Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2019 GMC Acadia owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the electric power steering (EPS) warning light illuminated, displaying the message "Steering assist Might be Inoperable". The contact stated that following the message being displayed, the vehicle overheated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure had since become a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the thermostat. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 70,000
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate with the "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care" message displayed. Additionally, the temperature gauge remained on cold. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no failure was found. The failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was determined that the thermostat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(P), the transmission failed to shift into park, and the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact also stated that when she started the vehicle, the reduced steering power warning light illuminated, and the failure caused the battery to be replaced once. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
The contact owned a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH and attempting to adjust the steering wheel, the steering column and the steering wheel detached and fell in the contact's lap. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the steering column and steering wheel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,298.
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Steering Assist Fault - Drive with Caution" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who retrieved DTC: P0128 (Engine Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature) and replaced the engine coolant thermostat. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 55,114.
After exiting the highway onto a side road, the vehicle began to shake violently (like we were on a very bumpy road). I pulled into a parking lot thinking we had a flat tire. Then the vehicle suddenly came to a stop and would not move forward and would not move backwards. There was no flat tire, but I noticed that the front left tire was turned inward in the direction that the steering wheel was turned, but the front right tire was also turned inward at a much greater angle. At first glance, I could see behind the tire that the tie rod had detached from the front right tire resulting in no steering capabilities for the vehicle. The tie rod has a large bolt that attaches it to the tire, and the bolt was missing. Had this happened on the highway just a few minutes earlier, the resulting accident could have been catastrophic. …
Last week I parked in a large public parking lot and attempted to turn my car off. I received a notification in my dash to "shift to park" even though my car was already in park. I was unable to turn the car off or lock the doors. I ended up having to leave. I have now gotten this message six times in the past week. It can take up to twenty minutes to get the car to turn off so I can exit. Yesterday upon returning to the car I showed an error message as soon as I started it that the parking brake needed service, stabilitrak is disabled and steering assist is disabled- drive with care. As I tried to exit the parking lot, I found it almost impossible to turn the steering week. I pulled over and restarted the car, releasing the steering wheel so I could get home. This morning, all of the service lights were on and periodic warnings flashed on my dash throughout my drive to work. …
About a month ago when I shifted my vehicle into park and shut the vehicle off, "Shift to Park" appeared on dash display for which I had to restart the vehicle, shift it into another gear and attempt to shutoff the vehicle again. Occasionally this would work but not all the time. Other times when shifting into other gears did not work I had to restart the vehicle, press the shifter button multiple times and then was able to shut the car off with no "Shift to Park" appearing. On 7/11/25, Arrived to work and had to performed the shifting the vehicle into another gear and was able to shut the vehicle off. When I went to leave for lunch, the car would not start at all, check the GM App and it stated "Critically Low Battery". A co-worker helped jump the battery and I was able to start the vehicle. …
Last week, the coolant gauge , on our 2019 GMC Acadia, was reading below "C".... The "Steering Assist" warning was disabled on the on-screen display and the Air conditioning stopped working. Took the car to a mechanic, who read the codes.... Mechanic stated that all symptoms were based on a defective GM thermostat. The thermostat was "stuck-open" causing the "steering assist" to be disabled as well as the A/C from being disabled as well. It seems GM has updated the part since when the series of Acadia were manufactured. After getting it repaired, at of our pockets, we researched and noticed that thousands of other GM Acadia owners had the same exact 3 symptoms: (1) malfunctioning coolant reading (2) "Steering assist" disabled (3) a defective ("stuck-open") thermostat..... Symptoms were exactly the same for all parties involved. …
While driving the temperature gauge shuts down completely to C - the check engine light comes on and a message appears on the dash saying "Steering Assist Reduce Drive With Care". Any air conditioning goes from cold to hot and the fan under the hood goes to high automatically and wont shut off. We have been informed that this is a known error that has existed for a long time now, with no recalls to date. I cannot schedule my vehicle for repairs yet because I do not have the money to pay for the repairs. They are saying that the placement of the thermostat and sensor, which need to be replaced in order to fix this problem, are located in a very difficult spot to get to. Saying that it will take upwards of 4-5 hours to get everything fixed, which increases the amount of money to fix this issue. My 2019 GMC Acadia just started doing this about 2 months ago and I have 54000 miles.
Steering complaints in other Acadia years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2019 GMC Acadia?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the steering of the 2019 GMC Acadia, 9% of the model year's 387 complaints. The component named most often is column (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2019 GMC Acadia steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2019 GMC Acadia, though it has 2 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 2019 GMC Acadia steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 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.