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Air bagsPart report

2011 GMC Acadia Air bags Problems

Complaints
19about this part
Share
7%of 269 total for the year
Median mileage
56,355miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 19 complaints about the air bags of the 2011 GMC Acadia, 7% of the 269 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 56,355 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“A clogged AC evaporator drain tube caused water to pool inside my car and shorted out the airbag system. I read online that it is a very common issue and my local dealership told me I was the 7th one this month (all acadias) that have had this problem. Very expensive to fix but more concerning; I have no airbags now!”

NHTSA complaint #10747699, filed 2015-08, 70,000 miles

“My service airbag light stays on when I turn my vehicle on at all time. I've taken it to the dealership twice and they tell me they can't find anything wrong. When driving if I try to clean my window, the windshield wiper fluid will not spray out on the passengers side and sometimes it will come out but it won't spray on the windshield. It's like it doesn't have enough pressure to spray it on the windshield. This happens every time while I'm driving and try to clean my windshield to see better. I've taken it to the dealership and they tell me nothing wrong.”

NHTSA complaint #10992336, filed 2017-05, 65,000 miles

“For two weeks leading up to the 3/27/14 incident, every time we started the car the air would not come on and we would have to manually turn the air on. When we turned the car off, the air would stay on. Two weeks later, when I was operating the vehicle, the gauges on the instrument panel started going haywire displaying dozens of messages, and the all of the gauges would shoot up, then bottom out at 0, then shoot up again, etc.. I turned the car off, and when I came back later to start it, the car wouldn't start but the electrical stuff came on. …”

NHTSA complaint #10579139, filed 2014-04, 35,950 miles

“I've received 3 notices about recalls. Gm told me july the parts are now available, but when I call my dealer they indicated they'll put me a waiting list for when they actually receive the parts. Why isn't GM sending dealers enough parts to handle these recalls. My dealer is great it's just GM that is creating problems. Telling us they have the parts, then they don't send them to the dealers. My dealer is very frustrated over this as I am. Thank you in advance for pushing GM a little to get the parts to the dealers so that I (we) can get our vehicles repaired.”

NHTSA complaint #10614695, filed 2014-07, 29,000 miles

“When I tried to park my 2011 Acadia sle, the accelerator became stuck causing the front of my car to crash into a health club wall. When I saw people running inside the health club I thought I had rolled over someone. So, I tried to back up and when I put the car in reverse it shot backwards with a rolling force and hit an iron post. To keep the wheels from continuously rolling, I had to slam the gear into park and turn the ignition off. I believe this accident should be investigated further before someone else is injured or killed.”

NHTSA complaint #10480224, filed 2012-10, 48,800 miles

Related recalls

Air bags: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026110%
202412%
202324%
202236%
2021106%
202033%
201931%
201810%
20177611%
201613055%
201510844%
201424653%
20132921%
20123311%
2011197%
2010165%
2009155%
200815018%
20076415%

Other parts of the 2011 GMC Acadia

Steering
64 complaints
Engine
52 complaints
Electrical system
47 complaints
Exterior lighting
38 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
33 complaints
Electronic stability control
16 complaints
Other or unknown
16 complaints
Vehicle speed control
13 complaints
Brakes
10 complaints
Fuel system
10 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
10 complaints
Body and structure
9 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2011 GMC Acadia

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology