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
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
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.
What owners actually said
32 reportsTL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC YUKON DENALI XL. THE CONTACT WAS TRAVELING 20-25 MPH WHEN THE TRACTION CONTROL WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 90,000.
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 INTERSEC…
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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
WHEN ATTEMPTING TO BRAKE TO A NORMAL STOP AT AN INTERSECTION AFTER EXITING I-10 EAST AT PASCAGOULA, MS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALMOST TO THE FLOOR, THE BRAKE FAILURE AND ABS BRAKE FAILURE ALARMS CAME ON BOTH AUDIBLY AND VISUALLY. UPON RELEASING AND REAPPLYING THE BRAKES, I FOUND I HAD SUFFICIENT BRAKE FUNCTION TO STOP FROM THE REL…
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WHEN ATTEMPTING TO BRAKE TO A NORMAL STOP AT AN INTERSECTION AFTER EXITING I-10 EAST AT PASCAGOULA, MS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALMOST TO THE FLOOR, THE BRAKE FAILURE AND ABS BRAKE FAILURE ALARMS CAME ON BOTH AUDIBLY AND VISUALLY. UPON RELEASING AND REAPPLYING THE BRAKES, I FOUND I HAD SUFFICIENT BRAKE FUNCTION TO STOP FROM THE RELATIVELY LOW SPEED IN A LONGER THAN NORMAL BUT REASONABLE DISTANCE. I THEN PULLED INTO THE NEAREST PARKING LOT AND STARTED SEARCHING THE YELLOW PAGES FOR THE NEAREST GMC OR CHEVROLET DEALER AS I WAS 160 MI FROM HOME AND NEEDED IMMEDIATE REPAIR. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND THAT THE BRAKE LINES WERE ALL SEVERELY CORRODED AND THAT ONE OR BOTH OF THE LINES GOING TO THE MASTER CYLINDER HAD STARTED LEAKING. THEY REPLACED THE LINES AND ATTEMPTED TO BLEED THE BRAKES BUT THEY WERE NOT TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL DUE TO A COMBINATION OF THE SOPHISTOCATION OF THE ABS SYSTEM AND THE INEXPERIENCE OF THE MECHANIC ON DUTY AT THE TIME. AFTER I RETURNED HOME, I WAS ABLE TO FIND A MORE COMPETENT REPAIR FACILITY AT 47,780 MILES. THEY CONFIRMED THE SEVERE CORROSION OF THE ENTIRE BRAKE LINE SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE BRAKE HOSES AND CALIPERS. THEY REPLACED AN ADDITIONAL LEFT FRONT BRAKE HOSE AND PROPERLY BLED THE BRAKES TO RESTORE TOTAL FUNCTION. THIS HELD UNTIL A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WHEN I NOTICED FLUID LOSS FROM THE BRAKE RESERVOIR STARTING TO ACCELERATE. IT TOOK TWO MONTHS TO FIND A SHOP THAT WOULD DO THE WORK, BUT I NOW HAVE AN APPOINTMENT THIS WEEK TO HAVE AN INDEPENDENT SHOP IN BATON ROUGE TO REPLACE ALL BRAKE LINES, HOSES, ETC AS NEEDED. WHEN I HAD SEARCHED THE WEB FOR RECALLS, ETC, I NOTICED THAT THE NHTSA WAS STUDYING THIS SAME ISSUE, SO THAT IS WHY I'M FILING THIS CLAIM. THIS VEHICLE WAS SOLD AND OPERATED IN NEW JERSEY FOR 36,000 MILES UNTIL APRIL 08 AND HAS BEEN IN LOUISIANA SINCE THEN WITH APPROXIMATELY 85000 TOTAL MILES. LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.
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…
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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 GMC YUKON DENALI XL HAD FRONT BREAK LINES BURTS WHILE DRIVING IN AUGUST 2010. IN FEB 2011 THE MAIN BRAKELINES TO THE REAR BURSTED. ALL LINES ARE METAL AND COMPLETELY CORRODED THRU. *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 STIL…
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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
"REDUCED ENGINE POWER/STALILITY CONTROL DISENGAGED" MESSAGE DISPLAYED, ENGINE WENT TO IDLE AND WOULD NOT EXCEED 5-10 MPH. TRAFFIC FROM BEHIND SERVED TO AVOID DECELERATING VEHICLE. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS SOMEWHAT COMMON WITH THESE GM MODELS. THE POSSIBILITY OF REAR END COLLISIONS MAY BE EXPERIENCED DUE TO RAPID…
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"REDUCED ENGINE POWER/STALILITY CONTROL DISENGAGED" MESSAGE DISPLAYED, ENGINE WENT TO IDLE AND WOULD NOT EXCEED 5-10 MPH. TRAFFIC FROM BEHIND SERVED TO AVOID DECELERATING VEHICLE. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS SOMEWHAT COMMON WITH THESE GM MODELS. THE POSSIBILITY OF REAR END COLLISIONS MAY BE EXPERIENCED DUE TO RAPID DECELERATION DUE TO LOSS OF POWER. HAPPENED INTERMITTENTLY AGAIN DURING THE DAY. IT CLEARS ITSELF AFTER THE VEHICLE SITS FOR A WHILE BUT THERE IS NO WARNING WHEN IT MIGHT HAPPEN AGAIN. INFORMATION RECEIVED FORM VARIOUS FORUMS STATE IT IS BELIEVED TO BE WITHIN THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR.
COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE WHILE TRAVELING IN CAR OVER A BRIDGE IN NEW YORK CITY. I HAD BEEN ROUTINELY DRIVING THE CAR FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. WHEN I WENT TO APPLY THE BRAKES IN TRAFFIC, MY FOOT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND IT TRAVELED TO THE FLOOR. REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO BRAKE CAUSED THE SAME TO OCCUR. NEARLY…
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COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE WHILE TRAVELING IN CAR OVER A BRIDGE IN NEW YORK CITY. I HAD BEEN ROUTINELY DRIVING THE CAR FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. WHEN I WENT TO APPLY THE BRAKES IN TRAFFIC, MY FOOT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND IT TRAVELED TO THE FLOOR. REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO BRAKE CAUSED THE SAME TO OCCUR. NEARLY MISSED A MAJOR REAR END COLLISION WITH THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND POSSIBLE INJURIES BY DROPPING THE TRANSMISSION INTO THE LOWEST GEAR AND SLAMMING ON THE PARKING BRAKE. DEALER SAYS MY ENTIRE BRAKE LINES ARE CORRODED AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. *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 …
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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.
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.
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