2009 GMC Acadia Problems and Recalls (328 Complaints)
The most-reported problem on the 2009 GMC Acadia is Steering (29% of 328 owner reports). There are 7 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Steering — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 328 complaints · 7 recalls
What problems show up on the 2009 GMC Acadia?
95 of 328 filings named Steering (29% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.
Second is Transmission / driveline (51 reports).
There are 7 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Seat belts, Transmission / driveline, Airbags, and Body / frame. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.
The 2008 has 852 reports on file; this year has 328. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.
What owners reported
System named most often: Steering 95 complaints · 29.0% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
- Crashes 8
- Fires 14
- Injuries 16
- Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Which systems owners named
Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.
“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.
View component data as a table
| System / Component | Complaints | Share of Reports | Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering (STEERING) | 95 | 29.0% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) | 51 | 15.6% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| Engine (ENGINE) | 46 | 14.0% | 0 crashes · 2 fires |
| Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) | 35 | 10.7% | 1 crashes · 4 fires |
| Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) | 19 | 5.8% | 0 crashes · 4 fires |
| Body / frame (STRUCTURE) | 17 | 5.2% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) | 8 | 2.4% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Airbags (AIR BAGS) | 7 | 2.1% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) | 7 | 2.1% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Unclassified NHTSA leftover | 56 | 17.1% | 1 crashes · 4 fires |
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
When reports and recalls showed up
When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.
- Campaign 14V118000 was reported 878 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 15V415000 was reported 1,834 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2009-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2010-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2010-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2010-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2011-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2011-Q2 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2011-Q3 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2011-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2012-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2012-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2012-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2012-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2013-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2013-Q2 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 2013-Q4 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2014-Q1 | Owner reports | 22 | |
| 2014-Q2 | Owner reports | 31 | |
| 2014-Q3 | Owner reports | 23 | |
| 2014-Q4 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 2015-Q1 | Owner reports | 18 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2015-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2016-Q1 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2016-Q2 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2017-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2017-Q3 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2018-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2018-Q2 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2018-Q3 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2018-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2019-Q1 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2019-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2019-Q3 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2019-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2020-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2020-Q2 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2020-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2020-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2021-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2021-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2021-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2022-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2022-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2023-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2023-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2024-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2024-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2026-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 08V615000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 09V073000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 10V240000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 10V375000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 14V118000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 14V266000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 15V415000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | AQ10001 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | DP12003 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | RQ19003 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA20002 |
Safety Recalls (7)
Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.
In short, these campaigns were filed about Seat belts, Transmission / driveline, Airbags, and Body / frame.
-
Recall campaign 08V615000
Seat belts
- Report date
- Component:
- Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)
- Consequence:
- IN A VEHICLE CRASH, IF THE RIVET IS MISSING, THE BUCKLE MAY SEPARATE FROM THE MOUNTING STRAP, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE PASSENGER.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE SAFETY BELT BUCKLES IN THE SECOND AND THIRD ROWS, AND REPLACE THEM IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 26, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; GMC AT 1-866-996-9463; SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876; OR THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 09V073000
Transmission / driveline
- Report date
- Component:
- Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
- Consequence:
- THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE COULD ROLL AWAY AFTER THE DRIVER HAS EXITED THE VEHICLE, RESULTING IN A POSSIBLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND ENSURE THAT THE SHIFT CABLE ADJUSTMENT CLIP IS FULLY ENGAGED. IN THE EVENT THAT THE CLIP DOES NOT ENGAGE, THE SHIFT CABLE WILL BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE MARCH 24, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463, PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668 AND SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876 OR AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 10V240000
Safety recall 10V240000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE HEATED WASHER MODULE TO IGNITE AND A FIRE MAY OCCUR.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL PERMANENTLY DISABLE AND REMOVE THE HEATED WASHER FLUID MODULE. AN UPDATED PAGE FOR THE OWNER MANUAL WILL BE PROVIDED AND INSERTED IN THE OWNER MANUAL TO DOCUMENT THAT THE FEATURE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY DISABLED AND REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493 OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 10V375000
Safety recall 10V375000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- THE SAFETY BELT MAY NOT RESTRAIN THE OCCUPANT AS INTENDED DURING A CRASH, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE SEAT OCCUPANT.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE SECOND ROW SEAT SIDE TRIM SHIELDS. IF A SAFETY BELT BUCKLE IS DAMAGED, DEALERS WILL REPLACE IT FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463, AND SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 14V118000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
- Remedy:
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
-
Recall campaign 14V266000
Safety recall 14V266000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.
- Remedy:
- General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in July 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on July 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on July 11, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-462-8782 (GMC), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). General Motors recall number for this campaign is 14187.
-
Recall campaign 15V415000
Body / frame
- Report date
- Component:
- Body / frame (STRUCTURE)
- Consequence:
- If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
- Remedy:
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
What owners actually wrote
Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Showing 9 of 328 complaints · page 1 of 14
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2009 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the front driver’s side and passenger’s side exterior mirrors moved out of place and failed to remain in a set position. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was garage-kept and was concerned about the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
There was a recall for gmc premature timing chain engine recall. This recall was complete in 2011 but it did not fix the problem. The timing chain keeps breaking off the cam shaft sensor and needs to be replaced.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The vehicle tire system lights came on the air bag sensor light Car did not fill safe driving no control on the road unstable on turns car was sold one lug muissing front tire ,returned car several times last time I took the vehicle was due to drivesrs back wheel wobbling so bad , Someone followeing said it looked like tire was coming off . the owner said it was fine , put it on the rack let me drive off , I drove it and it was very unstable to drive and took it to Nor cal Tires Ukiah Ca they informed me it was not safe to drive .
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The stabilizer/traction control keeps going off and it will stay off.i can turn,hit a bump or start it up and the traction control/stabilizer system is off.i almost had a accident on the freeway in the rain because it turned off out of nowhere and I almost lost control. Also I was going down the road and all of a sudden my vehicle died and I had little control over vehicle. Once it came to stop it would not start again and when attempting it sounded like something was stuck in my fan or something because of the way it rattled and sounded and was rough sounding. Vehicle was inoperable and had to be towed. Upon investigating it was the timing chain kit that had failed suddenly for no apparent reason. Vehicle was well maintained and kept accordance with running policies and practices required and suggested by manufacturer. Still the failing caused engine damage that is well in to the several thousands of dollars and engine must be replaced due to this issue failing and I have noticed several thousand people having this same very issue and rendering them a foot and vehicle less due to the high cost of fixing without any warning or engine light or code suggesting of the timing chain kit failing or about to fail before stranding a person wherever and whenever unexpectedly and suddenly without any warning or check engine light at all. No OEM code to validate the issue either. Manufacturer should be held liable for the exact same issue occuring in so many of the multitude of people experiencing the same exact issue causing financial turmoil and risk of disaster or collision and harm when the timing chain kit fails suddenly. This is a huge and vast problem I have found with multitude of Acadia owners and should be addressed because to not honor a issue of so many experiencing the same issue occuring should be reconciled and corrected at the manufacturer cost due to it being their liability in making the faulty part of device to begin with causing vast financial hardships.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The stabilizer/traction control keeps going off and it will stay off.i can turn,hit a bump or start it up and the traction control/stabilizer system is off.i almost had a accident on the freeway in the rain because it turned off out of nowhere and I almost lost control
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Airbag light keeps flashing had it checked at a dealer said it needs new module on passenger side. Airbag won’t deploy if there’s a crash.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Stabilitrak system in 2009 gmc Acadia randomly acts up disabling abs system and traction control. Also randomly get a low oil pressure warning light but oil level, temperature is fine and no noises smoke or performance decline. Used different scan tools to read codes and the vechile has none listed. Changed numerous sensors and the problem is never resolved
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2009 GMC Acadia equipped with Dean tires, Tire Line: Back Country Touring H/T, Tire Size: 255/65/R19, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the tire retailer for snow tire replacement, the technician informed the contact that the rear driver's side tire had three slashes along the sidewall. The technician confirmed that the tires could not be replaced due to the tires no longer being manufactured. The tires were not replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 158,712.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Got code po0008 crank sensor/cam did resurch said timming chain replaced complete chain still noisey changed cam phasers and sensors still making noise it is so frustrating bee going on 3 weeks I'm disabled not easy to work on myself being I'm a master technician and this has really been mind boggling
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems on the 2009 GMC Acadia?
Owners named Steering most often — 95 of 328 reports (29%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.
Are there recalls for the 2009 GMC Acadia?
NHTSA lists 7 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Seat belts, Transmission / driveline, Airbags, and Body / frame. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.
What should I inspect before buying a 2009 GMC Acadia?
Look up the VIN for open recalls. Check for play in the wheel, noises on lock and whether it tracks straight. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.
Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?
No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Methodology & Data Integrity
Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.