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2003 GMC Denali

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

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What owners reported most

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

25 reports with mileage · 7 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

Electrical System complaints

6 reports
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75,000 miles · Feb 21, 2014
Electrical SystemEngineVehicle Speed Control

AFTER JUST A FEW YEARS OF OWNERSHIP, MY 2003 DENALI, WHICH I PURCHASED BRAND NEW, STARTED TO HAVE "POWER DOWN" ISSUES. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD JUST LOOSE POWER AND I WOULD HAVE TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. GMC HAS ALWAYS ACTED AS IF IT WAS NOT A BIG DEAL AND HAVE OFFERED MANY EXPENSIVE SOLUTIONS. EARLY ON I …

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AFTER JUST A FEW YEARS OF OWNERSHIP, MY 2003 DENALI, WHICH I PURCHASED BRAND NEW, STARTED TO HAVE "POWER DOWN" ISSUES. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD JUST LOOSE POWER AND I WOULD HAVE TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. GMC HAS ALWAYS ACTED AS IF IT WAS NOT A BIG DEAL AND HAVE OFFERED MANY EXPENSIVE SOLUTIONS. EARLY ON I TRIED THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND IT WOULD HELP FOR A WHILE BUT THE PROBLEM ALWAYS COMES BACK. FURTHER, ALL OF MY GAUGES HAVE QUIT WORKING. AGAIN, GM OFFERS VERY EXPENSIVE SOLUTIONS, BUT WILL NEVER OWN UP TO THE FACT THAT THESE VEHICLES ARE DEFECTIVE. AFTER GOING THROUGH THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS, I GOOGLED THESE ISSUES AND DISCOVERED THAT THERE ARE PAGES AND PAGES OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUES. I LOVE MY VEHICLE AND NOW HAVE 230,000 MILES ON IT. HOWEVER, I KNOW THAT THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND I AM ALWAYS CONSCIOUS THAT IT CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME. I AM ALWAYS PREPARED TO PULL OVER BUT THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHEN I WAS NEARLY REAR-ENDED BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. ALSO, I RARELY LET ANY OTHER FAMILY MEMBER DRIVE THE VEHICLE AND WHEN I DO I WARN THEM OF THE ISSUE SO THAT THEY ARE PREPARED. THIS ISSUE IS FIRST AND FOREMOST VERY DANGEROUS AND SECONDLY A TRUE HASSLE AND INCONVENIENCE. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE POWERS DOWN. THIS HAS CAUSED ME TO HAVE TROUBLE PASSING EMISSIONS AS WELL. I HAVE WANTED TO TRADE OR SELL THE VEHICLE BUT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT MY LIABILITY KNOWING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10565247

Mileage unknown · May 23, 2011
Electrical SystemEquipmentFuel System, Gasoline

I HAVE A 2003 YUKON DENALI AND WHEN IT HIT THE 65,000 MILES MARK THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED WORKING LEAVING ME TO TELL HOW MUCH GAS I HAD LEFT USING THE AUTOMATIC COMPUTER TELLING YOU HOW MANY MILES TO EMPTY. NEXT THE OIL GAUGES STOPPED WORKING. FINALLY REACHING 80,000 MILES MY SPEED ODOMETER QUITE WORKING LEAVING ME TO NOT KNOWING …

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I HAVE A 2003 YUKON DENALI AND WHEN IT HIT THE 65,000 MILES MARK THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED WORKING LEAVING ME TO TELL HOW MUCH GAS I HAD LEFT USING THE AUTOMATIC COMPUTER TELLING YOU HOW MANY MILES TO EMPTY. NEXT THE OIL GAUGES STOPPED WORKING. FINALLY REACHING 80,000 MILES MY SPEED ODOMETER QUITE WORKING LEAVING ME TO NOT KNOWING THE SPEED I AM TRAVELING THIS QUITE WORKING WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN A HIGHWAY. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE MY RPMS ARE STARTING TO GO GOOFY WHICH MEANS THAT TO IS GOING TO STOP WORKING AS WELL. I WAS TOLD THAT HAVING MY DASH TAKEN OFF AND FIXED COULD RUN ANYWHERE BETWEEN 1,000.00 NOT INCLUDING LABOR FEES. WHICH IS CRAZY THAT GMC DOESN'T STAND BEHIND ITS WORK. PEOPLE CANT AFFORD TO BE PAYING FOR THIS TO GET FIXED LET ALONE SPEEDING TICKETS. I BELIEVE SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE AFTER READING ABOUT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH THE ALL HAVING THE SAME YEAR YUKON DENALI.. YOU PAY ALL THIS MONEY FOR A VEHICLE AND SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS!!! *TR

NHTSA ODI #10402393

104,000 miles · Feb 7, 2008
Electrical System

THE SPEEDOMETER SHOWS INACCURATE AND ERRATIC READINGS. SPEED APPEARS TO BE 20 MPH OFF AND WILL JUMP TO DIFFERENT SPEEDS. NO SPECIFIC EVENT CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN, IT JUST STARTED ABOUT A MONTH AGO AND HAS PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE OVER TIME. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10217321

42,000 miles · Dec 19, 2007
Electrical System

SPEEDOMETER DEFECTIVE. SOMETIMES READS 120MPH WHEN NOT MOVING. SOMETIMES NEVER MOVES. DON'T FEEL SAFE WITH WIFE DRIVING WITH KIDS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10212361

Mileage unknown · Oct 24, 2006
Electrical System

I HAVE A 2003 GMC YUKON DENALI AND THE SPEEDOMETER HAS STOPPED PROVIDING ACCURATE SPEED READINGS. I CAN BE TRAVELING 10 MPH ACCORDING TO MY GPS AND THE SPEEDOMETER MAY READ 100 MPH. THIS IS RANDOM AND FREQUENT. *NM

NHTSA ODI #10171751

Mileage unknown · May 2, 2006
Electrical SystemExterior Lighting

HEADLIGHT FLICKER WITH STABILTRAK ENGAGED RELATED TO STEERING WHEEL POSITION AND/OR CAR ATTITUDE (BUMPS,ETC.)*JB

NHTSA ODI #10156584

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

2

DP05009 · Parking Brake Failure

Opened Dec 20, 2005 · Closed May 31, 2006

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Parking Brake; Parking Brake:conventional; Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical

ODI'S REVIEW OF COMPLAINT DATA RECEIVED SINCE THE CLOSE OF EA04-011 REVEALED NO INDICATION THAT THE INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE RE-OPENED.MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE ENCLOSED IN THE DP05-009 PUBLIC FILE.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION IN THE FUTURE SHOULD CONDITIONS WARRANT.

Additional source detail variants (3)

Parking Brake:conventional

ODI'S REVIEW OF COMPLAINT DATA RECEIVED SINCE THE CLOSE OF EA04-011 REVEALED NO INDICATION THAT THE INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE RE-OPENED.MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE ENCLOSED IN THE DP05-009 PUBLIC FILE.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION IN THE FUTURE SHOULD CONDITIONS WARRANT.

Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical

ODI'S REVIEW OF COMPLAINT DATA RECEIVED SINCE THE CLOSE OF EA04-011 REVEALED NO INDICATION THAT THE INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE RE-OPENED.MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE ENCLOSED IN THE DP05-009 PUBLIC FILE.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION IN THE FUTURE SHOULD CONDITIONS WARRANT.

Parking Brake

ODI'S REVIEW OF COMPLAINT DATA RECEIVED SINCE THE CLOSE OF EA04-011 REVEALED NO INDICATION THAT THE INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE RE-OPENED.MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE ENCLOSED IN THE DP05-009 PUBLIC FILE.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION IN THE FUTURE SHOULD CONDITIONS WARRANT.

EA04011 · Parking Brake Failure

Opened Apr 9, 2004 · Closed May 10, 2005

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Parking Brake; Parking Brake:conventional; Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical; Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical:linkage And Cable

IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 20, 2005, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT HAD DECIDED THAT DEFECTS THAT RELATE TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY EXIST IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES (PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) AND MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES (TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) PICKUPS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS.ACCORDING TO GM, SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE THE FRICTION LININGS TO WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.GM'S ACTION COVERS AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 142,585 VEHICLES.DEALERS WILL INSTALL A LOW-FORCE SPRING CLIP RETAINER FOR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED PARKING BRAKE CABLE ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM. A TOTAL OF 58 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED BY ODI AND GM CONCERNING THE APPROXIMATELY 59,000 MY 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM.THESE INCLUDED 22 ALLEGED ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS, RESULTING IN A RATE OF 38.5 ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 24 COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES MANUAL TRANSMISSION TRUCKS RECALLED BY GM, INCLUDING 5 ALLEGING ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS.THOUGH THE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED IN GM'S LETTER ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE C/K TRUCKS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE ROLLAWAY RATE IN THOSE VEHICLES WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN PEER VEHICLES STUDIED BY ODI IN THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

Additional source detail variants (4)

Parking Brake:conventional

IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 20, 2005, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT HAD DECIDED THAT DEFECTS THAT RELATE TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY EXIST IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES (PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) AND MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES (TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) PICKUPS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS.ACCORDING TO GM, SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE THE FRICTION LININGS TO WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.GM'S ACTION COVERS AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 142,585 VEHICLES.DEALERS WILL INSTALL A LOW-FORCE SPRING CLIP RETAINER FOR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED PARKING BRAKE CABLE ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM. A TOTAL OF 58 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED BY ODI AND GM CONCERNING THE APPROXIMATELY 59,000 MY 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM.THESE INCLUDED 22 ALLEGED ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS, RESULTING IN A RATE OF 38.5 ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 24 COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES MANUAL TRANSMISSION TRUCKS RECALLED BY GM, INCLUDING 5 ALLEGING ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS.THOUGH THE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED IN GM'S LETTER ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE C/K TRUCKS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE ROLLAWAY RATE IN THOSE VEHICLES WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN PEER VEHICLES STUDIED BY ODI IN THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical

IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 20, 2005, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT HAD DECIDED THAT DEFECTS THAT RELATE TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY EXIST IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES (PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) AND MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES (TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) PICKUPS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS.ACCORDING TO GM, SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE THE FRICTION LININGS TO WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.GM'S ACTION COVERS AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 142,585 VEHICLES.DEALERS WILL INSTALL A LOW-FORCE SPRING CLIP RETAINER FOR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED PARKING BRAKE CABLE ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM. A TOTAL OF 58 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED BY ODI AND GM CONCERNING THE APPROXIMATELY 59,000 MY 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM.THESE INCLUDED 22 ALLEGED ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS, RESULTING IN A RATE OF 38.5 ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 24 COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES MANUAL TRANSMISSION TRUCKS RECALLED BY GM, INCLUDING 5 ALLEGING ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS.THOUGH THE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED IN GM'S LETTER ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE C/K TRUCKS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE ROLLAWAY RATE IN THOSE VEHICLES WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN PEER VEHICLES STUDIED BY ODI IN THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical:linkage And Cable

IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 20, 2005, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT HAD DECIDED THAT DEFECTS THAT RELATE TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY EXIST IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES (PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) AND MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES (TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) PICKUPS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS.ACCORDING TO GM, SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE THE FRICTION LININGS TO WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.GM'S ACTION COVERS AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 142,585 VEHICLES.DEALERS WILL INSTALL A LOW-FORCE SPRING CLIP RETAINER FOR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED PARKING BRAKE CABLE ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM. A TOTAL OF 58 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED BY ODI AND GM CONCERNING THE APPROXIMATELY 59,000 MY 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM.THESE INCLUDED 22 ALLEGED ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS, RESULTING IN A RATE OF 38.5 ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 24 COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES MANUAL TRANSMISSION TRUCKS RECALLED BY GM, INCLUDING 5 ALLEGING ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS.THOUGH THE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED IN GM'S LETTER ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE C/K TRUCKS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE ROLLAWAY RATE IN THOSE VEHICLES WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN PEER VEHICLES STUDIED BY ODI IN THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

Parking Brake

IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 20, 2005, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT HAD DECIDED THAT DEFECTS THAT RELATE TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY EXIST IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES (PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) AND MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES (TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) PICKUPS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS.ACCORDING TO GM, SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE THE FRICTION LININGS TO WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.GM'S ACTION COVERS AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 142,585 VEHICLES.DEALERS WILL INSTALL A LOW-FORCE SPRING CLIP RETAINER FOR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED PARKING BRAKE CABLE ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM. A TOTAL OF 58 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED BY ODI AND GM CONCERNING THE APPROXIMATELY 59,000 MY 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM.THESE INCLUDED 22 ALLEGED ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS, RESULTING IN A RATE OF 38.5 ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 24 COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES MANUAL TRANSMISSION TRUCKS RECALLED BY GM, INCLUDING 5 ALLEGING ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS.THOUGH THE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED IN GM'S LETTER ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE C/K TRUCKS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE ROLLAWAY RATE IN THOSE VEHICLES WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN PEER VEHICLES STUDIED BY ODI IN THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.