EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLT HEADS ARE BREAKING ON MY 2005 YUKON XL DENALI CAUSING AN EXHAUST LEAK, AS WELL AS ENGINE ERROR LIGHTS. GMC HAS DENIED KNOWLEDGE OF AN ISSUE, EVEN THOUGH THE PROBLEM SEEMS WIDE SPREAD. THE BOLTS NEED TO BE REMOVED AND REPLACED. VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. *TR
2005 GMC Yukon Denali Xl
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2005 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 · 3 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 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
3 reportsWHINING IN ENGINE-FOUND TO BE METAL IN DIFFERENTIAL. *TR
PURCHASED NEW YUKON DENALI XL ON 3/19/05. INITIALLY MY HUSBAND AND I NOTICED THE SEAT POSITION MEMORY WAS FAULTY. PROBLEM WAS MINOR DID NOT REPORT IT. REPLACED THE HEAD LIGHTS EVERY 2 MONTHS ~ DROVE US CRAZY BUT WE DID NOT COMPLAIN. LESS THAN 8 MONTHS PAINT ON THE CONSOLE AND ACCESSORY BUTTONS PEELED. FINALLY ON 3/2/07 I WAS DRI…
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PURCHASED NEW YUKON DENALI XL ON 3/19/05. INITIALLY MY HUSBAND AND I NOTICED THE SEAT POSITION MEMORY WAS FAULTY. PROBLEM WAS MINOR DID NOT REPORT IT. REPLACED THE HEAD LIGHTS EVERY 2 MONTHS ~ DROVE US CRAZY BUT WE DID NOT COMPLAIN. LESS THAN 8 MONTHS PAINT ON THE CONSOLE AND ACCESSORY BUTTONS PEELED. FINALLY ON 3/2/07 I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AND GOT A TRANSMISSION HOT MESSAGE. FURIOUS AND CONCERNED I DROVE STRAIGHT TO THE DEALER FOR ASSISTANCE. LATER THAT DAY I FIND OUT THAT MY LESS THAN TWO YEAR OLD TRUCK COSTING ABOUT $50,000 NEEDED A NEW RADIATOR AND COOLANT SYSTEM, REPLACED RADIATOR HOSES UPPER AND LOWER,HEATER HOSES, REPLACED COOLANT JUG, REPLACED THERMOSTAT, REPLACE BYPASS HOSE AND TRUCK NEEDED AN EXTENSIVE ENGINE BLOCK COOLING FLUSH, FURTHER INDICATING THAT THE TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR FLUID MIXED - TOTALING $2,100. TRUCK WAS IN THE SHOP ON 1/12/07 FOR REGULAR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE, WHICH INCLUDED INSPECTION OF THE RADIATOR, COOLANT SYSTEM AND HOSES. ON 3/6/07, CALLED TO CHECK ON MY TRUCK TO FIND OUT THAT THERE WAS SLIGHT DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION; HOWEVER, THE ADVISOR STATED " I WOULD NOT GET THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED RIGHT NOW, JUST BEGIN A SERVICE FOR A NEW VEHICLE" JUST THE WORDS YOU WANT TO HEAR AFTER WASTING YOUR MONEY ON A LUXURY SUV. I CONTACTED GMC CUSTOMER CARE AND THEY INDICATED THERE ARE NO RECALLS ON THE ISSUE. AFTER DOING AN IN DEPTH ONLINE SEARCH I AM NOW AWARE THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. GMC AS WELL AS THE DEALER ACT AS IF IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL SO OWNERS HAVE NOT PRESSED THE ISSUE. MANY OWNERS STATE THAT THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THE RUN AROUND SO THEY GET THE CAR REPAIRED AND DON'T PURSUE THE ISSUE. THIS MATTER NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION AND POSSIBLE RECALLS. NO AUTOMOBILE SHOULD HAVE TRANSMISSION / RADIATOR/ COOLANT/ ELECTRICAL (HEAD LIGHT) /MEMORY MALFUNCTION OR CHEAP INTERIOR ISSUES WITHIN 2 YRS. GMC NEEDS TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND EXCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR POORLY MANUFACTURED YUKON DENALI. *JB
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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