Multiple GMC Acadia owners have reported a similar problem with the crossover’s transmission.
Columbus ABC affiliate ABC6 recently spoke to a Westerville, Ohio family who had been experiencing problems with their 2018 GMC Acadia. They claim the crossover will sometimes fail to recognize that it has been put into park, flashing a message on the dash instructing the driver to “shift to park” even when the gear lever have already been moved to the ‘P’ position.
This sounds like the same problem experienced by a number of other GMC Acadia owners currently involved in a class action lawsuit against GM. The plaintiffs in the class action suit, which is being led by Connecticut attorney Sergei Lemberg, say their 2017 and 2018 model GMC Acadia crossovers will instruct them to “shift to park” even when the vehicle is already in park. As a safety measure, the vehicle will refuse to fully shut off or lock when it is not in park, leaving the owner stranded. One plaintiff in the suit took their vehicle to a GM service center, where mechanics were able to confirm the problem, but told her there was no fix available at this time.
The problem may also lead to the vehicles rolling away. The Ohio family ABC6 spoke to said their GMC Acadia once displayed the “shift to park” message when the vehicle was already in park, but when they got out of the vehicle, it rolled down the driveway with one of their children still inside. They have also taken their car into a GM service center, where employees identified a sensor problem and replaced the faulty part, but they claim the problems persisted.
GM has posted a technical service bulletin acknowledging the shift to park problem, though there is still no fix available. ABC6 was also able to track down other GMC Acadia owners who experienced this problem when they voiced their concerns through online forums.
Limberg, the attorney leading the class action case over the problem, says GM’s position on the matter is that there is “no legal claim for the reasons,” his clients maintain in the lawsuit. He said that GM also argues “the problem is small and insignificant,” and it can therefore not be held responsible for it. The automaker has already sought to have the suit thrown out.
Notably, the refreshed 2020 GMC Acadia ditches its traditional gear select lever for the Electronic Precision Shift system, which uses buttons to change gears instead.
Have you experienced this issue with your 2017 or 2018 model year GMC Acadia? You can let us know in the comment section below.
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Source: ABC6/Car Complaints
Comments
2016-2020 Malibus also suffer from this issue so it’s not isolated to the Acadia. Check any Malibu owner’s forum and you’ll see this same issue brought up often by owners.
I HAVE A 2018 Acadia with 19ooo miles ,purchased car on 04/20/2018. Started having shift to park issue on 05/ 01/2021. Haven’t taken lot dealer yet looking for best option so fix is perminent.
This is the second time I have had the issue am taking to a dealer at the end of June to see what they say
Me too
I had the same problem two times with my GMC Acadia 2017
I ha e a 2017 Acadia. I have the same problem. Sometimes it takes up to 20minutes of shifting into park before it shifts into park. What a waste of gas.
I am having the same problem with my 2019 Acadia.
I have the same problem with my 2017 Acadia.
I to had this problem. Took car into dealer for a second time and they said they received notice from GM about shift in park “harness mechanism ” being at fault here.
Replacement done and I had to pay for it. But its done and dealership says no one has had to come back for replacement, yet.
What is the cost for a dealer to fix this Shift to Park problem for a 2019 GMC Arcadia Denali?
Would you mind sharing the cost of this repair, and the city and state where the work was done? We have a 2017 Acadia, and are having the same problem.
Our 2017 was repaired this year and the total cost was $700.00. We had rewards of about $100.00 so we ended up paying a little over $600.00. I’m in Florida.
We were fortunate to be under extended warranty so it was our $100 deductible l.
We were fortunate to be under extended warranty so it was our $100 deductible. It would have been $500 without. They replaced my shift harness.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia and am experiencing this same problem. Shift to park message when i am already in park. Must resort to all kinds of shenanigans to turn my car off, this is not right. Will be my first and last GMC vehicle.
2018 Acadia shift to park issues also. Now with 70k miles my Acadia will not move. Starts, can put into drive or reverse and remains in neutral. Disgusting!
I have a 2017 Acadia Denali and have had the shift into park issue twice. The first time it was within 6 months after new purchase in 2017. The second time was fall of 2022. This is crazy! Has anyone had a successful fix? GM should do better than this. It’s so disappointing.
How much paid?
I’m having the same issue with my 2019 Acadia. I’m worried about my safety and disappointed that from what I’m reading GMC doesn’t want to take responsibility for the issue. You pay purchase a your Acadia and spend a lot of money because this car does not come cheap and now we have to deal with malfunctions on our Acadia’s. Maybe if the new media will get involved GMC would do the right thing by their customers.
I am having same problem with my 2019 ACADIA. Alarms continue to ring when engine is turned off but alarms keep on ringing. Shift to park is displayed on the screen over the steering column, After several atemps of start and stop and fiddling with gear shift the alarms finally stop. Sounds ike a sensor issue to me. I Just took my car to dealer today. They are charging me $150.00 to diagnose. They said they would apply this money towards any fix they determine.
Posting this on 5/22/23 – I have a 2019 Acadia bought brand new. In 2021 it started having electronic issues… ( which I believe was the main computer component).. Dealer corrected it under warranty. Now at 77k miles – it has started the “shift to park” issue. Car is now out of warranty, and dealer said I’d have to pay for the replacement. GM should be responsible as this is a known, widespread issue of weak component/parts. Not right to have the customer’s pay for replacement.
Have same problem with my 2017 Acadia. Dealer could not get it to reaccure there for it doesn’t exist. This started to happen on a busy road way as I was driving, had to nurse car to nearest road to pull off.
My 2017 Acadia Denali was brand new when I purchased it from a dealership. 5 months later, I started having the “shift to park” issue. My engine would not turn off and I couldn’t lock my doors. I took it to a dealership and got it repaired under warranty, but in 2022, it started happening consistently again. I only have 30,000 miles on my car, but was told I’d have to pay for it myself. I’m reading that there is no fix. How can I join the lawsuit? GMC should take better care of us than this.
I am also experiencing this issue. 2017 GMC Acadia.
I just started getting the Shift to Park on my dashboard when I turn off my 2017 GMC Acadia again! Had this happen in 2019. What’s going on? Is a recall going to be sent?
I have a 2017 Acadia & started having the shift to park issue in 2019 & have had it ever since
Just spent $600 to fix this issue. Hope it works, but so disappointed with GMV
Yes, I have had this issue two times with my 2017 Acadia.
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali that had the shift to park issue. Had it fixed in 2021 and is now doing the same thing in 2023.
My sister and I both had 2017s and both had it replaced twice under warr if it happens again out of warr ima be freak out !!!!! This has been going on for years what’s it take to get it as a recall issue ??? Sooooooo many comments over the years I’m beyond shocked it hasn’t gotten a solution
My 2017 Acadia experienced this a couple of years ago at 13,000 miles. Dealer first replaced wiring harness and resumed at first stop on the way home. Was lucky enough to have it done under warranty and get a rental. Dealer replaced shifter assembly; “fix” worked until a month ago and issue resumed. A couple of days ago, I started the Acadia and the climate control system is dead: no ac or heat and dash panel is dead. 22,000 miles now, and have service appointment day after tomorrow. Fixing to raise hell.
Hi checking the update what happen when you went on dealership my AC isn’t working and I’m getting other error codes now and the thermostat is stuck open plus some steering message this is getting old I’m about to swear off Gmc for good 🙁 sad bc I really like my Acadia and had planned to trade in but not with them not fixing their issues and leaving us all stranded some literally
We have a 2019 GMC Acadia that flashes the “shift to park” alert almost every time we attempt to turn off the vehicle.
I also had this problem with my 2019 Silverado. They finally had to REPLACE everything from the steering column to the transmission. Only after 6 trips to the dealership, my truck was 2 days away from the warranty expiring!
If you do a little bit of research you will find that this problem affected the Malibu and Traverse.
There is a service bulletin out on this that originally had the shiftier replaced and not they have a harness that fixes the issues.
All that is happening is the resistance is high in the harness and it is not sending a strong enough signal to the BCM to signal it is in park.
If anyone has this issue just take it to the dealer and they will easily fix it.
TSB Bulletin No.: 18-NA-297 or Refer to Bulletin #19-NA-206 for additional information and part numbers.
Intermittent Shift to Park Message
October 16, 2019
There may be an intermittent Shift to Park message displayed on the Driver Information Center (DIC) when the vehicle has been shifted to Park and the ignition has been turned to the Off position (Fig. 32) on some 2016-2019 Malibu, Volt; 2017-2019 Acadia; 2018-2019 Traverse; and 2019 Blazer models. The Shift to Park message may be the result of a build-up of material on the contacts of the Park switch when it is activated in the transmission control (shifter) assembly. The excessive material may cause a higher than expected resistance in the signal circuit to the Body Control Module (BCM), and not allow the BCM to electronically see that the vehicle is in Park, even though the vehicle transmission is in the Park position.
If this condition is present, the BCM will turn on the Shift to Park message and not allow the ignition to turn off, leaving the ignition in Accessory mode. To reduce the inrush of current that causes the excessive build-up on the contacts, install an in-line shifter wiring harness jumper (Fig. 33) between the shifter base connector and the console harness connector.
Clean the Electrical Contacts
With the vehicle in Park and the ignition off, remove the transmission control (shifter) lever knob and boot assembly. (Fig. 34)
Next, clean the Park Switch electrical contacts by depressing the actuation rod fully and then releasing the rod. Use the flat side of a trim stick or your thumb and allow the rod to “snap” back to the full up position. (Fig. 35) Repeat the cleaning procedure 50 times. It’s critical to clean the electrical contacts to ensure a proper repair.
After completing the cleaning procedure, start the vehicle and verify that the Shift to Park message is not displayed on the DIC. If the Shift to Park message is still displayed, replace the transmission control (shifter) assembly. A newly design transmission control assembly is now available.
Install Jumper Harness
If the Shift to Park message is not displayed, install the jumper harness. Remove the front floor console trim plate and disconnect the body harness from the transmission control assembly. (Fig. 36)
TIP: To gain access to the shift control wiring connector, it will be necessary to remove only the front floor console trim plate. However, on some models, it may be necessary to remove the front floor console trim plate and reposition the console assembly
Install the in-line shifter wiring harness jumper between the shifter base connector and the console harness connector. The jumper harness should not be twisted or kinked in a 90 degree position. (Fig. 37)
Start the vehicle and verify that the Shift to Park message is not displayed. Reinstall the front floor console trim plate and any other trim panels as well as the transmission control lever knob and boot assembly.
Refer to Bulletin #19-NA-206 for additional information and part numbers.
The Change over had nothing to do with the shifter. Automakers are just eliminating shifters as the buttons and knobs are cheaper and easier to place with the new electronic controlled transmissions.
This info can be found at GM Techlink on the web Search Acadia.
The lawyer picked the wrong problem for class action as it is easily resolved in less than 2 hours at any GMC dealer.
I know of that bulletin but several Malibu owners aren’t having this happen during warranty so they’re stuck with rather hefty bills to fix the problem. There are also Malibu owners who had this fix with the new harness and the issue was NOT resolved. There are long threads about this issue going back over 2 yrs. on chevymalibuforum.com Gen9 forum.
GM has a design flaw on their hands and they need to step up and cover the repairs out of pocket and issue an extended warranty for this issue. The lawsuit is completely justified since this has been going for years and affects the Malibu, Acadia, Traverse plus the latest generation of Blazer and Volt (according the latest TSB on the issue).
scott3 AKA C8.R,
WHY, WHY !!!!!!!!
Does it take a class action law suit to get these simple fixes done ?
Talk to me as a human here, and not a piece of $hit, please.
If these customers are taking their vehicles to a GM dealership, and the GM dealership can NOT do the simple fix you have laid out, what is your answer ?
I would bet the customer then called the GM number and got directed right back to the dealer that could not help them in the first place.
If you were GM, GM was your private company, and this fix seems so simple, how would you handle it ?
Your personal reputation was on the line.
Ring, ring, ring, hi I am calling because your workers said they could not fix my shifting into park trouble, and my child was in danger as my vehicle rolled away – – – – – – –
And you C8.R respond how ?
You get treated for what you are.
#1 the fix came in before the law suit.
#2 most dealers replaced the shifter to start with and then they found the wire issue so they redesigned the shifter.
#3 they tested the fix over a period of time.
#4 they then went to the vender to make the changes and corrected the harness.
#5 they not have made the harness jumper to make the fix even easier.
#6 the clear fix is included in not Service bulletin numbers provided.
This is not a fix that happens in days it took time to find it and then resolve it as not all shifter were affected and even those who were it was intermittent. If you have ever worked on a vehicle with intermittent electrical issues you know you can not find it unless it is in the fail mode.
The problem here may was identified not as a GM design issue but a supplier issue. I had heard GM was after them to help pay for the replacements of the flawed units.
Problem identified, problem solved, problem tested, then problem corrected.
Not even dealers are taking care of the Malibu models out of warrant per the forum post I have read. They cover the $650 unit for the customer.
FYI no ones child was in danger. The vehicle would go into park. The message just said it was not in park. It would not let the key out of the ignition. After a couple shits the signal would be recieved.
Hence if you note this is a service bulletin not a recall as the car is not unsafe to use. Just annoying.
GM handled this as would any company in the industry.
Now what about a Ford trucks with defective tailgates and fires now. Why are you not there posting?
You can play with the ratings all you like as I don’t care. It is funny the negatives only go to unreal numbers when you are around. You have nothing else to do in the padded cell?
All I heard here from you scott3 aka C8.R is blah, blah, blah, then
Why would GM be any better than Ford.
Is that where you really think GM should be ?
Mommy all the other kids are doing it, it must be ok, says C8.R.
Don’t you think GM should be better ?
Why when GM has a known faulty part issue do you come back with,
All the rest of the kids are doing it !!
You really just don’t have one original thought if GM doesn’t tell you what to say, do you ?
Over.
Yes I’m having the same thing with shift to park message coming up when it’s already in park but I have a 2019 Acadia. We are very afraid it is gonna leave us stranded or worse it will roll off one day.
I, too, have a 2019 Acadia and have the same problem. Dealer says replacing the harness works 50% of the time. They recommend replacing the entire shifter, at my expense.
Had this problem in early October, 2019 with about 23,000 miles on my 2017 Acadia Denali. Took it in for service. Whatever they did, it was fixed in a couple of hours and the problem has not happened since.
my 2017 just started at 24,000 miles too. Hope the dealership will resolve the issue without cost to me since it is a known issue. Taking it in on Monday.
Mine was at 18000 and it took the dealer over 3 days and a complaint to the manager to get it fixed. GM did eat most of the cost though.
My 2018 GMC Acadia is also saying on the dash that I Need to put the car in park when it is in park. Very aggravating. Went to the dealer about it and was told that they could check it out for $128.00 service charge that my vehicle was out of warranty. GMC should fix since it’s an occurring problem with other owners. Not going to buy another GMC if they don’t stand behind there product.
I have a 2017 Acadia with 18237 miles. I just started getting the “ shift to park” msg within the last 2 weeks ( Feb 2021).
Has there been any new solution to this issue?
Thanks
My 2017 had the shifter assembly replaced under warranty. As to a long term permanent fix, I don’t know.
I have same problem with my 2017 Acadia. Back twice during bumper to bumper warranty and still fails. Took it back last week and they tell me GMC won’t cover it but the shifter harness is too short and they want $350 to put in the new part. This is a safety issue and the Feds need to get involved to force GM to fix it or give us new cars under the Lemon Law. Time to give up buying new GM vehicles.
My solution was to contact lemon law. com. I am suing GM. Had it fixed three times. Lease was up so I brought it back.
‘ll
I am a 2017 Acadia owner with 32,000 miles and it just started doing this shift to park message. My husband, 18 year old son and I all have experienced this at different time while driving this vehicle. We do not drive the Acadia on a regular basis so when it first started we really didn’t think much of it just kept re-shifting it into park until it recognized it. I would like to get it fixed as it is more annoying than anything for us. Also embarrassing when we have family or friends as passengers and they have to wait on us to get it to go into park until we can leave the vehicle. Everyone gives us compliments on the vehicle until they get to see this ordeal.
Same issue with my 2017 Acadia, car has about 90,000 miles. Had major issues with the transmission in January and it took three months to get a new transmission. Finally had car up and running and now the shift to park issue. Back and forth, shift, move car a few inches too, back and forth, shift, etc. Sometimes it takes three or four tries before I can have it register that I am actually in park and I can turn my car off. In a parking lot people probably wonder what am I doing. Heading in to dealership Wednesday. Off warranty too.
Did the Dealership end up fixing it for free. I take mine in next week.
They fixed mine the 1st time for free because it was still under 60,000 miles. The 2nd and 3rd time my extended warranty payed for it but I had to pay $100 deductible.
Mine started at 24,000 miles also. I’m out of warranty and dealer wants $339 to fix.
Called GM and they said to call dealer. Haha
the park issue on my 2017 GMC Acadia denila drained my battery, I now have it in the shop having the part replaced. 389.00 for part. hope I don’t have any future problems. 30,000 miles on vehicle
Supposedly my shifter in my GMC Acadia 2017 was replaced two years ago at the dealer. Now a year and a half later it is doing this again. So the problem was not solved.
Please Acadia owners let’s get together and put up bill boards for people not to buy GMC cars until they address problems on our cars.
Great info C*.R…. my 2017 Acadia SLT goes to shop on 12/29. 44,000 miles.
I would fire every JA that worked on the Push Button System internally as well as everyone who signed off on it, outsource a fix to the OEM that pushed the crummy system on the designers and engineers, and or have an in-house switch to something more convenient and conventional!
A mechanical switch to physically actuate electronic controls is not a bad thing. It just costs more! Then again if GM were my company, Opel, Vauxhall, Holden, Pontiac would still be with us as one product line, with each brand selling only the models that fit the persona of the brand. Buick would be an electric only version of the same cars with completely unique designs. GMC would be a Global brand, with shared platforms, and 7/8 scale bodies and a premium design and build while being sold in the PBHOV Dealerships globally. Cadillac would be a Rolls-Royce & Bentley competitor with a traditional *LS and *TS Trims, with *LS being Luxury=Fuel Cell, and *TS being Touring=Hybrid V** engines and a $100,000 dollar price increase over the *LS models.
82% of the Business employees globally would be gone, and every division would have independent Management, Design, and Engineering, with a Global Corporate Parts Bin to use as needed for things like Lug Nuts, Blower Motors, Struts, etc.
And to top it off, this ugly Converse shoe of a car would have never seen the light of day to begin with! So, I guess in the end, everything else would have solved this problem before it began!
How does a person get involved in the lawsuit? This is happening to my 2018 Acadia and the dealer has no idea how to fix it.
My 2018 Arcadia has started saying shift to Park after I cut it off and the ringer is going off. What can I do ??
Just cost me $695.00 to have my 2018 fixed with this issue.
Have there been any subsequent updates or changes since December. It is now July and I’m still having problems.
I have contacted my local GMC dealer twice to remedy this problem and both times I was told the item is on order but there is limited supply to correct the defect. My initial contact was about 8 months ago. With one service associate instructing me to “just keep turning my ignition on and off until the car registers that it is indeed in park” with my concern being damaging the transmission by doing this. My husband luckily realized you can press the lever on the shifter to also manipulate the “sensor” However I did this tonight in a parking garage and the shifter shifted out of the park position while parked on a slight incline and the whole vehicle rolled into a parking barrier damaging my front bumper!
My 2018 Chevrolet Malibu is in the Service Dept. for exactly as you described. When speaking with my Service Advisor this morning, he tells me the shift control assembly will be replaced. When I first took the vehicle to Service, I did tell the advisor to keep the car until it replicated the problem. Obviously, this is what happened.
Hopefully, replacing the shift control assembly will eradicate the problem. Your statement jumped out at me…” it is easily resolved in less than 2 hrs at any GMC dealer’. Here’s hoping you were right!!!
C8.R – excellent explanation ! Although I have not had this issue with my 2019 Traverse. I have been following along on the Traverse forum, and indeed there are also a number of 2018 owners who have confirmed the same fix that you have described above.
I had read about this and thought it must have been difficult to locate the poor signal as it was intermittent but still there.
Vehicles just don’t get any easier to fix or build.
Sooooo let me get this straight about the family mentioned, you noticed the display showing “shift to park” but still got out of the vehicle without any hesitation with your child in the back????
But 2017-2018 acadias they don’t have the 9 speeds though? Don’t they have the 6-speed?
This happened to my 2017 Acadia a few months ago. The dealership replaced the shifter and have not had any problems since, keeping our fingers crossed.
You should be good as the shifter was redesigned.
But C8.R,
What about the customers who still have the old faulty shifter design ?
Again just like GM you avoid them ?
Not all are bad. If it is take it to the dealer and get it fixed.
This was a supplier issue and it did not affect every shifter. Even the ones affected it was intermittent.
No children were in danger as it did go into park just a message would say it was not. Also the key may not come out. Unsafe no annoying yes.
I have driven a vehicle with this issue and know first hand what the problem was like.
Who is avoiding what. Got a problem take it in and get it fixed.
My post to your other post will need approved. Not sure why it was held as I did not call you what you are. Lol!
Would that be crazy again ?
But seriously then,
Take and get it fixed at whos expense ?
If this is – was a free fix, again WHY, WHY, is there another CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT !
Someone is missing something here.
YOU ARE !
The dealers are NOT fixing these ” KNOWN FAULTY PARTS ” as you have just explained, free of charge !!
WHY, WHY, WHY, would you go to a lawyer if it was fixed FREE !!
Just like when YOU got your 8 speed junk transmission fixed for FREE, the people who went to the lawyers DID NOT !
AGAIN why, WHY, WHY, is this so hard for you to understand !!!!
GM has ZERO customer support !
In my opinion.
I am on my second fix now on my 2017 Acadia. Yes, the first fix the dealer fixed free as on warranty. Now, 2 years later it broke again. Guess who has to pay this time. Dealer said wait for a recall notice if GM loses the lawsuits. notice plural, and bring in my receipt and I can then be reimbursed. Guess GM is not interested in repeat customers.
This is happening with my 2017 Acadia with a little over 39,000 miles on it. Is it something the dealer will cover the cost?
I just called my dealer and was told it would be $380 repair in my 2017 Acadia SLT with 38,800 miles. I will be following up with GMC.
We purchased our 2017 Acadia, NEW about 2 yrs. ago in January 2018 ( had 24 miles on the odometer). Now has just over 30,000 miles, we are experiencing same “shift to park” problem described above. I ALWAYS set the park brake due to this issue (which is not reassuring). Taking it to GMC dealer.
I have that issue with my 2017 GMC Acadia, which is now out of warranty.
Go to the dealer and see what they will do. The Malibu drivers have reported they are getting it fixed or they are at least getting most of it covered.
Most dealers are helping if you have one that is not go to a better dealer. Larger good service dealers are generally the best.
Our dealer won’t do anything – I paid out of pocket for them to try to reset the system and now have to pay out of pocket for them to replace. Doubly annoyed that it takes multiple trips and multiple times paying for something that should be covered since it is such a widespread issue.
Let me help you Dan.
Forget about it, go to an independent tech in your town and have them fix it for you.
Or fix it yourself.
GM will DO NOTHING FOR YOU.
YOU ARE OUT OF WARRANTY !!
AND YES GM KNOWS THIS IS A FAULTY PART !!
But it simply does not matter, you are out of warranty and that is how GM as a company operates.
You will be much better off NOT dealing with GM after your warranty is up, they will NOT do anything for you and it costs more to get fixed !
C8.R is a GM guy, he will not personally help you either !
In my opinion
How do you fix it yours
Ed? Are there instructions and part number available anywhere?
Even when your power train warranty is still in effect, this is not a covered issue.
That’s what I was told just yesterday. GMC told me it’s going to cost me $526 to fix the issue on my 2019 Acadia.
Shift to park was a major issue with my 2017 acadia. The car was 1 yr old when it would not turn off at a softball tournament in June of 2018. I had the shift to park message and I could not get my car to turn off. I went to hudson valley Cadillac and was told that they would order the part. It took over a month to come in, replaced my gear shift. For over a month I left my car unlocked and on in parking lots, no loaner provided. Then under 1 year later I receive the shift to park message again. I left my car unlocked in aparking lot with shift to park on ignition after attempting to turn it off for over an hour. SHIFT TO PARK IS AN ISSUE!! GM should compensate owners for time,stress, and inconvenience this malfunction causes owners.
We had same problem with our 2017 Acadia. It got so bad it killed the battery, had car towed to dealer 27 miles away ( we paid for the tow). They said we were wrong when we told the tech about the shift problem. It is only the battery we were told, replaced the battery and we took it home. We returned to the dealership the next day and had the shifter Cable replaced. Hopefully this is the last time.
The cables is not what is wrong note my first post with the service bulletins that have the correction.
We have a 2019 GMC Acadia . It is 3 yrs old, and it has started doing the same . I shift into Park and it starts dinging. It reads shift in to park. I pull it out of gear and back to park , but it keeps doing the same thing. Frustrated
Keep your fingers crossed, I received a shift to park message less than 1 year after my first gearshift was replaced
I had that issue early this year and my dealer changed without asking me. The technician tell me it was around 20 issues at that time.
My 2018 Acadia began doing this intermittently about a month ago. My dealer said he has heard a wire harness has been tried to fix the problem but he ordered one for a customer a month ago and has not received one from GMC yet. The one thing that we have found for now is that when the message comes up if we squeeze the switch on the backside of the shifter the message goes away. To me that may be a temporary answer because I think long term the problem will persist and probably get worse.
2017 Acadia started having same problem in late summer. Little over 12,000 miles, so was still under warranty. Left it at dealer Friday-Wednesday and was told they could replicate the problem and to pick car up. First stop on way home and got the error again. This time, it was there for a month while waiting on a new wiring harness. Picked it up and problem reoccurred on second stop. Was in for six weeks waiting for new shift assembly to arrive. So far so good after two weeks. If it happens again, I’ll pursue redress through the Texas lemon law.
I own a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali and have experienced the problem of ding ding ding, ‘shift to park’ the only constant factor I’ve be able to recognize is that it occurs when I’m parked on flat ground. Sometimes I’ve wiggle the gear shift, others I’ve set my parking park. Once in a while I can open the door and it stops. There’s no rhyme or reason. Waiting on a recall
No recall but there are two service bulletins that will fix this.
Where’s the recall bulletin on this service parking brake? My car has been stuck for couple days in the parking lot due to my parking brake is stuck. It’s bad enough with the pandemic happening and all the shops are closed. To make it worst, I’m currently station in Belgium away from any Chevrolet/GMC/GM Dealers. I really regret buying this 2018 GMC ACADIA.
We are going through this currently on our 2018 acadia denali. This vehicle is too expensive to be having the problem, GM needs to step up a d take care of this dangerous issue!
Don’t worry Shaun McHenry,
scott3 aka C8.R says its not a dangerous issue !
He and GM of course will do nothing for those who have this exact ” FAULTY PART ” issue, and are out of warranty !!
Unless this is deemed, by the government , a personal safety issue, not by you or other owners of the vehicle, GM does NOTHING to help owners out of warranty.
NO EXCEPTIONS !!!!!
Some dealers mite work with some people, but it is up to the dealer owner, not GM.
GM has ZERO customer support !!!
In my experience.
I was lucky enough to get Enterprise rentals at (mostly) GM’s expense for my Acadia’s two lengthy stays at a dealer BECAUSE it was still under warranty. IF problem ever reoccurs, my legal position will be that the problem was never remedied so the new shift assembly, wiring harness and jumpers started a new warranty for that particular issue at 0 miles/0 months.
I’m a retired disabled woman with an 80 year old husband. Wanted to buy a dependable car through my reputable dealer. Shift to park has started coming on. !?!?!? When I read the comments on this forum, I think I should go back to Cadillacs. They are better to their customers and much more concerned!!! I should have thought twice when I was informed of 60,000 mile warranty… now what do I do???
I have a 2017 Acadia Denali. We have the issue. Have taken it I’m twice to have fixed. After the second time, we traded it in.
I own a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali. I had the same shift into park message with the shift lever clearly in park. Dash message was displayed and car would not properly power down after pressing the start stop button.
I took the vehicle to the GMC Dealer where I purchased it and they replaced the shifter assembly. Problem solved. But now I am concerned that the issue may come back. The Good news I bought the 10 year, 100K mile extended warranty.
Please keep an eye on it. My car was 11 months old and had the very same issue. The dealership put a new shifter in and problem solved. Now, 10 months later it is going back in for the same issue. I also had to replace the battery last month. I bought my car new and it is a 2018 Acadia Denali.
Same story for me. I purchased my 2018 Acadia new and within the first year experienced the shift to park issue. It was under warranty and repaired. One year later it happened again and was repaired. Now the car is not turning on at all as it doesn’t recognize that it’s in park to start up and it’s being towed to the dealership today. I haven’t even owned the car for two years. Would the lemon law apply or is there a class action in my state of Florida as well?
I have A 2017 GMC Acadia Denali, I’ve had it fixed at 16,900 miles, and again at 45,000. The battery had to be replaced as well. It’s super frustrating. $600 (with the warranty as well).
My 2018 Acadia is now doing this! And now does not wanna start all the time! Very frustrated reading all these comments and not having a recall on this issue!
Happening right now with my 2017 Acadia.
I have turned it on and moved the shifter out of park then put it back in park at least 20 times and it won’t shut down. It keeps showing SHIFT TO PARK. This is the 2nd time with this car!!! I had it repaired last year!!
So frustrating.
Why just 2017 or 2018?? My 2010 will give me the same message at times! It doesn’t matter the conditions I’m parked in either. There’s also times when in park the vehicle will continue to roll a little bit.
We just had our vehicle fixed on Dec 10th 2019. The dealer installed a new Trans Control Module, works correctly now. Had the same issue as other owners, message was shift to park on the cluster, it was a intermittent issue. Dealer was great and gave us a courtesy vehicle for the day
Having the same issue with my 2017 Acadia. Brought it in to the dealership and they stated they couldn’t replicate the problem, therefore could not fix it. Problem is it doesn’t happen everytime I place it in the park position. Been having more issues with it lately. Dealer stated I would have to pay if they do find an issue next time I bring it in. Has 53,000 miles. Not happy!!
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” that is part of that harness/shift lever assembly. Gm has obviously never upgraded the switch. They simply replace the old failed switch, with a “ready-to-fail“, but “new” micro switch… which eventually corrodes the same terminals, starting the cycle all over again.
This happens specifically because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts”, which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There is just enough oxidation on the contacts, to prevent the sensitive micro voltage signal from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing the infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie, computer controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s really not all that costly, but was not an available option in this size micro switch. Obviously, they NEED to come up with a NEW micro switch with better (gold plated) contacts, which won’t likely happen until GM is forced (class action suit anyone). Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply flick the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand and fingers, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”.
You accomplish this by using a rapid upward motion so the “trigger switch” is flicked (by one or more fingers) as your hand is passing swiftly upward, just above the shift knob (note: your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple flicks, cause the micro switch contacts to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. Rustie….
2017 Acadia 41,000 dollars new shifter problem 550 dollars to replace at 37,000 miles. I a new Toyota in our future to replace this piece of junk.
What did they replace for the $550? They replaced the shifter harness in July of 2020 and now they are replacing the transmission control button on mine which is still under warranty until 1/13/2021
My 2018 GMC Acadia started doing this issue today. Still under warranty. Calling the dealership tomorrow. Frustrating !
MY FIX!
If it happens…I hold the shifter and use my fingers to “flick” the button…essentially hold it in and let snap back. I do this no more than 3 times and it stops the Shift to Park issue from happening for a period of time… might be a week or a couple months before it happens again.
2017 Acadia Denali
I have had my 2017 acadia all terrian for six months and this has happened a handful of times. I can usually turn the car back on and off and it will recognize park.
My 2018 Acadia had this problem, took it to the dealer in Michigan & they said it needed a harness, but it was during the GM/UAW strike & they couldn’t get the part. We were leaving (driving) to Florida and I couldn’t wait for the strike to end, so the dealership gave me my car back & I didn’t have the – Shift to Park – show up for 2 months. I then took it to my dealer in Florida & they said changing the harness was a temporary fix, changing the lever was the correct fix & they had them in stock. It would be nice if GM knows this is a systemic problem & notify Acadia owners & put out the correct fix to the dealership service. It’s called Customer Satisfaction
I just bought a 2018 GMC Acadia, 2 days later this started happening. It only goes away after about two or three times of turning the car back on and shifting to reverse then park then turning it off again.
My Cadillac does this maybe twice a year.
Happened to me too with my 2017 Acadia many times intermittently then stopped for a month.
Yes!!!! Have had it in the shop several times and they replaced the sensor then that didn’t work..
Took it back again and they replaced the shifter
Other issues are that my car keeps showing. “Brake Assist” but noone can figure out why this is going on
Another thing is that my front collision system goes off on its own. .
Shop tells me that they are working with GMC to get “codes” to fix the problem
I have even took videos to show the shop and so they can update GMC…
Hum wonder if they will do anything before someone gets hurt
Issue with my 2017 Acadia started intermittently and finally increased beyond annoyance. Keyless, issue would not let me lock doors and running lights were on: obviously security risk and risk of battery discharging. Only fix was to start, shift into drive or reverse, travel a few inches, then back to park and try to shut down. Reached the end of my patience when I parked in a huge open access lot at the college where I teach. Had a class from 6-10 pm, so I wanted Acadia locked and secured. Spent 40 minutes doing the procedure above repeatedly until it finally worked and I could secure the car. Made me late to class. Actually thought about leaving it, with running lights on, unlocked and door open, and Ubering home to file an insurance claim. Had a 2013 Yukon before (sadly totaled when I was rear-ended); no issues. Liked the Acadia until this problem surfaced. Not acceptable.
I have a 2018 Acadia and it did do the same I took it to the dealer they did a software up date and replace the shifter and my car has been working great.
Wow! I have a 2017 Acadia and it has been doing this infrequently . It hasn’t done it in a while but after reading this I will be on the look out and I’m taking it back to the dealership.
Yep, my 2017 does this at least once a week!
Anyone with the issue take it in and present the TSB numbers at the start of these posts. Insist the dealer take care of it. If they give you trouble see another dealer or call GMC CS.
They will put in the jumper harness and it will be resolved.
Being informed with service bulletins is the way to deal with this as even a bad service department will know you are informed and not some babbling long term GM moaner.
Do not believe C8.R,
I agree that an informed customer gets better results, but will have nothing to do with your GM warranty.
GM will do nothing for you, when you call GM they will send you back to the dealer to help you, if the dealer does not and you call GM CS-Customer Support, GM will just send you to another dealer, that will do nothing for you if you are out of warranty.
I am the one scott3, or now he goes by C8.R, ( as he changes his name to try to convince new people of things that simply he knows nothing about ) calls ( today ) long term GM moaner. However it does not bother me as it is his only response here to people that do not agree with his opinion, and if he doesn’t like yours he quickly goes into personal attack mode. Calling you names, etc.
But each to there own !!
If your GM vehicle is out of warranty, GM, scott3, or C8.R , none of them will do anything for you !!
If the government makes GM do a recall do to safety GM will fix your and all vehicles GM tells the government are faulty.
That is the truth, and it is your warranty, there is nothing you can do but spend your money and have your GM vehicle fixed.
C8.R may sound like he is well informed, yet he is connected to GM and just tries to help make them sound like the have any Customer support. Most people on this site on a day to day basis are GM employees or GM dealer employees trying to make ” real customers ” feel that they have had GM help them in some way.
It is a FACT that GM themselves has ZERO CUSTOMER SUPPORT, it is ALL done through a dealer, and the dealer has the legal right not to have to fix your vehicle. And GM can not make them. GM dealers are independent franchises and that’s it, privately owned.
He likes to use words like, you should insist, and if they give you trouble, go to another dealer, but he knows GM will do nothing for you unless the government forces them.
Your turn scott3.
Agreed. No argument. Service advisories are always great to have prior to a dealer visit. (I’m a private pilot; the service advisories we get from manufacturer/FAA, especially the mandatory ones, usually result in much financial pain for the owner). Except: harness/jumper was on back order for weeks. Didn’t fix the problem when it arrived and was installed. Then shifter assembly was on back-order for weeks more. After my Acadia was there for five weeks, dealer called: “Good news, bad news. We got a shifter assembly in today, but it’s going into an Acadia that has been here for three months. Yours should arrive sometime soon.” Not making this up.
I guess a simple shift cable to do the job it has done for 50 years is asking too much?
2014 Chevy Malibu had the same problem. Dealer didnt believe me until I showed video of it. Replaced sensor in the shifter.
I had the same problem. Took it to the dealer multiple times, they verified the problem, so they didn’t have a fix. Finally they replace the entire gear shaft and I haven’t had the message sense. Has been about a year since I last saw the message. 2017 Acadia.
Just started this today, pulled into parking spot, got the warning shift to park. Did it 3 times in a row, then stopped.
2016 Malibu also has a known issue with this. Tragic. Its beyond annoying. Have to be embarrassed and looking silly turning the car on and off several times to get it into park in order to get out of the car.
My husband and I have a 2017 GMC Acadia. We are having the exact same problem with a “shift into park” message on the dashboard when it is already in park!!! Brought to our GMC dealership in Norwich, CT. I was told it was a sensor issue and could be fixed for almost $600.00!!! Then the service employee stated that, ” it wasn’t a big deal, the vehicle won’t roll away on you, so do you want it fixed?” Ummmmmmm, NO!! was my answer!!! I asked if there was a recall. She “looked” at, or pretended to look at the computer and said ,”no, but keep checking back to see if more people complain about it because your the 2nd one this week!!’
We bought a 2018 gmc Acadia with 17k miles on it from a dealer and after a couple months we started getting the shift to park message. It does it randomly. When it does happen we have to juggle the shifter a bunch of times for the sensor to read it so we can turn off and lock the car
Acadia owners the problem with the shifting is due to a bad shifter assembly. Our 2017 had this problem, had the dealer replace the shifter and problem was solved for free (recall)
Dang Gm why is it so hard to build safe reliable vehicles any more
I had the Shift to Park issue in two different GM vehicles, a 2016 Buick Regal and a 2017 GMC Acadia. Both times my dealer replaced the sensor and the issue was resolved.
Currently driving a 2018 Regal TourX so we’ll see if the issue persists with this vehicle, too.
Just purchased our 2018 GMC Acadia in April, 2019. It had approximately 25,000 miles on it. It just started doing the “shift to park” thing last week. How inconvenient and annoying!! Will someone please tell me when a recall comes up? Thank you.
Grace just take it to the dealer. Reference the two service bulletins I posted in the first post and they should address it.
There is no recall but if you present the vehicle they have a fix for it waiting.
Not all Acadias have the issue so only those presented are fixed.
2017 acadia battery went dead because of the shift to park. Gmc should have a recall on it and fix their screw up.
Yes! I have also experienced the same issues with my 2017 Acadia. I was able to get the shifter replaced at the dealership, but there are still issues with the replaced shifter.
I had the same issue 2 days after purchasing a 2017 Acadia. I brought it back to the dealer and they replaced the shift assembly. I have not had an issue since (knock on wood).
Had the same issue in 2018 Chevy traverse, gear selector was replaced haven’t had issue since
I have had my 2018 GMC Acadia Denali for a year and it has just started having this park to shift problem. I had made an Appt with the dealership next week and was researching it when I found this forum.
We experienced the same problem with our 2018 Chevy Traverse, the dealership has to replace the park safety switch, it took about an hour and no problem since.
I too had this issue in my 2017 Acadia. I googled this issue and found a thread similar to this. It was exactly one year ago that I took it in twice to get fixed and I think finally got it resolved by the dealership.
We have a 2017 Acadia and are experiencing the same problems when vehicle put in park.
Well scott3,
Are you going to call all of these people liars ?
Is GM going to fix All of these shifting troubles ?
Why aren’t you helping these people ?
To all the GM customers here who have this trouble and others from GM faulty parts. From my personal experience, GOOD LUCK !!
If you are one of the lucky ones, like scott3 was with his GM 8 speed junk transmission, GREAT, good for you. I am seriously happy you had your GM faulty part fixed to your satisfaction.
As for the rest or you, who have not had your GM faulty part fixed by GM, I am truly sorry, and I feel your frustration as I have been there, more than once, if you can believe that.
In my opinion, C8.R is correct !!! GM has figured out all they need to know to fix the problem, GM knows what to do.
But in my opinion, GM strategically manages the known faulty part issues. GM will prolong the fix as long as possible, blaming the supplier, and the dealer, or just whoever possible to push the trouble further along the warranty calendar.
By doing so GM will not be responsible for as many repairs, thus saving GM their precious cash.
Soon if enough GM customers are not happy with how they were treated, these GM customers will start a class action lawsuit, as they have no other choice. But this to is just a GM tool, as GM can at this point pay a small sum, of that O so precious cash, and make the problem just go away.
Its the auto world we live in today.
Sometimes I would like to know if GM spends more money avoiding the customer and not fixing known faulty parts ( lawyers, marketers, fake bloggers. ) then if they would just fix them ? I’m sure someone over there at GM has run the numbers.
Any way, just more opinion, and good luck out there, I feel for you !
I own a 2017 Acadia and i also experience the same problem I’m told to shift to park when it shows I’m in park already
My 2018 Acadia SLT has been doing this nearly every day for at least six months and it doesn’t just do it once or twice, it’s a 90% of the time throughout the day kind of madness.
Steps to park every other automatic vehicle: Press Brake * shift into “Park”.
Steps to park and turn off 2018 Acadia:
Step on brake * Shift into park * Wait to see if beeping is rear seat reminder, shift to park notification or something else * Shift into park more by pushing shifter forward as much as possible without breaking it.
* Literally slap, bat and shove it like a caveman * Repeat last two steps until notification disappears and you’ve gained ability to shut off and confidently exit vehicle.
Take it in. My dealer fixed this problem in two hours under warranty.
I’ve had this same issue with my 2017 Acadia. I took it back to dealership a week after I bought it because it was saying “shift to park”. The computer wouldn’t shut off for hours one day. They came and got it. I had a rental and they gave it back 3 weeks later. That was over a month ago and recently it’s been giving me the same error. It’s not as regular as before. I am able to move the shifter a bit and it shuts off. I just really hope it was truly fixed and not a bandaid on it until my warranty expires. I’m extremely disappointed in GM and how they are trying to treat this situation.
My 2017 model did as described and the dealer replaced the shifter mechanism.
I had the same problem as of December 11th 2019 I was told there was a fix and they replaced a harness and this seemed to solve the problem. This was completed at my expense of about…..
I have the same problem with a 2018 GMC Acadia. On December 11th 2019 I had this problem solved as they described in a bulletin from GM with a harness problem. The GMC dealer made this repair at my expense for about $250.
.
This happened to me / was told it was gear shift at one gm place / however since it was my battery that kept dying I went to another gmc Buick dealership and they told me it was battery / spent $300 in new battery and the the shift problem kept happening / instead of paying another $500 to fix that I traded it in
Same problem, most attempts to shut off the system was 8. New parts installed by the GMC dealer helped but it does it still every so often.
Had the same problem in 2018 Chevy traverse fixed under warranty. Dropped off at dealership after waiting a week for appointment. Did not fix part was not in stock would call when part arrived to set up new appointment. After 3 weeks of no phone call I called and made a stink because issue was getting worse plus driving vacation was a week away. Bought in the next day and was fixed under warranty. Obviously a big problem because no part in stock service writer told me he took another customers part to fix mine so I can go on vacation without a issue.
I have experienced the same shift to to park problem this past summer (2019) while on a driving vacation. I did find a work around for l9cking the vehicle by using the key fob or passenger door lock. The problem was fixed by my dealer when I returned home with no problems since.
But I still have a very noisy transmission whine while driving in allwheel mode at 60km (35mph). I have been told that there is nothing that can be done. Anybody else?
Glad I have a 19 Cruze.
Shift To Park Issue.
I had the same problem reported on the GMC Arcadia on my 2017 Malibu. I took it to my Chevy dealer and they said they had no bulliten on this but they did fix what ever the problem was, since I have not had the problem reoccur.
We bought our GMC Arcadia Denali about 5 months ago and we are currently experincing the same issue and the shift to park problem I figure out to release the break after putting the car in park. It work but there times the Car does it all the time. It sucks
Just got our 2017 Acadia fixed on Tuesday 12/10/19 they explained they replace the the TCM. Vehicle works correctly now.
I brought my 2017 GMC Arcadia and I am just starting to have these problems.
I have a 2017 model Acadia. I have experienced this several times. My car will not shut off when it does this.
Set the parking brake
Had a 2017 Acadia Denali and put 37000 miles on it. Never had this issue though a better trans would have been appreciated.
I have a 2017 Acadia, and experience the same exact problem! Sometimes it’ll happen every time I put my car in park, then there’s times it’ll go weeks without doing it! I haven’t found a fix either. I sometimes have to restart my car and move it to drive and then back to park several times before it recognizes it’s in park.
I had the harness installed in my out of warranty 16 Malibu LT a month ago for $50 by the dealer…no issues since.
BTW if you tap the shift selector button several times quickly, it almost always turns off the message. A good workaround until you get the harness installed.
Back when Mazda service was in the same building as GM and Chrysler I’d sit there waiting for scheduled service to be completed on my Mazda and most of the GM owners were there for recalls. I recently called my daughter about a recall on her 2017 Tahoe because it sounded serious concerning one wheel locking up as the vehicle went down the road.She said great, I can put that one with the other two I have in my glove box.
Our 2017 GMC Acadia also does this. I took it to the dealer and they also said it is something that cannot be fixed. It doesn’t do it all the time, but it is still a pain especially for the amount of money you pay for a new vehicle. Very disappointing I have always wanted an Acadia.
My GMC Acadia Denali has the same shift from park to another gear is not operating correctly. I had the vehicle in the garage six times for same service of the vehicle. My question is what happened to quality and respect of the customer and not just looking at profits.
Same issue with my 2017 acadia. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes of trying to “park” just to make a quick trip into the store. Sometimes I could have been done shopping and home by the time I actually get the dumb thing to work.
My Acadia just started doing this is there something I can do ?
My 2018 Acadia was doing the same thing. Took it to the dealership and they replaced my entire gear shift. Works great now.
Same issue I’ve experienced…twice. entire gear shift assembly replaced twice. Had to have the car towed to dealership twice…they covered first row and then couldn’t believe the car was back second time. I covered second.
I have a 2019 Acadia and this started at about 12000 miles. Happens intermittently and is annoying. Haven’t taken it to the dealer yet
I have a 2009 Acadia SLT with almost 209,000 miles on it and a month ago I had this issue with the gear not recognizing it was in park. I was told it was the whole assembly arm had to be replaced but a friend googled it and only the little rubber connector was missing. He ordered the $25 part for me and I popped it in myself. For the week I waited for delivery a binder clip was all that was necessary to keep it in place and that was driving on the Houston freeways.
I recently purchased my 2017 and I have noticed this issue to happen off and on. When was occurring I scheduled with maintenance review then the error stopped. Then after scheduling for an oil change it started again so I scheduled another appointment then it stopped. I just don’t know what to do because it’s hard to report a problem that isn’t presenting itself at the time of your appointment.
I have a 2018 Acadia and this started happening at about 20,000 miles. I have an appointment to take it to the dealer this week. Very annoying and something better be done.
Mine started around 23,000 miles….also the “brake assist”…..
I have a 2017 with 19,500 miles . I am having the same problem. Is there a recall on it .
My 2107 as done this 2 times 1st time they said they fixed 3 days later my wife and daughter were stranded in a parking lot.my wife had to set there with her foot on the brake because it was in park but want to roll they fixed again .
I have a 2011 GMC Acadia and I am on my 3rd 3.6 liter engine, 3rd catalytic converter, and multiple other items that add up to 11,000. The vehicle has 146,000 miles on it. A friend of mine has a 2008 and is on the second transmission second complete set of timing equipment second throttle body…..see where I’m going with this, gmc should have pulled this line of junk and issued lemon law refunds or trades for something else for an American auto company to produce this for this long with this many problems they should be ashamed.
I have a 2017 Acadia which I bought exactly four months ago two weeks ago it started the message error shift to park when the car is actually in park it’s ridiculous that they sold me this car knowing that you already had a problem with these shifter selectors and that you should have told me during the time that I purchased the car that that might be an issue now it takes me up to 10 to 20 times just to get the car to turn off because it won’t turn off cuz it doesn’t recognize that it is in park I will tomorrow call my the dealer that so me me this junk and see what they could do about it if nothing can be done then I will call GM Headquarters if nothing can be done then I will be on the list with everybody else on this class action suit
I lease a 2017 Acadia which had the problem. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the shifter, resolving the problem. It took several hours, but there was no charge and I have have not had the problem since.
I have the 2017 Arcadia and just started noticing this problem. Will be calling the dealer today.
We had this problem with our 2017 Acadia “Denali”. We took it to our dealership and they replaced the entire shifter. No problem since then after several thousand miles.
have a 2018 Acadia, with 46000 miles started having this same problem at about 39000 miles,conveniently 3000 miles after the warranty expired. luckily it’s not an every day thing,and I noticed if you put it in reverse go around 6 or 7 feet pull back forward and try again,it usually works .still a ridiculous problem to have on a 40000 dollar vehicle.
I have the 2017 Arcadia and just started noticing this problem. Will be calling the dealer today.
Had the shift to park problem,shifter replaced. Since then I have a problem witb my remote not unlocking or locking doors. It started a month after the shifter was replaced.
I too am having this problem. 2017 Acadia. It’s very frustrating when you turn your vehicle off and you get the message “shift to park”. I’ve been having to do this multiple times before the message is gone.
2018 started the shitt to park at 23 thousand miles, doors would not lock, couldn’t turn off the car twice, local delarship switched it out, so far so good, always paranoid especially since warranty is almost up
My Acadia has started doing this.
Obviously, the problem is huge. (Wonder what the failure numbers are.) And GMC could take a major hit in a class-action settlement.
If the company hopes to recover with any customer good-will and trust left. It should:
Admit the issue.
Replace the entire assembly with NEW and REDESIGNED assembly and stop screwing around with wiring harness and jumper. That’s not the root cause.
If a customer brings a car in for service, respect the customer. Don’t pull the “can’t duplicate the problem” tactic. The issue can be maddeningly intermittent, but the part is clearly defective. A customer’s cell phone photo of the dash displaying the error should suffice. Replace the freaking part.
Uh . . . . There is a lack of sufficient inventory of new assemblies. Ramp up production so a customer doesn’t have to wait three freaking months for the part to arrive. 48 hours would be acceptable; 24 hours even better.
It IS a safety issue. One example: You park your Acadia alone in a college/mall parking lot at night. Issue occurs Preventing you from securing vehicle. You come back three hours later in the dark. If the Acadia hasn’t been ransacked, there could be an assailant hiding INSIDE the unlocked vehicle waiting.
Shame.
We are having the same issue with our 2015 GMC Acadia. We called our GMC dealership who did not sound optimistic in being able to fix the issue. My wife was stuck with the car runnning and unable to turn off for 30 minutes today.
I would quickly be finding a dealership that would fix the problem. The other one would never see another dime of business.
I have a 2018 Acadia Denali and it started having the shift to park issue when the car was about 11 months old. They replaced the whole shifter for me and all has been well until about 3 days ago. The car will now be 2 years old in February and 29,000 miles on it and it has started again. Taking it back to the shop for the second time with the same issue. It is frustrating to pay this much for a car and you have to keep restarting it, shift to reverse and back to park again several times to get it to turn off! I also had to have my battery replaced on it about 2 months ago. Not very happy!
As previously stated, I had this problem on my 2017 Acadia Denali in October at about 23,000 miles. I made a service appointment and my dealer did a repair in just a couple of hours. I have driven about 4,000 miles since with no problems. I just took a look at my repair invoice to see exactly what it says. It states that they performed the repair per the service bulletin and that they replaced the shifter, as cables were not available due to the GM strike. Work was done under warranty and seems to have fixed the problem.
My 2018 Acadia started doing this today. Called the dealer to set up an appt but can get in for over a week and I’m scheduled to leave town. I’m really afraid to drive it
I have a 2018 Acadia and it recently started having this issue. It’s so frustrating to try and park at work, home or anywhere and have to start and stop my car several times, attempt to move the car around to make it “happy” enough to cooperate and register the car being shifted into park. It’s annoying and time consuming at the same time! I love this car, but HATE this issue and need to find a fix.
This has been a recurring problem for our 2017 Acadia maybe for the past year and a half. I noticed it mostly happens when we are on a hill or uneven ground/lot. Dealershio Maintenance service here is horrible, they don’t even acknowledge your presence so I’m sure they could care less about a problem like this.
My 2018 GMC Acadia started this in September, they replaced my harness and it stopped however, it started doing it again! So frustrating. I have to shut off and restart the ignition and change shifter to drive several times before it shuts off. It has drained my battery twice. And needed to get it jumped. I am taking it in again today to see if they can resolve it. Has anything worked for any of you?
I own a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali & yes I have had my vehicle in twice for this issue. They told me the first fix they did would solve the problem, not so much as it developed the same issue 4 months later!!!Now I will constantly watch & wait to see if this time it is fixed. I have my doubts.
2018 Acadia Denali . was doing this for weeks. dealer put me in a rental during the strike. that was 3 months ago.
I have a 2018 acadia, we are having this issue with the shift to park, my family and I was going out to eat dinner last night, we put the car in park. The *shift to park came on* we push the shifter button, it turned off. So we get out try to lock the doors and it wont lock. The car didnt shut off because of the shift to park. Its so frustrating to be dealing with this. First the emergency brake, now this. Its a 2018 we should not have all these problems.
I just had mine in for a second time. 2017 Acadia. I purchased in 2018 and it happened shortly there after less than 20,000 miles at the time and still in warranty. They replaced the shifting assembly. Happened again last week out of warranty. The dealership contacted GM to cover the cost of repair. GM payed part and the dealership picked up the rest but what happens next time? I called GM and filed a formal complaint. I want out of this car.
My 2018 acadia started doing this, it would not lock or did not shut off all the way. Its so frustrating, first it was the emergency brake, then this *shift to park* its a 2018 we should not have all this issues with a new car.
Got my car back yesterday, GMC dealer installed new transmission shift control. They replaced the harness in November, which helped but didn’t solve the problem completely. We will see how this fix goes. Someone mentioned parking brake problem. We had that too.
My 2017 Acadia is having this issue. I took it into dealership and they replaced the harness..that lasted about a month and now I’m having the same issue again. Called the dealership to report it and was told they have no other fixes and are waiting for GM to release another fix..so guess I’m just stuck dealing with this issue. It is so frustrating!!
I would call another dealership. When I first had the issue they replaced the entire shifter. When it happened the second time they replaced the harness. When it happened the third time they replaced the shifter again. My car just turned 2 years old. I would stay on them. It’s been about a month since my last fix, but I’m not holding my breath because it seems to be happening after a few thousand miles. I feel for you!
My 2018 acadia just started to do this shift to park every time. It does not allow me to turn off the car as it thinks I’m still in drive
Same issue with My 2018 Acadia. It took me 40 minutes the other day to get it to shut off. It is currently at the dealership now. I hope they fix it right. I agree … This is a on going problem and since GM knows this is happening they need to step up & take responsibly for they mistakes. They need to send out a public recall before some get seriously hurt or worst. Corporations need to stop looking at the $$$ & start looking at their consumers they are putting in danger
I have posted on here before about my nightmare with this car. I bought it new and it’s a 2018 Acadia Denali. The car was 11months old and it started the shift to park. Took it to the dealership and they fixed it right away. They took out the shifter and replaced it with a new one. 11 months later the shift to park comes on again. Complete frustration now. Took it to the dealership again and this time they did something with harness wiring. All fixed and given back to me. Not even 2 weeks later shift to park comes on again. Back to the dealership and they have replaced the entire shifter again. My car will be 2 years old in February. When you pay a lot of money for a car you expect it to work. I am very disappointed in this car. I also have had a new battery put in. Please be aware that just because they fixed it doesn’t mean it won’t happen again. Take it from someone that it’s happened to 3 times.
My 2018 Acadia just started doing this and is quickly getting worse requiring me to try and trick it into doing what it’s supposed to do!! I have two small kids. I can’t have my car refusing to park! Unacceptable. I have put in a call to the dealership I bought it from. Waiting to hear back…
My 2018 GMC Acadia started giving me “park to shift” message about 1 week ago. It fi ally took me about 35 minutes to turn off my car while grocery shopping with my baby.
My car is now at the local dealership and will be there for 1 week while they wait for part. Per service advisor, part is a harness that is not communicating.
Hopefully this will get issue resolved.
2018 GMC Acadia started doing this about 3 days ago, 29,000 miles on the vehicle.
Wow at the rate you’re going you’ll have 100,000 on a 4 year old vehicle.
Over 2 visits several months apart, my dealer replaced the wiring harness with limited success, then replaced the shifter assembly. After 2 weeks, so far, so good.
We have a 2017 and it’s been doing this about a month now. 32k miles
I have a 2017 Acadia and have had this issue since 19,000 miles. Have had it “repaired” 5 times and supposedly replaced parts in shift lever but it still occurs even now. I’m about five with this vehicle. Now has 36,000 miles and still a problem occasionally with same message/locked up transmission so I can’t move vehicle. Hate to see that shift to park message and nothing but run around from the dealer!
I traded in my 2018 Acadia after it left me in reverse in a parking lot after it had been at the service center twice and had the shifting mechanism replaced TWICE already. I was so upside down with the trade. I went into a 2019 Sierra, and it was just in the service center for a week and a half after they told me “they can not duplicate the error” ironically I get home after driving only 10 miles and it’s giving me the alert again! The service rep told me this is the first Sierra he has seen with this being reported – I feel like they don’t have any answers which is why they are stating they can’t duplicate it. They already know my history with my Acadia!
This actually just happened to me. I parked in my drive way and it was fine. Went into the garage to park the car and it said it. I had to turn the car on and off 5 -6 times. I reversed it and pulled back in and it quit, still put my park brake on. 2018 acadia 50,000 miles
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia All Terrain with 24,000 miles. This has been happening to me for a month now. I took video of it for documentation. I have yet to take it to the dealer and it sounds like I would be wasting my time if I did.
I found with mine the issue was that the button to switch gears is sticky so whenever it pops up “Shift to park” I press the button and release it a couple times and it turns off.
We have a 2019 GMC Acadia that has this same issue with the fault notification that the transmission is not in park.We took it to the gym dealer and they replaced the control cable,problem solved for a short time,now it’s doing it again intermittently so back it goes on Monday,don’t know what they’ll do this time.
My 2017 Acadia is doing the exact same thing. Action Required: Shift to Park. You would think that if more and more people is experiencing the same problem that they would at least cover some of the expense.
I’ve had my 18 gmc Acadia less than a mth with only 22000… and its showing the shift to park warning and wont shut off has done it now 2x within 2 hrs apart..I’m freaking out.. I’m waiting on the dealership to call me in the monring..prayers
I have 2017 Acadia I have same problem
I was able to get a loaner vehicle while they serviced my 2018 Acadia for this issue. They told me the transmission shift has to be replaced. It’s been a two days since I got my vehicle back and I haven’t gotten the message. Let’s see how long it lasts.
I have a 2018 Acadia that has been doing this also. Soooo frustrating, not to mention time consuming to fiddle around to try and shut the car off. Does anyone know how we can join the class action lawsuit?
Well…. the 2017 GMC Denali…. is driving me crazy with the “shift to park” error message that I am CONSTANTLY getting every time I park!!!! HELP!!…. I’m tired of this!! Had to run errand just a minute ago…. thought I wasn’t gonna ever get to leave the car!!! Then it did it again when I got
Back to school. Not counting this morning when I GOT to school!!
This is from my wife.
I have a 2017 Acadia and have also had this same thing happen to me 6 times. Today it took me over 5 minutes of turning my car on and off and shifting through gears to get it to actually go into park and shut off. Very frustrating with my kids in the car needing to get out and not able to until I can get the car into park.
What do I do? I thought it was me, and now it keeps saying shift to park and I have to use my E brake.
I have a GMC Acadia 2018 with 16000 miles on it. It says shift to park when it is already parked.this happens several times a week.
Just left the dealership re my 18 Acadia I am dropping it off Monday for them to check things out re the shift to park issue..they say they will replace this..then check it about 50 times have me drive it then if it does again then they will replace the gear shift assembly..only if it fails.. ughhhhhh
So we will see..
It’s happened to me like 5 times I’ve only had my Acadia 2 mths..
Gm needs to do the right thing and recall it and really fix the issue..
I just had my Acadia “fixed” For the second time last week. Already started up again. I’m going car shopping tomorrow. I’m backwards on my loan but it’s worth the piece of mind not to have a car with such issues. Just today my son opened his door when I “parked” I took my foot of the break and it rolled back. Had he gotten out he could have been injured. This is a very serious problem and needs to be addressed.
I have only had mine less than 2 mths cant get out of it .. they have got to fix this issue and fix it right
good luck
Dealership wont fix being there is no recall on my specific VIN, having to pay outta pocket!
I just bought my 2018 Acadia with low mileage in July of 2019. Of course after the warranty went out i started having this issue. It even made me late for work because i was sitting in the parking lot turning it on and off and moving the gear shift from drive to park each time. We are taking the car to the dealer tomorrow but i was hoping to find out it had been a reacall done on this issue and would be fixable. It does not look that way to me.
It needs to be a recall.
GM needs to step up and do the right thing before they have another Cobalt fiasco on their hands
Is there away to join a lawsuit against this I have a 2018 GMC Acadia it just started doing this. The families that have children like mine this can get dangerous. I feel like something needs to be done.
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia. This started happening to me. I would like to join the lawsuit and how do I do that . People with kids like I do this can get dangerous for us and them with this problem.
Hi Ashley,
It’s funny that you mention lawsuit, because I was just thinking class action lawsuit today as well!! I googled how to get in touch with GMC and came across this phone number. 1-888-988-7267. I pushed 0 and it connected me with a GMC customer service. As of right now, there is no recall. They rook my VIN number(which is on your insurance card) and made a note of it in our file. If they get enough (not sure how many, enough would be) for GMC to issue a recall. So, with that being said, call, call ,call them, or we will all be stuck with the bill to fix what is CLEARLY a car company glitch/problem/issue, and not a vehicle owner’s fault!!
thank you I will call daily.. LOL
Yes how do you get in on the lawsuit.. I have grandbabies 4 that’s why I traded my impala in on the 2018 gmc Acadia
Someone needs to contact the news station..
You would think GM learned their lesson with the Cobalt..
I too am having this issue with my 2017Acadia. Started last month. How do i get in on the lawsuit. Or get more information. This issue is becoming more of an issue every day.
Yes I just an email to the investigations dept of Fox 4 news..weather it will help or not IDK.. But I tried.. I don’t understand GM you seriously would think after the CHEVY COBALT fiasco they would recall and fix this problem before lives are lost.. I guess that’s what they are waiting on.. for deaths to occur.. which is so sad!!!
I take mine tomorrow to get it looked at.. will update yall as soon as I hear.. Its a process they are telling me.. replace this first.. try 50 times drive it for a couple of days see if that fixed it.. if not then we will do this??????????????????? really.. just fix it right in the first place!!!!! I do love the Acadia just very concerned
Prayers for us all
My 2018 just stared having the same issues. At first it was just annoying now it making me mad. Have to turn the car on and off several times for it to reset.
This has obviously been a clusterf**k for customers over several model years and clearly involves a grossly defective manufacturer’s part. Over the course of three visits to my dealer did the issue in my 2017 Acadia with <13,000 miles and under warranty, I was without my vehicle for about three months. Had loaner for some of that. First “fix” (wiring harness) lasted until my first park. Second fix (shifter assembly) still working after several months. I’m lucky, apparently: dealer covered stuff done under warranty and got approval for rental car for all but the first week of first visit. I know that all weren’t as fortunate. I’m trying to find out more about the class-action lawsuit in case my Acadia breaks again. If it does, I’ll also pursue remedy through my state’s lemon law (check the guidelines for your state’s lemon law; generally applies even post-warranty). IF I had even a single share of GM stock AND I lived closer to Detroit, I’d show up to disrupt the next shareholders meeting with a question.
Had my 18 Acadia worked on monday they replaced the wiring harness ..first step.. so far so good.. praying this fixed it.. prayers for all that are having this issue..prayers that GM will recall and take ownership of their problem.
I had my harness wiring replaced in Sept. 2019 by Dec. “Shift to Park” started up again. This time more often and would take me 6 plus times to get it to stop or battery would die. I brought My 2018 Acadia back to dealer since my warranty was going to end soon and I complained that they never fixed the problem. They change the entire shifter. So far, it is working however I read from others this is temporary. If anyone has information regarding class action please share
I have a 2018 gmc acadia denali and I have been having same issue. It say I am not in park when the shifter is in park
This just started two days ago! At first, I didn’t think I put in park, now I’m really upset! Reading this article, how can they not have a fix for an almost $40,000 car that I have 30,000 miles on? Calling Monday, can’t wait to see what they say!
This has continued to happen to our 2017 GNC Acadia Denali, even after taking it in and having it repaired under the BRAND NEW Service Bulletin that was released the day I took it in (1/30/20). The problem is even worse now; the dealer is now going to replace the shifter assembly. Fortunately, it is under warranty.
Took my 2018 on a test drive in June 2018 no issues. Brought the truck. A few days later I was receiving the shift to park error. Took it to dealership they replaced the shifter. Currently receiving this error message again. So annoying. I’m ready to trade in for the TELLURIDE. GMC sucks.
Having the same shift to park issue. Made an appointment for tomorrow. Hopefully all goes well. Have a feeling it will be a headache!
Curious as to how much you were charged. Picking mine up in a couple of hours. $600 for gear shift change.
I just started having the same issue about two weeks ago. I haven’t even had the vehicle for a year yet.
Same happened to us. The truck wasn’t even a year old when we bought it and as soon as we took it home off the lot it was given me the shift to park message. Didn’t happen on the test drive of course. Lucky the dealership paid for it to get fixed back in 2018 however it started doing it again this year.
Just got rid of it for a HONDA PILOT and we should have went to Honda a long time ago!
I have a 2018 Acadia that I have had this problem with for several months now. When I bought a new car I didn’t think I would have to spend a bunch on repairs so soon. GMC has let me down I thought they were better than that.
I had my 2017 in for this service yesterday at no charge. They said it was covered by the bumper to bumper warranty on the car.
Bumper to Bumper ended at 36,000 miles. I have 38,200 and was told out of pocket!! NOT right AT ALL!! IF GMC decides to recall, I can file a claim to have it reimbursed!
I am having the same issues with my 2017 Acadia
PLEASE HELP! i am literally sitting in my car waiting for the notification to stop – it is getting worse everyday. please help – how can i join the suit??
Inez. I’m so sorry you are having to deal with this! When it happened to me last week, I literally drove up and down my driveway-putting in into reverse, drive, park until it would turn off. As you know, this is a VERY dangerous situation. Please take your car to your GMC place and ask them to fix it. I’m praying the changing of the gear shift – $600!!!! Will help. I know a lot of money, but I’m praying GMC will DO THE RIGHT thing and have a recall. If they do, I was told I would be reimbursed. I’m not losing my life or the life of a loved one for GMC lack of concern. Let us know how you make out! 🙏🏻
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia. It doesn’t have the shift into park issue every day, but when it does, it’s ALL day long!! 😡 I have to go forward and reverse until it decides that it’s in park!! It’s VERY frustrating and annoying. Sometimes it’s 10 or more minutes before it finally acknowledges it’s in park. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m crazy. I’m taking it in next Friday for its oil change. I’m hoping they can fix it!!
This started on the 20th. Had a GMC advisor through On Star talk me through a series of steps to get the to recognize it was in park. The next morning it happened all over again. Took the Acadia directly to the dealership where they replaced a harness. Corrected the problem temporarily. Returned home from work that same night it occurred again. Drove around the block then it was ok. We’ll see if this continues.
I own a 2018 Acadia that has been to the dealership 3 times for the shift to park message. The service advisor quietly told me that GM really does not have a permanent solution for this problem yet and are just trying things and hoping for the best!
A hint for you to try if stuck trying to get the car to power off….wiggle the shifter stick around and click the shifter button like crazy until it finally makes a connection and shuts off. I learned this tip from another Acadia owner and so far it has been working for me so I don’t sit in a parking lot for 30 minutes trying to shut the car off.
Jess,
That wiggle “solution ” is exactly what my husband and I do! The weird thing is, it hasn’t happened in the last 2 months!! I guess it comes and goes!
Thanks for the news, but “just trying things and hoping for the best” doesn’t particularly instill confidence in the Acadia or ANY GM products. You are describing an electro-mechanical fault. There are a limited number of things that could be faulty. Replacing them all with proven/tested components/assemblies should result in a permanent remedy and relief to owners. The Boeing 737MAX test pilot could’ve been describing the Acadia and GM: “This airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys.”
I don’t disagree with you, but was simply giving a tip for those to try that say they are stuck trying to power the car down for an hour. I’m definitely not accepting this problem and am working through my state’s Lemon Law process to hopefully make GM make things right. This is total BS.
I dont understand why GM doesn’t recall these. I wish they did because I dont need to put my daughter in danger or anyone else. I dont have 600.00 dollars to get the gear shift replaced.
I am starting to have this problem. Please recall these because I cant afford 600.00 to get fixed.
Took my car to the dealer they changed the wires and when I picked it up it continued to do the same thing. Returned to the dealer and now they are changing something else.
My 2017 Acadia with 37,933 miles would not go to park. Dealer replaced shifter and electrical harness. No warranty. Reminds me of the GM ignition switch fiasco. Does anyone know how to get financial reimbursement from GMC?
My 2017 GMC Acadia has 53K miles and has the shift to park issue. Dealers want $500.00 + to fix. Any resolutions anytime soon? Starting to regret my decision for Acadia.
My 2018 Acadia just started doing this today. I happened once a couple of days ago, but I thought it was a fluke. Called the GM service center. They have not gotten back to me. Now I understand why. I have not found anything that works consistently to get it to acknowledge park. I’m keep working different options with the parking brake involved to get the car to acknowledge park. The last thing that work was put in neutral, press brake put on parking brake. Take foot off brake, shut car off and then put in park. That may not work the next time. I need this fixed, I cannot leave my car unlocked with the bell dinging.
I am having this problem. Am going to make an appointment.
Everyone please call GM yourself and come plain because if they get enough people they will issue out a recall, and also get the people that fixed or fixes your car please tell them to call and let them know what’s wrong so we can get a recall on this problem
I took my car in for the same issue only to get it back after they changed the wiring and it made no difference. I returned it back to the dealer 2 hours later and then they replaced the Transmission computer/module. So far so good, no issues
Isn’t that part housed inside the transmission?
Not sure just stated what the paperwork says to see if it would help anyone else.
I took my 2018 GMC Acadia with SHIFT TO PARK issue to dealership (28k miles). Harness was replaced and it was good for 1 day! Once again the issue started and this is very frustrating! I called service advisor here in Yuma, Az and was told GM does not know what is causing issue. Next step is to replace the shifter. There is no real solution according to service advisor, but they have to follow the next steps. This is frustrating and I needed to vent.
I found a video on YouTube that mentions to “flick” the shifter once in the park position and this did work at least once.
I have a 2018 Acadia and have had problems with the “shift to park” issue. I have taken it to the local dealer and had it “fixed” once. I am experiencing the issue again. Is it safe to drive or do I need to continue to take it to the dealer to fix every time this happens? It’s annoying! Is there something I can do to stop this? Anyone have suggestions?
Call GM and tell them what the dealership said and tell them everything. I shave been doing the same thing now in the process of getting fixed for free or ending up in a recall
I, too, am having issues with my 2017 GMC Acadia’s ”Shift to Park” message. I had the gear shift replaced less than 1 year ago and didn’t have to worry about receiving the message for a while. Now the message has come back and it is displayed every time I get ready to leave my car. I’m concerned that GMC will not fix it. I was told by a dealer that I’m no longer under warranty, and that I would have to pay to have it fixed.
I am having the same issue. I called the dealership and they said they knew about this issue. Why can’t they let us know
I had my 2017 Acadia in three times last summer/fall. First time, dealer “could not replicate issue.” Had problem first stop on way home and returned. After waiting for parts, wiring harness replaced after weeks. Had failure again on the way home and returned car. After six weeks, they got new shifter assembly and installed. This was covered under warranty. I let dealer know that should the issue reoccur after warranty, I’d be submitting a claim for installation of a faulty part and would also pursue compensation under the Texas lemon law. OK so far, but just had a failure of automatic tailgate lift rod. Rod detached and tailgate nearly decapitated a guy at a farmers market who was loading a crate of veggies. Seems there was a recall for previous years. Guess GM is still installing faulty/substandard parts during manufacturing. Without car at least one night while part is trucked in. If this isn’t covered under warranty (little more than 14,000 miles), I’ll scream, charge it, then immediately contact credit card company to dispute the charge (and line up an attorney).
This is now the 2nd time in 2 years that I have this issue, furthermore I also have an issue presumably with the throttle body that keep the car on a higher then normal rpm when stopped in drive.
Now I need to take it again so that they can replace the faulty shifter sensor.
I have a 18’ Acadia and for the past few days this has been happening! I find that if I push the shifter forward more it finally shuts the annoying message off, but this is worrisome as I have 4 children. It also went into neutral itself as I was driving slowing down last week. My vehicle only has 15K miles on it as I bought it brand new!
I am having the same problem with my 2017 GMC ARCADIA. I have to shift into park several times hard. Hopefully that won’t damage anything. I will be calling the dealer.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia with the same problem not recognizing the shifter been in park it started at 44,000 miles. I’ve heard it’s a common problem with this car. I called the dealer they told me to bring it in and they will try to diagnose it but they hadn’t heard about this problem.
Yes, I have a 2017 Acadia and I have been having this issue for a couple of weeks.
My 2018 Acadia has just started having this problem leaving me in the parking lot of my job (often late for work) as I sit and shut my vehicle off and on trying to get the Shift to Park to shut off. Then when I go home I sit at home having the same problem before I can go into my house. Extremely annoying and could be dangerous!!
I just started having this happen on my 2018 Acadia last week and could not lock the car. Restarted the car and turned it off….all is good. Happens intermittently.
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia. I’ve had this issue “fixed” twice already at dealer. The first time I was told it was fixed and that they had switched out the shifter box. So when it happened again I took it back and they told me that they were sorry, but the first time they didn’t actually change the shifter box. Then they said they had one on hand and they would change it. That was changed supposedly on Feb 8. Now, not even two full months later, I was left stranded with 20 month old daughter. I put my shifter into park but it showed I was still in drive. The shift to park error came on but this time I couldn’t move my shifter at all and I couldn’t turn my vehicle completely off because of this. I had to call a tow truck and disconnect the battery in order to shut it off. This should not happen with a two year old vehicle.
Thank God, you both are okay. I simply don’t understand what it’s going to take. A death? Like all the issues were having, people have to die for folks to do the right thing?
GMC. So many of us have had this problem. So many of us are struggling in these times. DO THE RIGHT THING and recall this issue. The $600 I paid to get mine fixed sure would come in handy.
I have the same problem with my GMC Recently.
How do I join the lawsuit same issue
How do I join this lawsuit? I have this problem with my 2018 Acadia
I have a 2017 Acadia and it’s doing the same thing. How do I join the lawsuit??
I’ve experienced this same issue with my 2017 Acadia. Where do I find in-depth information about the law suit?
This frustrated woman would like link to lawsuit as well…my 2018 GMC Acadia has been to shop twice for same issue. I have no idea if fixed yet, since local dealership has had my car now for 1 month.
Respectfully,
Veronica Jenkins
I just started having the issues shift to park with my 2018 acadia. My fear is the rolling . My question is will the dealers know how to fix and is there going to be a recall
I am also having this same Issue on my GMC ARCADIA has there been a recall?
I am having the same issue with my 2018. GM refuses to pay to fix it! 450.00 I paid to fix it. They said it was not going to be covered under power train. I am not a happy customer.
I have a 2018 Acadia Denali, bought new. I only have 60K miles. It started doing this about a month ago- intermittently. Sooo aggravating! With this damn virus & quarantine I’m leery bringing it in fir service. I guess I should’ve stayed with a FORD EXPLORER.
Just started happening to me last week with my 2017 Acadia it’s happened twice now but since I’ve owned this (1st owner) I’ve ALWAYS had key fob issues where it won’t recognize them I’m about to buy a ton of batteries for my remote just incase it’s that but I’ve had the battery swapped out and the infotainment center issues twice now and I’ve had it for less then 3 years ! I purchased this vehicles in hopes of paying it off and keeping it for a long while but now I’m starting to be a bit concerned with all these things …. plus defective tire issues I had to pay $550 to replace 3 of them at a prorated cost with manufacturer only covering half … has anyone gotten any new information on this and what can be done ?!
I have a 2019 Acadia with 14,000 miles and mine started it today took me 5 times to get it in to park . It’s in park but dash is saying it’s not in park
Same problem here!! Extremely frustrated. May ditch GMC when this lease is up.
Mine is in for repair now saying its a common problem will eventually recall they are going to have to replace the shifter!
Unless you get the new 2020 without the leather gear shifter..I think gmc will always have this problem if
I have this exact problem! Took my 2018 Acadia to the dealership 6 weeks ago where they “fixed” the issue by replacing the In line jumper harness to transmission control circuit and yet I’m having the exact same issue again! Not planning to take it back to the dealer but will trade it in.
Tomorrow will be the 3rd time to my dealer with the “shirt to park” problem. 2 were under warranty this time I have 50k on my car. I’m not encouraged by remarks here…
I have a 2017 Acadia and have had this issue forever. No recall and I can’t afford to fix it. My car actually rolled while in park into another car! Now I’m stuck with a bill I can’t afford and no one wants to help.
I just ran into this issue with my 2017 Acadia. I called the dealer and they want to charge me $150 just to do the diagnostic! Then they would charge me to repair it! Anyone can help me in how they fixed their issue and how much. I just ran out of the warranty!
Same problem with my 2018 Acadia! I’m scheduled for service tomorrow and was told it could take up to 7 hour to determine the problem! I am just barely still under warranty.I did just watches YouTube videos suggesting the problem is in the gear shift knob. Anyone know if this is a viable solution?
Illbegkad to join the lawsuit if it results in a recall.
I had mine fixed last week they replaced entire shifter they were very familiar with the problem said it was very common and that it would eventualy become a recall. So far so good after they replaced it.
Cheryl
They replaced our shifter a couple of days after we purchased our 2018 in 2019. It started doing the same thing this year. I didn’t have the patience to deal with it so we got rid of the whole vehicle!
Same problem with my 2018 Acadia! I’m scheduled for service tomorrow and was told it could take up to 7 hour to determine the problem! I am just barely still under warranty.I did just watches YouTube videos suggesting the problem is in the gear shift knob. Anyone know if this is a viable solution?
Ill be glad to join the lawsuit if it results in a recall.
I am having this issue on my 2017. This is ridiculous and there should be a recall fix.
My 2017 Acadia was in the shop yesterday for the 3rd time. The second time they changed out the gear shift. Obviously that was mot the problem cause the shift to park reappeared. Yesterday they put a harness in bypassing the gear shift. This fix was also in a technical bulletin I saw on line. The dealer tried to get me to pay the $14 the harness cost but I argued and they paid. They know it’s a problem.
I am having the same issue as well. My car is in park and my display reads Shift to Park. I am stuck right now and cannot get it to clear.
Same issue. Car in park Shift to Park displayed. Stranded and annoyed.
I experienced the shift to park issue in November 2019, my gmc dealer replaced a harness in the shifter, it continued to have issues in late December 2019. The dealer replaced the shifter, then yesterday 5/1/2020, I put it in park and my car was stuck in neutral in a friends drive way. I had to get it towed because it wouldn’t electronically shut off and the shifter was locked up, I have a 2017 GMC Acadia all terrain.
I honestly regret buying the GMC Acadia 2018. Very nice car but struggling with this car.
Same problem with my GMC Acadia 2018. It’s been happening for months. My sister has a Chevy 2018 sedan and has this problem as well.
I was born and raised in Texas, so my first car was a pickup truck, a GMC hand-me-down from my uncle. Drove it in high school and first few years of college (wish I still had it). Owned lots of makes and models through the years. In 2013, I found myself in need of an SUV. Remembering that first truck, I got a GMC Yukon. Great car and problem free until 2018 when it was totaled in a freak car accident. When I recovered, I decided I no longer needed a full-size, so I bought an Acadia. Still like it, but took three visits to dealer to get this problem “fixed.” Support for hatchback suddenly broke, almost decapitating a guy loading produce into the Acadia at a farmers market. All eventually repaired under warranty, but I’m leery. At first sign of “shift to park” problem again, I’m pursuing remedy under my state’s Lemon Law. Sad, but this will be the last GM product I ever buy, unless GM offers a recall/reimbursement/permanent fix. Not too surprising, but I see where new Acadia sales tanked even before the pandemic. Too bad; could’ve been a great vehicle.
My mother in law has the same problem with her 2018 Acadia. Every time she shifts to park the message persists for 10-30 seconds. She doesn’t even like driving anywhere because of this issue, it leaves her vulnerable when she tries to park. And she’s already taken it in once for this and the dealership “installed jumper wiring harness to transmission controller per 19-NA-206” to no avail. She’s interested in the class action.
I am currently experiencing this issue and have a service call set up this week. I am experiencing the same issues that are in the report where the vehicle will not shut off or lock. The issue started intermittently a couple of months ago to occuring after every trip over the last week.
I have a 2017 Acadia Denali. So far, I’ve blocked the pickup line at a Middle School and so many of us in line were late picking up kids after school. I had to call someone to pick up my Grandaughter as I had to wait for a Service Truck. Today, my SUV wouldn’t start. It was as if the battery was dead. But the whole instrument Panel was lit up. I couldn’t turn my lights not my windshield wipers off. I couldn’t turn off my Blue Tooth nor could I get the Radio off. The Tow Driver managed to force charge the battery enough to get my car into Neutral. I feel like I’m being blown off by the GMC Service Centers. I missed two Appointments today and tomorrow I will pick up a Rental. I think GMC should pay for this. I had a 2016 Ford Explorer. I had Carbon Monoxide leaker GN into the Cabin. Ford wouldn’t take responsibility in the beginning but the Dealership Service Center Knew their was a problem. They took care of the Rentals from the very beginning.
I have a 2018 Acadia and the “shift into park” message just started and I am in park. Is there a recall on this issue?
I have a 2018 Acadia and the error message “shift into park “ when in park just started. Is there a recall?
No recall at this time, but it should be
I have an 2018 Acadia Crossover and I’m experiencing this very same thing. I put the car in park and when I turn off the car the message says “shift to park”. I have to juggle the gear shift or hold the button on the gear shift to get it stop. I have also experience that when I put the car in park, the shift to park light comes on and the radio continues to play, and the bell continues to ring. Then I would have to turn the car back on, put it in another gear, then back to park to get it turn off.
I called Fusion GMC Service department and was told that they are getting several calls about this issue. He also said that GMC has not issued a recall on this to his knowledge. GM need to look further into this issue. This is my first time ever purchasing an GMC and since I have family working for GM, I thought I would support them by purchasing a vehicle. I know that vehicles have depreciation values and issues, but for GM not to do an recall when there is a pending lawsuit, is mind boggling to me.
1st time GMC buyer
My Acadia 2018 displays shift to park notification when I’m in park. I just took it to my local GMC dealership it cost close to 700 dollars to fix and my car has 40,000 miles on it. Not cool GMC I rave about this brand and have bought only GMC. There should be a recall on this shift sensor I should have to pay this much during Covid due to GMs mistake
Yes have this issue on my 2017 Acadia. First it was just once every 6 weeks and I could just jiggle shifter. Now it is happening every day and simply jiggling it is not working. I was running errand yesterday and was scared I was stranded I finally got it to work. There needs to be a recall for this.
I called GMC and they called me to see if I got the issue fixed if enough people call on this issue my dealership said eventually it will be a recall
Yes! I have 2018 GMC Acadia and am stuck in it right now and can’t get it to “shift to park”. The problem only continues to get worse. I’m so frustrated!
I took my car to the dealership service department (small town one we typically work with and know – not the one we purchased from) and they fixed the problem. I asked the service dept. supervisor about continued problems and he told me that the original way they were fixing them did have some returns but they are now using a redesigned shifter and haven’t had anyone bring them back with continued issues. Time will tell and my fingers are crossed.
Yes I am having the same problem and was told by my dealership that o have to replace the entire control. Does anyone know if this fixes the problem ? It doesn’t sound like it
I have been fighting with GM to fix this shift to park problem on my 2018 GMC Acadia since July 19 . It was diagnosed at dealership under the bumper to bumper warranty. They now say since my car is over the 36000 miles I have to pay for this to get fixed even though I have documents showing mileage when I took to dealership. I am beyond frustrated!
Imagine being stuck for a whole week without a car and in a foreign country that doesn’t have any GM dealerships. I bought this GMC Acadia for my family to go on tropes while in Europe and I regret it so badly that I’m about to trade it in for a Toyota. I got super lucky that a retired mechanic here in Belgium helped fixed my car by removing the park brake that’s located on the back left tire. That was the only way to get my car to drive.
Outfreakingrageous! I would demand that the dealer demonstrate that any parts and labor ARE NOT covered by a guarantee. Does your state have a lemon law? If it ever happens to me again after two “repairs” I’m lawyering up.
I’m a sedan guy. I’m glad I bought a 19 Cruze LS. No recalls, perfect running.
Yes, I had my recall done on 2/13/19 and it started the shift to park again 4 /30/20, car won’t shut off is it in PARK! Called the dealer and now just over a year later and at 45K miles no warranty to their fix! Absolutely not right GMC and your dealer!
Im having the same issue with my car after many other issues such as the car accelerating forward without my foot hitting the gas pedal and the car shifting into another lane while I’m in my lane. I’ve had no help from gmc and I will never buy another vehicle from them.
My dealer charged me yesterday $447 to fix this issue. He swore to me this would work and said they had done a number of these. Mine was out of warranty but i’m mad because when I took in for service during warranty if someone had asked me if I had ever gotten the message I would have said yes. But back then it would happen once every 6 weeks or longer and it was not a big deal and a quick jiggle corrected it. I never thought to mention it when taking it in for oil change etc.
I had the same exact issue with my 2017 Acadia. I just had it replaced today. Luckily, I had an extended warranty. Good that I found this blog to report it.
Just started experiencing this problem with my 2018. Will get to dealer next week. Only at 39000 miles. Haven’t driven vehicle much lately due to vivid quarantine but from reading some of the statements here definitely needs to be fixed correctly! Where’s the recall gm???
Yep, our 2018 Acadia Denali just started having this “shift-to-park” issue right at the 20k mile mark. The emergency brake is also one of those new electric “jack screw” types, but does seem to stay engaged even when the shift-to-park indicator appears (at least so far). All we have done is simply let the electronic chimes, radio, and beeping horn simply “time out” (which occurs after about 15 minutes or so). Even when beeping and honking, we are still able to lock the car by the key fob (which we also don’t like), but we have no alarm function, just locked doors. Just give us a damn key and trash this (useless) keyless crap and (electric) E-brake garbage asap. Just make it an option on ALL models.
Purchased 2017 GMC Acadia Denali in March and just started to receive the “shift to park” message. Used keyless lock to stop the honking and lights to turn off. Returned to dead battery!
I purchased my 2018 GMC Acadia used and I am experiencing the shift to park issue. I have not taken it to a dealership due to the pandemic covid 19 quarantine, but I will be doing so soon….can anyone give me an estimated cost for the fix?
My 2017 GMC Acadia also has the shift to park issue, took in it once before to the dealership they “fixed” it under my warranty. Now at 30,000 miles it’s happening again. I’m still under warranty but VERY annoyed.
This is happening to me on my 2019 Chevy Malibu. Will this mess up your car if you do not get fixed? Also if it is certified pre owned and your withing the range will everything including the diagnostics test be covered?
I took a picture of the message with gear shift in park and they didn’t even question mine because the dealership had seen this on many of the Acadia’s.
My 2017 Acadia has the same problem: ‘shift to park’ when it’s already in park, I took it to the dealer four months ago. It was repaired. Now it’s happening again. What to do?
Mine has started doing the same thing. You have to start it again and pull forward and back again and try and see if it goes away. The radio wont go off when it’s doing it as well.
This issue seems to be intermittent for us so far. Thank you for that additonal info. I will pay closer attention to the accessories too , like the music. We are eager to get the vehicle to our dealer service department and learn more.
My 2018 Acadia had this issue a month and half ago and took it to dealer and they “fixed it” actually horrible customer service but that’s a whole different issue… well this started happening again… in that time my fuel pump also went out… in a month and a half this will be the third time I have to take my Acadia in and they said that the reason it is happening again is that there are two parts that should have been replaced but at the time they didn’t know it at the time so only replaced one part. Such a headache, the next thing that goes wrong I’m trading it in. It’s one thing after another. If it wasn’t for theses issues I would totally love my suv. But definitely won’t go with same dealership, horrible service.
I own a 2017 Acadia and have the same problem with Shift to Park. It’s intermittent but dangerous and annoying.
Update
Had vehicle serviced. Over $550.00 later they tell me it should be fixed. Replaced shifter assemble and harness. Even service manager says he can’t believe there hasn’t been a recall yet so there’s definitely a problem. I called gm to complain because no recall and I’m just out of warranty. We’ll see what happens.. EVERYONE WHO IS HAVING THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO CALL. SO HOPEFULLY A RECALL WILL BE ISSUED!
I called GM when mine happened but mine was under warranty they did call me back to see if it had been fixed so I definitely recommend fr everyone to call because its obviously a common problem and my service guy said eventually it would be a recall.
Just started happening to mine a week ago. We will see what GMC says next week.
I’m having the same problem shift to park I call the dealer they acted like they never heard of the problem told me to bring it in so they could diagnose it. 2017 acadia with 45000 miles.
This problem happened to me yesterday. I was in the country, at a greenhouse and tried to turn off my vehicle…no can do. I called GMC Canada three times but no one could answer even the most basic questions. I asked to speak with a supervisor but they kept connecting me to road side. It’s strange…everyone was so helpful when I was deciding to buy this
I also left messages locally however the dealership was closed, so I left a message on the GMC Canada Facebook page-no response.
When I arrived home, my husband has to disconnect the battery to shut it off. Almost $60k for this vehicle, no thanks. This is completely unsafe and totally unacceptable. We will be doing what ever it takes until this is properly resolved.
This is what worked for me. Place gear shifter in Park and if ‘shift to park’ comes on then fully depress the release button on the front of the shifter. I’m not saying this is normal. Just a temporary fix.
I purchased my 2018 Acadia new and within the first year experienced the shift to park issue. It was under warranty and repaired. One year later it happened again and was repaired. Now the car is not turning on at all as it doesn’t recognize that it’s in park to start up and it’s being towed to the dealership today. I haven’t even owned the car for two years. Would the lemon law apply or is there a class action in my state of Florida as well?
Purchased a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali with 22,000 mi this past Dec. this shifting to park issue has been happening intermittently to me past 3 or 4 months. With recent Covid, I haven’t been driving it as much. Called dealership today with concern. Secretary in service dept confirms having heard this. I have an apt for an oil change and for the service dept to look at this.
I have a 2017 GMC Arcadia and mine just started doing the same thing. I would shift to park but it gave me notification to shift to park. This has happened occasionally but today it happened 3 times. Going back to dealer again. I just got it out about a week ago because I had a sweet smell coming out of the AC vent. Turns out I had a leak in the heater coil and they replaced that. At least I bought the extended warranty and that was covered but I’m at about 58k and my warranty only goes to 75k. I have had to replace quite a few things on this car for how young it is.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia that is doing the “shift to park” We took it into the GM Service center here in Golden Valley MN on 5/8/2020 where we bought it and they replaced a wire harness they said was the cause. Due to the stay at home order in MN we had not driven the vehicle much. We drove it on Sunday and twice it did the “shift to park”!!!!! We called the shop today and were told we have to bring it in when it does it. Problem is we NEVER know when it is going to happen! This is VERY frustrating to say the least!!!
Just drove my 2018 Acadia off the lot today for $26,000. Brought it to the store parked it and had this SHIFT TO PARK message issue. Will be calling the dealer in the morning. **Eye roll**
Having the same issue with my 2017 Acadia. Brought it in to the dealership and they stated they couldn’t replicate the problem, therefore could not fix it. Problem is it doesn’t happen everytime I place it in the park position. Been having more issues with it lately. Dealer stated I would have to pay if they do find an issue next time I bring it in. Has 53,000 miles. Not happy!!
I was able to get the error and shifter in park and showed my dealership but they said hey were aware of the Acadia having the issue so they replaced my entire shifter on my 2019
My 2019 Acadia has this same problem with the shift to park message appearing in the dash.
I was not questioned at GMC, they fixed the “harness” as step one, I can bring it back a second time for further repair if that does not fix it.
Yep… my 30k mile 2018 Acadia Denali is doing the same thing when put into park: the “Shift to Park” warning pops up causing several other problems. The radio won’t shut off and the horn beeps that triple chirp as if you left someone in the rear seat (along with that same message). At that point, I have previously just walked away (with the radio on), and although the alarm will not arm, the doors will all lock.
BUT… I have found a temporary fix until I can take it in to the dealer for a permanent repair… and that is what one other poster previously mentioned, but didn’t provide many details. So, simply snap the shifter “trigger switch” (just below the top of the shifter), once or twice sharply. Usually one quick snap will do the trick = pull the “trigger” and quickly slide your finger down, releasing it sharply so you can hear it “snap”. This has worked everytime I’ve tried it… everything resets back to normal and the radio shuts off (the major telltale of that failed “”trigger switch” problem). So, it seems to be just that… worn out (or dirty/corroded) contacts on that small switch. Give it a try….
I found this article due to looking up this issue. We have a 2018 Acadia and already had this issue once. We took it in and they fixed it. Now over the weekend it has started again and the vehicle is no longer under warranty so I have no idea what the cost will be to fix it.
My 2017 Acadia Denali recently started doing this frequently. About once a day. I have just over 55,000 miles on it.
My 2018 is doing this. Shift to park. How annoying. How can they say this is not a big deal when cars are rolling away? I only have 41,000 miles in it!
My 2017 acadia is starting to do the same thing its frustrating be cause I have to restart it and move it forward or backwards and turn the steering wheel to make it stop , I use the parking break because I’m afraid something will happen , we paid a lot of money for this vehicle and it only has 18, 000 km on it
I simply called and they fixed mine…no questions asked and no charge.
I have a 2018 Traverse with the same problem. The problem is in the limit switch that is depressed when in Park. The contacts inside this switch get corroded because insufficient current flows through them. This is a common problem with micro-switches and any EE should be aware of it. This should be a simple switch to replace but the problem could re-cure unless proper wiper current is run through the switch when activated. GM will have to increase the current flow or use a different switch design to fix the problem correctly.
Can you add my name to the suit? This should be a no-brainier for GM to fix.
But they are first replacing wiring harnesses, and, when that doesn’t work, replacing entire shifter assembly, supposedly with new switches. A micro switch runs <$2 retail, unless it’s for the flap control on a Cessna 177B. FAA-certified runs in the 3-digits. I know. Should be easy to diagnosis on an Acadia and repair cheaply and quickly.
This was the second time in less than two months that my 2018 GMC Acadia Denali has been in to service for the same issue. The first time I was told that the harness was replaced and the second time I was told that nothing was done because GMC does not have a fix for it. So I need to just deal with it until maybe the end of June. Supposedly that is when GMC might have a new bulletin with a fix. My vehicle will not shift into park without much effort or, as in last night, it never did go into park and now today my battery is dead!!! I now see that this is a know issue for this vehicle. It is an unreasonable to expect me or anyone to continue to drive around in a $44,000 vehicle that does not turn off until the battery goes dead. I would appreciate a response and a resolution to this problem.
My husband figured out an easy fix for this problem. We had the harness replaced once but when it started doing it again he figured out what to do and fixed it in like 5 minutes. We haven’t had the problem since! Wonder if GM will pay him for his knowledge???
My husband figured out an easy fix for this problem. We had the harness replaced once but when it started doing it again he figured out what to do and fixed it in like 5 minutes. We haven’t had the problem since! Wonder if GM will pay him for his knowledge???
I’ve had my harness replaced also and still does it. Are you going to share with other desperate Acadia owners your fix
He took the shifter apart and put some electrical lubricant on it and then put it back together. We have only had it do it one more time that same day but no more! He said if it does it again he will put some more lube on it and we will just see until GM comes up with a fix, if they do???
I have a 2017 Acadia and I have experienced a SHIFT TO PARK issue. It is a problem but so far I have not got stranded in my vehicular. I will be adding to this comment if i do!!!!!!
We have a 2018 Acadia and have had it in to service the “ shift to park” issue 3 times. 2 days ago it shifted into reverse and would not go into park at all. Our driveway is up a hill and and when started rolling down hill. I had to pump the break multiple times in order to stop it from rolling down the drive while my husband put blocks under the wheels. The dealership picked up the car and today called and said it was a bad battery cell! I told them about reading about the shift to park issue and that I don’t believe it is the battery and I do not feel safe driving the car! They are looking into the issue. Please keep me informed as to updated information. Thank you.
Really fun as well when you’re:
On a multi-day cross-country trip with for senior rescue dogs.
Trying to get an oil change.
Trying to buy new tires.
Trying to get an annual required state safety inspection.
Only good thing is it’s my vehicle. Wife has a reliable Honda CRV.
I intermittently had the shift to park issue recently. I had bought my 2018 Acadia Denali in December 2019. I brought my vehicle to dealership and they confirmed this happening in the Acadia and Malibu’s. They installed/replaced an In-Line Shifter Harness Jumper. Will see.
I have a 2018 Acadia and in the last 3 months I put my car in park and then shut the car off. Then a light and a dinging sound goes off saying shift into park!
My name is Michael bland I have a 2019 GMC Acadia with the same issue.
2019 acadia bought brand new in April of 19. Issue just started intermittently
2018 acadia 38,000 started this couple of weeks ago. Haven’t been to dealer yet.
Yep same problem with my 2017 Acadia. Where do I sign up for the class action?
We have a 2017 Acadia that does the whole shift to park thing…beyond annoying it is a problem GM needs to fix.
Yep I have the same issue with my 2017 Acadia. Whee do I sign up
I’d like to know too.
My 2017 GMC Acadia Denali just started doing the “shift to park” message. At first I thought it was a fluke thing, but now it does it every time I try to park the car. I took it to GM to have it fixed they say the transmission control jumper harness and shifter need to be replaced and that “should” fix the problem. I am astonished that GM won’t recall this problem and stand behind their cars.
We have the same issue with a 2017 acadia.
Had the harness replaced last march for the fix and the problem just recently returned. Now it is not a warranty fix.
So many have this problem you’d think Gm would do something about it. I bought my 2017 used with 27000 miles. The day after I bought it the problem occurred took car to dealer. Had to pay to get it fixed.
Your 3 year 36000 bumper to bumper should cover it. But it is whichever comes first. I have a co-worker that this appeared on a brand new 19 two weeks old. They replaced his entire shifter assembly. Hasn’t had issue since. Mine has 14500 miles so my warranty better cover this.
I am having the same issue with my 2018 Acadia, I will take it to the dealer and see what they say.
My Acadia is doing this and was just told to many miles for warranty to cover it. Is this a recall from GMC?
At this point only service bulletins. No official recall according to my dealer
This is not a recall. However the dealership I took my car to said to keep my receipt so if it becomes a recall they will reimburse me.
File a complaint with the safety board. If enough people complain, they MAY investigate and GM may issue a recall. Phone number is 888-327-4236
My 2017 has 39000 miles on it now and the problem has just reappeared, out of warranty.
Did you have it looked at once already? What was done? Mine goes in the 29th so I’m curious
I had my car fixed 06/16/2020 and they replaced the transmission control harness jumper and the shifter. They said “this should fix the problem ” however it’s no guarantee.
I started to have this problem on My Acadia 2017 but service changes the gear box before the warranty ends. Now I started to see the problem again but warranty ended. I didn’t know that it is a common problem in this model. 2017 was the first year with the new shape.
Yes. My 2018 SLT1 just started doing this 5 days ago. Consistently occurs when I shut it off and and I have to keep restarting..shifting until it goes away.
I just bought my 2017 Acadia in February 2020 and I’m also experiencing same issue when I park. What can I do?
I bought my 2017 Acadia in February 2020 and I’m also experiencing same shift to park issue. What can I do?
Give the gear shift a good thump when it is in park. Toward the front of the car. works best. If after a few thumps it still says shift to park, you will have to disconnect the battery for about 10 minutes. That almost always clears the message. At this point you will need to take your car to the dealer. Just did that with mine; repair bill:$470
I have a 2019 with 44000 miles on it and its doing the shift to park , it don’t stop i have to disconnect battery.
I am also having this same issue. I called the dealer to make an appointment and they have yet to call me back or return an email (2 months later). I too had my vehicle start to roll the first time this error happened before I realized what was going on. Luckily my foot was near the brake and nothing happened but my infant was in the car. I find it hard to believe they still don’t have a fix to this issue after a class action lawsuit has been filed. Unbelievable.
Yes my GMC Acadia gives me problems so much, I just want out of the lease. Ihave taken it to get :”fixed” but it still continues to happen. The car wont register that it is park. Takes me 20 minutes sometimes to get my car off and have been late for work, etc. I cannot wait to be done with this vehicle. Never again!
My 2017 GMC Acadia 40k miles just started having this problem, put it in park and get a shift to park message
Yes, my 2018 Acadia started doing this at 20k miles. I mentioned this temporary fix before, but I improperly described the method required to stop this. Here is the proper method:
Once your Acadia is in park, and it gives you the infamous “shift-to-park” message, simply flick the “trigger” switch at the front edge of the shifter knob rapidly UPWARDS, with a quick snapping release, once or multiple times until the shift-to-park message stops and returns to normal. Once reset, you can finally shut the car off.
My Acadia has often only required only one “upward flick” to reset, and other times, it may take several rapid “upward flicks” to reset, but it has not yet failed to reset.
Soooo… the problem obviously lies with corroded contacts inside this “trigger switch”. Replacing it (and/or the harness it is connected to) will fix the problem. GM (or their supplier) obviously put a low quality trigger switch in our shifter which is causing all these “shift-to-park” problems. Go figure…
It is hard to say without a description of the switch. I think it is safe to say this is a low current, DC design. If so, the proper switch would be a sealed switch with gold contacts. Any EE worth his salt should know this. Banging on it is, at best, a temporary solution. Judging by the number of failures, I would guess that GM used a switch with silver contacts and did not supply sufficient current to keep the contacts clean.
The “flick” worked for me. ..although I did have them replace the harness. We will see. They still need to address it.
I have had my gear shift replace three times in the two years that I’ve had it. Mine is a 2018 and I love the truck but this is a serious issue. I cannot leave my car until it’s shifts into park or the sensor picks it up. It’s like playing a game with my car until I win 😔😔😔😡😡😡
We are having this issue with our 2017 Acadia Denali, we brought it up to them but they said “they couldn’t recreate or see the problem but reset the system for us”. Whatever that means.
Resetting will not fix it. To recreate the issue try to park the car on a slight uphill or downhill. I was able to recreate the issue at the dealership by this method. Eventually it will do it more frequently and you will be able to show it to them.
Yes, our 2018 was just in the shop yesterday for this very problem. It was showing it was in park but would tell me to “shift to park” and wouldn’t let me lock it.
Common problem. Will GM respond?
Mine is at the dealer right now for this. Of course not in the bumper to bumper warranty period so the dealer said they reached out to GM to see if they would assist. I will be responsible for paying $200 deductible amount to get it fixed.
They covered mine under the 36,000 3 year bumper to bumper warranty when mine was repaired for same problem dealer was very aware of the problem no questions asked.
Unfortunately I have 48,000 miles on mine after 2 1/2 years of owning it and no longer covered by bumper to bumper warranty. 😠
I everyone filed a complaint with the safety board, maybe GM would issue a recall and those of us who have already paid for the repair could get reimbursed. Call 888-327-4236 and have the agent file a complaint.
GMC Rick Henderson in Duluth is changing the shifter part for $170 P&L. I’m surprised that low. We’ll see if the fix holds. I’m out of warranty @52,000 miles. 2018 Acadia
My 2018 Acadia more often than not shows shift to park when it is already in park.
Yep, my 2017 Acadia is doing the same thing@
My 2017 Acadia has Shift to Park problem.
What should I do??
My 2017 Acadia is currently being worked on for the 2nd time for the shift to park issue. The 1st time was in March of this year. This is a terrible defect that GM needs one effective fix for. Don’t keep bringing me back in for the next possible fix.
Uh just started that game. Had my 19 in and the jumper was replaced..im not confident this is going to work. But I did notice in the close out notes from dealer that if this occurs again they will replace shifter…
The only permanent fix is to replace the shift assembly and this assumes that GM has changed out the improper microswitch that is the cause of the problem. If they have not done that, this problem cold come back.
Experiencing the same issue the dealer has fixed this but it has happened again since warranty has by now expired they are refusing to fix we are looking at our options to file suit
Resetting the system is not solving the issue. To recreate it try to park the car on slight uphill or downhill. This is how I recreated it at the dealership. Try and see. Eventually it will frequently happen and you will be able to show it to them.
I have a 2017 Acadia. Had this problem after I first purchased it and they changed out my shift harness, and it was covered under the warranty. Now, it is happening again, and my car is out of warranty. It will cost me $300+ to get it fixed. Shouldn’t have to pay for a GMC glitch.
File a complaint with the safety board. If enough people complain, they MAY investigate and GM may issue a recall. Phone number is 888-327-4236
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia and had this problem right after I purchased the vehicle. It was covered under warranty so GMC fixed it. Now, about 2 years later, I am having the same issue and the warranty expired, so it will cost me about $300+ to fix it again. It takes me about 5 minutes to get it to register that it is in park.
Same as everyone else 2018 GMC Acadia shift to park already took it in around a year ago fixed for free
They said if it does it again we will have to pay. Is
There anything we can do
File a complaint with the safety board. If enough people complain, they MAY investigate and GM may issue a recall. Phone number is 888-327-4236. There may also be a class action suit you can join. Do not know for sure if it has actually been file yet.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali ,it has been in 4 times since purchase on 8/14 17 for the shift to park issue. Each time they say this will fix the issue to no avail . So I really have little hope that this latest fix will cure the issue. I’m sure glad I purchased a 10 year warranty , I had hoped this vehicle would last me 15 years but that hope gone.If it continues when the warranty expires so does me owning a GM . I have owned GM vehicles my entire driving history (50 years)beginning with a 67 Chevelle SS 396 and have purchased more than 10 new GM vehicles 1984!!!!. Maybe time to think about an Acura MDX.
My 2017 gmc acadia just started doing the same says shift to park already in park.40000 miles haven’t got it to dealer yet
Same here 2017 acadia 40000 miles just started haven’t got it to dealer yet
I just had my 2019 gmc Acadia in the shop for shift to park with 35000 miles on it under warranty. I’m sure it will happen again after warranty is out. It is a little under 500.0 to replace shifter and harness. Should be a recall.
I also have a 2017 Acadia out of warranty. The problem started about a month ago. In the last week it is almost every time I turn off the car. I have to start it 4-5 times, put it in gear and turn it off again. If I get lucky it will go away. Any suggestions?!? I keep seeing that dealers are not sure what’s causing it so they aren’t sure how to fix it. That is not comforting!!
Tell them to replace the shift assembly. There has to be thousands of failures like yours nationwide so I find it hard to believe any GM dealer would not know how to fix it.
I recently got my 2017 Acadia repaired at the dealer and they referenced repair document I.D. #5403533. They replaced the transmission shift control assembly and installed an updated jumper harness. As a workaround prior to getting it fixed, I flicked the shift button a few times after putting it into park. Such a shame, I used to love the vehicle…..
Can confirm. I recently noticed this started happening. Sometimes, the issue would be resolved by me pushing the stick forward beyond the PARK position, and the sensor would recognize it. Other times, I would have to turn the car back on, put it in REVERSE, turn the car off so the notification would appear, and THEN put it into PARK.
Either way, I hope there is a recall or notice of a fix sometime soon before this turns into a more severe issue.
I am in Oregon and this issue stranded me and my children this past June. I can’t believe this is not a recall after seeing so many owner reports and a lawsuit on the web. My repairs cost over $500 and I was only 1 month out of warranty. I own a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali with 23K miles on it.
Same issue with 2017 Acadia Denali, 61k miles so out of any kind of warranty. This is my wife’s car and regularly leaves her confused as to how to fix the issue, I have received several phone calls and can’t give her an answer. I would like to be part of this lawsuit.
I’m having the same problem as everyone else! I’m 3 years into my 2017 Acadia. I want to say we took it in sometime last year to have this repaired. I foeget what exactly they did however they had my car for maybe a day or two.
I’ll be calling the dealer tomorrow as well as the vehicle safety line tomorrow.
I am having the same problem with the shift to park. Took my 1/2 hour shifting back and forth to get it to stop saying that.
Same issue with 2017 Acadia. I would like to be part of this lawsuit. the servise center check for 6hour then say we need pay 500 more dollars to fix.
Same issue on my 2017 Acadia with 41k miles. Stupid thing took me 30 minutes starting/shutting off same issue. Shift car into park and it rolls backwards in my garage. This is going to cause a problem and hurt someone as this is serious and I hope gm is ready to pay if it does. I hope it won’t but I’ll be staying in the vehicle until it doesn’t show that.
We’ve had our 2018 Acadia for a little over a year and we are having the same problem. I love my car but this is frustrating.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia which the dealer replaced the shifter cable on January 2019. The problem resurfaced in June 2020. Plan on calling my dealer once again.
Replacing the cable does not fix the problem. The only way to fix this is to replace the entire shift assembly. There is a design flaw in the original and I don’t know if it has been corrected in the replacement assembly. If the faulty part in the assembly has not been replaced with the correct part, the problem could happen again. With luck a new shift assembly would last for at least a year.
I’m actually at the dealership now getting this replaced for the 2nd time. The first time was a year after purchase. Today marks 3 years after purchase.
The replacement is covered under my extended warranty. I just have to cover the $100 deductible.
Replacing the cable does not fix the problem. The only way to fix this is to replace the entire shift assembly. There is a design flaw in the original and I don’t know if it has been corrected in the replacement assembly. If the faulty part in the assembly has not been replaced with the correct part, the problem could happen again. With luck a new shift assembly would last for at least a year.
You should not have to pay that $100 deductible if it is the SAME problem you had 2 years ago. This is a known issue and GM needs to take responsibility for it. Consider having your dealer contact GM about this and have them waive that $100. Granted, I had to pay about 200 for a new battery this last time. :-/
Same issue… although I first dealt with the “drained battery issue” 2 weeks after initial purchase in 2017. They looked several times for an issue — couldn’t find one. They finally just said it was the crank shaft of the battery — and I think they just made that up. Persistent problems of car not shutting off or not allowing it to lock because the car would not engage fully in park — or the computer would not recognize it was in park. After several complaints and taking it down there a few times, and finally an error showed, “Shift to Park” in Aug 2019 they finally said the shift gear needed to be replaced. Fast forward again to July 2020… it is doing it again and my battery is drained again. No “park to shift” error came up but a “parking assist service” light came on. The dash would not go to slumber. I kept fiddling with the gear and gave a loud “pop”, learched and then the computer went into slumber. Mechanic verified it was the same issue again and replaced the gear shift one more time. I am soooooo not happy. They were not going to cover it at all until I reminded them I have had continuous issues with this. Mileage is at 41k and I am going to go for the lemon law. This vehicle drives like a dream — but this shift gear problem is dangerous and I feel GM is being irresponsible in not recalling it or admitting there is a real issue. We have been die-hard GMC patrons for decades. I think this is the last GMC product I will own.
I think you are correct. Battery does not have a “crank shaft”. The problem is with a microswitch in the shift assembly. It is not designed correctly. GM has to know about this as they have had so many problems. There is reported to be a class action suit being filed because of just this problem.
Having problem with shift to park it wont turn car off until in park. 2017 acadia 54000
I just bought a 2017 Acadia. 53000 Kms. Brought it in for shift to park issues and they couldn’t find anything wrong.
Today by battery was totally drained and I had to get a boost. Shift to park keeps happening. I want to cry.
The dealerships are aware of the problem! Sucks that GMC won’t issue a recall. My shift to park warning luckily came on while I was at the dealership. I bought my car with 0 miles. I had less than 12k when they fixed it the first time. 3 years later Im at 32k. They told me after 75k miles, I’ll have to cover the full cost if I need it replaced again.
What did they do to fix it?
I wish I could upload a screen shot of my invoice.
Per the bill they replaced an “S Controll” Code 84699764. They also replaced “Harness”. Code 84733196. The total for those two was abt $150. They also charged $300 for labor😔
Stephanie have you had any problems since
No, thank goodness! I’ve only driven it twice since. We’ll see how this goes. Seems to happen every 2 years for me.
I wish I could upload a screen shot of my invoice.
Per the bill they replaced an “S Controll” Code 84699764. They also replaced “Harness”. Code 84733196. The total for those two was abt $150. They also charged $300 for labor😔
Obviously the Acadia is having a major problem with the shift . I bought my 2017 Acadia about a year ago and got it fixed once under the extended warranty that I purchased from the dealership. I am worried that it will break again. I found this blog by luck. I am sure others are not aware of our group and would like to join us. How could we all file a suit or make a group complaint with the better business bureau BBB. Is there other ways that we could jointly file a complaint.
It will be nice if GM makes a better shift and get the issue fixed. Please, advise.
I am having the same issue with my 2017 Acadia. I would like to be part of this lawsuit. The service dept has to order anew shifter, plus the cost of labor. And of course the warranty is just up.
I am having the shift to park issue with my 2019 GMC Acadia.
I’m also having shift to park issue on my 2017 gmc Acadias. The dealer replaced a wiring harness which worked for 3 months but now it’s popping up again and of course the warranty is up.
Does anyone know how to join the lawsuit?
2018 Acadia Denali with 23000k just started the shift into park issue. I have to turn it back on. Then again move shifter to park, sometimes it works but is happening more often now.
I have a 2018 Acadia. I have had this issued fixed once under warranty at 19k miles, and it just started again at 38k miles. I have it scheduled for service this coming week. I’m looking to get out of this problematic issue with the 2017-2018 Acadia.
My 2019 Acadia just started doing this. Guess they didn’t fix the issue…
My 2017 Acadia Denali V6 has started doing this. I
Just started this. 50,000 miles 2017 Acadia Denali V6. If I wiggle shifter it goes away
I’m a victim as well. Three visits to dealer last year: wiring harness replaced then shifter assembly when first “fix” failed after two stops. Was without vehicle + 2 months. 2017 was covered by warranty. Not happy. Clearly original shifter assembly is faulty. If it hasn’t failed, it will. No word from dealer whether new shifter assemblies are redesigned and flaw-free. Meanwhile, word is out and your resale value has tanked.
Check your state’s lemon law. If I have another issue, a I’m lawyering up.
GM SHOULD be sued over this, and SHOULD be forced to make amends for an obvious long existing flaw of which the company was aware: Immediate recall and replacement with functioning parts. Reimbursement for those who paid out of warranty. Reimbursement for rental cars/inconvenience. Buybacks of flawed vehicles. Extension of warranties for others.
First vehicle was a GMC. Like my Acadia (when I can reliably stop, park and lock it), but it’s my last vehicle from GM ever again.
My 2018 Acadia is having this problem which has not been fixed yet due to my dealership is unable to obtain this part. It’s a real pain trying to stop the vehicle and turn if off. It’s about a 2-3 time try to get it in park.
2019 acadia with 20,000 miles. Happening to me now.
Mine has 16k and started happening last week. Took it in yesterday and they are so backed up and that they will have it 2-3 days :(. Guy said it happens all the time. Why TF would they not have taken care of this problem after it happened with 2017 and 2018 models?
My 2017 Acadia Denali has been displaying the shift to park message and it can take me minutes to get it to finally go away. It’s getting worse and worse every time it pops up.
I have a GMC Arcida 2018 I also have been having the parking issue. When the car is in park my dash board will tell me to put my car into park. If this is a issue for many car owners why isn’t it on recall.
I want to join or sing the law suit this car cost to much for a2017,.2817 and this is 2020 to not have the ability to be fix
And here I am AGAIN with the same “shift to park” issue. Our 2018 Acadia was in the shop less that 2 months ago getting “fixed” for this problem and here it is again. When I phoned them, he said, “We don’t normally have them brought back after they’re fixed.” Well what’s that tell you?? You didn’t FIX it! I guess replacing the harness wasn’t what it needed.
Yeah, it was (the shifter harness). More specifically, it’s the wiring that comes from the trigger’s micro switch. They obviously have not upgraded the micro switch and are just replacing the bad, older style micro switch, with a “still bad” newer micro switch… which eventually corrodes the same bare brass terminals on a new micro switch, which eventually looses continuity AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN.
This happens specifically because this micro switch is obviously not switching any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through any “light corrosion”. The amount being switched is likely only “micro volts”, which is quite sensitive to any corrosion of the contacts, causing just enough corrosion to oxidize the switch contacts. This prevents the sensitive micro voltage signal reaching the ECM, providing a fault code which then produces the infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie, computer controls) are always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s really not all that costly, but probably is not an available option in this size micro switch. Obviously, they NEED to come up with a new micro switch with better (gold plated) contacts, which won’t likely happen until GM is forced (class action suit time). Soooo, until then, do this….
….Until you can get your Acadia into a dealer to replace the shift lever and/or attached shift harness, along with the attached (offending) micro switch “trigger” (which fails from loss of electrical continuity caused by light corrosion on the cheap internal switch contacts), here is what works 99% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply flick the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your hand & fingers in a brisk “brushing” style. You accomplish this by using a rapid UPWARD motion with your hand so the “trigger switch” is flicked (by one or multiple fingers) as your hand is passing rapidly upward and just above the shift knob. These quick, multiple flicks, causes the cheap micro switch contacts (likely non-tinned bare brass) to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. Rustie….
Why don’t you work for GMC? Thanks Rustie for the tips. Everything you said definitely sounds plausible. Just a matter of time before I get the message. My warranty expires in October.
I just purchased a 2018 Acadia Denali in February and in the past week have started having the “shift to park” issue. Now that I find out other people are having this same issue I am starting to be sorry I bought it, especially if GMC isn’t willing to fix it. I have always heard that GMC was a good brand but this makes me wonder.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia and I have this problem. It is very aggravating and causes me to leave my car unlocked because I can’t get it to cut off properly. If they can’t fix the problem then why can’t they give us our money back and take these vehicles off the road. I do not want my car to roll into something or someone.
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia and start this “shift to park” about a month ago.
2017 Acadia 23000miles about to go into the shop for a second time for the same issue. GMC better fix this or I will never buy GMC again.
I am experiencing this issue with my 2017 Acadia Denali
I’having the same issue with my 2018 GMC Arcadia. Why is this parking issue on recall
Our 2018 Acadia is also having the same issue.
Shift to park warning.
I’ve had in shop 2 times for issue back doing again. First time was right after got my car then a month ago which they charged 150 and in 2 was back with same problem. Getting tired of this
My 2017 does it about one time per mo. If I wiggle shifter it goes away. Couple times it did it 3 times in one day.
I am having the same issue with my 2017 chevy malibu.
Need to know what to do.
I have a 2019 GMC Acadia and experienced this for the first time yesterday. I had put it in park and every time I hit the button to turn the car off it would state Shift to Park. It did this several times and I even would drive forward or backward and put it back in park for about 10times. I will be calling the dealership tomorrow.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia that started having the error that it is not in Park. I have to push shifter a couple of times to get the error to go away and able to get the seat and steering wheel in park position and warning bells to shut off. Since the Acadia just went out of warranty this seems like GMC should have a fix.
Until you can get your Acadia into a dealer to replace the shift lever and/or attached shift harness… along with the attached (offending) micro switch “trigger” (which fails from loss of electrical continuity caused by light corrosion on the cheap internal switch contacts), here is what works 99% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply flick the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your hand. You accomplish this by using a rapid upward motion with your hand so the “trigger switch” is flicked (by one or multiple fingers) as your hand is passing briskly upward and over the shift knob. These quick, multiple flicks, causes the cheap micro switch contacts (likely non-tinned bare brass) to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “shift to park” indication will extinguish. Rustie….
Replacing the shift harness will not fix the problem. The only way to fix this is to replace the entire shift assembly. There is a design flaw in the original (the micoswitch mentioned above) and I don’t know if it has been corrected in the replacement assembly. If the faulty part in the assembly has not been replaced with the correct part, the problem could happen again. With luck a new shift assembly would last for at least a year.
I am having the same issue with my 2017 GMC Acadia 55,000 miles Also radio changing itself every 3-5 seconds. Will never buy gmc again
Just had my entire shifter replaced. This would be the second time I have been in the shop for the same issue.
1. They replaced the harness
2. Replaced entire shifting mechanism
3. TBD
If it happens again, she’s out!!!
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia that is now having the same issue but not consistently. I am in California and contacted my local dealer and they said that there is a recall but not for my Acadia??? Really?? They want to charge me to fix. Please inform me of any change in this obvious recall they should fix cost free
My Acadia is doing this randomly, this time the brake lights and headlights didn’t cut off. Now my battery is dead. It was daylight so I didn’t know the headlights were on, but when I came back to my vehicle the lights were on and my battery is dead.
My 2018 GMC Acadia does this daily. Sometimes I am stranded in my car for a half hour or more, required to drive around and reposition my car a dozen times before the transmission will finally acknowledge it is parked.
I am on my second fix for my 2017 Acadia I was told there are two fixes they do the easier one first before GM let’s them do a full replacement of the shift part and that part has to be ordered.
The easy ‘fix’ they are talking about is a complete joke and no responsible dealer should ever charge a customer for it. They want you to believe that flipping a switch 50 times will be an effective repair but it is not. They hope they can clean enough of the corrosion off of the switch contacts so that the circuit operates again. At best, this is a temporary fix. The other thing they do is add a short wire harness with (I think ) a simple circuit to help the switch. None of this is permanent and it seems to me to be very unfair to GM’s customers. At this point, the best solution is to replace the entire shift assembly that includes a new switch. Unfortunately, unless or until they have redesigned the shift assembly with the correct switch and switch circuit, even a new shift assembly may fail prematurely.
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” that is part of that harness/shift lever assembly. They obviously have not upgraded the switch and are just replacing the old failed switch, with a “ready-to-fail“, but new micro switch… which eventually corrodes the same terminals, starting the cycle all over again.
This happens specifically because this micro switch is obviously not switching any high voltage (or current) loads that blasts through most any “light corrosion”. The voltage being switched is likely only “micro volts”, which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. Obviously, there is just enough oxidation on the contacts, to prevent the sensitive micro voltage signal from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing the infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie, computer controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s really not all that costly, but probably was not an available option in this size micro switch. Obviously, they NEED to come up with a NEW micro switch with better (gold plated) contacts, which won’t likely happen until GM is forced (class action suit anyone). Soooo, until then, do this….
Here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply flick the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your hand and fingers, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”.
You accomplish this by using a rapid upward motion so the “trigger switch” is flicked (by one or more fingers) as your hand is passing swiftly toward, and just above the shift knob (note: your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple flicks, cause the micro switch contacts to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. Rustie….
Gold plated microswitches have been available for at least 40 years. I have some left over from my days in Silicon Valley, back in the 70’s. There is simply no excuse for GM not fixing this problem.
I have a 2019 acadia purchased dec 2018 now with 13,400 miles. Just started doing it.
My Acadia 2018 is having shift to Park issues. I have to jiggle it many times to get the computer to shut off. This just started. My mileage is 21342. It is July 27, 2020 now. How do I join the class action suit?
I have had the same issue with my 2018 Acadia. It was in the shop last Thursday for them to fix the issue and it has happened 3 times today.
I have a 2019 that just started doing this
Yes, I am experiencing that same problem. My Acadia is sitting at the dealership….sad part, it isnt covered under warranty.
My warranty expired on my 2017. This is a known issue, GM needs to honor fixing it at no charge.
I’m having this exact same issue with my 2017 Acadia. I had my vehicle serviced and now 4 days later the problem reoccurs. Has anyone had any luck going directly to GM? I reached out to them as this is my 3 occurrence dealing with bear issues, and was informed that there are no recalls on the vehicle. This is very frustrating!
I am having the same issue and out of warranty. It goes to the shop on Friday so we will see what they charge me
I was charged $730 with taxes.
2018 GMC Acadia Denali just started having the parking issue. 47,000 miles Taking it in tomorrow.
I have a 2018 Acadia. This happened to me in April 2019 and dealership fixed it. It is now, July 2020, happening again. Hoping dealership will fix it tomorrow. Took me 30 minutes to get my car off without the dinging and “shift to park” message
My wife’s Acadia has had this issue twice first at 21,000 miles and now at 63,000 miles first time they replaced the whole shift assembly which was covered under warranty now I have no clue what they would want to charge. With this many people having issues this should be a recall item. Very disappointed with the way GM treats it’s customers as of late.
My wife also has this problem! I can’t believe GMC is just brushing this off! Guess we’ll just get a Ford next time!!
I just purchased my 2017 Acadia last week. Been driving it for a week and just had this happen to me 3 times out of the last 5 drives. Happened upon this forum in a search and now feel like I was hustled with this car. I’m really irritated!
My Arcadia has done the same thing. “Shift to park” and it’s very frustrating. I would get to work in the morning and fight with my car trying to get the stupid light to go off.
Took it to the dealer and it cost around 400.00 out of my pocket.
Why is GMC not paying for a problem with their cars!!!
I have the same problem with my 2019 Acadia Denali
I have the same issue on my 2017 Acadia.they need to fix this problem soon.
2017 GMC Acadia – shift to park issue!!
Shift to park issue!!! Uugh! GMC needs to fix this ASAP! Please put on recall list or can someone tell me how to get this fixed without coming out of pocket?!
We have had the shift to park issue on our 2017 Acadia for thousands of miles. I sat at a gas station turning my car on and off 17 times before it stopped. Talk about embarrassing and frustrating. This is just one of the hundreds of instances where I have had to deal with this. Finally found a dealership that said they knew what the problem was and could fix it for us. I believe they replaced some wiring, which worked for about a month. Shift to park started again and now they say they have to replace the shifter. I hope this corrects it, but I do not have the warm and fuzzies thinking this will take care of it either. More time, more money, more nonsense.
I had the issue “fixed” a couple of weeks ago on my 2019 GMC Acadia. It was covered under the warranty. But, it started happening again the day after I picked it up from being repaired. It’s intermittent, but has happened at least 10 times since they fixed it. Worried that it won’t ever go away and that I will have to eventually pay for repairs when it’s no longer under warranty
I bought my 2019 GMC Acadia Denali in October 2019. In July 2020 it started telling me “shift to park” when I was already in park. The dealership replaced the harness and fixed the issue. One month later, on August 1 2020, it began doing it again. This time I am told they will be replacing the shifter itself.
This just started happening to me 2018 GMC Acadia. Bought this January 2019
I have the same issue, what are they planning on doing to remedy it. 2017 GMC Acadia has less than 24k miles. Shouldn’t be having these type of issues. It’s basically brand new 3yr old vehicle. Ugh!
Same problem…..late to work trying to shut my car off….please advise
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroding contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch. They simply replace the old failed switch, with another new, but “ready-to-fail“, micro switch… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, continuity), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There is just enough oxidation on the contacts that prevents sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing the infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was not spec’d for this specific micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts (which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action suit). Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply using multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand with all fingers extended, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”.
You accomplish this by using a rapid upward motion so the “trigger switch” is flicked multiple times as your fingers are passing swiftly upward, just above the shift knob (note: your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple flicks, cause the micro switch contacts to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. Rustie….
I have the same issue. I get stuck in the garage with it running until it decides to let me shut it off. Also won’t start correctly and gets stuck in high exceleration “revving” when first started. Dealer unable to duplicate. It is starting to not feel safe.
My 2018 Acadia has the same problem. When I shift into park the bells go off where the message tells me to put the vehicle in park. After I wack the shift two or three times the bells stop. I keep a hammer in the vehicle to stop the warning. Is there a way to turn off this warning?
Same issue. Taking it into Wiesenthal where it was bout Tuesday (8-11-20) but after reading all these issues I don’t even know if it’s worth it. Mine is a 2019 Acadia
Same on my 2017 Acadia Denali. Very, very frustrated.
Hello we have a 2017 Acadia Denali and we just started experiencing the same issues as all of you. This is scary, we have two kids under 5 and if what happen to the family in Ohio happens to us it could be very serious. I don’t understand why GM doesn’t feel responsible or held responsible when this is obviously not an isolated issue. We just made an appointment to get it fixed but after reading many of the comments it sounds like it is a short term fix. Ugh
2019 Acadia – same problem in July 2020. First trip to the dealer they replaced “the harness”. Happened again August 2020 and now they’ve replaced the gear shifter. Also tried to charge me for the part and told me “normal wear and tear” items are not covered under by warranty. No way is this normal wear and tear. I’d like a new SUV please because now I’m just waiting for it to happen again. In for Class Action Lawsuit- how do we start?
I own a 2018 Acadia. It also just started to leave a message on dash shift to park after car is stopped and in the park position a few days ago.
I have the same problem. 2018 Acadia leaves shift to park message on dash after car is stopped. And in park.
Got my shifter replaced last week sofar no problems.
I have this same issue recently. Have an appt with dealership tomorrow. Let’s see how this pans out. Very discouraging to hear everyone with this same issue an no resolution. We pay so much for vehicles these days and we can’t count on them working properly for more than 2 years of that? This is pretty rediculous that they have not done a recall on this yet and expect the buyers to pay more put of pocket.
Had my shifter and wiring harness replaced couple weeks ago. Working fine.
Mine worked good for couple weeks
2017 doing the same thing I have 2 toddlers not happy about this uts a big safety issue
2017 GMC acadia all terrain doing the same thing. I have twin 2 year olds this is a big safety issues. If GMC continues to not fix this issue I will never by from them again
2017 Acadia. Been in the shop twice, and now for a third time. Cable amd shifter have both been replaced.
I had my park to shift replaced. They also replaced an oil pan under the extended warranty. 4 days later, my car will make a grinding noise when I first start driving for about a mile then will stop. It seems to only happen if I haven’t driven my car for a few days. Anyone else experience this? The dealership basically said unless it would do it for them, they wouldn’t even pull it into the bay to check it.
My 2018 Acadia about a week ago just started not recognizing when in park either or not fully going into park. Scary knowing others are having the same issue and no fix for it. Even scarier knowing my car could possibly roll away at any time.
I have had my 2017 Acadia back to the dealer 4 times they have replaced several parts .. we are headed back again on Monday for the 5th time….I am losing a lot of time from work since it takes me 1 hour each way…This is getting old and my patience are about done.
They should replace the shift assembly. Do not let them try to sell you anything else, like a new harness. Flipping the switch 50 times does. not work and is a temporary fix at best. If they do not know how to do this, take you car to another dealer.
Mine just started doing this a few days ago but seems to be doing it more often. Some days I don’t have 5-10 minutes to mess with this! Ugh
I have a 2019 Acadia and also experienced the same issue. I had to take it to the dealer for repair at only 15k miles.
I have the same problem with my 2017 Acadia. I just bought it used 2 months ago.
2019 Acadia and we are having the same shift to park issues. How do we become a part of this law suit? Out of warranty of course!
Everyone needs to go to nhtsa web site and file a complaint. It only takes about 2 minutes. If enough complaints are filed they can force the recall.
I just filed a complaint on NHTSA as well
Same problem as everyone else, 2018 GMC Acadia. It has been in the shop 3 times in 2 years. Shift to park message, engine reving, ram gauge and other electronics going hay wire, back up screen fuzzy with wiggly lines. I am very disappointed
2019 Gmc Acadia Denali still having “shift into park” problems even though car already in park’
My Acadia is in the shop right now with this problem. It is Fri PM and they have had it since Wed. 11 AM. Will see what the outcome is. The service dept. said today or tomorrow.
We have a constant problem with ours saying shift to park. Completely unacceptable!
I have filed my complaint re ‘shift to park’ with the NHTSB
Where do we file complaint? I too had this issue. It is now fixed thankfully
Happening to my 2019 GMC DENALI ACADIA
File a complaint with NHTSA. Hopefully if enough people complain a recall will go out.
Shift into park issue happening with my gmc 2017 acadia
Finally got mine fixed after over 3 days in the shop and complaining bitterly to the manager. They replaced the shiftier assembly. GM did eat most of the cost-probably trying to stave off an expensive recall. This whole thing is ridiculous.
Finally got mine fixed after over 3 days in the shop and complaining to the manager. They replaced the shiftier assembly and GM ate most of the cost. Probably trying to stave off an expensive recall.
Daniel Robertson, our 2017 Acadia has the same problem with not shifting into park, usually have to turn it on and off till it goes in
been having problem with message shift to park on 2017 Acadia. Didn’t know who to consult about issue. My mechanic took out for test drive and did not have problem. I still have this problem becoming more frequent and quite a nuisance.
I’m having same shift to park problem. Has become more frequent on my 2017 acadia.
Our 2017 Acadia developed this shift to park problem in December 2018. Dealership replaced the shift and covered under warranty. We have just under 63,000 miles and our 2017 Acadia is doing the same shift to park problem. We have been told that GMC will not cover the repairs and vehicle is out of warranty because of miles. I feel this is a GMC problem but they will not pay repairs. This is the second time for us.
I have had the same issue. Started last July when I was traveling. My local GM dealer stated they knew what the issue was and replaced the shifter I believe. Worked for a while and now here I am again experiencing the Shift to Parl error. My other concern is what kind of wear and tear is it instilling on the vehicle starter system to have to continually turn it on and off to clear the error? So frustrating!
I recently purchased a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali, with 25,000 miles. I have been getting the Shift to Park message as well.
I bought an Acadia 2017 March of this year and the shift to park has become a real issues over the last 2 months. It’s becoming very frustrating and I’m very disappointed that when trying to have it resolved there is no solution.
My 2017 Acadia is in shop now for this problem. They are replacing the harness because they can not get any shifters in. Before the Acadia I had a Malibu and had to replace its shifter. This has been very frustrating it killed my battery so out 378.00 dollars and hoping this fixes the problem.
I have a 2018 gmc Acadia. And yes just started experiencing this very issue. Sensor not detecting the transmission in park. Heading to the dealership in the morning.
Changed my shifter and wire harness 2 mo. Ago, been fine since.
Changed my shifter and wire harness 2 mo. Ago, been fine since. 2017 Acadia Denali.
I also have a 2017 GMC Acadia and the shift to park has been an on going issue even when we first test drive the vehicle and started back up again today.
As I stated previously, I have the same issue. I contacted my gmc dealership and was told it would run around $500 for parts and labor.
I hired a master mechanic to take a look. He adjusted the cable and all is good so far. Has anyone else tried this adjustment of the cable ?
Just purchased 2018 GMC Acadia 3 days ago, 15000 mi, will not acknowledge that the car is in park.
I purchased a 2018 Acadia in February 2020. At first I didn’t have this issue it started happening maybe about 4 months ago. It’s very frustrating when you are trying to get somewhere on time and spend an extra 5 minutes having to change gears multiple times until
It finally turns off.
I have a 2019 GMC Acadia Denali and I have had the “shift to park” issue I put it in park, the shift panel clearly says it is in park and I felt it shift to park but when I try and shut down the car it displays that message. It is so frustrating!
Same issue here. 2017 acadia with 21,000 miles.
My 2018 acadia is doing this as well. I shift it into park and turn off the car and the message shift into park displays on the warning screen. I have to restart the car and shift it to neutral then park again. This usually stops the warning but i always put the emergency brake on now because im afraid it will roll aaay anyway!
I have a 2017 Acadia that just started doing this a few months ago. I too have been stranded with no way to shut my car off. The battery completely died the other day due to this issue.
Is GMC taking any responsibility for this in regards to buying the cars back? How can you have an issue with no way to fix it? It’s dangerous!!
I have a 2017 Acadia that just started doing this a few months ago. I too have been stranded with no way to shut my car off. The battery completely died the other day due to this issue.
Is GMC taking any responsibility for this in regards to buying the cars back? How can you have an issue with no way to fix it? It’s dangerous
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroding contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch (or any other critical contacts). They simply replace the old failed switch and harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail“, micro switch… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, continuity), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There is just enough oxidation on the contacts that prevents sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing the infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (likely Chinese) micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply using multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand with all fingers extended, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”.
You accomplish this by using a rapid upward motion so the “trigger switch” is flicked multiple times as your fingers are passing swiftly upward, just above the shift knob (note: your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple flicks, cause the micro switch contacts to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. Rustie….
2018 TRAVERSE HAS SAME PROBLEM
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali and I am having problems with the shift to park and now I have to bring it into the dealership and it only has 55,000 miles on it. I just had this vehicle in the shop for the air conditioning and it cost 1500.00. I am not happy at all.
9.17.2020 our 2018 GMC Acadia is doing this. I can’t leave vehicle due to stuck in this error message. Cant lock our car. Remains beeping with error, fear will drain battery.
Just purchased a 2017 acadia Denali and have this issue. Just paid over 400 to get it fixed. Can’t sit in my car trying to get it to go into park all the time. Very frustrated that GM isn’t fixing this issue.
I just purchased a 2019 Acadia and not even a month in and I am experiencing this problem. Taking car to dealership on tomorrow. This is ridiculous and obviously dangerous.
I have a 2018 acadia and I have been dealing with this issue for a month or longer. It is very annoying because there is no fix. So I turn carr on and off and switch gears or take a little drive. Not ok at all. This needs a fix .
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroding contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch (or any other critical contacts). They simply replace the old failed switch and harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail“, micro switch… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, continuity), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There is just enough oxidation on the contacts that prevents sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing the infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply using multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand with all fingers extended, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”.
You accomplish this by using a rapid upward motion so the “trigger switch” is flicked multiple times as your fingers are passing swiftly upward, just above the shift knob (note: your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple flicks, cause the micro switch contacts to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication extinguishes. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset.
Rustie….
Dealing with the same issue with our 2018 Acadia. It’s been going on for months and we’ve just dealt with it by wiggling the shifter back and forth until it stops. I don’t want to take it to GMC if they aren’t going to fix it. There should be a recall for this issue if this many people are experiencing it.
My 2019 Acadia has started the shift to park problem with less than 12,000 miles on it. I dealt with this with the Cadillac SRX, cost me $600 for the repair. GMC needs to step up and correct, this can be more dangerous than a nuisance!
We drive a 2017 GMC Acadia. It started doing this about 5 months after we bought it. So we called GMC and they “fixed” it. Well now it’s back doing it again just 6 weeks later. GMC really needs to consider upgrading all the shifters in these vehicles or provide us a new vehicle. This could End up becoming dangerous
We have 31,195 miles on our Acadia and just start experiencing the shift to park issue. This scares me because we traded off a JEEP that rolled back into our neighbor’s home and caused substantial damage to their lower level entrance and my car. It was in park, turned off and unattended at the time.
Have a 2018 Acadia and had this happen once and the dealership fixed it.
It has just started again!!!!
2017 GMC Acadia Denali says shift to park and won’t turn off lights or radio and honks when I go to get out . Don’t buy one ! Annoying and no permanent solution .
2017 GMC Acadia Denali says shift to park and won’t turn off lights or radio and honks when I go to get out . Don’t buy one ! Annoying and no permanent solution .
Happened to me last night.Had to have the car towed to dealership. Had the car just about 3 years . 1st year both axles needed to be replaced and now this. I’m done with GMC
I recently bought a 2017 gmc acadia all terrain and it has displayed “shift to park” a few times already in the last few days.
I have had my 2018 Acadia “fixed” under warranty and I’m getting the Shift to Park message again. My warranty runs out in Dec 2020 so need to get it fixed again. What happens if this happens again after there’s no warranty?
That’s exactly what I asked when I got ours out the shop the second time and was told once the warranty goes, we’ll have to pay for repairs. I told him I didn’t think that was right seeing how it’s an ongoing problem and he shrugged his shoulders.
That would be nice to know. I just got mine fixed this week. Holding my breath it cured the shift problem.
Just started having this issue park to shift with my 2017 Acadia
I own a 2019 GMC sierra and it begin having the same issue , I starter looking for answers any recommendations?
I took to dealership and they took care of it under warranty. I have a 2018. If it starts up again, there is another fix. They had to order, so you might want to call and make appt to fix. Took about an hour. Dealership was very accommodating.
I have a 2017 Acadia and just started the same problem, will there be a recall so this can be fixed, to many people having the same problem.
I have a 2018 Acadia that I bought brand new, after 40,000 miles that’s when the first “shift to park” issue started. A gmc dealership replaced the shifter and it was good until this past May when the shifter had to be replaced again! Shortly after it was replaced, I started seeing “shift to park” again, I took it to the dealership AGAIN and they replaced the shifter harness?? and it was ok but about 2 months later (now) , its doing it again! I did contact an attorney and they said that being that I have over 60,000 miles on my vehicle, I wouldn’t qualify for the lawsuit. I will NEVER buy another Acadia. This was my first American made vehicle by the way. Never had any issues out of my Toyotas that had over 130,000 miles on them.
2017 Acadia just stated doing the same thing yesterday. 37K miles on it.
We have experienced this same shift to park experience with our 2018 Acadia. I have to jiggle the shifter to stop this issue.
I bought a 2017 GMC Acadia 2 weeks ago and have been having issues for 3 days now it telling me to shift to park when it’s showing on the dash it’s in park and on the shifter. I wish I had known about this prior because I would not have purchased! But with 3 kids I needed something bigger as soon as possible! But Sitting in my yard After taking my 2 oldest kids to school with a hungry newborn baby screaming while fighting with my car to park is unacceptable! I need my vehicle fixed immediately! I can’t afford to have this issue trying to take care of my 3 kids.
Call GMC dealership. I know it’s aggravating. but they “fixed” mine in an hour. All under warranty. They told me it wouldn’t affect battery so you can just make sure shift is in park position and you turn car off. I started putting emergency brake on. They told me there is another thing they ca do if it starts up again. I liked my Arcadia but now not so much.
Hi Debi Flanders. Please reply with the location that fixed yours. Not all are the same (have as experienced technicians). If I can just call or have the dealer I go to call for help would be helpful to me. I like to have a solution in place in case they say they don’t know.
We just bought a 2017 Acadia and are having this problem. GM needs to recall and fix this. How can I join the suit?
I bought a 2017 Acadia all-terrain certified used a year ago and about 2 months ago this started to happen. Sometimes it works and most the time it doesn’t. Sometimes I just have to sit in the car with it running and then try again 5 minutes later to shut it off again….
I wish I would’ve done more research before just falling in love with a car that has this issue. I just purchased a 2017 Acadia denali 2 days ago and it gave me the SHIFT TO PARK message the next day after purchase. I think I know why the owner traded it in now! If there is no permanent fix, I will have to just return it! I need a reliable/safe car that’s going to worth my money!
It’s a General Motors problem, I had a Cadillac SRX that had the same shift to park issue twice. It was fixed under warranty the first time and then I had to pay $600 for the repair when it happened after the warranty period had expired.
Now my 2019 Acadia with 11,000 miles has the problem! All of them need to be recalled for repair.
HI, I had posted that my 2017 Acadia was having the Shift to park issue. After I started to look around on the web is saw that there were other people that had posted what seemed to be fixes for this. I saw one Youtube that showed how to take the shift assembly apart. I had done the part about dislodging the top shift knob from the shift assembly, but wasn’t able to pull the trim piece off. So I just slammed the shifter back down to reconnect. Was after that the Shift to park error quit coming up. I drove the Acadia for a month or so and it started again, so I did the same thing, but dislocated the shift know part an slammed down in place and it cleared the error and has worked great for about another month. Seems like kind of a caveman fix, but from it seems to me is the bottom pin on the shift assembly might not be quite long enough or maybe the microswitch tab needs to be where it can make better contact with the shift knob. I don’t know for sure, but this little fix is working so far and until GMC comes up with a proper fix I will hope this keeps working.
Yes I have the same Shift to Park issue with my 2017 Acadia. It also drained my battery. GMC needs to do a recall and fix this safety issue. They wanted $168 for a diagnostic check. But why if they already know it a problem and there is no fix. Plus they wanted $200 to replace my battery. No thank you. I bought this car specifically to drive my toddlers in. Now what?!
I am also experiencing the “shift to park” issue.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali with 24K miles on it.
Had to replace the battery yesterday. We are taking it to the dealership on Monday.
2018 Acadia
Having the shift to park warning as well .
Also have the passenger blind spot monitor coming on with no one around
Bought a 2017 Denali and just started getting this error after 2 months of owning it. Would never of bought it if I knew this was an issue that GMC isn’t doing anything to resolve.
Same issue. 2018 GMC Acadia, and the dealership is charging $550 to replace the entire gear shift and also diagnosed the oxygen monitor needs to be replaced for another $420. I had to replace the battery as well about 4 months ago and the vehicle only has 38K miles. Will be trading this POS fast before something else breaks.
We purchased a 2019 GMC Acadia in March 2020 and it just turned over to 26,000 miles. I started receiving this “shift to park” message just a few days ago. Contacting the dealer tomorrow.
This is crazy that there are so many people having the same issue and there is no recall!
I currently have a 2017 Acadia with the same issue, Shift to Park display while in parked gear. This problem started around April of 2020, I took it to Mangino GMC dealer and they corrected the problem with an in line Shifter Wire Harness Jumper Installation. The harness cost me $19.76 with labor and tax $256.54. Now, the end of September I am now having the same problem. The service department did inform me that this issue is common with this model. So, now they ordered a new car shifter to install. My complaint is, GMC should be covering these charges. Why isn’t there a Recall, as this is definitely a manufacturing defect. I can’t lock my car when this display appears. A very dangerous problem not being able to lock your car. GM, you need to step up before someone gets hurt and submit a RECALL for this problem.
I have the “Shift to Park” problem right now with my 2017 Malibu Hybrid, which is still under warranty. I took it to the dealer, the replaced a harness and said it was fixed. Drove home, parked, turned it off and Shift to Park popped up. Called the dealer back. They say they are going to replace the shift assembly and it would take a few days to get it in. That was on Saturday, 10/03/2020. I haven’t heard back from them and called yesterday and left a message. GM really needs to get this problem fixed for everyone. I did report it to NHTSA.
How? I had issues with JEEP a few years ago. I was in house after running errands. It rolled back and back end rolled into neighbor’s home. We had car damage and home damages to pay for. Now insurance is higher. Just couple weeks later the Star Trek actor was killed when same JEEP model crushed him. Shortly after, JEEP owners received full color mailings to notify car owners of need to have something altered for gearshift issue. I can’t remember who I tried to contact now to voice my concerns. They gave me run around. Guys who serviced my vehicle kept urging me on .
We bought a brand new 2019 LTZ Acadia and after 18000km are having the “shift car into park” problems now – this car has had so many little things wrong with it – when you pay so much for it, you expect a quality, and we have not got it. Oh and I’ve also just had the “service – side detection system” error come up as well… 🤦♂️🤦♂️
I’m having this problem with my 2018 Traverse, purchased new in May 2018. Although I rarely drive it these days I have noticed the problem is getting worse, happening more consistently. I will be taking it to the dealer within the next few days, but wanted to see if there was a fix first.
I had purchased a 2018 Chevy Malibu in January of 2020 and I am having this same issue with my gear shift being in park but I keep getting error that it is not. This is so frustrating and I believe that we should not have to pay for this faulty issue. GMC needs to get the job fix before they get sued because this is a dangerous issue. It need to be a recall soon and I’m calling first thing Monday.
I am currently experiencing this same issue! I am afraid to even drive it anywhere. What are they doing about this???
WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH OUR 2018 ARCAIDA – WE TOOK IT IN ONCE BEFORE FOR THE ISSUE AND THEY SAID THEY REPLACED A SENSOR BUT AFTER A FEW MONTHS THE PROBLEM IS BACK.
They install a wire harness/saddle that fixes the issue.
They did that to ours and the problem came back in 2 weeks. Had to go back to the shop to get the whole shift thingy replaced. Waiting to see how long it takes for that to mess up. I’ve lost all faith in them.
They did that on mine and fixed it for about 3 weeks.
I’m having the same issue with my Arcadia 2018. It is very annoying for how much i’m paying for this car .
Same Issue 2017 Gmc Acadia 25000 miles and leaves my wife stranded all the time could end up being dangerous and multiple ways. But until someone dies or seriously gets injured they Unfortunately dont care. Normal practice unfortunately. There is a small limit switch at the bottom of the shifter (when you push the button in to change the gear) that is at the bottom and thats what alledgedly getting caught up. You can rig it but the only fix so far I heard of is replace the whole shifter.
I have 31,000 on Acadia. They fixed problem under warranty. No cost to me. They said they’d fix the button first If it does it again, they’d replace. Like my Acadia alot with exception to this.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia. I been having the same problem three times. With the shift to park. The fist time they replace the part. Second time I told I was having the same problem they told it was my battery yea right. Third time I called I told it was my shift to park. I’m scared to drive it.
Everyone needs to contact national traffic highway safety administration!!! This will help get a recall started.
I did got no response from them
I’m at the dealership now with the “Shift to Park” issue. They want to charge me $500 to fix. How can GMC say it’s not their problem…yes it is your problem. There should be a recall on these vehicles.
Due you have extended warranty
No
I’m sorry to hear that. I’m also experiencing the same thing.
I had this problem and the dealer finally fixed it for $138.00. They had my car from Wed. tiol Sat. when I got it back after talking to a manager.
2017 Acadia bought in June 2020 and I recently started experiencing the same problem. I have just been turning it back on and moving it back and forth until it shuts off. It’s very annoying. Recall needed ASAP
I am experiencing this same issue for the second time with my 2018 Acadia. They say there is no fix and not a big enough issue for a recall. Yeah right!!! Six months and my lease is up. I won’t be looking into another GMC.
I’m having the same issue, at the dealer now
Yes. I have a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali. I experienced the same ” shift into park ” issue within the first year. The dealership would do nothing until I came in while having the problem. After 4 times they replaced the shifter. Within a year, the same problem . This time they put on a harness. Within another year, problem reapperared. Had my second shifter installed.
Now, within a period of two months, I came home at midnight, shifted into park, turned off my motor. Again the “shift into park” issue only this time, the gear shift showed it was in reverse. I could not move the shifter, nor start my car. After trying everything until two am, i was forced to leave my car with lights on until my new battery went dead. I had to have it towed. Thankfully, the man who came was able to open the hood and knew how to manually move the gears so that he could get it into neutral, jump my car and get it on his truck. Now they are telling me they think it is the IVS Switch. That does not make sense to me. I’m a 78 year old woman and am concerned that this could happen and leave me stranded. No help from GM.
The dealership claims they have to follow GM protocol and do what they recommend. Couldn’t check the switch before because GM said to do otherwise. My son told me to buy a Toyota.
Bought my 2018 GMC Acadia in October of 17. Within the year I had a problem with the brake light not releasing, and the shift into park issue. The shift lever was replaced. Within a year the same problem occurred. This time they replace the harness. Once again, within the year the same problem occurred. Again the shift lever was replaced. Now, within two months, I came home at midnight, turned off the car and the “shift into park” message came on. Only this time, the gear shift showed “reverse”, I could not restart the car, nor could I move the shifter. After trying everything until 2am I had to leave my car with the lights on (they wouldn’t turn off) and let my NEW battery run down. In the morning, when the tow truck came, the driver was knowledgeable and was able to open the hood , move the gears until he got it into neutral. He then jumped my car drove it up onto the truck and took it to the dealership. Unfortunately, the car wouldn’ t jump again, so who knows about my battery. Now, I called to check on progress, (5 days later) but they are “still checking it out”. They are checking the IVS switch. Doesn’t make sense to me. What does that have to do with the shifter. I asked why they are just checking it now. They said they have to follow GM protocol and couldn’t check until now. Good Grief!!!!
I am a 78 year old woman and don’t know what I would do if stranded.
My GMC Acadia is experiencing the same issue. The Dealership told me the transmission issue is not part of the Powertrain Warranty. They can diagnose my car for 185 dollars, but the fix would be on me. She told me it was too bad if it was dangerous and they would not have a loaner car for me while it was being services. All around BAD Customer service, for a problem they know is theirs and could get someone killed.
So strange. I have a 2018 with 31,000 mi. They said mine was under warranty and wouldn’t cost me.
We have an ‘18 Acadia and are starting to experience this same thing. My wife FaceTimed me this afternoon to show me, but was able to get it to go off. I get home from work and go to pull it out of the garage and it drained down my battery. This is ridiculous
I have a 2017 with 12,000 miles on it. Same issue. Told it is out of warranty and the fix is on me.
Hi. Did you buy used. Due you have extended warranty. I have the same problem two times. But I have extended warranty. I think we should get everyone to sign a A petition for a recall.
My 2017 all terrain had the shifter replaced under warranty, about 14K. So far so good. It has 25K now and out of warranty a month now.
We have a 2019 Arcadia GMC that has recently started ringing when we turn the car off. It says shift to park and it’s already in park
Had issue appear after we had vehicle for a year. Dealership fixed the issue at that time. And now it has appeared again. It’s a 2017 and currently sitting at 32,000 miles.
I have a 2017 with under 22k miles the dealership replaced the wiring harness or something last year and it just acted up again and they gave me a new shifter but I’m out of warr next month so I’m nervous to have it happen again …. I was planning to get a newer one but I hear they are having the same issues so I may have to get away from GMC till they fix this but it’s turning a lot of people away from what used to be a good brand …. it’s sad
My wife bought a new 2017 Acadia Denali. Shift to park problem started when car had 35,000 miles on it. GMC replaced the shifter for free due to being under warranty. This lasted until 50,000 miles then shift to park problem started up again. Took the car back in and they replaced the wiring harness for free. At 54,000 miles it is doing it AGAIN. Car is in shop now getting ANOTHER shifter installed. We are being told it is going to cost $430.00. I am fighting GMC over this now. Waiting on decision in the next day or so. It’s funny how they replaced wiring harness for free a month ago and now they want to charge us for a new shifter now.
Follow up on my October 29th post…
GMC installed a new “improved” shifter. I was able to get them to adjust the bill and bring it from $430.00 down to $300.00. I called GMC and filed a complaint with them and will be filing a “safety” complaint with the NHTSA in the coming day’s.
Not trying to be political but since Trump became President, our consumer right’s protections have diminished greatly. Our complaints typically go unanswered. I will let this not only reflect the way I vote but will also let this determine what brand of vehicle I purchase in the future. It won’t be a GMC.
I purchased a new 2018 Acadia and once I hit 22k miles I am experiencing problems shifting to park. Vehicle shuts off bu can be started without a fob. Message center indicates “shift to park” and dings. Most times I must turn ignition on and mock reshifting before message goes away. Paid too much for this car for issue like this..huge safety issue!
I bought my wife a 2018 last year and just recently it started to do the same thing and as of now it’s been every day. I want answers and for this matter to be fixed or want my money back.
If your car is still under warranty you should be okay. If not, you will probably end up paying for a new shifter which cost me $300. It was going to cost $430 but I complained and they lowered it to $300. Good luck!!
Do you have the part number for this new and improved shifter from your repair invoice? It would certainly help us all solve this continuing problem (hopefully).
We have a 2029 Acadia that is doing this same thing, Telling us to put it in park when it is already in park and the warning bell ringing and ringing.
My 2017 Acadia has done this continuously since I purchased it new. The vehicle is in park and it displays an error message that it isn’t. Very frustrating that the dealership refuses to recognize this as an issue and won’t repair the problem.
My 2017 GMC Acadia Denali has 36 000 miles on it. I have had this issue twice now. Two years ago, my Acadia was only a year old when I began experiencing this “Shift to Park Required” message. It was sporadic at first. Then it happened more frequently and I couldn’t like my doors. That was a serious problem when I was Christmas shopping and you never knew when it was going to do it. Then it got to the point where the vehicle wouldn’t shut off and my battery would drain. Took it to GMC dealer and they fixed it. Now it is happening again. This is VERY frustrating. I still owe 2 years on it and was hoping to keep it for a long time but I don’t want to
Our 2017 Acadia is having the same issue, again. We had it repaired in February 2019 and we’re charged $600.00 by the dealer because it was 1487 miles out of warranty. This repair was combined with the side detection alert module replacement. We have put about 20000 more miles on it and the shift to park issue has reoccurred.
I have a 2019 GMC Acadia that started the “shift to park” error message about 300 miles out of warranty. I dropped it off at a dealer and three days later I was told the shifter (395.00) and labor was not covered and that the shifter was on backorder and didn’t know when they would receive it. Since I need my vehicle they told me there is a $100.00 fix with a harness but it is only about 5% successful but they would try and see if it works. So aggravated that I have a 40,000.00 auto barely out of warranty and are having this nonsense issue with GMC not offering to help.
My 2018 GMC Acadia with 47000 miles has started displaying the Shift To Park message after the vehicle has been manually placed in park. GM advised me that the vehicle is outside the mileage warranty and that I would be responsible for repairs.
That would be well and good but they obviously don’t know how to fix it.
I had the problem while I was under warranty and the dealer “fixed” it.. Now out of warranty and it has shown up again. You’d have to run fast and long to get me to ever buy another GMC product…..
What aggravates me the most is I really do like my car. They aren’t making it easybto keep my car.
2018 Acadia just started displaying this sign about 3 weeks ago. No rhyme or reason. It’s becoming more frequent now that we are heading into the colder months of the year. The only thing that has worked has been applying the parking brake! At least that way we know it won’t roll down the driveway. Calling dealership on Monday and hoping with our extended warranty they can do something 🤞
With all the complaints on the issue, the repairs made that fail shortly thereafter would indicate GM doesn’t know how to make a permanent fix.
I have a 2017 gmc acadia with 43000 miles the shift to park started 3 days ago haven’t taken in .
My 2017 Acadia, started doing this recently.
I have appointment at GM Dealer this Wednesday, hopefully this is part of recall.
It’s not a recall
GMC knows they have a defective product but they choose to spend money on lawyers to keep from fixing it, if a customer or two get injured or killed because of it then that is an allowable loss to GmC!!! KRAPPY COMPANY!!
Check out the history of the Ford Pinto. Lives, injuries, losses and inconvenience doesn’t matter. Only class action lawsuits, shareholder revolt or intervention by the NHTSA or other federal agencies gets their attention. Unfortunately, this administration stacked the deck against consumers and in favor of corporations. I could boycott GMC for the rest of my life due my problems with the Acadia, but there’ll always be other suckers in the U.S. and around the world.
My 2017 started doing this a few months ago.
In the last three months I have had the shifter break three times. Parts were replaced twice and today the assembly snapped while driving. Going down a hill at 40 mph I shifted into low and felt it snap. When I stopped and put into park it got stuck and I was stranded. Had vehicle towed to dealer. I have six months on the lease and do not want this vehicle returned to me.
my 2018 Acadia has only 18,000 miles and I experienced the shift into park issue numerous times. Occasionally I can restart the car once twice or three times and shut it off and it will work other times it seems like a beast forever. I wish I knew what was wrong with it. How do I get in on the class action lawsuit?
I just had the problem with my 2017 GMC Acadia. Shows not in “PARK” when i could see it was in the Park slot.
Car will not shut down so had to back-up , put in drive and move forward to finally get it to work.
Scary to say the least.
If I had this problem. I’d solve it quickly, it’s called ‘get rid of it’. Trade it in.
If it’s been repaired, ask the dealer why they won’t stand behind it.
Same issue here and I haven’t even had the car for a month. It’s a 2017 with 26,000 miles on it. Started doing it a few days ago. I bought it as ‘certified pre-owned’ so I’m hoping with the extended warranty that comes with, it will be covered. I am concerned after reading all these comments.
I have a Acadia 2017. “Shift to Park” error came up after the Brake Calipers work done and brake fluid flusded 11-2019.
Dealer changed the “harness” when the car got oil changed in 4-2020. The problem remained until now.
I came back 11-2020 for oil and tires changed. Advisor said I need to have the part replace $250.00
They don’t even consider the warranty for the “belt” they changed ???!!!!
Powertrain Limited Warranty is 5 years (160000km). This should be part of transmission system ??
GMC should be responsible to fix it.
Hey all,
Not just Acadia. My 2019 Sierra has been doing it over a month with 19000 miles. I have to keep shutting it off and on until it stops. Sometimes putting the park break on works. Had a lot of other problems with this vehicle too. Unbelievable. I don’t have time to take it to the dealer but I’ll try this Saturday. Covid restrictions don’t help. My Denali truck had major vibration problems before I got this vehicle. No more GM
We recently have experienced this on multiple occasions and it is becoming more frequent for our 2017 GMC Acadia.
Some car owners posted on Youtube a “Shift to Park” cause of the problem: a bad designed switch in the Shifter that has a leaf spring – it does not spring back to make contact properly in that switch. Don’t need to change a new Shifter, since the problem will happen after a while ….. Temporary bypass is pressing the trigger of the gear shift lever a few times to make the switch bounce back to contact, and the error message will disappear. Permanent fix might need a technician to open the Shifter to adjust the switch. I wonder if GMC garage technicians are aware of that!!!
They are aware of it. When I took my 2018 Acadia in, they explained all that to me. Told they hoped that would fix it but they might have the shift itself. Now I’m hearing all these claims of people going in multiple times. I had issue with shifter in my JEEP. It rolled back into my neighbor’s home. My window shattered and their home was damaged. The car was in Park with no one in it. Few weeks later same thing happened to an actor. His car crushed him. I never trusted that car it was “fixed” so we traded. No one wants to take responsibility. JEEP wouldn’t take responsibilty with mine. Ironic thing was there was something already online about the problem and they were working into a fix. just a few weeks later there was glossy full colored postcard in the mail telling owners to go in for an electronic update to temporarily fix the issue. I’m so disappointed..Paying higher insurance rate because of “my accident”.
Yes I am having the problem o. My 2018 acadia at this time. What should I do?
My 2016 Acadia has the problem with car in park but car indicates it is not in park.
This has happened multiple times and starting the car and putting in park again
does not alway fix the problem.
I wish to join the class action lawsuit.
My 2017 Acadia just started doing this. So frustrating
Just started having the Shift problem.
Very frustrating ,especially with GM not accepting any responsibility.
My shifter in my 2017 Acadia has now been replaced for the 2nd time.
I had the shift to park issue a year or two ago and the dealership replaced the shifter.
Lo and behold the same thing started happening recently and once again they replaced my shifter. At least they aren’t charging me for it.
Are you under warranty? I have been told by a dealer that even if your 3 year warranty has expired there is a GM warranty of 12 months/12,000 miles for the part. I had the harness replaced in July and now the shifter in November 2020.
I purchased my Acadia in November 2017.
I believe it was still under warranty.
2017. Just bought it and have this problem. Please add me to the list!
2017 Acadia doing this same thing. Dealer will be calling me back to let me know how much I’ll have to pay to have the issue fixed. They claim their technicians know how to fix the problem but gmc won’t pay for it.
Can you find out why they know how to fix the problem and no one else in GMC knows how?
Our 2019 Acadia has this problem too. It has been fixed once already and dropped it off today for the same problem.
Our 2019 Acadia has this problem too. 2nd time already taking it in for the same reason. Definitely not worth the money I spent on this.
Having same issue as everyone else. 2017 Acadia with 50,000 miles. Wife got stranded at mall not being able to shut vehicle off. I had to Uber there and repeatedly put it in reverse and park until it finally recognized that it was in park. To learn that GM wants to take no responsibility will definitely make us never buy their product again! Thank you for all of the helpful comments.
This’s what I did often: engine turned off, press the trigger 2-3 times, press the + sign on top the shifter, press the brake pedal to make sure it bounced back (when the car is in Park, the brake pedal should be hard when you press the foot on it). It worked; but of course the switch inside the gear shifter should be fixed.
Yep bought my Acadia brand new in 2017 and it started doing this a few months back. Over time it began happening more frequently. My GM dealer had no way they said of completely fixing it. Needless to say a month ago I traded it in for a Honda Pilot! I’m very happy to be rid of that Acadia.
My 2018 just started doing
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali and have been having this issue intermittently for months now. I haven’t had it roll when in park position but it will continue to beep until I can get it to register it is in park by pressing on the shift button sometimes for minutes. Sometimes I need to restart the car as well. It is very frustrating and hope that GM can do the right thing and figure out how to fix the issue.
Our 2018 Acadia has this problem. 29000 miles.
2017 GMC Acadia Denaoi shift to park issue o have as well just got the car used with 52k miles. Scarey seems like a major safety issue
2017 Acadia Denali and have had the issue from day one. Just recently the dealership swapped out the shifter and last week it gave me the warning to shift into park and couldn’t get it to do anything. Shifter wouldn’t move and couldn’t completely turn it off. Got out to eat lunch and the Acadia rolled into the vehicle in front of me. Called the dealership and had them tow it in immediately and take care of damage to both vehicles.
Please report this to the Dept. of Safety and Vehicle Services Division in your state and also to GMC directly. I feel that is the only way anything will get done is if enough of us bring it to the attention of government agencies. Does that accident count against you for your auto insurance? Thank you!
I had similar problem with a JEEP we traded in for Acadia. Little did I know..
With JEEP, it rolled back into neighbor’s home. JEEP dealer tried to recreate situation and of course didn’t occur for them. Therefore, our insurance premium increased because of damages. Tried to get somone to listen to no avail. Just weeks later the film star was killed when JEEP rolled and pinned him. JEEP knew there was issue because they had literature with warning ready to send shortly after. GRRRRR Good luck getting their attention.
The vehicle only rolled a couple of feet. The accident was very minor damage which only required buffing and was in a public lot where police would not write it up. I spoke with my auto insurance but never had to use them because the GMC dealership agreed to take care of both vehicles. I will follow your 2 recommendations.
My 2019 Acadia was showing shift to park while I was park, it would not turn off the car until I was able to make the warning go away. Had it fixed a month ago and now am taking it back this week for the same shift to park error.
Same issue. Less than 30,000 miles… No fix yet or recall? GMC needs to get it together
I have a 2019 GMC Acadia SLT, I bought brand new two years ago in November. I am not able to use my car at all, without it giving me the “shift to park” message. I am a Home Health Nurse, and see about 6/7 patients a days. I am in and out of my car that many times a day, if not more. I’ve found that if I use my emergency brake, it overrides the message. I’m doing this until I can get it into the dealership next Tuesday. Since they felt it is not an emergency. My Acadia has 44500 miles on it.
Mine is a 2019 SLT model too and mine started less than 20,000 miles on it. They replaced the entire shifter hasn’t done it again but according to this site it will happen again.
Had this problem fixed under warranty at 36000 miles and now 72000 doing again. Very frustrating!
Currently sitting at a dealer for shifter alert issue. 2018 Acadia 38567 miles. Changing harness to see if that works. They’ve already mentioned possible shifter change. What’s worse if I’m on vacation.
The harness “fix” lasted less than a week for us. The shifter “fix” has lasted 5 months SO FAR.
Yes! Just bought a 2017 with only 18,000 miles. Had it for a month and started doing this last week. Will be a pain if this continues….. sad to see it’s a common issue
I recently started experiencing frequent problems with shift to park issues with my 2017 Denali. The vehicle flashes warning on dash that the vehicle isn’t im park even though the shift is in park. It was sporadic u til
Lwtely and occurs during each drive
I am also having the shift to park problem on my 2018 Denali Acadia. Very annoying.
Had been wanting a GMC Acadia Denali for a long time now that i have one i am so disappointed and fustrated with the parking brake issue. Love the comfort but If i would have known this before i would have opted for a different SUV.
I have started having problems with my GMC Acadia Denali 2018. I’m having the same shift to park issues.
My 2017 Acadia only has 15,000 miles on it and I have recently started getting the shift to park message. I press the button on the front of the shift handle a few times to get it to turn off. I thought it might be a temperature (weather) issue. I will be calling the dealership this week to see if there is a fix.
My 2018 Acadia just started giving me the shift to park warning as well. Is there a fix available yet?
our 2017 is a few months out of warranty and they are replacing the shifter for $600. we experienced the dashboard warning to put it in park when it was already in park. car would not shut down and it rolled backwards on our driveway about 20 feet.
what choice do we have but to fix it
Exactly. Mine was fixed under warranty but next time? I had JEEP that I actually traded in for this, that in park with engine off and no one in it backed into my neighbor’s home. My windows broke out and had other damages. Did over $5,000 to their basement. JEEP wouldn’t take blame for it, even though they were working on a fix for it. If grandchildren were going to house, they would have been run over.
My wife’s 2018 Acadia definitely has a problem of going into park. It’s very dangerous and frustrating.
Just started happening every time I turn off the car. 2018 GMC Acadia.
Same thing happening to mine. 2017 Acadia. Happened 2 years ago and they replaced the shifter and now I have it in the shop again. How can we see what’s going on with the lawsuit? I’d like to be apart of it. We shouldn’t have to pay $500+ every year or 2 to get this fixed.
There is a design defect in the shift to park sensor switch. Until GM changes the design of this assembly, all of the ‘fixes’ that they try are only temporary. Flipping the switch 50 times has to be the winner for the most absurd – surprised techs even try this. A wire harness mod is also useless. The entire shift assembly replacement is their final solution – also just temporary as so many people have found out. And at $500 a pop, a real aggravator. Oh, by the way, the problem in the shift mechanism is a small microswitch. Don’t get mad, but it probably would cost GM about 50 cents for the correct switch, if they would only admit their error and replace the switch when manufacturing the assembly.
I called the law firm in Connecticut. They asked what had happened to mine which I had had in twice. They explained if I have problems with it 5 times and have to bring it in within the warranty, to contact them. I believe they are following the lemon law.
Our 2018 gmc acadia had started doing the shift to park failure on January 02 2021. It started doing that once a week or so no its almost every time e drive it. It the vehicle we use for family travel with my kids. I read all the issues that people are having with this vehicle fail to park issue. Now I’m afraid to use it. Thanks for the information about this issues now I can park it for a while to see if a repair is available later
I also have a 2017 acadia SLT with the same problem (SHIFT TO PARK) issue and it does it some times . Dont know what to do ?
Hopefully your car is under warranty..You can go to a dealership and they will fix if you’re under $36,000 or 18 mos whichever is 1st. At least that’s what my bumper to bumper warrsnty was. They should fix free no matter how long since it seems to be prevalent.
Well I guess I’ll join the crowd,
I bought a 2019 Silverado with all the bells and whistles on it. After 28,000 miles on it,the infamous “Shift to park” message started to appear on my dash. As of this date, 02/16/2021 my truck has been in the dealership 5 times for this condition. I have less than 75 miles to go before my warranty is up. Also as of this date, 02/16/2021, my truck is back at the dealership waiting on an “Engineer” from GM to look at this problem. I’ve told the dealership that I feel like a bought a $50,000.00 lemon.
Evidently, the issue is no longer just on GM passenger cars, its migrated to the truck division. Frustration is running rampant.
We didn’t know anything about this when we bought our 2017 gmc Acadia and we are having the same issue we brought it in they couldn’t find any issues with it but problem still persists
I also have a 2017 Acadia Denali. The entire shift assembly must be replaced to fix the issue. I videoed the problem so there was no question. Also GMC has a service bulletin addressing the problem.
I also have a 2017 Acadia Denali. The entire shift assembly must be replaced to fix the issue. I videoed the problem so there was no question. Also GMC has a service bulletin addressing the problem.
Imagine if you had a light switch in you house that did not work correctly and I told you to go home and turn if off and on 50 times or more and that would fix the problem. Well, that is basically what the ‘service bulletin’ tells the mechanic to do. You can guess just how permanent a fix this is.
I just started having the “Shift to Park” issue with my 2017 Acadia Denali! I have 43,000 miles on it and of course, this happens after the 36,000-mile warranty has expired. I have an appointment to take it into service in the morning. Any advice on whether this will be covered as a GM defect? I am pretty upset! I love my Acadia but from reading some of your posts, this problem could reoccur even if the service department “fixes” the issue?
I just called my dealership when, over the weekend, this issue came up. It took us about 20 minutes to get it to recognize the vehicle (2017 Acadia Denali) was in park. I bought an extended warranty when I got the car recently, so hopefully it will be covered. The dealership was very nice about this and know it’s an issue. I hope it gets resolved for me. Fingers are crossed!
My $500 repair was NOT covered under warranty just over 3 yr mark and only 22k miles
Had the problem around 20,000 miles it was fixed under warranty. Today with just over 43,000 it started again. This time no warranty and dreading calling the dealer.
My 2019 Acadia is now displaying Shift to Park when I turn my motor off.
This started after my last oil change a few weeks ago.
Yesterday when I stopped to get gas I had to restart my engine 4 times before I can get it to go off.
What do I need to do to resolve this issue?
My 2019 has had this problem for awhile. They first changed the transmission harness but that didn’t work. Now they are going to change the whole shifter assembly. If you are still under warranty take it back asap before they can charge you. They know its a problem but did not recall it. They had a class action lawsuit against their company.
My 2018 Acadia started this “Shift to Park” at 30k miles (now 42k). The method I describe BELOW works every time I need to extinguish that stoopid dash readout.
BUT, for the last coupla weeks, my Acadia started draining the battery each night. Even though I charged the battery right back up the next morning with a pulsing charger, the multiple drains each night finally killed the battery altogether. Even when I left the charger on overnight, where it read 13.1 the next morning, it was still too low to start (no longer had any cranking amps). Now I need a new battery, which I’m buying today (an Odyssey group 48 AGM at $280!!!).
Knowing that something was drawing power during the night, I bought an Extech 380942 Auto “Clamp Meter”, that will measure down to .001 amps through the clamp (you never want to disconnect the battery altogether), and found the culprit for my dead battery:
Where a normal vehicle will draw .05 ~ .07 amps when turned “off”, my Acadia is drawing more than 10 times that at .6 ~ .8 amps (almost one amp rather than a few hundredths of an amp. When I change it out, I will have a motorcycle battery attached to the battery clamps by alligator clipped extension wires so the vehicle never “sees” a loss of voltage during the swap.
So, here’s the answer to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying display:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroding contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch (or any other critical contacts). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail“, micro switch… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, continuity), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There must be just enough oxidation on the contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply using multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand with all fingers extended, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”.
You accomplish this by using a rapid upward motion so the “trigger switch” is flicked multiple times as your fingers are passing swiftly upward, just above the shift knob (note: your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple flicks, cause the micro switch contacts to once again make contact, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset.
Rustie….
E.Loadholtz
My 2017 GMC Arcadia with 17,600 mile on it has started giving me the message that my car needed to be put in park before the vehicle would cut off. It did it for 5 times before I decided to take it back where I purchased it. They replace the whole gear section, but said it was not covered under any recall. This little trip to the dealer cost me over $600 out of pocket. With 17,600 miles this shouldn’t be happening,
I’m in the same boat. They know they have an issue, but will not take responsibility.
It should have been covered by warranty. Ours has been repaired twice under warranty for the same issue.
I just dropped off my 2018 Acadia for this same problem. They seem oblivious to prior complaints and I fear they will replace flawed parts with new versions of the same. I will never trust this car again.
I have a 2017 Acadia with the “shift to park” issue. It is out of warranty with 24,000 miles on it. Called local dealer and they want $339 to fix it. Called GM and they said to call dealer. I called dealer where I bought the car and they wouldn’t let me talk to service. Lady said I had to bring it in to diagnose and tell me if I had to pay or not. This dealer is 2 hours away. I’m 71 and don’t want to drive 2 hours if I have to pay for it, but she couldn’t tell me one way or the other. So, here I sit with my 50,000 dollar car. This is the second issue I’ve had with this car (other being the A/C). Fixing to go trade for a Ford!
Don’t go Ford. You’ll just switch one issue for another. Go Toyota Sequioa. Similar price, far higher quality build, better, friendlier warranty, and easily last far more than a decade. Can get similar V6, or even a 380hp V8.
I’m giving up my Acadia for a Mazda.
‘ll
Hello. I am a fairly recent owner of a 2017 GMC Acadia (after my husband spent years selling GMCs and other GM vehicles). I have recently encountered the problem you describe. I just spent 15 minutes in my car trying to get it to recognize that it was already in park. ‘P’ was displayed on the screen. I also had to skip an errand because I couldn’t get the car to recognize that it was already in park. This is a serious problem and I hope you can get GM to do a recall or use some other means of getting it corrected. Thank you.
I have a 2019 Acadia Denali and just started having this issue .. I hope it had a fix for being such expensive crossover and not being able to fix it.
I already had the transmission harness changed and then the whole shifter assembly changed a couple days ago. From what I read this works for awhile and the problem comes back. If you flick the shifter in an upward angle it seems to work to stop the problem. If you have warranty take it back asap.
Have had and still have this problem. Shifter cable was replaced but problem has returned. Have another appointment to fix this problem. 2017 Acadia SLT 41000 miles.
My 2019 Acadia with 20,000 miles is persistently experiencing this issue. The dealer says they can “repair it” but nothing seems to eliminate the issue. GM must hope they can buy enough time for these vehicles with 100% failure rates to run out of warranty. Way to F their customers! Why did I roll the dice on an American vehicle?
My 2019 cannot seem to be repaired. I think I’ll let the mofo roll down the hill, damage something and let GM do the talking to an attorney; this after having it “repaired” 3 times. I’m sick of it! Last American POS I buy!
I have a 2019 Gmc Acadia that the warning keeps going off making it to where I can’t turn off the vehicle. It’s 5am and nothing is open to help fix this issue
So, here’s the answer to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying display, and will allow you to shut the vehicle off:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroding contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch (or any other critical contacts). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail“, micro switch & harness… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, continuity), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There must be just enough oxidation on the contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply using multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand, and with all 4 fingers extended perpendicular to the shift lever, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”. One upward swipe will provide 4 trigger “flicks” from each of your fingers.
Using this rapid upward motion will cause the “trigger switch” to be flicked multiple times as your fingers are passing swiftly upward, ending just above the shift knob (remember, your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple finger flicks will cause the micro switch contacts to once again make a connection, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset.
Rustie….
GMC is like all giant companies,,, as long as their lawyers can keep the cost of ignoring a problem cheaper than litigation they will throw customers to the wolves… It should be noted that I cannot fight the behemoth but I can refuse to EVER buy another of their products either for myself or my company which will cost GMC multiple times what they save from failing to fix my defective Acadia…
Our 2017 Acadia ( bought used with 23000 miles on it) is doing this exact thing also. Looks like we might have to buy an extended warranty or sell the damn thing. I doubt GM will do anything for us.
Access the contacts and apply some dielectric grease on them.
My six year old was sitting in front seat of car in my driveway. No keys in car, car in park. He leaned over gear shifter and it moved into low gear rolled down a hill. He jumped out thank goodness but could have been so much worse. Were waiting to here back from gmc and the body shop to see if its worth fixing as it rolled down a hill thru thru 3 acres of our property. Ive never seen any warning lights saying the car wasn’t in park. Plus there were no keys in the ignition.
I will never own another gmc
FYI for those that think/hope this issue may move slowly (as I did). The Park issue started last week on my 2019 Acadia with 20,000 miles on it and as of today, 6 days later, it failed every time I parked the vehicle. Its being towed to the dealer tomorrow to hopefully be repaired. I’ve never had a vehicle with a major issue (yet a basic one: Park) fail at such a low mileage.
Most of all, take it seriously; when it begins to fail it goes quickly! I ditched my 2014 Cruze due to numerous premature part failure (transmission, water pump, motor gaskets, brake master cylinder) so I was optimistic this more substantial (and expensive) vehicle would be of a higher quality… I hope this is isolated and easily resolved. My Mazda’s lasted forever with minimal issues..
I had a great Mazda with no problems and decided to purchase a GMC. Worst mistake I ever made. I have had quite a few problems and my vehicle is also a 2019. I just had the whole shifter assembly replaced so we shall see how long it will last. Time to trade in before more problems. Good luck
My shift to park issue started at 24215 miles. Called dealer and can’t talk to anyone but a person. She said to bring it in so they can diagnose it. I told her it was already diagnosed, but she wouldn’t let me talk to the service department. Talked to another dealership and they said they could fix it for 339 dollars. I called GM and she played like gm knew nothing of the problem and said she could make me an appointment with a dealer (ha). I said that I was capable of that. No help so far.
I have a 2019 Acadia and am experiencing the same issue now with the ‘shift to park’. Don’t know what to do.
I just had the whole shifter assembly changed out. So far it is ok. If you still under warranty take it in and have it changed.
You could take to the dealership. Due have warranty.
This happened in 2018, and was covered under warranty, 3 years later uts happening again and going to cost me because it’s not under warranty.
My 2018 just started doing this in the last couple of months. I came searching to see if this is a known issue. Apparently it is. You would think GMC would do something with all the complaints. Today, I had to restart my car and take it out of park and put it back in several times before it finally quit leaving the shift to park message. So irritating.
So, here’s the answer to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying message, and will allow you to shut the vehicle off:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroding contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch (or any other critical contacts). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and/or harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail-again“, micro switch & harness… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, “continuity”), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There must be just enough oxidation on the contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply using multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand. So, with all 4 fingers extended perpendicular to the shift lever, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”, one upward swipe will then provide 4 trigger “flicks”, one from each of your fingers as it passes the trigger.
Using this rapid upward motion will cause the “trigger switch” to be flicked multiple times, with your hand and extended fingers ending just above the shift knob (remember, your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple finger flicks will cause the micro switch contacts to once again make a connection, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset, but it usually works the first time it’s tried.
Rustie….
April 22 2021
We just came back from a trip and it started the “shift to park” problem. I have not contacted the dealer yet but will do it in the morning. I contacted the class action lawsuit and will probably join it.
How do you join the lawsuit?
Did you ever get an answer to your question?
How did you find out about a class action suit? I’ll have to google that as I was unaware of it. Can you easily join?
I had the same happen with my Acadia. I had it fixed about 2 years ago and it has recently been giving me the same error message again.
Why do all of us GM owners that are having this shift problem sign up and start putting up billboards around your town about not buying GM products. I’ll check around Athens, Ga. and see what the price will be for a biilboard. I know this won’t be cheap for me but GM will not like it I guarantee you especially right across the street.
But, there is no telling how much value we have lost in our cars.
Having the same problem now 2017 GMC acadia
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia Denali and mine is doing the same thing. Sometimes I have to restart it a couple times before it will actually stop. I called the dealership and there is no recall. I have an appointment to have it looked at.
I had this issue a couple of years ago, called GM they said no recall. Cost me over $400 to have part replaced. It had started doing the same thing again. GM told me no recall because there was no safety issue. The did give me a case number after J told them if it rolled away snd hurt someone I would hold them responsible!
My 2018 GMC Acadia just started with this issue! The dealership is repairing it and luckily I still have warranty. However, if this happens again I dont think its owners fault or just for me to pay for the fix as its a GMC design fail.
My 2017 Acadia is displaying the the shift to park message for the past two months. I have had to restart it and shut it off again as many ad six times before the message goes away. What should I do about this problem? How do I join the class action suit?
My 2017 Acadia had same issue and I found it to be unreliable and unsafe so it cost me $500 to have it fixed at dealership.
GM needs to step up and cover this repair.
I recently got a 2017 Acadia with 24,500 miles and just started experiencing the “Shift to Park” issue – maddening to say the least! What I don’t understand is that when I shift into park the doors automatically unlock, then I get the “StP” message only after turning the engine off. Are there two separate sensors, or does the microswitch in question get a higher voltage when the car is running that overcomes the oxidation issue?
Rustie – thank you for posting (and re-posting) the “flick” method; I’ll give that a shot next time!
Not that this would be a permanent solution, but has anyone dug out the switch and tried contact cleaner?
After some additional digging I came across a very plausible explanation of *why* the switch fails (beyond oxidation impeding the low current) – namely that the actuator is forcing over-travel of the switch and causing premature wear. The DIY solution is to replace the switch, but bend the leaf to reduce the travel (post #27 gets right to it):
(Search “Acadia forum tested working 2017 shift to park fix” to find the link)
There is an excellent video linked in post #39 of the same thread that has an alternate fix – shorting / bypassing the switch altogether. I’m not convinced that this is the best solution, but the video provides a great overview of how to access the switch.
I realize this does not address GM’s culpability, but with many/most of us out-of-warranty wanted to share what others have found. I’ve ordered the replacement switch referenced in that thread from Mouser and will post a follow-up here once I’ve had a chance to swap it out. Meanwhile, repeatedly and rapidly depressing the shift button is doing the trick (thanks again Rustie!)
How do I join in the class action lawsuit? I have a 2017 Acadia and had this issue before but they fixed it so I thought it was a one time issue but now it’s happening again.
Having the same problem with my 2018 Acadia Denali.
My 2019 Acadia started having this problem this past week. Sometimes it goes off when I shift it hard, or if I turn the car on and shift it. Very irritating.
My 2017 Acadia Denali had this problem. The dealer fixed it for just over $100.00 and in Oct. I traded it in for a new Acadia. No mre problems.
Wow. My dealer wanted $900.
2018 GMC Acadia. Bought the vehicle in March of 2020 and in the shift to Park issue, started from my experience with the vehicle, end of May first of June. I’m afraid it isn’t actually latching into park and that will create major problems if it actually isn’t. I’m unable to lock the car when this happens and it happens about 90% of the time. I have restart the vehicle 3-6 and shift it into park for the warning to not alert me. I’ve contacted the dealership and haven’t heard back from them yet.
I’ve posted this multiple times before, but it seems most do not check the archives (I’m guilty of this too!) Here it is again (with a few new clarifications, polishing it up with every new post):
So, here’s the answer to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying message, and will allow you to shut the vehicle off:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroding contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch (or any other critical contacts). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and/or harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail-again“, micro switch & harness… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) electrical loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, “continuity”), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There must be just enough oxidation on the contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply use multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand. Do this by using all 4 fingers extended perpendicular to the shift lever, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”, with one upward swipe, which will then provide 4 trigger “flicks”, one from each of your fingers as it passes the trigger.
This rapid upward motion causes the “trigger switch” to be flicked multiple times, with your hand and extended fingers ending just above the shift knob (remember, your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple finger flicks will cause the micro switch contacts to once again make a connection, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset, but it usually works the first time it’s tried.
Rustie….
As I write 2018 Acadia with 44,000 miles in service at GMC dealer for “shift to park” when in park…$350.00 after a $100.00 diagnosis…they are speaking to individual if our extended warranty covers this “common problem”? Grrr…
What is the status with the class action lawsuit?
Having the same “shift to park” problem with my 2019 Acadia Denali. Seems to go away if I push hard forward on the shift lever but my wife has struggled to get it to get to that point.
Yes I’m having the same thing with shift to park message coming up when it’s already in park but I have a 2019 Acadia. We are very afraid it is gonna leave us stranded or worse it will roll off one day.
I have a 2017 Acadia and it is doing this exact problem now. Every time I park it gives me that message and I have to turn my car on, shift into drive, shift into park and then it will turn off. Super frustrating when you can’t turn your vehicle off. I phoned the dealer and there is no recall on this so it’ll be out of pocket for me.
Bought a 2017 Acadia at 2 1/2 years old with 8,000 miles. Six months later the warranty expired. Two months later the “shift to park” indicator warning light began to illuminate when in park and attempting to exit the cat. It will not shut off until jerking the shift lever many time. The GMC dealer says that there is no recall or TSB for this issue. I find the issue is prevalent on-line.
It happened in my 2018 Acadia and I am experiencing it now in my 2019 Acadia Denali. It is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING that I cannot lock my car or as described earlier the car rolling and not staying in park. This is my third Acadia but after the issues I had with my 2018 and now 2019 this will be the last GMC Acadia (or GMC for that matter) I will ever purchase.
It is really sad because it is a great crossover but the continued issues are not worth it.
I have a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali with 27K miles on it. This just started happening to us as well within the past week. I plan to take it in to the dealer this week. I’ll reference TSB Bulletin No.: 18-NA-297 or Refer to Bulletin #19-NA-206 that was mentioned at the beginning of this thread. So frustrating to know this is a know problem. From the sounds of it, there is not a real good fix. I wonder how much this is going to cost and whether the extended warranty will cover any of it.
I just took mine to the dealership today with the same issue. I have a 2019 Acadia. They will replace the shifter and harness. And I have to pay $600.
Yes we are currently experiencing this issue with our 2017 gmc Acadia Denali at just over 30k miles🤦
I have 2019 Acadia that is in the shop at Firestone right now. (7-24-21) $900 to fix for new shift assembly, I’m not under warranty anymore. I called GMC (Arlington, TX) and it is not covered. He said he looked up on the GM website and there is no recall or special coverage for it although it’s stated as a very known problem. I have to get it fixed because I can’t trust it to go anywhere now. It’s Saturday so Firestone is the only place I had to go to that can get done by me going to work Monday, The GMC guy said if Firestone can fix it today I would do it because you won’t find anyone else to fix it today. I asked if there ever was a recall could I turn in my receipt from Firestone and get my money back and he said yes.
I just had the microswitch and harness assembly replaced on my 2017 Acadia for the second time. The Dealership advised me the wiring harness assembly was upgraded from the one being replaced. Total cost, $377. Covered under my extended warranty. $0 cost to me. I used the release button actuation suggestion shared by another owner until I was able to get the car in for service.
$100.00 to replace Shift To Park issue…45,000 miles away 2018 Acadia I have been only owner. Repaired at GM dealer…
I just had the microswitch and harness assembly replaced on my 2017 Acadia for the second time. The Dealership advised me the wiring harness assembly was upgraded from the one being replaced. Total cost, $377. Covered under my extended warranty. $0 cost to me. I used the release button actuation suggestion shared by another owner until I was able to get the car in for service.
I am 2018 GMC Arcadia owner that is having this problem. It is frustrating when you spend 15 min just to park. I have been late to work. Late to appointments. Have left places with completing the task, because I spend to much time trying to park and ran out of time. I am not sure what what my next action should be based off these comments.
Simple solution to avoid spending all that time in frustration (posted multiple times before, but you seem most in need):
So, here’s the answer to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying message, and will allow you to shut the vehicle off in a matter of seconds:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroded contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch to a higher contact quality version (or any other critical contacts). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and/or harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail-again“, micro switch & harness… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) electrical loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, “continuity”), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There must be just enough oxidation on the contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 98% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply use multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand. Do this by using all 4 fingers extended perpendicular to the shift lever, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”, with one upward swipe, which will then provide 4 trigger “flicks”, one from each of your fingers as it passes the trigger.
This rapid upward motion causes the “trigger switch” to be flicked multiple times, with your hand and extended fingers ending just above the shift knob (remember, your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple finger flicks will cause the micro switch contacts to once again make a connection, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset, but it usually works the very first time it’s tried.
Rustie….
I ha e a 2017 Acadia. I have the same problem. Sometimes it takes up to 20minutes of shifting into park before it shifts into park. What a waste of gas.
We own a 2019 Acadia with under 44k miles and it just started doing this yesterday, however pulling it into gear and back to park was working up to five minutes ago, my wife just called, wont shut off, in park but says to shift to park on the gauge panel. We are working on figuring out how to shut it off so it can go to the dealer Monday on a tow truck from the looks of things
After three hours sitting at the dealership, they say that they need to replace the wire harness and switch on my 2017 Acadia. They seem confident that will fix the issue. $315 plus tax for parts and labor. I guess it could have been worse based on comments. We will see if the fix works.
Ours finally got in yesterday, same thing here but they had to order the parts, so the struggle continues for now. Ours is being covered under warranty
Still waiting on the parts to repair our 2019 Acadia under warranty. Parts seem to be delayed and now the service department won’t answer our calls or return them. Every GM car I have ever owned over the years has always been unreliable with little poorly designed naggling issues that make them undrivabke until fixed and it build issues. It has been nearly 15 to 20 years since I owned a GM product due to the unreliability of them and I kinda forgot about all the hassles and made a HUGE mistake in purchasing this 2019 Acadia. Once the warranty expires it’ll get kicked to the curb and I’ll once again get on the “I’ll never buy a GM product again. We had great service and reliability out of our Mazda 6, (12 years and 189k miles before trade in) Kia Sorento, ( five years and 75k miles before trading in) Mercedes E350 (10 years and 190k miles so far and they will pry it from my cold dead grip), and other members of the family with Chrysler minivans, so I’m sure we will be looking at other makes such as those in the future. I used to be a Ford fan but that was in the distant past, they are as bad as GM these days,(last Ford I owned was a Windstar minivan, no more Fords for me!), plus, I don’t want a pickup, way over priced Mustang, (ive had 27 Mustangs in my 60 years but stopped buying them when Ford decided to double the price versus value on them in the 2000’s), or micro car so I don’t even look over at Ford lots anymore. I’m sure it will come down to Kia, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes and possibly Chrysler as long as they don’t go the route of GM and Ford in the future
Still waiting on the parts to repair our 2019 Acadia under warranty. Parts seem to be delayed and now the service department won’t answer our calls or return them. Every GM car I have ever owned over the years has always been unreliable with little poorly designed naggling issues that make them undrivabke until fixed and it build issues. It has been nearly 15 to 20 years since I owned a GM product due to the unreliability of them and I kinda forgot about all the hassles and made a HUGE mistake in purchasing this 2019 Acadia. Once the warranty expires it’ll get kicked to the curb and I’ll once again get on the “I’ll never buy a GM product again. We had great service and reliability out of our Mazda 6, (12 years and 189k miles before trade in) Kia Sorento, ( five years and 75k miles before trading in) Mercedes E350 (10 years and 190k miles so far and they will pry it from my cold dead grip), and other members of the family with Chrysler minivans, so I’m sure we will be looking at other makes such as those in the future. I used to be a Ford fan but that was in the distant past, they are as bad as GM these days,(last Ford I owned was a Windstar minivan, no more Fords for me!), plus, I don’t want a pickup, way over priced Mustang, (ive had 27 Mustangs in my 60 years but stopped buying them when Ford decided to double the price versus value on them in the 2000’s and made them GM like unreliable), or micro car so I don’t even look over at Ford lots anymore. I’m sure it will come down to Kia, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes and possibly Chrysler as long as they don’t go the route of GM and Ford in the future
I just started having this issue with my 2018 Acadia. It has about $46k miles. I don’t dare to trust it’s in park-when it’s in park but the dash says it’s not.
Suggestions?
Received shift to park message on my 2018 Acadia (27,000 miles on it) twice in last week. Taking to dealer soon.
We are still waiting two weeks now for the parts to supposedly fix the problem. That said, my wife, who drives the vehicle, found that if it won’t stop beeping and shut off when she is in park, wiggles and pulls up on the shift handle until it comes out of the switch and that has been working to get the dang thing to shut down. She has on rare occasion had to plug the handle back in and pull it out a second time but it seems to be a temporary solution until GM can get the replacement switch and wire harness to our dealer. Hope that helps some of you
I have a 2017 Acadia with over 240,000 km. I’ve never had this issue before. We bought ours brand new.
Hello! What to do about this…??? I got this 2018 GMC Acadia in December 2019 and it only has 46,598 miles. It just started doing this “shift to park” issue. Apparently according the the chevy/gmc service center Central Maine Motors in Maine it is not covered. This is complete BULL. I’m not impressed. Suggestions would be appreciated.
Join the class action law suit. But for now your going to have to pay the roughly $600 in parts and labor to have your shifter switch and wiring harness upgrade at the dealer. We finally got ours done yesterday. Thankfully, I’ve had past experience with GM cars so I insisted my wife purchase the GM extended bumper to bumper warranty on it. This pile of crap has had so many little things so far I’m positive the extra expense will have more than paid for itself by time it expires
Exactly where do we find this “CAL” (Class Action Lawsuit)
TIA
I found a lawyer in the northeast but as of now you had to have repaired it 4 times before they could help, which I refuse to do. At that point I’ll just get a new car.
When my 2018 Acadia was almost 30.000 milesI began experiencing the park issue. Mine was fortunately still under warranty so it was repaired at no cost. Ironic thing is I had a gear shift issue with my JEEP. I parked my car, shut it off and went in house. Next thing I knew, my car was backing up and crashing into my neighbors’ home. JEEP would not take responsibility for the faulty mechanism, even though they knew that it was happening. Shortly after, the Star Wars actor was crushed when his car did the same thing. Just a couple weeks later, full colored notices arrived in mail letting JEEP customers know there was an issue and we needed to come in for service. My son had googled for info when my crash happened and it was posted at that time. I could not get their attention even though they were well aware of issue. I got rid of it fast and bought my Acadia. Now my auto has similar issues!
I have the same issue with my 2017 GMC Acadia. When I park it I get the message saying shift to park, and what I do is press the button multiple times to get it to clear the message. It’s very annoying.
I have a 2018 Acadia still under warranty. Took to my dealership. They changed the wiring harness and the Shift to Park issue went away.
2018 Acadia has shift to park issues comes and goes very FRUSTRATING!!!! GM come on you got to claim and warranty this issue for all us life long supporters of your, I think my next truck will be a FORD !!!!!!
2018 GMC Acadia Denali
Shift to park
Already in Park!!!
Help!!!!
Wiggle and pull up the shifter until it unplugs from the switch, that should shut it up. Then plug your handle back in. It’s what my wife did until we got the parts in for the dealer to fix it. If your car is out of warranty your looking at $500 to $600 for the fix depending on what your dealer charges. They have to replace the shifter switch and wiring harness.
We are having the same problem with a 2019 Acadia Denali GM needs to fix this.
Currently having this problem with our 2019 Acadia…..
At the dealer now getting fixed. Need a new shifter and shifter harness..done. Covered under warranty.
2018 Acadia 69k miles. At the dealer now. Getting a new shifter and shifter harness- covered under warranty.
Thats what I had done to mine. No issues at all since that was done
I thought the warranty expired at 60,000 miles?
I bought my 2018 last year used and paid for a warranty to 100k. I did have to pay a $100 ded which I was not happy about b.c it is evident tis should be a recall with all the complaints!
I am having the same issue on my 2019 Acadia. How do I join the class action suit?
I sold my 2017- cant be trusted
I’ve had the same issue in Minnesota. Yet, I’m told there still is no recall and I have to cover the cost. I would love to join any group that is willing to fight this.
My Acadia Denali is a 2018 and they are saying it is not covered by warranty, I’m a few months past the date.
Mine is doing the same thing …Can not saftey shut off.Going to talk to dealer!
Just traded mine in.Last night sat in my driveway turning it off ,no go ,turn back on ,shift back again into park ,turn off ,dash still says shift to park ,did this 22 times till the sensor finally turned the car completely off and I was now able to lock it .Glad no one was around for this fifteen minutes of melt down.My wonderful husband traded that unsafe car in and now I have a beautiful new Toyota four runner ….I am so lucky!
I have a 2018 Buick regal Tourx with the same problem. I put the shifter in park and try to shut off the ignition but get a message that says shift to park. Dealer said I needed a part and would need to leave car for afew days. Have not brought it back yet. Service manager was not aware of the problem or service bulletin
I just bought my 2018 Acadia in August and it has been displaying the issue on the dash almost daily now. I have to turn the car back on, place into another gear, then park again. Sometimes it works, sometimes I have to do it a few times.
I have a 2019 Acadia with 42,000 plus miles and around 37,000 I stated having the Car is not in park problem. It started off doing it every now and then but now its every time a drive my Acadia. Tonight it took my about 10 min to get the system to notice that it was in park. Taking it to the shop next week glad I kept my VW Bug! This is the first GM I purchased and it might be my last.
I also have a 2019 GMC Acadia with just under 40,000 miles and it just started doing this in the last week. It is ridiculous that GM will not yet COVER this with all the people that are having this problem! It makes you wonder if they don’t do this on purpose(computer issue) to make you have to pay $500 to fix it?
We have started to have the shift to park problem. Started 3 days ago, 2019 Acadia.
I have a 20-7 Acadia that also sometime does not recognize when it is in park and keeps dinging
Got our 2019 Acadia fixed with a new shifter and wiring harness a month ago. Ours was under warranty at 43k miles but if yours isn’t, It costs between $500 to $600 depending on what your dealer charges for the repair. Then we offed it, it was one of many stupid problems we had with it, no more stupid problems in our future! That Acadia reminded me why I stopped buying GM crap 😁
Just had the harness and switch fixed in my 2018 GM Acadia. Cost 378.19. Very frustrating…
I’m having the Shift to Park issue with my 2017 Acadia….they are charging me $512 to fix….highway robbery! I just lost my faith in GMC as this should be a recall matter based on all of the comments I have read…
At what point does GMC issue a recall or there is a class action lawsuit? Like the rest of you, my 2017 Acadia picks the most inopportune time to not shut off. I have been refusing to get it fixed and pay out of pocket when this is clearly a well known issue that GMC should deal with.
I bought a 2017 Terrain in May, 2017 and the “shift to park” displayed today, 11-2-2021.
I am having this problem with my 2019 GMC Acadia. I am just out of my warrant with about 40,000 miles. It is ridiculous that GM hasn’t done a recall or offered to cover this KNOWN problem. Does anyone know how much it costs to fix…. this is my 2nd and LAST GMC Acadia!
I have 2019 Acadia and have this issue every time I drive it. I replaced the harness but it’s still happening. Is there anything I can do to fix it?
If you can get to the micro switch, clean it and apply a dab of dielectric grease on the contacts.
Does this fix the alarm
You have to replace the shifter as well as the harness. The main problem is in the contacts of the original shifter switch. We started wiggling snd pulling the shift handle up out of the switch when we got home then plugging it back in until we got ours into the dealer to have the shifter and harness replaced. That got it to shut off. After we got it repaired we sold it immediately and went out and bought a non-GM vehicle, very happy now, no stupid problems like that pile of crap Acadia constantly had 😏 I knew when I bought that thing there was a reason I quit buying GM products back in the mid 80’s, now I remember
I have a 2018 GMC Acadia currently at the dealership with the shift to park issue. States to put into park when the car is already in park
Let me know what happens
I have a 2019 Acadia which I have only had 1 year and already it has had to have a harness installed because of shift to park problem and just recently had a transmission control shifter replaced. Something is very wrong with this picture. I expected that GMC would back their products better than they are doing. I will never buy another GMC product again. Shame on you GMC
I have 2017 Acadia Denali and continue to have the shift to park error message issue. It was repaired once under warranty, then again after warranty expired. Now it needs to be repaired for a third time. This is a frustrating issue when GM will not or does not know how to eliminate this defect. At this time I plan to purchase a new shift control assembly and replace it myself. Hopefully this new assembly has been upgraded to eliminate future issues.
Says shift to park when I place it in park. It sometimes takes around 10 times to get it to recognize it is in park. It has drained my battery once and caused me to purchase a battery charger. Dealer won’t fix stating bumber to bumper warranty doesn’t cover that.
Am having this same issue with my 2019 Acadia Denali
Got the fix done at dealer last week on my 2017 Acadia…. new improved switch/harness. They had the parts but took hours so got “free” shuttle home and back. $600, since I am 2 yrs past warranty.. oh well
Same thing is happening to my 2018 GMC Acadia Denali with only 38,000 miles!! This is my retirement vehicle!!
My 2019 GMC Acadia has developed the same problem at about 19000 miles. I talked to the service manager, he asked me to bring the car, they will look at it. I wonder if they will really fix it!
They know exactly what the problem is. It affects numerous GMC models.
I own a 2018 GMC Acadia. My car says shift to park when it’s already in park and won’t let me start it. I’ve taken it to the dealership now 4 times they replace the shifter and it will be fine for several weeks. Then it will start all over again. Atleast the part is under warranty so when it does happen they replace the part again and it doesn’t cost me anything. It’s just ridiculous that GMC can’t figure out what the problem is.
It appears that GM will only resolve this issue if a class action lawsuit forces them to act. Meanwhile, each owner of these vehicles are forced to pay for temporary repairs out of pocket after the vehicle is out of warranty. We must find a law firm to take on this case on a contingency fee basis.
Once again, and until GM fixes this endless problem, here’s the solution to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying message each and every time it occurs. This simple method will allow you to shut the vehicle off (or start) in a matter of seconds:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroded contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch to a higher contact quality version (or any other critical contacts in the loop). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and/or harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail-again“, micro switch & harness… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) electrical loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, “continuity”), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There must eventually be just enough oxidation on the contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a sensitive voltage environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) chinesium micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 99% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simply use multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand. Do this by simply using all 4 fingers extended perpendicular to the shift lever, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”, with one upward swipe, which will then provide 4 trigger “flicks”, one from each of your fingers, as they rapidly pass the trigger.
This rapid upward motion causes the “trigger switch” to be flicked multiple times, with your hand and extended fingers ending just above the shift knob (remember, your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple finger flicks will cause the micro switch contacts to once again make a connection, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset, but it usually works the very first time it’s tried.
Rustie….
2017 Acadia Denali 36,000mi. I started having this problem a couple months ago. Have to start/restart & move gear shift multiple times. Not happy to find this is an ongoing problem. Appt at dealer in a few weeks.
We just started having this same problem with our 2019 Acadia. Going to take it to a dealership and see what they say!!
I have a 2017 Acadia and am noticing an increase of this happening more often that I get the Shift into Park prompt when turning the vehicle off while already in park.
I have a 2019 GMC Acadia I purchased in August 2019 as a pre-owned vehicle with less than 7K miles. It currently has less than 19K miles; I don’t drive much. The warranty ran out in February 2022. Unfortunately I began experiencing these issues this month (March 2022). The dealership is charging me ~$900 to fix it which is absurd.
My 2019 GMC Acadia has started saying “shift to park” for about two weeks now off and on! Just today at work my car wouldn’t turn off and I couldn’t get it to actually go into park even thought it was on the P. So I had to turn my engine back on and take it out of park then back into park. Thankfully that worked! But this is ridiculous
I figured out a workaround!!??
2017 Acadia Denali with “shift to park” issue for several months. It happened 90% of the time. But now I am “snapping” the shifter button upon release after setting in the P position and it’s worked 100% of the time… no dash message!
2017-18 Acadia has the same drive to park issue. Some days I fiddle for 3-5 minutes trying to go into park. Eventually it will go. This should be fixed by GM
I figured out a workaround!!??
2017 Acadia Denali with “shift to park” issue for several months. It happened 90% of the time. But now I am “snapping” the shifter button upon release after setting in the P position and it’s worked 100% of the time… no dash message!
Lately I am having this Shift to Park issue iny 2017 GMC Acadia. I am seeing a lot of comments from others. Is there a fix?
I’ve posted this several times before, but nobody checks the archives.
Until GM fixes this endless problem, here’s the simple solution to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying message each and every time it occurs. This simple method will allow you to shut the vehicle off (or start) in a matter of seconds:
Background:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroded contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch to a higher contact quality version (or any other critical contacts in the loop). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and/or harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail-again“, micro switch & harness… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) electrical loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, “continuity”), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. There must eventually be just enough oxidation on the contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a voltage sensitive environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) chinesium micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. Soooo, until then, here is what works 99% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simple Solution:
Simply use multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front (forward) underside of the shift knob with your right hand. Do this by simply using all 4 fingers extended perpendicular to the shift lever, using a brisk, upward “brushing style”, with one upward swipe, which will then provide 2 to 4 trigger “flicks”, usually resulting in two to four flicks from your four fingers, as they rapidly pass the trigger.
The Result:
This rapid upward motion causes the “trigger switch” to be flicked multiple times, with your hand and extended fingers ending just above the shift knob (remember, your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple finger flicks will cause the micro switch contacts to once again make a connection, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset, but it usually works the very first time it’s tried.
Rustie….
I figured out a workaround!!??
2017 Acadia Denali with “shift to park” issue for several months. It happened 90% of the time. But now I am “snapping” the shifter button upon release after setting in the P position and it’s worked 100% of the time… no dash message!
My 2019 started doing this in April of 2022.
I called the dealer and they said bring it in for them to “take a look” that they had “ NO IDEA” what could be the problem.
I have an extended warranty.
I said just open your computer and search you will see thousands of complaints. SURE THEY KNEW!
It BETTER be covered!
Hi Kathy,
Our 2017 started doing the same thing 4 months AFTER we bought it in 2018. We still had 2 years of the warranty left. It was NOT covered!!! It is a wiring harness and you will probably be charged $700-$900 to “fix” it!!! They know this is an ongoing problem but no recalls are being issued!!! We release the dashboard message by pressing both buttons on the shifter at the same time and jiggle the shifter and usually in about 30-60 seconds the message goes away!!
2019 Arcadia with the same problem. After reading it seams GM has no refused for customers any more. My 2020 Sierra has transmission issues after the 1st visit was given a bulletin that told me what to do to reset the way the trans shifts. I did not buy a truck to have to make it shift right. GM better start listening to the people that keep them in business. Why does it always take death before something is done.
Mine just started same problem as above with message shift into park and is already in park. 2018 with 23000 miles.
Still happening to my 2019 GMC Acadia. very frustrating!
Same problem with our 2017 Acadia. Disappointing!
I have a 2018 Acadia, just over 3 years old – with 34,000 miles – no longer under warranty (of course 🙄) – this Shift to Park issue started about 10 days ago; I get lucky sometimes and only have to restart it once to resolve the problem – other times it takes 4 restarts or more before it doesn’t display – getting costly with gasoline at $5.20 per gallon or more. I am extremely frustrated, with all the reports of this issue happening the last 4 years, there was no notification from the dealership that this could be affecting me!
I guess I need to make an appt at the dealer, spend 2+ hours at the dealership at MY expense?? Please advise! Beyond irritated – long time GMC owner!
I’ve posted this several times before, but nobody checks the archives.
So, until GM fixes this endless problem, here’s the simple solution to clearing the “Shift to Park” annoying message each and every time it occurs. This simple method will allow you to shut the vehicle off (or start) in a matter of seconds:
Background:
The problem lies with the shifter trigger’s “micro switch” corroded contacts that are part of that harness/shift lever assembly. GM has obviously never upgraded the switch to a higher contact quality version (or any other critical contacts in the loop). During the “repair”, they simply replace the old failed switch and/or harness, with another new, but “ready-to-fail-again“, micro switch & harness… which soon corrodes the same terminals, starting the “Shift to Park” cycle all over again.
This happens because this micro switch is obviously not controlling any high voltage (or high current) electrical loads that will blast through most any “light terminal corrosion”. The voltage being switched is only “micro volts” (or simply, “continuity”), which is quite sensitive to any contact corrosion. Eventually, just enough oxidation will build up on the switch contacts to prevent sensitive micro voltage signals (continuity) from reaching the ECM, which then sends a fault code producing that infamous, “Shift to Park” message.
Micro switch contacts in such a voltage sensitive environment (ie; computer type controls) are most always gold plated, which is so thin, it’s not at all costly, but was likely not spec’d for this specific (cheap) chinesium micro switch. Obviously, they must come up with a NEW (domestic made) micro switch with improved, gold plated metal contacts… which won’t likely happen until GM is forced by a class action law suit. So, until then, here is what works 99% of the time with the first “flick” on my 2018 Acadia:
Simple Solution:
Use multiple flicks on the black “trigger switch” at the front, forward underside of the shift knob with your right hand. Perform this by simply extending all 4 fingers perpendicular to the shift lever. One upward swipe, using this brisk upward “brushing style”, will result in 2 to 4 flicks from all your fingers as they rapidly pass the trigger.
The Result:
This rapid upward motion causes the “trigger switch” to be flicked multiple times by your extended fingers, ending just above the shift knob (remember, your fingers are perpendicular to the shift lever). These quick, multiple finger flicks will cause the micro switch contacts to once again make a connection, telling the computer “all is well”, and the “Shift to Park” indication will extinguish. If required, perform this action one or more times to reset, but it usually works the very first time it’s tried.
Rustie….
I have had this issue with my 2018 Acadia. The dealership repaired it for free. If I remember correctly, it’s had to be repaired twice.
I see this can be a real problem, however my service dept. at Hove GMC have been helpful with any issue with my vehicle. Lets hope it remains that way, Thanks guys
I hope somebody rams this problem right up GM’s ass! Never have I loved a vehicle this much and hate the total lack of responsibility on GM’s part to fix this problem. You sold these vehicles to the public for lots of $$ and then turned your back on the very same clients who drive them. Mary Barra, you’re obviously aware of the problem and need to get your GMC Sales Dept understand the difference between keeping your customers safe and happy or risk the negative marketing mayhem that’s building and destroying your brand. Let us ask you this; would you like to start your engine 12 times just to be able to shut off the “shift to park” message (and dinging) that happens every single time you exit your vehicle? It’s interesting that your engineers have fixed the problem going forward with new models but the thousands who got screwed with the ’17-’20 models you couldn’t care less about. That’s the message we’re getting from GMC.
I just bought a Certified 2019 Acadia and have the “shift to park” problem as well. Now knowing it’s such a widespread issue, it’s very disheartening!
Having the same issue with my GMC Acadia 2017, cost me over $400 to fix the problem. I think there should be a recall on this.
I have a 2019 Acadia and it started at 70,000 miles showing shifter was not in park when it was. I shift it in reverse and then drive again a couple of times and it stops. It is somewhat random and occurs about 20% of the time so far
I’m having this issue with my 2019 Acadia
Take it to your dealer. It is covered by your warranty. Only need to replace a harness and it fixes it. Warranty covered mine and it is fixed
Warranty doesn’t last forever, my issue cost me over $400 to fix!!!
We just had our “ shift to park” problem fixed on our 2017 GMC Acadia . It cost us over $600.00.
Our car has over 60,000 miles on it.
I had this issue with my 2018 Acadia. The gear shift was replaced June 2019-that was apparently the “fix”. Covered under warranty. Fast forward to May 2022- “shift to park” message is back worse than before. Sometimes it’s 5-6 times before I get the car to shut off. When I went for a recent oil change, I mentioned the problem and was told I would have to pay since I’m no longer covered! GM could at least make this a recall since I’ve read so many reports of this problem and that it happens again makes it even more of a reason to have a recall at the very least.
Have a 2018 Chevy Malibu – already had this problem temp fixed once only to break again. Our vehicle is once again in the shop out of our own pocket to have this fixed again. Ridiculous. Chevy you need to take care of your customers.
I am experiencing this same problem with my 2019 Acadia. I know there is a bulletin out on this issue, so I took it to the dealership today, they told me that using the “Tool Calculator” that my cost will be $83.16 and GM will cover the $124.65. I think it should be covered 100%. I am almost 6 months out of the 3 yrs, but my miles are 34,847 miles. If GM has a bulletin on this then they should recall or pay in full, if my belief.
I have a 2017 Acadia and started having this problem about 4 months ago. The Chevy dealer said that they could replace the sensor for about $600.00 and that there could possibly have a recall at a later date. They said that if there was a recall, I would be reimbursed. Have not fixed it yet. Only happens once in a while.
It’s not going to get any better with time. I’ve had to replace mine twice, also in a 2017 GMC Acadia.
Same I’ve had mine replaced twice my sister in another state had her 2017 replaced twice before she got rid of it I was really hoping to keep my truck but this is getting old real fast …. Commented on this thread back in 2019 it’s been long enough for this to be a recall issue I don’t get it ?!? Anyone have updated info please share thanks
This started this week on my 2017, anyone know if there has been an update?!?
I purchased a 2019 GMC Acadia last year. Mileage is at almost 39,000 and I am now experiencing this problem every time I try to put my vehicle in park.
We have a 2019 Acadia that started doing this. There is a video online showing how to remove the panels on the console and put a jumper wire on the plug for the faulty switch. Everything will work fine and you will not owe a dealer any more money. Screw dealers who charge a fortune for simple fixes. I have done this procedure on other electronic parts and they worked fine for years.
Here is an update to my post. Took to our local GM dealer had absolutely no issues with them. They diagnosed and did the following: installed a new shifter shifter harness, then upon reinstalling the transmission control in line shifter wire harness jumper between the shifter base connector and the console harness connector message no longer showing. We have had no problem with it since.
My wife and I having same problem on our GMC Acadia. We took the vehicle to the dealership three times and the want to charge us $900 because warranty doesn’t cover it. We would like information on the lawsuit. Please provide info tiered of dealership for not doing anything about the issue they know that it’s having on most GMC Acadia. This is a safety issue.
2018 Terrain. Been fighting the “shift to park” problem for two years. Time for a new Toyota. I’m tired of crap GM products and dismal customer support.
Having the same problem with my 2019 Acadia Denali, less than 27,000kms! Very frustrating GM is unwilling to recall.
Shift-to-Park displays most of the time the car is shut off. Chime sounds until the button under the shift control is “flipped” multiple times with the fingers. This usually works, sometimes after five or six tries. Only 23,000 miles on this 2017 Acadia.
I’m sitting in GMC service center waiting for my 2109 Acadia to have shift to park issue repaired- 800.00 replacing linkage, etc. / been a problem since about 45k miles. Very disappointed GMC isn’t owning up to this defect. I also have the “water” sound accelerating ):
It’s an electrical wiring harness and switch assembly problem. Not linkage. Mine has been replaced twice under warranty.
I have a 2019 Acadia with the same shift to park issue! When i called my dealer it is not on a recall and they want $150 to diagnose the problem! Something needs to be done!
My GMC acadia 2017 is having a shift to park problem. It shows to shift to park when its already in park The DIC is not working also. Shows the radio station I’m on instead of the speedometer.
My 2019 GMC Acadia just starting doing this in the last month. I bought the car brand new and just hit 44K. I am making an appointment with the dealership next week and really hope they have a solution that is covered by GM, seeing as this is obviously a well known issue that has been reported over and over.
Same Problem with our 2017 GMC Acadia. Took to Dealer and since there was no codes they could not fix the Problem. Waiting for Service appointment to have it looked at again as it is happening very frequently now.
I have a 2017 Acadia, this is the 2nd time I have had this problem. Fixed under warranty the first time. In the shop as we speak,
My wife owns a 2017 GMC Acadia, this warning “shift to park” has shown up 8-10 times now. After reading this form I am very concerned because we have our kids in it all the time. What are the fixes and what should we do?
There is a simple fix for this using a paper clip shorting the 2 outer wires on the shifter connector.
I have the same issue with my 2017 GMC Acadia, has it fixed once under warranty. Took it back and my mechanic says there is no fix. It didn’t do it for him. It is very frustrating. I want to give this car to my son because they need the 3 row seating but they don’t want it with this issue.
2018 GMC Acadia has shift to park problem for the second time. Was “fixed” in 2020 when the car was under warranty. Now three years later, same problem but they want me to pay out of pocket.
Same shift to park issue twice on my 2018 Acadia Denali. First time was still under the 36k warranty so was fixed by dealer. 2nd time was at about 65k miles so it looks like the microswitch failure which causes the issue lasts about 35k miles. There are some fixes on youtube which involve defeating the switch. Is that a safety issue? Maybe, but it may be a viable alternative to shelling out $500+ every couple years and likely leaves GMC exposed to liability suits if somebody gets in a wreck because of it.
I have a 2019 GMC Arcadia SLT model with “shift in park issue” I have taken it to GMC dealer and they could not get the shift lever to act up. However, today my wife and friend traveled several hundred miles. When they stopped to get gas the shift in park displayed. They were able to turn the car off, however the warning tones continued until they restarted the car and drove away.
What is GM doing about this issue, I’ve seen the write ups on the 2017 and 2018 but not the 2019.
2017 doing it off and on for years, should be a recall, GM sucks!
I have a 2017 Acadia. My car have been having the issues of shift to park message. Sometimes it takes me 5 or 6 times for me to turn the car off and restart it. Sometimes putting the key fob in the reset in the arm rest helps but not always. I also just had to replace the thermometer. We are a GM family. But after all the problems I have been having with my Acadia, I will never buy another one. I honestly don’t think I will buy another GM vehicle again. It’s all of the nickel & diming on things that goes wrong with this Acadia.
Experiencing the same issue with my 2019 Acadia Denali, about 54000 miles. It’s intermittent but seems to be happening more and more frequently and more difficult to get the shift to park message resolved. Actually I am currently sitting at my GM service dealer…we’ll see what they say 😐