2016 GMC Yukon Xl Powertrain (other) Problems

TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 8L90 8 SPEED TRANSMISSION. 93,000 MILES.

NHTSA ID

11732277

Incident

Apr 1, 2026

My vehicle has been in 16 times since I bought it the most recent incident is for the engine which started about six months ago. It’s been in since then for other issues concurrently with this one it hesitates like it’s getting stuck in sand before it wants to go first the mechanic told me he didn’t sense it but the thermostat was stuck open so they fix that. Second time it went in they thought it was some sort of a filter and some other components I’m not sure. Again it was not fixed then my son and I were out in Minnesota freezing cold night in November and go and drive and then when again it was the drive train this time that got fixed a month ago about a week ago it starts making a noise like there’s too much snow in the tires. I get my car washed every few days but I got it washed again and that didn’t fix it so it’s in the shop again and I’m paying for a rental again. I have the Walser guard thank the Lord because it’s paid for itself about 15 times over. I’ve gotten two transmissions, an air conditioner, two sensors the arm that other people have complained about I don’t know exactly the name of it the trailer component that you plug into also blew out my seven way and I had to have my seven way wire fixed so I’m nervous about plugging that back in. My dad passed away and I spent $70,000 of my inheritance by this car. I should’ve flushed it down a toilet instead. Everybody makes fun at work that this car is literally gonna kill my kids and I because every other day it feels like we’re stuck on the side of the road.

NHTSA ID

11717371

Incident

Jan 30, 2026

There is a hesitation when trying to accelerate. The car will then slam forward and there is a rattling noise that the car also makes. This has almost caused accidents. I was driving in town which is where I do most of my driving.

NHTSA ID

11711810

Incident

Jan 1, 2026

The car started to have issues shifting when driving- automatic transmission. It would jolt or shudder to try to shift. I was at a light intersection attempting to turn left to go on the on ramp of a highway, it attempted to shift as I sped up from a stop and it got stuck and started making a sound as if you were to press the brake and gas at the same time, similar to that, a car was coming in my direction at the same time and it finally clicked into gear. Absolutely terrified me, my father in law came and switched me vehicles and took mine to the dealership where it stayed for 3 days and they diagnosed it saying it needed a new transmission, quoting us at $11,000. Obviously we can’t afford that. We had all the filters and lines of the transmission cleaned. And now it’s just gotten worse and worse. That was the first time it happened. Now it’ll shudder like that any time it’s switching gears at any speed. Another time since then, it got stuck in the same situation after pulling out of my kids school driveway, it got stuck and wouldn’t click, when it finally did it started shaking uncontrollably in the street and thankfully I live two streets over and made it to my street before it just shut off on its own. I coasted it right into the front of our house and then it would not come back on, at this time we searched the internet over and over to find try to find an easy fix. We let it sit before it came back on. This is our family vehicle. I’ve seen that many many people have this exact issue with this exact same year and model. Its not coincidental and It’s extremely unsafe. Especially with kids in these vehicles. I’m terrified one day when it gets stuck or shuts off we will get hit.

NHTSA ID

11696843

Incident

Apr 17, 2025

Faulty Transmission at 90,000

NHTSA ID

11691609

Incident

Oct 6, 2025

I bought 2016 Yukon XL 9/2020. At 74k miles (2022), the transmission was replaced by warranty. Now (2025), at 126k miles, the transmission needs replaced again. This can’t be normal.

NHTSA ID

11682518

Incident

Aug 14, 2025

The transmission is going out and it started with a shudder. The change for the transmission filter and oil was only a temporary fix. It also shifts hard or there is a delay in the shift.

NHTSA ID

11680537

Incident

Aug 1, 2025

The transmission quit working and we were almost in an accident. This is a known issue on the interweb and I think GM needs to step in and help!

NHTSA ID

11672231

Incident

Jul 5, 2025

When accelerating from a stop, the engines revs up to really high RPM's before shifting hard into 2nd gear, and again while shifting hard into 3rd gear. This started in the last week. The engine/trans currently have ~133,000 miles. Accelerating slowly, not exceeding 1,500-1,700 RPM will reduce this occurence, but it takes significantly longer to get up to speed, which is a problem when entering 55 MPH traffic. We've had to pull off the road to avoid causing an accident while merging with traffic since the transmission seems like it won't shift, causing me to have to let off the accelerator to try and allow the transmission to shift so I can continue accelerating.

NHTSA ID

11649607

Incident

Mar 15, 2025

Transmission constantly jerks taking off under normal operating conditions from a stop, has a hard time staying into gear (hunts for gear) while cruising at highway speeds.slips/slams into gear when attempting to pass.

NHTSA ID

11614993

Incident

Sep 17, 2024

Code P0711 appeared during a scan after noticing some roughness during acceleration. Code shows transmission temperature sensor failure which is a known issue and recall for this vehicle model.

NHTSA ID

11604893

Incident

May 16, 2024

Merging onto highway and my car would not get up any speed . Was almost crushed by a tractor trailer. If I hadn’t had a long merge lane I could have been killed . Apparently my transmission failed. This is certainly a safety issue . Your car should not just quit! .called dealer and they said the problem is known but gmc is not doing anything about it! Please help 75,000 $ car should last !

NHTSA ID

11572380

Incident

Nov 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and jerked. The contact stated that the vehicle lunged forward. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times and diagnosed that there was a defect with the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.

NHTSA ID

11508970

Incident

Feb 24, 2023

Mileage

134,000 mi

Without warning my 2016 Yukon Denali jerked so forcefully into drive it felt like we were hit from behind. It went into gear and sped into intersection and stalled. We were almost hit. This is a huge problem with2016 GMC's and they are aware of it. It is the 8 speed transmissions that are causing this. They refuse to help get it fixed. I think they should be forced to! I will be out thousands if I can even find a shop that can get that transmission., They are back ordered because so many failures.

NHTSA ID

11498101

Incident

Nov 30, 2022

At 90500 miles my Yukon xl started shuddering and the transmission started failing and I have never used it to pull anything so this was very dissatisfying for a 75k vehicle

NHTSA ID

11488280

Incident

Jun 6, 2022

2016 Yukon Denali Xl 4wd Shifts hard from 1st -2nd Shifts hard from 2nd -1st Random delay in accelerating from stopped (this is my main concern as i have 2 disabled child that almost gives them whiplash) 45-55 sometime feels like i am driving over. Rumble strips 45-55 has loss of power when attempting to pass a vehicle Local GMC dealer charged 300$ to change fluid to high performance & it still has same problems

NHTSA ID

11473142

Incident

Feb 15, 2022

Automatic 8 speed transmission shudder issues. Slipping, Jerking, clunking, delay, loss of power. Local GMC "replaced fluid as in latest service bulletin"

NHTSA ID

11470349

Incident

Jan 25, 2022

WE WERE ON OUR WAY BACK FROM PITTSBURG, PA TO MARYLAND AND THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING WHEN WE STOPPED IN KENT ISLAND AT CHICK FIL A. THE VEHICLE STOPPED MOVING COMPLETELY AND WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD AS WE WERE TURNING INTO THE DRIVE THRU. WE HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A GMC DEALERSHIP IN EASTON, MD. UPON THEIR EVALUATION OF THE VEHICLE, WE WERE TOLD THAT THE TORQUE CONVERTER CAME APART AND DAMAGED THE TRANSMISSION. WHEN I ASKED HOW AND WHY THE TORQUE CONVERTER CAME APART, THEY STATED THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THE ENTIRE ENGINE APART TO FIGURE THAT OUT. WE WERE TOLD BY THE GMC DEALERSHIP THAT OUR 2016 GMC YUKON XL NOW NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN DECEMBER 2015 (BRAND NEW). BECAUSE OUR POWER TRAIN WARRANTY EXPIRED AT 60,000 MILES, IT WAS NOT COVERED. THE NEW TRANSMISSION COSTS US $5300+. WE WERE SHOCKED THAT THIS TOOK PLACE, AS THIS WAS PURCHASED NEW AND WE HAVE KEPT UP ON ALL THE MAINTENANCE. IT IS VERY DISTURBING TO HAVE PURCHASED A NEW TRANSMISSION FOR A VEHICLE THAT IS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD. IN DOING SOME RESEARCH, THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ONGOING ISSUE FOR GMC. A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED AND A REFUND SHOULD BE ISSUED TO THOSE WHO HAVE PAID OUT OF POCKET FOR THIS EXPENSE. I DO THANK THE GMC DEALERSHIP IN EASTON, MD FOR QUICKLY REPAIRING OUR VEHICLE, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAD AN UPCOMING TRIP. LADONNA WAS WONDERFUL AND I COMMEND HER AND THE ENTIRE DEALERSHIP FOR HANDLING THINGS SWIFTLY.

NHTSA ID

11353770

Incident

Aug 17, 2020

Mileage

91,000 mi

INSTRUCTED GMC DEALER TO PERFORM 90,000 MILE TRANSMISSION MAINTENANCE (AS PER GMC MANUAL: "CHANGE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID, IF EQUIPPED. IF FILTER IS SERVICEABLE, CHANGE FILTER"). GMC DEALER DECIDED TO PERFORM TRANSMISSION FLUSH INSTEAD WHICH DOES NOT INCLUDE A FILTER CHANGE. WITHIN SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SHUDDER WHEN IN 3RD AND 4TH GEAR. DEALER INSISTS THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SERVICE THEY PERFORMED AND TOLD ME THERE IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE TORQUE CONVERTERS. DEALER STATED ON THE PHONE "WE DO 2 OR 3 OF THESE A WEEK... OFTEN ON VEHICLES WITH ONLY 20,000 MILES". A QUICK SEARCH ON THE WEB FOR GM 6L80 TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WILL SHOW ALL OF THE OWNERS WITH SIMILAR TORQUE CONVERTER ISSUES. DEALER GAVE ROUGH ESTIMATE OF $1700 TO REPLACE TORQUE CONVERTER. *TR

NHTSA ID

11331165

Incident

May 14, 2020

Mileage

90,000 mi

VEHICLE SHUDDERS WHEN SHIFTING IN LOWER GEARS. POSSIBLE TORQUE CONVERTER OR OTHER TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

11324008

Incident

Sep 2, 2019

Mileage

65,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 GMC YUKON XL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE COMING TO A STOP, THE VEHICLE SHUDDERED WHILE THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DELLEN CHEVY BUICK GMC (2527 W MAIN ST, GREENFIELD, IN 46140) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE RECURRED 3 TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000.*DT*JB

NHTSA ID

11322734

Incident

Jul 15, 2019

Mileage

55,000 mi

LED BRAKE LIGHTS DON'T WORK CAR SHAKES AND TRANSMISSION SHUDDERS WHILE DRIVING 35-45MPH

NHTSA ID

11306887

Incident

Jan 1, 2020

Mileage

85,000 mi

TRANSMISSION SHUDDERING AND HARD, CLUNKY SHIFTING

NHTSA ID

11291516

Incident

Dec 2, 2019

Mileage

33,361 mi

I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND POWER OF THE CAR FOR OVER TWO YEARS. I HAVE CONTACTED GMC AND HAVE FOLLOWED EVERYTHING THAT GMC HAVE REQUESTED FOR ME TO DO WITH A VEHICLE. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO FOUR DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS, HAVE HAD EVERYTHING DONE WITH IT FROM FLUSHING IT THREE TO FOUR TIMES AND HAVE HAD TORQUE CONVERTER REPLACED THE CONTROL VALVE BODY REPLACE. RECALL FOR THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ALSO DONE. AFTER EVERYTHING THE CAR IS IN WORST CONDITION AT THE MOMENT.

NHTSA ID

11277300

Incident

Jun 1, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 GMC YUKON XL. WHILE DRIVING AT LOW OR HIGH SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE SHOOK VIOLENTLY AS IF IT WOULD FALL APART. ALSO, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO CAPPELLINO BUICK GMC (5411 TRANSIT RD, BUFFALO, NY 14221) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A TORQUE CONVERTER SHUDDER FAILURE AND A TRANSMISSION FLUSH WAS COMPLETED. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT TO DRIVE FOR 200 MILES TO CORRECT THE FAILURE; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE ANOTHER TRANSMISSION FLUSH WAS COMPLETED. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE SHEET METAL ON THE CROSS-MEMBER WAS CAUSING THE VIBRATION. THE CROSS MEMBER WAS REPAIRED. AFTER THE REPAIRS, THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH UNEVEN PRESSURE AND A HIGH VELOCITY VIBRATION. THE SAME DEALER AND WEST HERR CHEVROLET OF WILLIAMSVILLE (8040 TRANSIT RD, WILLIAMSVILLE, NY 14221) PERFORMED SEVERAL TRANSMISSION FLUSHES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND A CLAIM WAS FILED. THE CONTACT WAS COMPENSATED FOR THE FAILURE; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS CURRENTLY AT THE WEST HERR DEALER AS THE VEHICLE WAS STALLING, THE RPMS INCREASED, AND THE TRACTION AND CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,241.

NHTSA ID

11270433

Incident

Sep 12, 2018

Mileage

42,241 mi