Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 GMC Yukon Denali Xl submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
VEHICLE WENT INTO REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND STABILTRAK WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. REDUCED SPEED FROM 60 TO 10MPH. NOW OCCURS ON A REGULAR BASIS. *TR
VEHICLE POWERS DOWN WITHOUT ANY PATTERN, RHYME OR REASON. IT WILL DO IT AT 5 MPH, AND AT 55 MPH, WHEN DRIVEN A LOT, AND WHEN NOT. REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT TURNS ON, VEHICLE SUDDENLY SLOWS TO 25 MPH MAX, STEERING BECOMES HARD, BRAKES TOO. THEN WILL TOTALLY SHUT OFF IMMEDIATELY. I HAVE REPLACED THE BATTERY, THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLY AND WIRING HARNESS TWICE. FUSES, FUEL PUMP AND FILTERS, OIL, AND EVERYTHING ELSE AS RECOMMENDED. IT PUT ME IN THE DITCH. IT STRANDED ME IN THE CENTER OF A FREEWAY IN WINTER. WHEN IT SITS FOR A WHILE, IT RESETS, ONLY TO DO IT AGAIN. T/C LIGHT TURNS ON ALSO. I FOUND OUT THAT I CAN MANUALLY RESET THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER FOR A FEW MOMENTS (TO GET OUT OF THE CENTER OF THE ROAD) BY TURNING THE IGNITION SWITCH ON AND OFF VERY FAST. IT IS A EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD! I HAVEN'T DRIVEN IT IN MONTHS DUE TO ABSOLUTE FEAR FOR MY LIFE. WHEN ITS IN REDUCED ENGINE POWER MODE, I CAN'T GET IT TO GO ABOVE 25, AND GOING UP HILLS CAN'T GO ABOVE 5MPH. IF I AM PULLING A TRAILER, IT STARTS TO GO BACKWARDS. THIS THING IS GOING TO KILL SOMEONE! PLEASE HELP *TR
INTERMITTENTLY AT HWY AND SIDE ROAD SPEEDS, TRUCK WILL SHUT DOWN, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND EXTREMELY ROUGH IDLE AND LOSS OF ENGINE POWER OCCURS. HAVE FOLLOWED ALL RECOMMENDED FIXES BUT PROBLEM PERSISTS. ENGINE CODE 1516, THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR OUT F RANGE +- .05 VOLTS. SCARY PROBLEM, AS THIS OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING AND CAUSES IMMEDIATE LOSS OF SPEED. MANY MANY COMPLAINTS POSTED ON THE INTERNET OF THIS SAME PROBLEM BUT NO GMC RECOMMENDED FIXES OR ASSISTANCE. REFUSE TO TAKE THIS TO A DEALER AND LET THEM POKE AROUND AT $95 / HOUR AND OR TO THROW PARTS AT TRUCK IN HOPES OF CORRECTING. GMC NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS POTENTIALLY FATAL PROBLEM. *TR
DRIVING TO WORK AND "REDUCE ENGINE POWER" CAME ON. ENGINE STALLED OUT AND WOULD NOT GAIN SPEED. I WAS IN A LOT OF TRAFFIC WHEN THIS HAPPEN AND MY VEHICLE CAUSE A INCIDENT BECAUSE OF THE SUDDEN ENGINE REDUCED ALL SPEED. GMC SHOULD DO SOME RESEARCH ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND INFORM THE PUBLIC OF ALL THE DANGERS THESE VEHICLES ARE CAUSING FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. THIS IS LUDICROUS THAT GMC DOES NOT HAVE THESE VEHICLE OFF HE STREETS AND DESTROYED KNOWING THAT THEY ARE PUTTING PEOPLE LIVES IN DANGER. I WILL NEVER EVER BUY A GMC VEHICLE AGAIN. *TR
PURCHASED 2003 YUKON XL FAILED STATE INSPECTION BECAUSE OF BROKEN MANIFOLD EXHAUST BOLTS CAUSED LEAKING MANIFOLD GASKET. EMISSION AND POSSIBLE FIRE POTENTIAL DUE TO LEAKING MANIFOLD. REPAIR COST ESTIMATED IN ACCESS OF $1,700. *TR
WHEN DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS (LESS THAN 10 MILES PER HOUR) OR STARTING FROM A STOP, THE TRACTION CONTROL WILL AUTOMATICALLY ENGAGE WHEN THE GAS PEDAL IS APPLIED. WHEN THE TRACTION CONTROL ENGAGES, A TOTAL LOSS OF INPUT TO THE ENGINE RESULTS AND THE VEHICLE DOES NOT MOVE (IT ESSENTIALLY STALLS). I WAS ALMOST STRUCK IN AN INTERSECTION WHILE WAITING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN ON A GREEN LIGHT IN EARLY DECEMBER OF 2011. I WAS STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION WAITING TO TURN LEFT. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO TURN LEFT, I GAVE THE GAS PEDAL SOME INPUT, THE TRACTION CONTROL ENGAGED, AND MY VEHICLE STOPPED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ENGINE INPUT AND WAS ALMOST HIT BY AN ON-COMING CAR. LUCKILY, THIS HAD HAPPENED BEFORE AND I KNEW TO EITHER FLOOR THE GAS PEDAL OR TO LET OFF THE GAS ENTIRELY AND THEN FLOOR IT AGAIN TO GET THE TRACTION CONTROL TO DISENGAGE AND GET POWER TO THE ENGINE. ANOTHER RELATED ISSUE IS THE ABS ENGAGING FOR NO REASON. THIS ALSO HAPPENS AT LOW SPEEDS (LESS THAN 10 MPH). WHEN THE ABS ENGAGES, THE VEHICLE WILL TRAVEL ANOTHER TWO TO THREE FEET PRIOR TO STOPPING. THE ABS ISSUE RESULTED IN MY HITTING A POLE IN A PARKING LOT. IT TOOK SEVERAL YEARS TO FINALLY DETERMINE WHAT THE ISSUE WAS AND IT TURNS OUT IT WAS A RESULT OF FRONT WHEEL SPEED SENSOR CORROSION AND AN INCREASED AIR GAP BETWEEN THE WHEEL SPEED SENSOR AND THE RELUCTOR RING DUE TO RUST AND DEBRIS BUILT UP ON THE SENSOR MOUNTING SURFACE. GM ACKNOWLEDGED THIS WITH A SAFETY RECALL (#05068C: PRODUCT SAFETY) FOR SOME VEHICLE MODEL YEARS 1999-2002. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND GM FAILS TO RECOGNIZE THAT VEHICLES LIKE MINE (A 2003) AND EVEN LATER MODELS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. WHAT IS EVEN MORE FRUSTRATING IS THAT THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM FOR SEVERAL YEARS BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT "REPLICATE THE PROBLEM ." I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE NHSTA TO INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE. *KB
I WAS DRIVING MY YUKON 2003 DENALI AND THE ERROR MESSAGE SHOWED UP "REDUCED ENGINE POWER". I WASN'T ABLE TO GET THE SPEED UP TO 30 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT AND HAD SOMEONE COME PICK ME UP. WHEN I WENT TO PICK UP MY VEHICLE, THE MESSAGE NO LONGER APPEARED AND IT FUNCTIONED AT NORMAL SPEEDS. I AM NERVOUS ABOUT TRAVELING WITH MY FAMILY IN THE VEHICLE NOW. *TR
2003 YUKON DENALI. REDUCED ENGINE POWER WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE, HIGHWAY AND OR STREET. NO MATTER WHAT THE SPEED WITHOUT WARNING THE POWER SHUTS DOWN AND YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO TRY TO GET THE SIDE AND TURN OFF THE KEY AND LET IT SIT. THEN TRY AGAIN. I HAVE HAD IT IN THE SHOP SIX TIMES OVER THE PAST THREE MONTHS STILL NOT REPAIRED AND ONGOING HAZARD TO ME AND WHOEVER IS IN THE VEHICLE WITH ME OR BEHIND ME. HELP PLEASE! *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC YUKON DENALI. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY WITH NO PRIOR WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND HAD IT TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALERSHIP. THE DEALER STATED THAT ALTHOUGH NOT CERTAIN, THE FUEL TANK COULD HAVE CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES. IN JANUARY 2010, THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLY. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 115,000.
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .