2008 GMC Yukon problems, complaints & recalls
Updated from NHTSA data · How we count
Owners have filed 34 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 GMC Yukon, most often about airbags. There are 3 recalls for this model year.
- Complaints
- 34
- Recalls
- 3
- Crashes
- 1
- Fires
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Median mileage
- 119,120 mi at time of problem
Key facts
- Airbags is the most-reported problem area, named in 19 of 34 complaints (56%).
- Engine (7) and transmission & drivetrain (4) follow.
- Half of the complaints that list mileage happened before 119,120 mi.
- Owners reported 1 crash, 1 fire and 0 injuries.
- The 2008 GMC Yukon has 3 recalls on file.
- NHTSA has opened 4 defect investigations covering this vehicle.
- It ranks 16th of 22 GMC Yukon model years by our severity-weighted complaint score (1st = worst).
- That is 37% fewer complaints than the 2007 model year (54).
2008 GMC Yukon problems by category
- Airbags · 1 crash19 complaints
- Engine7 complaints
- Transmission & Drivetrain4 complaints
- Wheels & Tires2 complaints
- Body & Structure2 complaints
- Fuel, Hybrid & EV Propulsion2 complaints
- Other / Unknown2 complaints
- Suspension2 complaints
- Electrical System1 complaints
- Seats & Seat Belts1 complaints
- Steering1 complaints
- Brakes1 complaints
- Driver Assistance & Safety Tech · 1 crash1 complaints
A complaint can mention more than one problem area, so categories add up to more than the total.
Most-reported components
| Component (as filed with NHTSA) | Complaints |
|---|---|
| Air bags | 19 |
| Engine | 6 |
| Power train | 4 |
| Unknown or other | 2 |
| Suspension | 2 |
| Structure:body | 2 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 2 |
| Tires | 1 |
When problems happen (mileage)
2008 GMC Yukon recalls (3)
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328760.
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 20, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328780.
- ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Remedy: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
NHTSA defect investigations
- EA21002Opened Sep 17, 2021Open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.C…
- PE09044Opened Sep 14, 2009Closed May 23, 2010
Interior Door Handle Laceration Risk
The statistical data regarding problem experience in the table above are net counts for unique vehicles.Review of information in this PE discloses that while accounting for approximately two-thirds of the total population, MY 2007 subject vehicles are cited in more than 90 percent of the consumer complaints, injury reports, and warranty claims, respectively.In addition, improvements in the door handle manufacturing process during the MY 2007 production resulted in a decline in the occurrence of peeling/flaking of the thin chrome plating.Other environmental factors were also identified that may…
Non-crash engine compartment fires
In a letter dated august 27, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) notified nhtsa that it will conduct a safety recall (nhtsa recall number 08v-441) to address a safety relateddefect that can result in engine compartment fire in approximately 850,000 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield washer fluid option.the subject vehicles of this investigation comprise over three-quarters of the recall population. According to gm, a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the windshield washer fluid heater module may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. This may cause other electrical features…
- PE08010Opened Feb 4, 2008Closed Jun 12, 2008
Non-crash engine compartment fires
In response to an information request letter sent by the office of defects investigation(odi) during preliminary evaluation pe08-010, gm provided odi with 41 allegations of non-crash engine compartment fires including 16 allegations of fires originating with the ignition in the off position.one of the fires was determined to be caused by an arson event.odi has also received 5 reports, 4 of which are of duplicative of reports provided by gm, alleging non-crash engine compartment fires in the subject vehicles.in total, odi is aware of 41 non-crashengine compartment fires in the subject vehicles …
Recent 2008 GMC Yukon complaints
Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
- Filed Jul 31, 2026AZAirbags
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Yukon. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair; however, the dealer failed to repair the vehicle on the scheduled date and retained the vehicle without providing a loaner vehicle. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had…
NHTSA complaint #11753971 · source - Filed Jul 23, 2026CATransmission & Drivetrain
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission shifted from first gear to second gear and the vehicle intermittently stalled. The contact shifted to park and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle was shifted into drive and returned to normal operation. The failure reoccurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The…
NHTSA complaint #11752455 · source - Filed Oct 7, 2025MIAirbagsBrakesEngine
the passenger-side frontal airbag inflators, The determination was made that the propellant in these inflators may degrade after long-term exposure to high humidity and temperature cycling, which could cause the inflator to rupture during a deployment.
NHTSA complaint #11691942 · source - Filed Apr 29, 2025NYEngine
I purchased a MagnaFlow aftermarket catalytic converter system for my 2008 GMC Yukon SLT 5.3L through Walmart’s online marketplace, sold by a third-party vendor called OurDealsRock. The product was advertised as “50-state legal” and compatible with vehicles registered in New York State. However, shortly after installation, my check engine light turned on, and diagnostic codes P0420 and P0430 (Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold) appeared. Initially, I thought this was…
NHTSA complaint #11657669 · source - Filed Oct 27, 2023SCBody & Structure
Dashboard is severely cracked & rattles so badly that it interferes with hearing outside & inside noises & communication. Has gotten worse over past year. Dealer confirmed that the problem was prevalent among several GM models, including my model. I was also told that a class action suit was filed against GMC for this problem, but was dismissed by judicial system.
NHTSA complaint #11552253 · source - Filed Oct 4, 2023WIEngineFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionOther / Unknown
When beginning to drive forward after coming to a stop at an intersection. The vehicle will often stall in the middle of the intersection. Requiring me to switch it transmission into natural and restart it as it’s rolling. I almost gotten rear ended many times I always get honked at. It just a matter of time before it causes an accident. It sometime happens after turning as well. I looked at forums on this gmc Yukon hybrid. And it looks like many other owners are asking the…
NHTSA complaint #11548163 · source - Filed Jul 9, 2023WIFireElectrical SystemEngineTransmission & Drivetrain
It started shutting off at a light for autostop.but when it would turn green it would intermittently just drop out of autostop without restarting. Then may start back up or maybe not, many time after restarting at the light it would died in the middle of the inspection. A parasitic draw kept killing the accessory 12 V battery replaced the 12 V battery but the problem continued. When the truck was running it would run flawlessly,before stalling. The code said to replace the…
NHTSA complaint #11531148 · source - Filed Feb 23, 2022SCEngineFuel, Hybrid & EV Propulsion
Model year(s):2009manufacturer:general motors corp.campaign id number:09v154000potential number of units affected:27188summary:gm is recalling 27,188 my 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade hybrid, escalade esv, and escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, suburban, tahoe, tahoe hybrid, and colorado; and gmc yukon, yukon hybrid, yukon xl, and canyon vehicles. The fuel system control modules may have a condition in which an adhesive separation of the room temperature vulcanizing (rtv)…
NHTSA complaint #11453688 · source
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Other 2008 GMC models
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 10, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology