IllustrationVEHICLE WENT INTO REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND STABILTRAK WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. REDUCED SPEED FROM 60 TO 10MPH. NOW OCCURS ON A REGULAR BASIS. *TR
2003 GMC Yukon Denali Xl
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2003 GMC Yukon Denali Xl do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 29.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Yukon Denali Xl years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
00–25K
125–50K
450–75K
675–100K
9100–150K
11150K+
31 reports with mileage · 1 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.
- Service Brakes. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electronic Stability Control (esc). Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 7 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 reports0 injury reports
Engine complaints
5 reportsVEHICLE 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 ASSEMBL…
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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 AN…
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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 CAUS…
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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
Official recalls
0No 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.