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2018 GMC Yukon Xl

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 GMC Yukon Xl do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 68.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

Limited mileage data: 16 of 52 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Engine. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

5 crash reports1 fire reports3 injury reports

What owners actually said

52 reports
Mileage unknown · Aug 17, 2023
Air BagsFirerelatedCrashFireInjury

WE WERE IN A CAR CRASH. THE AIRBAGS ON THE SIDES OF THE VEHICLE BUT NOT IN THE FRONT. THE FRONT AIR BAGS SHOULD HAVE GONE OFF.

NHTSA ODI #11539135

Mileage unknown · Aug 16, 2023
Power Train

Had transmission issues (slipping, jerking and jumping ), while driving on highway. it will not accelerate when pressing the gas and would accelerate randomly / jumping fast Uphill it wont move forward on drive grar, instead it rolls back, which can hit rear vehicle. very dangerous and not derivable with bad trans as it can …

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Had transmission issues (slipping, jerking and jumping ), while driving on highway. it will not accelerate when pressing the gas and would accelerate randomly / jumping fast Uphill it wont move forward on drive grar, instead it rolls back, which can hit rear vehicle. very dangerous and not derivable with bad trans as it can lead to accidents. its very common and reoccurring issue with GMC Yukon 2018 (SLT, SLE, Denali, Yukon XL..etc models )

NHTSA ODI #11539004

Mileage unknown · May 24, 2023
Engine

The engine started making a ticking sound a few days after thanksgiving. I made an appointment with the dealership but they couldn’t take it in for 3 weeks. The day before my appointment I was driving on the highway and the lifter broke which caused the camshaft and a few other parts to break causing sudden lose of power and sev…

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The engine started making a ticking sound a few days after thanksgiving. I made an appointment with the dealership but they couldn’t take it in for 3 weeks. The day before my appointment I was driving on the highway and the lifter broke which caused the camshaft and a few other parts to break causing sudden lose of power and severe shaking. The parts for the repair were back ordered and it took about 5 weeks to get my vehicle back. About 7 weeks later I started the car in the driveway and it again had lose of power and severe shaking. The parts that were replaced in January failed and ruined the whole engine. There is a 6 month back order on this engine. It has been sitting at the dealership for almost 2 months already. Both incidents I believe had the potential to cause an accident if I were driving with cars close behind me.

NHTSA ODI #11523738

Mileage unknown · Jan 17, 2023
Unknown Or Other

1. Torque converter and currently at the GMC dealership right now. 2. failed to acceralate and runs backwards on hills if you brake at a light; stuttering between first and second gear. Hesitate to stop at lights, jerks very hard after delayed take off after braking at light. 3. Confirmed by the GMC dealership 4. Others, in…

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1. Torque converter and currently at the GMC dealership right now. 2. failed to acceralate and runs backwards on hills if you brake at a light; stuttering between first and second gear. Hesitate to stop at lights, jerks very hard after delayed take off after braking at light. 3. Confirmed by the GMC dealership 4. Others, inspected by GMC dealership 5. None, no engine light or never seen on inspection equipment

NHTSA ODI #11502283

Mileage unknown · Oct 30, 2022
Seats

While driving the Driver side seat automatically reset to the furthest position away from the wheel and gas and break pad. This resulted in not being able to reach the break to stop.

NHTSA ODI #11491527

Mileage unknown · Jun 9, 2022
Service Brakes

The service trailer brakes alarm will just off incessantly which is a major safety hazard and it’s due to faulty wiring. I’m not happy about this at all GMC needs to recall these vehicles.

NHTSA ODI #11468543

Mileage unknown · Jun 4, 2022
EnginePower Train

The torque converter is too small for the vehicles transmission which then caused it to break and put metal into the transmission fluid. Which cause the transmission to break. My safety was at risk was because while on highway it shot high on RPMs and then made funny noise and wouldn’t go. The problem was confirmed at Aamco tran…

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The torque converter is too small for the vehicles transmission which then caused it to break and put metal into the transmission fluid. Which cause the transmission to break. My safety was at risk was because while on highway it shot high on RPMs and then made funny noise and wouldn’t go. The problem was confirmed at Aamco transmission where I have to get the transmission rebuilt. There was never a check engine light or check fluid or any codes Thrown before the problem.

NHTSA ODI #11467488

Mileage unknown · May 23, 2022
Air BagsElectrical SystemCrashInjury

I was involved in a traffic collision. A large vehicle turned left in front of me and I t boned that vehicle. We were traveling about 30-35 MPH at the moment of impact. My vehicle sustained major damage ($20,000+) to repair according to the body shop. My wife, daughter and myself sustained injuries. My wife and I have significan…

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I was involved in a traffic collision. A large vehicle turned left in front of me and I t boned that vehicle. We were traveling about 30-35 MPH at the moment of impact. My vehicle sustained major damage ($20,000+) to repair according to the body shop. My wife, daughter and myself sustained injuries. My wife and I have significant injuries. I truly believe, based on vehicle damages, and injuries that our airbags should’ve deployed. I believe it has a fault sensor that should be inspected.

NHTSA ODI #11465839

Mileage unknown · Apr 15, 2022
Unknown Or Other

It’s starting to warm up now that winter is behind us, so when we recently drove our 2018 Yukon XL, we turned on the air conditioning. Unfortunately, only warm air came out of the vents. We made an appointment and took the Yukon to the GMC dealer. We paid over $160 for their diagnostic fee (complete rip off), and they were im…

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It’s starting to warm up now that winter is behind us, so when we recently drove our 2018 Yukon XL, we turned on the air conditioning. Unfortunately, only warm air came out of the vents. We made an appointment and took the Yukon to the GMC dealer. We paid over $160 for their diagnostic fee (complete rip off), and they were immediately able to see that there was a leak in the AC condenser. The dealer service representative said that this has been happening quite frequently on 2014 and newer models and that they are all leaking in the same place, a weld on the driver’s side of the condenser. Our Yukon has $59,000 miles…this is way to young for a condenser replacement. Dealer is quoting us over $1200 for the repair. GMC continues to build these cars without known defects and passes on the costs to the customer! By the way, there is Special Coverage Adjustment 17336 that extends warranty coverage for this specific problem on GMCs, but only for 2015-2017 models.

NHTSA ODI #11460934

Mileage unknown · Oct 22, 2021
Service Brakes

Brakes are hard to stop you got press on them real hard to stop and they had a recall about this problem, we hasn't crash yet.

NHTSA ODI #11437774

Official recalls

2

26V289000 · Power Train:transfer Case (4-WHEEL Drive)

May 7, 2026

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2026 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, and GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles with four-wheel (4WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), and certain 2015-2020 Suburban, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Yukon, Yukon XL, and Tahoe vehicles. A component missing from the drivetrain transfer case may cause the front and/or rear wheels to lock up without warning to the driver.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Front or rear wheel lockup increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the remedy is completed. Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the transfer case assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 18, 2026. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. GM's number for this recall is N262557620. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 7, 2026.

18V673000 · Seat Belts:rear/other

Sep 26, 2018

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Cadillac CT6, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Volt, and GMC Yukon XL vehicles. Certain second-row or third-row rear seatbelts retractor assemblies may not automatically lock when the seatbelt is fully pulled out of the retractor, possibly preventing a child seat from being properly secured. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the child seat is not properly secured in the event of a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear seatbelt retractors and replace them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 7, 2018. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18315.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.