RoadVitals

2017 GMC Sierra Denali Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
14
Latest Mar 30, 2026
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
3
Reports on file since Aug 22, 2017

What this page shows

Our database holds 14 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2017 GMC Sierra Denali. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–14 of 14

Engine
Filed Mar 30, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the knock sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 209,000.

NHTSA ID
11727937
Incident
Mar 30, 2026
Mileage
209,000 mi
Transmission
Filed Mar 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra Denali. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked, failed to accelerate, and stalled. The vehicle was unable to shift into third gear. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was drivable and was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with a wiring harness failure on the transmission. The vehicle was repaired based on the diagnostic test but failed to fix the vehicle. The vehicle was parked at the residence and was undrivable. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

NHTSA ID
11723074
Incident
Feb 23, 2026
Mileage
103,000 mi
Engine
Filed Nov 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra Denali. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering and vibrating. The contact pulled over and opened the hood with the engine running. The contact stated that there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the fuel injectors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the vehicle was still running rough. The contact was advised by the mechanic that the fuel injectors needed to be reprogrammed, and the vehicle was taken to a dealer. The dealer reprogrammed the fuel injectors, but the vehicle was still running rough. The dealer had not opened the engine up to diagnose the failure; however, the dealer thought that there might be a failure with connecting rods. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

NHTSA ID
11698620
Incident
Oct 13, 2025
Mileage
105,000 mi
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Feb 29, 2024
Crash reported1 injury reported

The contact owned a 2017 GMC Sierra Denali. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, he briefly fell asleep. As a result, the vehicle left the roadway and collided with the exit median, coming to a complete stop after careening into a side ditch. The air bags did not deploy, and the seat belt failed to properly retrain, resulting in head and neck injuries. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The contact was transported to an area hospital by EMT and treated for various lacerations to his head and arms and an unstable fracture of the C7 in his lower neck, later requiring surgery. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider due to a bent chassis. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and they inspected the vehicle, concluding that the impact was not sufficient to trigger air bag deployment, estimating that the vehicle was traveling between 1 and 4 MPH and that the air bags were functioning properly. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 32,000.

NHTSA ID
11574702
Incident
Jul 31, 2023
Mileage
32,000 mi
Other / unspecified
Filed Mar 9, 2022

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra Denali. The contact was notified by her state inspection office that her vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V496000 (Equipment). The dealer was notified about the recall and informed her that parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall and contacted several dealers in her area; however, the dealers also did not have part available for the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID
11455918
Incident
Feb 9, 2022
Exterior lighting
Filed Apr 14, 2021

2017 GMC DENALI. CONSUMER WRITES REGARDING AN INOPERATIVE PASSENGER TAIL LIGHT. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE AFTER REMOVING THE FIXTURE, HE DISCOVERED THERE WAS NO BULB. THE ONLY WAY TO REPAIR THE FAILURE WAS TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE FIXTURE. *JS

NHTSA ID
11407681
Incident
Feb 15, 2021
Filed Mar 7, 2021

MY AIR CONDITIONING STOPPED WORKING AT ONLY 51,800MI AND JUST OVER 3 YEARS OLD ON MY 2017 GMC SIERRA 1500 DENALI. MY MECHANIC SAID MY AC CONDENSER IS LEAKING AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. HE SAID IT IS A WIDELY KNOWN ISSUE BUT NOT A RECALL.

NHTSA ID
11399586
Incident
Sep 2, 2020
Mileage
51,800 mi
Suspension
Filed Mar 4, 2021

FRONT STRUTS WITH ELECTRONIC CONTROL WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING.

NHTSA ID
11399122
Incident
Mar 1, 2021
Mileage
84,000 mi
Other / unspecified
Filed Nov 27, 2020

MY BRIDGESTONE TIRES HAVE DRY ROTTED ALL 4 TIRE MANUFACTURING DATE IS 2017 SAME AS MY TRUCK NEW I HAVE 28 THOUSAND MILES ON THE TRUCK TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY TOOK PICTURES OF ALL TIRES AND TOLD ME THEY WERE VERY BAD THE TIRES SHOW LITTLE WEAR ON THE TIRES ALL OF THE DRY ROT IN ON THE SIDEWALLS ONLY THE DEALERSHIP SAID THERE HAS BEEN PROBLEMS WITH THESE TIRES AND TOLD ME TO CALL GM AND SEE IF THEY WOULD DO SOMETHING AS THEY WOULD NOT I DID CALL GM AND ALL THEY WOULD OFFER UP WOULD BE $100 DEALERSHIP VOUCHER GREAT JASON DOYLE TOOK PICTURES OF THE TIRES HE WORKS AT BILL DODGE 2 SAUNDERS WAY WESTBROOK MAINE HIS PHONE 207-857-4944

NHTSA ID
11376731
Incident
Nov 13, 2020
Powertrain (other)
Filed Oct 13, 2020

WHILE DRIVING MY GMC SIERRA DENALI THE TRANSMISSION SHUDDERS REALLY BAD. I HAVE A 2017 WITH JUST 13,200 MILES ON IT. I WAS PULLING MY BASS BOAT AND THE SHURDDER WAS SO BAD MY DASH WAS SHAKING AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS ALSO .I HAVE HAD THE FLUID CHANGED AT THE DEALERSHIP AND IT SHIFTED FINE AND DID NOT SHUDDER UNTIL IT REACHED AROUND 1000 MILES AFTER FLUID CHANGE AND IT IS DOING IT WORSE NOW THAN BEFORE. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER CLOSE TO ME AND THEY INFORMED ME TODAY THEY WERE GOING TO DO NOTHING AND THEY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER I BOUGHT IT FROM! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! I UNDERSTAND FROM ALL I HAVE BEEN READING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM GM STILL IS BUILDING AND SELLING TRUCKS WITH THE 8 SPEED TRANS IN THEM AND STILL HAVING PROBLEMS. REALLY? I GUESS I WILL KEEP DRIVING MINE AND I HOPE THE TRANSMISSION JUST COMES APART THEN THEY WILL GIVE ME ANOTHER TRANSMISSION DOING THE SAME THING! JUST GREAT GM!

NHTSA ID
11364221
Incident
Oct 13, 2020
Mileage
13,200 mi
Filed Sep 25, 2020

AFTER BEING STOPPED LIKE AT A STOPLIGHT, THEN WHEN IT'S TIME TO ACCELERATE, THE TRUCK HAS A HARD JERK TO IT, AND IT DOESN'T WANT TO DOWN SHIFT. PLUS WHEN RIDING DOWN THE ROAD, THE TRUCK WILL LO JUST SUDDENLY JERK SO BAD THAT IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE RAN INTO THE BACK OF THE TRUCK. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME, AND I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP 4 TIMES AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIX IT. I EVEN RODE WITH THEM, AND IT DID IT. THEY STILL DIDN'T WANT TO FIX IT.

NHTSA ID
11361068
Incident
Jan 1, 2020
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jul 1, 2020

HARSH DOWNSHIFT INTERMITTENT BETWEEN 20 AND 30 MPH. BINDING/CLUNKING AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN DOWNSHIFTING INTO FIRST OR UP SHIFTING INTO 2. TRANSMISSION SHUDDER WHEN ACCELERATING IN FIRST GEAR. VEHICLE LUNGES FORWARD INTERMITTENTLY AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN SHIFTING.

NHTSA ID
11331959
Incident
Jun 30, 2020
Mileage
42,300 mi
Filed May 26, 2020

ABOVE 35MPH I BEGIN TO GET AN EXTREME SHAKE AND VIBRATION. IT GETS MORE AND MORE PRONOUNCED AS I DRIVE. AT 65MPH IS NEARLY UNBEARABLE, AND SHAKES AND VIBRATES VIOLENTLY. IT GIVES ME HEADACHES, AND I CAN FEEL IT IN MY ARMS AS I DRIVE. I FIRST NOTICED IT ABOUT 100 MILES AFTER BUYING THE TRUCK. IT NOW HAPPENS DAILY. *TR

NHTSA ID
11325950
Incident
May 26, 2020
Mileage
60,000 mi
Engine
Filed Aug 22, 2017

NOTICED VIVID AND PERSISTENT ENGINE VIBRATION SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASE - WITH NO ASSOCIATED CHECK ENGINE CODE. VIBRATION HAPPENS AT ALL ENGINE AND AMBIENT TEMPERATURES (ESPECIALLY BELOW 50 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT), AT ALL ALTITUDES, REGARDLESS IF IN PARK, NEUTRAL, OR DRIVE. VIBRATION IS SO NOTICEABLE, YOU CAN WATCH THE WAVES VIBRATE THROUGH A CLASS OF WATER WHEN PLACED ON THE DASHBOARD. TAKEN TO TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS AND BOTH HAVE STATED THE VIBRATION EXPERIENCED IS PER NORMAL DESIGN FOR 6.2L ENGINE. HARD TO BELIEVE GM WOULD DESIGN A $65K+ VEHICLE THAT PURPOSELY VIBRATES/SHAKES. ESCALATED THROUGH GM CORPORATE (SR# 8-3108393XXX), TO WHICH THEY CONFIRMED TRUCK IS RUNNING AS DESIGNED. SINCE THE ENGINE WAS NOT THROWING A CODE, NO FURTHER INVESTMENT/RESOLUTION WAS NEEDED ON THEIR END. THEIR SOLUTION TO ME...SELL THE TRUCK IF NOT HAPPY. OF COURSE THEY DID NOT SAY THAT, BUT THAT'S THE WAY I INTERPRETED THEIR RESPONSE TO MEAN. BUYER BEWARE.

NHTSA ID
11018892
Incident
Feb 6, 2017
Mileage
300 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .