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 2005 GMC Yukon owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 GMC Yukon. While driving at approximately 55 MPH, the contact noticed smoke coming from the air conditioner vents. In addition, the cable under the dashboard on the passenger side caught fire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Interior vehicle fire in dash. 1st smoke then center of dash erupted into flames. Vehicle is now totalled. GMC is aware of this condition and issued no recalls. Appears service bulletins were issued about replacing over heating resistors for the (havc) operating system. The fan would either stop working in a few positions /stop working all together or overheat and set fire.
I have noticed over the past year that the shift indicator in the instrument cluster has been intermittent/not visible during any operation of car operation. This has been a complaint to the local dealer do to a safety issue in which you do not see what position the shift indicator is in.
The airbag error lights are on. Mechanic says the front airbag sensors went bad. The horn does not work. The dash lights are burnt out. Many of the steering wheel control button lights are burnt out. The rear windshield wiper motor is burnt out. The fuel pump makes vibrating noises.
I have had problems with my 2005 denali shifting. I go to stop and then take off and it acts like its slipping and then all of sudden it grabs with a clunk. This has happen at all times of it being driven. I have taken it in to the dealer put unless they can duplicate it then they cant fix it. Well GM will not pay them for warranty work unless. Now it has gotten to the point that it made a loud clunk and then was slipping as you pushed the gas, so right then we took it to the dealer so they could drive it. The transmission tech drove it and look at the trans fluid and it was 1 1/2 qts low. No leaks ever and it has been in to the dealer at least 5 times and 3 in the last 2 1/2 months and the fluids, I hope were good. Tech topped it off and it shifted fine for the weekend. Then the next Monday it started slipping and hardly accelerating again. …
Faulty speedometer 2005 GMC Yukon. I recently saw a news report on faulty speedometers with GM vehicles done back in 2007 and I am experiencing the same problem with my 2005 GMC Yukon. Currently my speedometer sits at 60 MPH in park and gets pinned at 120 MPH on the road when I'm only moving around 40 MPH. I have contacted GMC and they told me the warranty on this problem is 5 yrs or 70,000 miles. One problem, I am at 91,000 miles and they told me GMC mailed out letters stating the speedometer problems. I never received this letter!! Now they are offering to fix the problem for $600!! I have also contacted GM customer help line and the said the same thing. My question is if GMC admits to the faulty speedometer then why did they put a 70,000 mile cap on the warranty for this issue which is clearly a safety hazard?? Could you please help? Also do you have any advice with this issue? …
While driving from chicago to milwaukee on 1/26/11 my speedometer started to indicate very abnormal speeds. My portable GPS indicated I was traveling 62 MPH yet my Yukon's speedometer read 110 MPH. When I reached my destination in milwaukee and turned my Yukon off, the speedometer remained at 55 MPH. I immediately googled faulty Yukon speedometers and found a large quantity of sites containing defect information about GMC Yukon's speedometers. I also read that GM supposedly sent out letters to customers. I can assure you that I never received a letter about this. Having 3 small children I would not let something as serious as this go unfixed had I been made aware. I am now at 96,000 miles and see that GM's "recall" ends at 80,000 miles. It would have been nice to have been notified so I could have had this repaired. …
Driving vehicle at highway speeds for approx. 1 hour causes dial-type speedometer to begin registering incorrectly. Initially the deviation is only 3-4 MPH, but over time will worsen. Actual speed is being measured with handheld GPS unit to check against speedometer deviation. Speedometer can register over or under actual speed. At worse, speedometer can show 0-5 MPH while traveling at 60-65 MPH actual, and at other times has registered 110-115 MPH while traveling at 40-45 MPH actual. If engine is shut off and restarted, speedometer will register actual speed for a short time, then begin deviating from actual again. …
My 2005 GMC Yukon denali rear tailgate / hatch is locked and the electronic lock motivator will not open the rear tailgate / hatch. There is no key nor manual way to open rear tailgate / hatch. The dealer said that they were not sure what it would cost to fix although it would be no more than $450.00. Since this vehicle has three rows of seats there is no manual way to open this rear tailgate / hatch for the passengers in the third row of seats to get out in case of an emergency. The manufacturer should have included an alternate way to open this hatch for emergency's. Whether it would be a key from the outside or a door handle on the inside. We feel that type of vehicle should be reviewed and it should include various years of this GMC vehicle, the Chevrolet tahoe, and the Chevrolet suburban which have the same setup for this safety reason. …
My 2005 Yukon 4wd went out. It started as an intermittent problem. The first time I took it to the dealer since it was not currently having problems they were unable to identify the issue. This time it was out for several days before I finally took it in. Although nothing extreme happened, since I was aware of the issue, but if someone was not aware of the issue they could potentially lose control of there vehicle since the traction control system is also disabled in this problem. Replaced the 4wd actuator total bill 762.00 was also told it could potentially short out the brain box for the 4wd operating system. The first time it happened it was when the weather was cold, never had an issue all summer until now, when the weather turned cold. My vehicle only had 38,000 miles the first time and 52,000 this time. My 1999 Yukon had 158,000 and I never had an issue with it.
Electrical complaints in other Yukon years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2005 GMC Yukon?
NHTSA has 47 complaints about the electrical system of the 2005 GMC Yukon, 35% of the model year's 134 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (18 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 GMC Yukon electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2005 GMC Yukon, though it has 3 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 2005 GMC Yukon electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 2 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.