Other powertrain problem on the 2012 GMC Acadia
2 crashes 2 of the 20 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other powertrain problem gets reported
Owners of the 2012 GMC Acadia report other powertrain problem at a median of 95,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 400 miles at the tenth percentile to 110,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 108,438 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
38% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 362 miles | 3,000 miles | 97,000 miles | 99,000 miles | 108,800 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 2 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $400–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 16 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2021, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 2025 at 125,000 miles.
By volume the 2017 carries the most reports, with 181; the 2012 has 20. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc acadia. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the contact disengaged the accelerator pedal briefly while switching lanes. Upon engaging the accelerator pedal again there was an increase in the RPM reading but the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic. The technician stated the vehicles computer needs to recognize the throttle gear which caused the hesitation. The technician stated there was no repair necessary. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000. The consumer also stated the same issue occurred when slowly approaching a light, that then turned to green before coming to a full stop. When he applied the gas, the engine RPM's would rise, but the transmission did not engage for a period of 3-5 seconds. Updated 04/25/12
Either I got a lemon, which is definitely a possibility, or there are significant issues w/ gmc as a manufacturer which is evident. The american car industry just won't do business differently but then again, they don't have to- they get bailed out by the government repeatedly. I leased this vehicle in october, 2012. The issues cited above, were related to 3 bad fuel ignition valves, they were replaced finally after I took the car back to 2 different dealers and nearly 6 months of complaining. The issue was when accelerating, the rpms would stick at around 5-6 when I was traveling around speeds of 45 MPH to 60 MPH. The transmission wouldn't shift into the next gear. This was highway driving, but will happen on 4 lane roads as well. During the same time frame, the stability of the car in ice/snow only worked if the tow package feature was turned on. Otherwise, I spun out leaving our neighborhood going down a slope at speeds of less than 30 MPH. Dealer said it didn't make sense and did nothing. I just keep the tow feature on during snow/ice/rain. Electrical issues, heating/cooling system wasn't working correctly, it wasn't heating…
On 03/07/15 at approximately 1715 at tyler state park our vehicle was backed into the parking space on a slight incline at cabin one. Our 3 year old daughter was in our 2012 gmc acadia in the driver seat and our friend's 9 year old son was in the passenger seat; with the vehicle in park the ignition turned off and the keys in my husband pocket. Our 3 year old daughter was able to get the vehicle out of park and into drive, causing the vehicle to roll forward down the incline, across the street and hitting two trees. This caused damage to the bumper and right quarter panel causing the passenger door to catch on the metal frame when opening the door and the front end of vehicle shakes when driven between 65mph-70 MPH. Both children were ok with just bumps on their heads. I called the gm dealer in tyler, tx and was advised by [xxx] to contact a gm dealer when I returned home since the vehicle was drivable and we were on vacation. On monday march 16, 2015 at approximately 0715 I called texan gmc and spoke with [xxx] and advised him of what has happened with the vehicle while on vacation. [xxx] advised me I could bring the vehicle in…
Also reported on the 2012 GMC Acadia
Liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Other body or interior problem
Headlight failure or clouding
Other engine problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 20 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other powertrain problem happen on the 2012 GMC Acadia?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 95,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other powertrain problem on the 2012 GMC Acadia?
20 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.4 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed