2019 GMC Acadia Steering Problems

See attached file

NHTSA ID

11756510

Incident

Aug 8, 2026

I am submitting this complaint to request that NHTSA investigate a potential safety defect involving the engine coolant temperature monitoring system, thermostat/engine coolant temperature sensor system, and its relationship to reduced steering assist in 2019 GMC Acadia vehicles. My 2019 GMC Acadia, currently at approximately 61,500 miles, has experienced the following symptoms: • The engine temperature gauge remains flat or reads abnormally low/cold. • The cooling fans run continuously at extremely high speed, creating a loud "screaming" fan noise. • The vehicle displays the warning message "Steering Assist is Reduced — Drive with Care." • The vehicle has a history of diagnostic trouble code P0128, "Engine Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature." I am concerned that these symptoms are related and represent a potential safety defect rather than an isolated thermostat or cooling-system repair. GM has issued bulletin PIT5967, "Service Steering Message With P0128," which applies to GMC Acadia vehicles from model years 2017 through 2023. The bulletin states that when P0128 is present, the ECM may be reading coolant temperature incorrectly and that a "Service Steering Message" may be displayed to protect the steering gear in the event of an undetected overheating condition. GM instructs technicians to diagnose and repair P0128 first. GM bulletin 17-NA-158 also describes a relationship between P0128, an invalid coolant-temperature signal, and the "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive With Care" warning. The bulletin explains that the steering module relies on valid coolant-temperature information to provide additional steering assistance under cold conditions. When the coolant-temperature signal becomes invalid, this function can become inoperative, potentially resulting in a heavier-than-normal steering feel.

NHTSA ID

11753437

Incident

May 21, 2026

Steering assist code pops up and then the temperature gauge goes down and the air stops working and the screen in the cars starts going all crazy. Shift to park code keeps coming up and keeps all electronics on in car

NHTSA ID

11749323

Incident

Jan 2, 2025

My check engine light is on there is a note that says steering assist is reduced. I took it to O’Reilly’s to get it scanned. The code that comes up is P0128 indicating that the coolant thermostat has a fault. There are other GMC‘s that have a recall for this, but apparently not mine.

NHTSA ID

11735849

Incident

May 4, 2026

The warning steering assist reduced, drive with caution appears. Shift to park appears. Temperature gauge drops to zero. Fan runs on high. A/C & heater don’t not work when this happens. We certainly do not feel safe driving our Acadia like this. Can’t trust that it won’t start on fire.

NHTSA ID

11730600

Incident

Apr 10, 2026

The steering assist message comes on and off whenever the weather gets cold in the fall and winter. This causes my air conditioning and/or heater to not work. I have done research and the temperature sensor needs to get replaced because there is a malfunction of the temperature not reading the coolant. Everything is fine with fluids and driving. This happened when I turned on the heater.

NHTSA ID

11701263

Incident

Oct 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Steering Assist Fault - Drive with Caution" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who retrieved DTC: P0128 (Engine Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature) and replaced the engine coolant thermostat. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 55,114.

NHTSA ID

11698972

Incident

Oct 25, 2025

Mileage

55,114 mi

Due to negligence of gmc wright of wexford during the replacement of 3rd new transmission they did not clamp a hose together causing coolant to leak and my thermostat to come on n off. Causing further damage to my vehicle

NHTSA ID

11692973

Incident

Sep 1, 2025

The contact owned a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH and attempting to adjust the steering wheel, the steering column and the steering wheel detached and fell in the contact’s lap. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the steering column and steering wheel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,298.

NHTSA ID

11682176

Incident

Aug 20, 2025

Mileage

125,298 mi

Last week, the coolant gauge , on our 2019 GMC Acadia, was reading below "C".... The "Steering Assist" warning was disabled on the on-screen display and the Air conditioning stopped working. Took the car to a mechanic, who read the codes.... Mechanic stated that all symptoms were based on a defective GM thermostat. The thermostat was "stuck-open" causing the "steering assist" to be disabled as well as the A/C from being disabled as well. It seems GM has updated the part since when the series of Acadia were manufactured. After getting it repaired, at of our pockets, we researched and noticed that thousands of other GM Acadia owners had the same exact 3 symptoms: (1) malfunctioning coolant reading (2) "Steering assist" disabled (3) a defective ("stuck-open") thermostat..... Symptoms were exactly the same for all parties involved. We have owned many vehicles never had a thermostat fail before 65k Miles.... It became a safety issue since the car disables the "steering assist" based on the thermostat being stuck open. Contacted GM corporate which stated unless a recall, there would be no compensation. GM needs to make it right for the thousands of GM owners whose car has the 3.6L engine In short, this is a major issue since the car's steering system is NOT working correctly We would like a recall to be initiated. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11677536

Incident

Jul 22, 2025

About a month ago when I shifted my vehicle into park and shut the vehicle off, "Shift to Park" appeared on dash display for which I had to restart the vehicle, shift it into another gear and attempt to shutoff the vehicle again. Occasionally this would work but not all the time. Other times when shifting into other gears did not work I had to restart the vehicle, press the shifter button multiple times and then was able to shut the car off with no "Shift to Park" appearing. On 7/11/25, Arrived to work and had to performed the shifting the vehicle into another gear and was able to shut the vehicle off. When I went to leave for lunch, the car would not start at all, check the GM App and it stated "Critically Low Battery". A co-worker helped jump the battery and I was able to start the vehicle. When I went to leave work for the day, the vehicle would not start again with no notification as to why. My co-worker jumped the battery again and vehicle started now with all the system lights on dash staying on and warnings displayed. 7/12/25 Vehicle struggled to start and all system lights were still on. Later in the day, the vehicle would not start and all overhead, dash, display, taillights would not shut off. We jumped the battery and took the vehicle to our local dealer.

NHTSA ID

11673324

Incident

Jun 15, 2025

Im a travel nurse and I was working in Vermont. As I was driving on the highway in New York on my way back home a shift to park light came on, a stabilitrak light came on, power steering light came on, ABS light came on, and my check engine light also came on. My vehicle started slowing down as I was driving and my lights on my dashboard were turning on and off and my speedometer was not working. I was able to pull to the side off the highway so I could get out of harms way. I made a call to OnStar for help and they asked to if I made it to a safe location. As the car was still on I was able to take the next exit and ended up in an auto zone parking lot. As I made it in the parking lot I turned the vehicle off but only the engine turned off but everything else stayed on and the shift to park light kept coming on when the vehicle was in park. I was in the parking lot for 3-4 hours freezing in my vehicle until onstar came to tow my vehicle. By the time onstar came my battery in my car had drained and it was a new battery. I was told that I would have to contact auto transport to transport my vehicle to Louisiana at the dealership where the vehicle was purchased. I paid $1600 to transport my vehicle back home and I had to find a way to make it back to Louisiana. I didn’t have a credit card so a friend of mine was able to rent me a vehicle to get home and I paid a total of $1700 on a rental because the dealership in Louisiana couldn’t give me a time or date the vehicle would have been finished. I have been to the dealership 3 times now for the same problem in less than a week. I have paid $1500 altogether to fix damages on my car that I noticed other vehicles with the same make and model had the same issues. I never had a problem with my vehicle before everything just started happening all at once. I’m currently having to pay for car rentals to get to and from work and to make sure my kids get back and forth to school. My vehicle in at the dealership again for the 3rd t

NHTSA ID

11648452

Incident

Feb 23, 2025

Last week I parked in a large public parking lot and attempted to turn my car off. I received a notification in my dash to “shift to park” even though my car was already in park. I was unable to turn the car off or lock the doors. I ended up having to leave. I have now gotten this message six times in the past week. It can take up to twenty minutes to get the car to turn off so I can exit. Yesterday upon returning to the car I showed an error message as soon as I started it that the parking brake needed service, stabilitrak is disabled and steering assist is disabled- drive with care. As I tried to exit the parking lot, I found it almost impossible to turn the steering week. I pulled over and restarted the car, releasing the steering wheel so I could get home. This morning, all of the service lights were on and periodic warnings flashed on my dash throughout my drive to work. I contacted the dealership and was told that there is a recall for this exact issue on the 2015-2018 models of my car. I have a 2019. This is certainly a dangerous issue that should be proactively fixed and is clearly still present in years that are not being included in the recall. I was told my car was one month past its warranty and told I could pay 250$ for the issue to be assessed and then they could quote me on a fix. The dealership acknowledged that this is an issue they regularly fix.

NHTSA ID

11610953

Incident

Aug 22, 2024

When attempting to park vehicle, the alert "Shift to Park" populates and the car will not completely shut down. This happens sporadically and can take up to 15 minutes to get vehicle in the right position to completely park and shut off. If it's not in the proper park position, the car can continue running, battery drainage and possible roll out of place. This also causes issues with the transmission not shutting off. I have not had this particular vehicle inspected, but contact with dealer service departments confirms continued complaints of this issue and it has not been addressed by GMC/General Motors. Problem has been occurring at various times over last 3 years.

NHTSA ID

11602377

Incident

Jul 15, 2024

Shift to Park - car will not turn off after putting in park. Car is still running after several attempts of hitting the power button to turn off. I have had to replace the battery twice in the same year. I have brought this issue to the dealership from the beginning of purchase and was unsuccessful.

NHTSA ID

11566745

Incident

Jan 21, 2024

Vehicle refuses to turn off due to "Shift to Park" error being displayed. Vehicle also gives "Driver assist unabled. Drive safely" message and AC will not cool and vehicle coolant gauges will not work.

NHTSA ID

11550795

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

After noticing my AC was not cooling, I began receiving a “steering assist is reduced drive with care” notice every time my car was started. My car is more difficult to steer. It has been assessed by a certified mechanic and found that the coolant temperature probe is malfunctioning and the ECM will either need to be fixed or replaced. Due to malfunctioning power steering, I do not feel safe driving this vehicle until it is fixed.

NHTSA ID

11550687

Incident

Oct 6, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the electric power steering (EPS) warning light illuminated, displaying the message "Steering assist Might be Inoperable". The contact stated that following the message being displayed, the vehicle overheated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure had since become a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the thermostat. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 70,000

NHTSA ID

11543214

Incident

Apr 12, 2023

Mileage

70,000 mi

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while attempting to shift to park(P), the transmission failed to shift into park, and the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact also stated that when she started the vehicle, the reduced steering power warning light illuminated, and the failure caused the battery to be replaced once. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

NHTSA ID

11541166

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

Mileage

97,000 mi

The steering assist code comes on , the temp gage goes down , and it’s immediately hard to steer . All the lights come on , and drained the battery, this has happened several times

NHTSA ID

11532988

Incident

Jul 17, 2023

Traveling at interstate speeds the vehicle had an short in the Body Control Module due to the HVAC drain leaking into the vehicle. The vehicle displayed a series of alarms brake, steering, and shutoff. We had no power, steering, brakes, or lights. The issue was discovered by Dave Sinclair dealership. It had been in for a sensor issue 3 months prior.

NHTSA ID

11532379

Incident

Jul 1, 2023

Vehicle is constantly giving “shift to park” error. The steering mechanism has also been compromised, and the vehicle makes persistent jerking motions with accelerating. This could be quite dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11530621

Incident

Jul 5, 2023

For a few months I intermittently get an engine light on, the temperature gauge goes to zero, the AC stops working, and an error that driver assist in unavailable. This will happen for a fee days and return to notmal where everything is fine. This happens on and off again. I google searched this and it is a huge problem with GMC Acadias. I used an obdII scanner and get a P0128 coolant error when this happens even though the temperature is fine. I just recently went over the new car warranty and GMC will not tell me if this is covered or not.

NHTSA ID

11528308

Incident

Mar 15, 2023

Steering assist warning came on and my wife panicked. She was on the highway and it came on and she could fill it in the stereo wheel. Temperature gauge stays on 0.

NHTSA ID

11517325

Incident

Apr 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate with the "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care" message displayed. Additionally, the temperature gauge remained on cold. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no failure was found. The failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was determined that the thermostat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11516666

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

Mileage

44,000 mi