2019 GMC Acadia Transmission Problems

Park to shift issue - the vehicle did not register that I was in park, jerked hard when trying to place in gear, did not register the PROPER gear (reverse, neutral, drive), would NOT unlock doors to let passengers out even if it were an emergency. Seems to be triggered on inclines but have also been having issues on flat ground. Other Acadia's apparently have a recall for this issue but my VIN does not register as recalled which is not acceptable. https://www.quillarrowlaw.com/blog/gmc-acadia-shift-to-park-recall-what-owners-need-to-know/ THEN trying to accelerate on road it acted as though in neutral, would only barely function in low gear. Again, gear shifting did not respond. The fab did not register to unlock the car (it has a new battery) or the trunk, or start the car just prior to the issue revealing itself.

NHTSA ID

11728432

Incident

Mar 31, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the shift to park message was displayed. There was a constant abnormal dinging sound detected, and the vehicle failed to remain in park. While having a routine inspection, it was determined that the rear trailing arms bushings were worn out and the vehicle failed the inspection. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V516000 (Power Train). The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11631353

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

Mileage

60,000 mi

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon arriving at her destination and moving the shifter into the park position, the vehicle failed to recognize that the vehicle was in park. After which, a message displayed reading "Please Shift to Park". The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,000.

NHTSA ID

11619397

Incident

Oct 11, 2024

Mileage

93,000 mi

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that upon parking the vehicle and attempting to shift the vehicle into park(P), the "Please Shift into Park” message was displayed. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The Not-in-Park warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 11,000.

NHTSA ID

11581788

Incident

Mar 6, 2023

Mileage

11,000 mi

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while turning off the vehicle, the shift-to-park message was displayed. There was an abnormal beeping sound heard. The contact restarted the vehicle and moved forward or reverse. The vehicle failed to shift into the park. The contact continued to shift the gear shifter. The contact stated that the engine revved. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.

NHTSA ID

11558263

Incident

Oct 1, 2023

Mileage

32,000 mi

Gmc acadia keeps flashing the lamp that says to !shift to park, when the car is in park and will not turn off. Does not go off when I turn the car off and does not go off when I reshift the car to park. It takes several trys of putting it back in park then goes off, now it does this every time I park and turn the car off. I'm not the only one with this issue. Its been going on for over week now 38k-ish miles.

NHTSA ID

11481175

Incident

Aug 16, 2022

The Shift to Park warning message when shifter is already in park shows up on the dash information center. The gear assembly is not working properly, and the artificial intelligence does not recognize park when you are in park. You cannot turn the car off without repetitive turning car off and on and shifting back and forth between drive and park. I was going to live with this aggravation due to costly repair ($656.67), but I went online and found that the car may roll forward if it is not fixed in a timely manner and you don't know if it is in park causing danger if it rolls. Others say put the emergency brake on always. This is a safety issue. Jim Ellis said to bring it to your attention and also write a letter to GMC Corp. I also noted that there is a lawsuit against GMC as they have profited selling the Acadia with this defective gear assembly since 2012. This is the second generation 2017-2019 with the same safety issue problem. Also, you have to replace the battery due to the excessive usage it drains the battery ($219.12)

NHTSA ID

11476670

Incident

May 23, 2022

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(P) however, the "Shift to Park" message was displayed. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth and then shifted into park(P) before the proper gear was recognized. The failure caused the battery to drain. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ID

11469380

Incident

Jun 1, 2022

Mileage

48,000 mi

When parking the suv and placing the gear shift in park, the notification system states “shift to park”. This has been happening daily for the last 3 weeks. Sometimes I can get the notification to go away when I push the button on the gear shift. Other times, I have to cut the car off and then back on for it to clear the notification.

NHTSA ID

11468976

Incident

May 23, 2022

When parking the suv and placing the gear shift in park, the notification system states “shift to park”. This has been happening daily for the last 3 weeks. Sometimes I can get the notification to go away when I push the button on the gear shift. Other times, I have to cut the car off and then back on for it to clear the notification.

NHTSA ID

11467608

Incident

May 16, 2022

After vehicle is shifted into Park, "Shift into Park" message comes up. It requires you to restart vehicle, put in R, back into Park, sometimes jiggle the button, sometimes the entire shifter, sometimes drive around the block and start the process again. The message does not go away even if you exit the vehicle. 2017 Acadia had a recall for same issue, 2 years later still occurring but no recall. The repair is $600! GM offering nothing. Needs to be a recall, if you have an appointment it is sometimes 10-15 minutes of messing with the shifter ro driving around until you can shut your car off. I have been carrying tools and just disconnecting the battery if it won't shut off. Can't be 10-15 minutes late for work every day waiting for my car to agree it is actually in Park!

NHTSA ID

11465218

Incident

Apr 15, 2022