2021 GMC YUKON XL

221 complaints filed with NHTSA.

221
Complaints
2
Crashes
2
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

NHTSA Safety Rating

4/5
Overall
4/5
Front Crash
5/5
Side Crash
3/5
Rollover

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ENGINE90
POWER TRAIN34
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING19
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM17
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM7
SERVICE BRAKES6
SUSPENSION5
UNKNOWN OR OTHER5
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL5
VISIBILITY/WIPER4
STEERING4
AIR BAGS4
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING4
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION2
WHEELS2

Recalls (12)

22V03600027/01/2022

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, and Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles. The rear wheel driveshaft assemblies may have internal components that were not heat-treated properly, possibly resulting in driveshaft failure.

20V73500025/11/2020

SEATS

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles. During general assembly, a repair involved removal of one or both front seats. The attachment bolts for the front seats may not have been properly reinstalled after the repair was co

24V79700024/10/2024

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with diesel engines. The transmission control valve may fail and caus

25V27400024/04/2025

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:HARD PARTS INTERNAL/MECHANICAL

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with a 6.2L V8 gas engine. The connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components may have manufacturing d

20V81100023/12/2020

SEAT BELTS

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2021 GMC Canyon and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV and Chevrolet Blazer, Camaro, Colorado, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500, Suburban and Tahoe vehicles. Incorrect bolts m

21V73900023/09/2021

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP:CONTROL/DRIVE MODULE

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The fuel pump power control module may cause the fuel pump to fail or operate intermittently, which can interrupt fuel flow to the engine, and cause an un

21V19000018/03/2021

SEAT BELTS

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Chevrolet Suburban, and Tahoe vehicles with third-row seating. The third-row outboard seat belts may have been entrapped or misrouted behind the outboard seat-folding mechanism, which could resu

20V79200017/12/2020

SEAT BELTS

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and GMC Yukon XL and 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The seat belt brackets may not be secured to the seat fram

21V45500017/06/2021

STEERING:STEERING CONTROL MODULE

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. A software issue may cause a loss of power steering assist at startup or while driving.

22V61700011/08/2022

SEAT BELTS:CRITICAL FASTENERS

General Motors, LLC (M) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with third-row seats. The rivet that retains the buckle to the mounting bracket in the left or right side third-row seat belt buckle assembly

21V42100010/06/2021

AIR BAGS:SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING LAMP/LIGHT

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Buick Envision, Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Corvette, Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles. The communications gateway module incorrectly processes a loss of communication with the sensing diagnostic module (SDM),

22V82700003/11/2022

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Yukon, Yukon XL, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, Cadillac Escalade, and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles. The daytime running lights (DRLs) may not deactivate when the headlights are on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requireme

Recent Complaints

20260204ENGINE

Right as I was coming up on my powertrain warranty, I began to have lifter issues. I had two repairs of the original lifters that ultimately were not successful. I ended up replacing all lifters with the updated version that apparently repaired previous lifter issues. That repair cost around ~$6K. After six weeks of reasonable driving, I noticed engine oil notices for low engine oil. I was told today at a local dealership that the vehicle now needs engine replacement at $14K-16K. Both the deal

20260120STEERING

When driving at slow speed and wheels turning right or left you can hear a humming coming from the suspension. Unable to identify the issue. When wheels get straight the humming goes away

20260120SUSPENSION

When driving at slow speed and wheels turning right or left you can hear a humming coming from the suspension. Unable to identify the issue. When wheels get straight the humming goes away

20260120WHEELS

When driving at slow speed and wheels turning right or left you can hear a humming coming from the suspension. Unable to identify the issue. When wheels get straight the humming goes away

20260119ENGINE

While driving my Yukon it felt like there was an issue while it was trying to shift gears. the vehicle would sort of jerk while it was shifting. there also began to have a knocking sound as I drove. I had my children in the car, making this a more stressful situation. Having issues while driving on a highway with other vehicles driving at high speeds. Your vehicle having issues accelerating onto said highway as well. This all happened with only 68,445 miles on the vehicle. I called to schedule a

20260109ENGINE

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost drive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000.

Mileage: 22,000

20260109ENGINE

The car suddenly experienced engine failure while driving at highway speed (about 70 mph). The check engine light, as well as several other warning lights (Traction control, electronic stability control, etc) came on immediately before a metal-on-metal clunking sound and then loss of power. I was able to pull the car over to the side of the highway, and because of the clunking sound, felt it was unsafe to drive further and had it towed to a local dealer. The car has about 42,000 miles on it, i

20251231ENGINE

12/16/25 (evening): Warnings began cycling across the screen: 1) Service ESC, 2) Vehicle Leveling for Stability, 3) Rear Axel System Off, 4) Engine symbol began flashing, and 5) Service Traction Control. I felt vibration/bouncing while driving as well. 12/17/25 9 AM: Took 2021 GMC Yukon Denali to GMC dealership. They ran a computer scan and reported a misfire, but nothing else appeared to be wrong. They told me that sometimes a low battery can cause the warning lights and messages to cycle. The

20251231POWER TRAIN

12/16/25 (evening): Warnings began cycling across the screen: 1) Service ESC, 2) Vehicle Leveling for Stability, 3) Rear Axel System Off, 4) Engine symbol began flashing, and 5) Service Traction Control. I felt vibration/bouncing while driving as well. 12/17/25 9 AM: Took 2021 GMC Yukon Denali to GMC dealership. They ran a computer scan and reported a misfire, but nothing else appeared to be wrong. They told me that sometimes a low battery can cause the warning lights and messages to cycle. The

20251231SUSPENSION

12/16/25 (evening): Warnings began cycling across the screen: 1) Service ESC, 2) Vehicle Leveling for Stability, 3) Rear Axel System Off, 4) Engine symbol began flashing, and 5) Service Traction Control. I felt vibration/bouncing while driving as well. 12/17/25 9 AM: Took 2021 GMC Yukon Denali to GMC dealership. They ran a computer scan and reported a misfire, but nothing else appeared to be wrong. They told me that sometimes a low battery can cause the warning lights and messages to cycle. The

20251229ENGINE

While driving on a two lane road, my vehicle put itself into Neutral without me doing anything and the engine stopped. All things powered down. The engine stopped. not propulsion, nothing. I tried to pull over to edge of road. Car would not start - no activity. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. My safety was put at risk by my car simply stopping while driving down the road. The dealership has confirmed the engine needs to be replaced. There was no warning of engine problems or

20251229FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

While driving on a two lane road, my vehicle put itself into Neutral without me doing anything and the engine stopped. All things powered down. The engine stopped. not propulsion, nothing. I tried to pull over to edge of road. Car would not start - no activity. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. My safety was put at risk by my car simply stopping while driving down the road. The dealership has confirmed the engine needs to be replaced. There was no warning of engine problems or

20251229STEERING

While driving on a two lane road, my vehicle put itself into Neutral without me doing anything and the engine stopped. All things powered down. The engine stopped. not propulsion, nothing. I tried to pull over to edge of road. Car would not start - no activity. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. My safety was put at risk by my car simply stopping while driving down the road. The dealership has confirmed the engine needs to be replaced. There was no warning of engine problems or

20251228POWER TRAIN

Lifter failure with cylinder #6. Car violently shook prior to this failure. No engine lights or messages until the next day when tried to drive. Ended up towing car to dealer. Car had 76k miles on it. Recall on 6.2L, but not on the 5.3L which is not immune to this same issue as the 6.2L engine.

20251228ENGINE

Lifter failure with cylinder #6. Car violently shook prior to this failure. No engine lights or messages until the next day when tried to drive. Ended up towing car to dealer. Car had 76k miles on it. Recall on 6.2L, but not on the 5.3L which is not immune to this same issue as the 6.2L engine.

20251225ENGINE

On December 1, 2025 at around 5pm CST, my 2021 GMC Yukon XL started making a squeeling noise then stopped while driving down the road. It left me stranded in the middle of the road. A P0016 CODE was produced and the engine light came on. I had the vehicle towed the next day to Stew Hanses GMC in Clive, Iowa. The engine was torn down for inspection and was told the rod bearing went bad and it had low oil even though I was within the window since the last oil change and having documented all neces

20251217POWER TRAIN

While driving my 2021 GMC Yukon XL, the vehicle unexpectedly lost acceleration. After lifting off the gas pedal, it jolted forward, triggered a “Reduced Performance” dashboard warning, and remained in what felt like second gear, refusing to shift. I immediately pulled into a parking spot; when I attempted to reverse, the vehicle would not move backward. As you may imagine, this was a major safety concern, as I had my [XXX] and [XXX] children in the vehicle with me. I had the Yukon insp

20251216ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the gear shifter independently shifted to neutral(N), and the vehicle speed decreased. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle lost drive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure NHTSA Campaign Number:25V274000 (Engine and Engine

Mileage: 120,000

20251209POWER TRAIN

I'm vehicle has experience both active recalls for similar model year but my VIN isn't listed as been one that is covered by the call. 25V274000 and 21V739000.

20251209FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

I'm vehicle has experience both active recalls for similar model year but my VIN isn't listed as been one that is covered by the call. 25V274000 and 21V739000.