AutoUtility currently tracks 234 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 GMC Acadia. Air Bags & Restraints issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 136 complaints (58.1% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 8 filings cite a crash, 2 cite a fire, 7 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 234 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Air Bags & Restraints (136 reports • 58.1% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Steering System (26), Electrical System (25)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 2 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 7 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 GMC Acadia
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #23V334000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- Campaign #21V246000 AIR BAGS:CRITICAL FASTENERS
Steering System
Electrical System
Powertrain & Transmission
Engine & Cooling
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 GMC Acadia
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The cable that attaches the front driver seatbelt to the base of the seat (left side), suddenly broke when simply buckling the belt."
"TRANSMISSION BEGAN HESITATING AROUND 1800RPM WITH ONLY 92,000 MILES SHOWING ON THE ODOMETER. IT FEELS LIKE A FLUTTER AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS INTO THE NEXT GEAR. I HAVE HEARD THE 2016 YEAR GROUP HAS HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. BELIEVE A RECALL IS JUSTIFIED."
"Without warning transmission overheated, blew out fluid and caught the front end of the vehicle on fire"
"The torque converter has been going since before I bought this vehicle. When the RPMs are between one and two, the entire vehicle starts shaking and there is no acceleration. This is a huge safety concern, especially with traffic."
"Hello. I got a recall and fixed in July 2021 for Blind Spot Sensors/Modules on my 2016 GMC Acadia SLT. Now 3.5 years later Im having the same issue with these sensors that are located in the rear bumper of the car, they get water damage, corrosion, and then fail. A very poor design. And seems like..."
Complaint History for GMC Acadia
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 GMC Acadia | 261 | 6 | 4 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 GMC Acadia Current Page | 234 | 8 | 4 | Current |
| 2017 GMC Acadia | 702 | 10 | 4 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 GMC Acadia | 390 | 8 | 2 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 GMC Acadia | 381 | 5 | 2 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 GMC Acadia | 98 | 4 | 6 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 GMC Acadia | 146 | 6 | 2 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 GMC Acadia | 48 | 3 | 3 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 GMC Acadia | 41 | 3 | 4 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 GMC Acadia | 55 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 GMC Acadia | 62 | 1 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 GMC Acadia | 0 | 0 | 1 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 GMC Acadia
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 43 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 128 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OTHER/I AM NOT SURE,CHILD SEAT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.