Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 GMC Acadia owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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. …
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. …
This vehicle will all of a sudden start swaying from side to side and the stabilitrak light will come on. In addition, the transmission will suddenly seize up, losing acceleration and nearly causing a crash. The engine will also state that it is overheating, all of a sudden and the vehicle will shut itself off and smoke will start coming from the engine. This has happened while going between 35 and 65 MPH. On the streets and highways. My children in the bucket seats in the back were sleep and their heads hit the window. They sustained injury. That was on a regular street and the speed limit was 35 MPH. I was within or slightly under the speed limit when the vehicle started swaying unexpectedly. When the road is wet, it will sway from side to side on simple curves in the road. I have had the transmission replaced twice. …
I purchased a 2008 Acadia in November 2016. The seller stated that they had to order a airbag and replace the old one. Alone with the seat belt. I didn't get the car until a month later. When I got the Acadia it was making some whining noise, wouldn't crank back up, rattle and clatter, dragging in the transmission like driving in a certain gears, noisy in neutral. Airbag, seatbelt and stability traction control light continue to come on. Needed a alternator and now the engine gone. I been having problem's with the car since I got it, and it been only 13th months. We were driving twice and the vehicle shut down on us on the in-state. We had to get it pull back home. Several times driving on the main highway and street it wouldn't go in great. I don't photos at this time. I would have to wait until tomorrow, to go outside and take pictures. …
Since I purchased the vehicle the service air bag light has been on, now the transmission hot idle engine light is popping on and also service the traction control light and service stabilitrak ligt is coming on. Me my family had taken a vacation to florida and the transmission began to startle all the way back to tennessee leaving us in a devastated situation . I was hoping there was a recall on the transmission and and air bags this is very dangerous as many others has complained about the same issues in the past concerning their 2008 Acadia vehicles this vehicle was in motion on a city expressway with a high volume of fast moving traffic. I went to auto zone and o' reilly auto parts to have check engine test and the following codes appeared DTC p2762 torque converter clutch,p0700 automatic transmission control,p0171 fuel control system. And computer error. …
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. …
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. …
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? …
Stability track warning light keeps coming on I was told by my mechanic that it could be the sensor so I had it replaced with a factory brand GMC sensor and I'm still having the same problem. Also my passenger side air bag keeps saying it needs to be serviced but it's never been deployed and no one has an answer for why this warning keeps coming up the stability track warning comes on as I'm driving every time after about 10 to 15 minutes and the passenger side air bag warning comes on as soon as I start the vehicle engine. And also I have a problem with code p0700 it keeps turning on my check engine light and I had it fixed but it still keeps turning on .
Check engine lights are on, and stability lights on, dealer says problem is due to timing chain problem. There is technical bulletin out for this vehicle located here: http://www-odi.NHTSA.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/ucm422873/csc-10043857-8394.pdf GMC is not offering to fix this problem without a large fee, saying our VIN does not match the recall. Yet there is a technical bulletin describing our exact problem. Can you let us know if our vehicle is covered by this technical bulletin and if there are other complaints similar to this for our vehicle.
Traction Control complaints in other Acadia years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2008 GMC Acadia?
NHTSA has 59 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2008 GMC Acadia, 7% of the model year's 854 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2008 GMC Acadia traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2008 GMC Acadia, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 GMC Acadia traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 111,000 miles, and 9% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.