What breaks most · 1999 to 2018 model years
GMC Yukon XL problems by year
Owners have filed 843 safety complaints with NHTSA about the GMC Yukon XL across model years 1999 to 2018. One year stands out: 2001 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints. The quietest years are 1999, 2014 and 2012.
- Years to check closely: 2001
- Fewest complaints: 1999, 2014, 2012
- Complaints on file
- 8431999 to 2018, all trims
- Worst year
- 2001114 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 343 fires · 45 injuries · 2 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 60kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 69Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (2) | |
| 68 | 6 | 7 | Brakes (hydraulic) (15) | |
| 114 | 4 | 5 | Brakes (hydraulic) (30) | |
| 92 | 4 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (19) | |
| 97 | 3 | 4 | Electrical system (35) | |
| 81 | 4 | 4 | Electrical system (29) | |
| 38 | 2 | 6 | Electrical system (12) | |
| 12 | 0 | 3 | Stability control (6) | |
| 51 | 1 | 4 | Air bags (28) | |
| 41 | 1 | 4 | Air bags (23) | |
| 14 | 0 | 5 | Air bags (5) | |
| 17 | 0 | 3 | Air bags (9) | |
| 24 | 0 | 3 | Unknown or other (11) | |
| 10 | 0 | 4 | Unknown or other (5) | |
| 20 | 1 | 4 | Body and structure (10) | |
| 8 | 2 | 3 | Unknown or other (4) | |
| 94 | 3 | 2 | Exterior lighting (47) | |
| 42 | 1 | 3 | Exterior lighting (19) | |
| 16 | 2 | 1 | Electrical system (10) | |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | Unknown or other (1) |
What fails on the 2001 GMC Yukon XL
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 26% |
30 | 2 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Parking Brake | 21% |
24 | 0 | — |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 9% |
10 | 1 | Shop all brakes parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 9% |
10 | 0 | Shop all fuel system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Tires | 7% |
8 | 0 | — |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 6% |
7 | 0 | Shop all steering parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 6% |
7 | 0 | Shop all body and structure parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 5% |
6 | 0 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Second incident with faulty ABS module. The dealer charged over $2000 to fix in 2005 and i am having the same problem. The dealer states the part is no longer under warranty GM is putting defective parts in cars continuously and overcharging customers to have this problem fixed.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which GMC Yukon XL years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2001 carries the most filings on the GMC Yukon XL. The 2001 alone has 114 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common GMC Yukon XL problem?
On the 2001 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 30 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do GMC Yukon XL problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all GMC Yukon XL complaints that include mileage is about 60,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.