Electrical complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
On 2/28/2018 I had just left the airport in oakland ca, approx 8:00 pm. I stop for gas at the chevron station on 98th ave, after fueling, the car would not start. Reminder, this is a 2016 Denali. I had a female associate with me and we had an appointment in san framsico at 8:30 pm. The car had lost all power and two other people helped me push into adjacent parking space. The area is known for high crime, basically we were extremely nervous and stranded. Fortunately, we were able to contact aaa and set an appointment to check out the car. We ubered to our appointment. The failure of the battery left us vunrable and we both feared for our safety. The next day, the local mechanic said the battery should have lasted a minimum of seven years. They felt the battery wasn't sufficient to handle the electronics that were built into this car. …
Electrical issues: while driving the information panel go's blank. We have experienced this twice while driving, we lose the speedometer, tech, and everything on the display panel. Radio, skips channels even after the switch was replaced. Drive train: down shifts abruptly while accelerating onto interstate on ramps, either lunging forward or lunging backward. Been in the GM shop three time to try and fix issue. There have been bulletins issued to try and fix without success to-date. They are aware that is a problem, because Ford and GM on the 2018's, I was told by the sales persons that this issue was fixed. I am aware of the Chevy transmission issue and I am concerned that this maybe a similar safety concern. As far as I know the transmission has not jumped out of gear on its own. I am looking at a shop ticket and they are calling the issue a shutter during torque converter locks up.
I put in another complaint and forgot to add maybe the most important details!!!! I have noticed my cruise control, check engine light, brake lights, and remote start though I'm having issues with them all working only when they want to it seems when it's hot outside all of these things go hay wire and when it's freezing cold (colorado winter) everything works fine. Today high of 40 everything is working fine... Highs in the 80+ everything seems to not work. So it's basically boiling down to electrical issues when it's hot and no issues when it's freezing cold. Can someone please fix this!!!! I've seen numerous complaints of others having the same issues with heat and electrical issues.(cargurus.com) please someone do something GM needs to fix this!!!!!!!! I only hope others have made these complaints so GM can be held responsible! 800$ for a brake light get out of here!!!!!!!! …
At 75,000 miles I wouldn't expect to have this many issues out of such a nice expensive truck... The check engine lights comes on and off and it pleases. When the check engine light is on the remote start doesn't work. The tail lights work when they want to and to fix a tail light just 1 is $800.00. While driving all types of warnings and lights start coming on in a rapid warning annoyance. I've never hooked a trailer to this truck and it keeps giving me some type of trailer braking system warning. The cruise control works when it wants to. Big issue!!!!! The transmission is slipping!!!!!!!!!!!! When driving it will give a hard jerk as if it's having trouble shifting. Doing this at any speeds, anytime during accelerating. So many issues out of this truck it's to the point we are throwing away a ton of money onthis thing!!!!!
The seat heater in the rear right seat overheated and caught on fire while my 10 yr. Old child was seated in it. We were in motion at the time on the interstate. I believe the heat mechanism failed and overheated and would not shut off causing the cushion to catch on fire. My insurance will not cover it (I did get a estimate to fix cover and cushion) and they suggested GM should investigate and fix the seat due to a major defect. GM was no help and wanted to charge me $800 to fix or turn it into insurance. They acted like they have never seen this before and I caused it somehow.
While driving the vehicle, the door locks began to cycle, nav system and radio on and off. After stopped, remote car lock inoperative, tried to start vehicle and there was no indication of any electrical power with the key on....I thought is was a dead battery. After cycling the ignition key several times, electrical power came back to 'normal' and I was able to drive the car home with my wife and granddaughter. The svc air bag light was on and I took it straight to the GMC dealer for diagnosis and repair. The service adviser immediately knew of the problem.....bad battery cables that either have internal corrosion or break. $594 repair bill to fix the problem. He said he sees about one vehicle per week with this problem and the issue is well presented on youtube by many videos describing the problem. …
We have had this vehicle for three years. Roughly every 3 months it will have erratic electrical shorts and most commonly the car will not start because the battery is dead. Sometime the shorts happen while we are driving. When this happens the radio/navigation system turns off and on, the dashboard display flashes off and on, the power door locks go up and down. On a few occasions the air conditioning has switched over to heat only while the blower continued as before. On a few occasions this has happened while driving and the electrical system turned off and the engine turned off,only to then turn back on. The last time this happened while we were driving on the interstate and the car shut down and then turned back on. The vehicle rapidly decelerated and then turned back on and lunged forward. We consider the vehicle unsafe at this point. …
Door lock actuators have failed on 2 of our 4 doors. GM refuses to cover under warranty. I'm waiting for others to fail now as this is all over the internet with similar failures for the 2009 model year. Dealer wants over $350 per door to fix. It's so bad there's a you tube video on how to fix it yourself. I believe this is a safety issue and should be a recall.
Frequently asked questions
Which GMC Yukon Denali XL years have electrical problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2004 (19), 2015 (16), 2005 (10), 2007 (8) and 2003 (7) model years. Electrical complaints make up 39% of all complaints for the 2004.
Is there a recall for GMC Yukon Denali XL electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for any GMC Yukon Denali XL model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do GMC Yukon Denali XL electrical problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 93,000 miles; 19% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the instrument cluster/panel (8 mentions).
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.