Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2017 GMC Yukon XL owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for repair, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 203,000 and at the time of the vehicle servicing, it was discovered that the mileage was 335,142 in the diagnostic report.
The rear break lights malfunctioned and will quite working periodically there has been no inspection from a dealership at this moment and driving at night time puts me and my family at risk due to the fact that I could be rear ended and cause a major accident and my vehicle has no warning light or service light for this problem.
UNKNOWN 4 times in the past 6 months, while parking the vehicle (turning into a spot, left or right) or slowly turning to pull up to a security code box, the car completely begins to lose power in drive, and has lost power while in drive twice. The dash begins to flicker to the point that you can't decipher which error codes are showing up. Most recently, the Trailer Brake Service message was on before it died. We were not towing anything, did not have tow mode on, or anything like that. The parking sensors were on for all these instances...regardless if we were parking or not. I can't confirm if that is the issue or not. It was pretty dangerous when I was pulling into my parents driveway along a busy road when the car did this before I was completely off the road...with my 3 young children in the back 2 rows. I know the battery is new. …
I was driving and all my sensors came on stating they needed service including front camera, blind spot notification, lane departure, emergency braking etc. upon parking I exited my vehicle and walked around the rear of my car to find multiple wires hanging down burned from my exhaust. I took my vehicle to an automotive repair shop and not the dealer since it was no longer under warranty. They said they had never seen anything like it. It appeared the harness that holds the sensor module/wires disconnected from the car. It appears to be held in place with some sort of industrial glue. When it failed it was hanging in front of the exhaust and melted all of them. This disabled all of these sensors. I now have to pay for a new harness and to replace all of these sensors. In researching online it appears water intrusion has caused issues in some models and caused these harnesses to fail. …
At stop light vehicle began to sputter, run rough, and make noise. I was less than a mile from my home, no check engine light on. I turned the vehicle off, used a scanner to have codes P0106 and P0506 show. I had vehicle towed to Complete Car Care. Misfire on multiple cylinders, 3 push rods bent, one valve spring broken. The right Cylinder head assembly had to be removed and replaced with 8 new push rods, 8 new lifters, gaskets, seals, and valve spring. Total cost $3304.79, the vehicle only has 69,801 miles on it. In addition one of the rear tail lights has a known issue (found out on google), intermittently goes out, was never notified. I took the car to Jim Hudson GMC to be told it would cost $475 plus tax because I did not come in early enough even though it is to be warranted up to 70,000 miles. …
I report years ago the seat belts wasn't work, also all time I report with GMC vibrations and stops power at roads or low power to go in the freeways some times are to , and screen for gos and radio wasn't work, this was a bad car . I take some videos but the agency try to charge me to check the car. Al of those put my person or others person in a risk because I lost the power in the middle of the road also, 2 of the seats belts are not working 1 of those is for my child, and the screen for gps can make me crazy at roads the system report construction or objects at road and I decrease the velocity in roads and the car was behind me slow or the screen jump from gps to radio or news or whatever some times the touch doesn't work and I was lost in the roads driving around. …
At stop light vehicle began to sputter and make noise, I was very close to my home, no engine light on. Upon turning vehicle off and using a code reader codes P0106 and P0506 was on scanner. I had vehicle towed to Complete Car Care. Mis fire on multiple cylinders. Vehicle has 69,801 miles. 3 push rods bent and I valve spring broken. The right Cylinder head assembly had to be removed and replaced with 8 new push rods, 8 new lifters, gaskets, seals, and valve spring. Cost was $3304.79. In addition the rear tail light has been sporadic on and off, GM was to replace up to 70,000 miles. When I took it to them they stated the time limit had expired, yet I had not been informed until I did a google search. GM requesting $475 plus tax. I am concerned my vehicle has the same manufacturing defects as the GM motors being recalled with total engine failures.
The daylight running light in the rear do not work, which is needed for night time driving. At night when parked or driving the rear is completely dark, except the license plate lights. When I press the brakes they turn on, the signal lights work even the reverse lights. I've switched them to manual mode still no luck. I've checked some fuses, they all check out, nothing blowen. From some research it's all conctrolled by the body control module. There are alot of cars with this same issue there should be a recall for gm to fix properly, dues to safety of the driver and public. We just bought this vehicle which, and didnt test drive at night. 3 days later we discovered it. We even bought new lights due to the number of complaints. They still don't work.
1) LED tail-lights fail intermittently - this is a known problem GM does not proactively address unless customers complain repeatedly. Puts driver and passenger in danger. this began happening at 25K miles. 2) AC condenser fails - GM will not address as part of a broader recall despite extensive late model customer complaints. This put passengers in danger on any road trip across desert terrain. GM has been unresponsive despite numerous calls asking for resolution. This occurred at 36k miles. 3) Electrical failings - numerous electrical failings - from entertainment system (at 10k miles), starter motor and internal lighting - all failing at 36k miles. NHTSA must take a look at these manufacturing defects - they are putting customers at risk!
This complaint is not in response to an event. It is a safety issue resulting from a common problem with this vehicle model, i.e.: brake light failure. The tail/brake light LED circuit board has a design weakness resulting in cracking of the board in 2 common locations, resulting in stop light illumination failures, which could lead to rear end collisions. GM has not issued a recall and their extended warranty allowance is inadequate, thereby leaving a significant repair expense falling to owners when the problem is encountered. The proper safety response is for GM to recall all of the vehicles with this style tail light in order to repair the circuit board weakness.
Electrical complaints in other Yukon XL years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2017 GMC Yukon XL?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the electrical system of the 2017 GMC Yukon XL, 21% of the model year's 147 complaints. The component named most often is instrument panel › speedometer/odometer (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2017 GMC Yukon XL electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2017 GMC Yukon XL, though it has 1 recall 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 2017 GMC Yukon XL electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 36,000 miles, and 47% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.