still comes on. This vehicle has had so many recalls automatic lift gate, air bag warnings, power steering pump and hose. The rack & pinion will need to be replaced in the vehicles short life span, all of the suspension parts bushings will have to be replaced at some point so this means control arm, sway bar sway, sway bar links toe links of course with these issues you will have to replace struts and shocks, etc...how can government/General Motors sell a vehicle this expensive and have so many problems these vehicles are unsafe to drive something needs to be done about this before someone gets seriously hurt.my 08 GMC Acadia is pure garbage someone needs to be held accountable because these vehicles have major mechanical and electrical issues, recalls and are unsafe to be driving

- Springfield, MA, USA

problem #26

Jun 012015

Acadia

  • 86,000 miles
My 2008 Acadia is now on it's 4th thermostat. I'm about to send it in to have it replaced. My SUV keeps overheating. So far I have replaced the radiator, thermostat, and stability track. Is there any one else who has this problem?

- Romeoville, IL, USA

problem #25

Apr 112016

Acadia

  • miles
Either when I first start the car or when the car is in motion the stabilitrak and the traction control warning comes on- sometimes it comes with an engine power reduced warning and the car does not drive well until I can pull over and turn it off- wait a couple of minutes and sometimes it clears when I turn it back on and other times the warning is still there. More recently it is also having the brake warning light come on and I replaced the front brake pads only 2 months ago so I know its not my brakes. Need this fixed asap!

- Garland, TX, USA

problem #24

Jan 222016

Acadia

  • 87,000 miles
While driving the vehicle at a normal speed (55) on a highway, a dinging sound comes on and the car goes into reduced power mode, losing speed. The stabilitrak and the traction control warning comes on. This makes it difficult to cross traffic at intersections as the car will barely accelerate. There is no warning that this is going to happen. Also, the cars behind you do not know why you are slowing down. Then when you turn the car off and restart it, the lights go off and the car drives fine. After three trips to the GMC dealer, the throttle body was determined to be the problem. GMC has issued special circumstances warranty on the 2007 & the 2009 but not the 2008. I do not feel that the warranty is sufficient. I do not understand why there is not a recall because after searching the forums, I have found that there are numerous complaints with this happening. I had my grandkids in the car with me and we could have been hurt when we had the sudden loss of power we experienced.

- Mauk, GA, USA

problem #23

Jan 022016

Acadia

  • miles
I have had service air bag lights come on all the time along with service stabletrack and and I think something with the fuel when I get gas it makes weird sounds and won't start without pumping the gas to get it started.

- Bellsire, OH, USA

problem #22

Jan 252016

Acadia

  • 197,600 miles
Going down the high way the stabilitrack light comes on after turning off the car turning it back on it goes out the light hasn't came back on its been a couple months it only comes on when driving far. Also have a problem with the brakes they go all the way to the floor hard to stop the car. My girlfriend told me about the problem I drove it myself to see if it would do it to me never did till today I almost hit 2 cars

- Clairton, PA, USA

problem #21

Nov 302015

Acadia

  • 80,000 miles
Received notice from GM re power steering, do not take to vehicle for service unless problem is known. I took vehicle for tire rotation and mechanic noticed power steering fluid leaking, caused damage to rack, pinion, etc. (estimate attached). Called GM dealer and GM cust service, will only cover defective power steering pump not the damage caused by defective pump. Since GM advised not to get fixed until issue occurs (I still have power steering, was not aware of the issue until tires were rotated) why should I be liable for the additional damage caused? also, this morning 12/08/15, while taking my daughter to school, the car buckled and stabiltrak, check engine light came on with a message "power reduced", only able to drive 20-25 miles. The same issue occurred appx. A year ago and I filed a complaint. The light goes and off just like a year ago. After reading several bulletins for the 2008 GMC Acadia, all the above issues are a known issue. I should not have to pay for vehicle defects that are common in all of the vehicles.

- Shillington, PA, USA

problem #20

Nov 102015

Acadia

  • miles
Transmission started getting sluggish around 88, 000 miles. Vehicle wouldn't crank due to electrical stabilizer, now my sunroof is leaking. Dealership is going to charge me $275 dollar to unblock the sunroof drains what a rip off when this is the three time I have had the drains cleaned and the sunroof still leak. This has to be a GMC problem that they refuse to acknowledge. The transmission is still under the GMC warranty so thank god I don't have to pay out of pocket for that. The electrical modules seem to be okay for now but at any giving time the vehicle may stop working. GMC should own up to these problems and look out for their customers.

- Salisbury, NC, USA

problem #19

Sep 162015

Acadia

  • 111,900 miles
Driving home from work, got on the highway and was going about 70mph and the traction control light came on. Then the message displayed to service stabilizer trak. Then the message service traction control. N the car started rocking side to side. I have had nothing but problems with this SUV since I bought it. It is the most scariest car to drive. I would love to trade it in, but can't because of the negative equity.

- Nelsonville, OH, USA

problem #18

Jun 012015

Acadia

  • 90,000 miles
The service brake light and stabilatrac comes on every time you start the vehicle and sometimes while driving. Have not received a quote from the dealership yet. Will there be a recall that effects this or is it our problem to drop 1500 dollars to repair a manufacturer defect

- Green Bay, WI, USA

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