These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
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What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
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Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2021 GMC Acadia, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
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Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2021 GMC Acadia, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
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Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
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Recalls
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Crash ratings
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight.
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Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in.
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True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
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What it really costs to own
What the 2021 GMC Acadia costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the Acadia
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
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Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Driver assist and cameras
Sep 22, 2022 · Recall 22V709000
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with the optional Surround Vision feature. The rearview camera coaxial cable connectors may have been crimped improperly, causing the rearview camera to fail or function intermittently.
What can happen
An inoperative rearview camera can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix
Dealers will replace the coaxial cables, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2023. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N222378380.
Fuel system
Jun 3, 2021 · Recall 21V422000
General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia vehicles. The fuel supply lines may be improperly attached and seated.
What can happen
Improperly attached and seated fuel supply lines may loosen or separate, causing a fuel leak and increasing the risk of a fire.
The fix
Dealers will inspect and replace fuel supply lines as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 1, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212335590.
156 complaints; the part named most is the electrical
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Nov 24, 2020 to Oct 29, 2026. 30% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 8 crashes and 4 injuries in these complaints.
Electrical40 · 26%
Engine32 · 21%Usually costly to fix
Fuel system30 · 19%
What one owner wrote about the electrical
Vehicle stalled several times. Check engine light and many code came up. Crack sensors replaced. Veh still stalls. Dealer and independent dealer believes it might be cpu. All wires from cpu checked with no issue found. When veh stalls if you manipulate the wire veh will start and run with demished power and demished steering control. Rpm go to off mode. Has…
Filed Oct 29, 2026NHTSA complaint 117744801 of 18 owner quotes
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15 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2021 GMC Acadia, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Transmission and drivetrain, Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the electrical
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 54 complaints of 156 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last. These cars are young, so problems at higher miles have not had time to show.
Fuel system30,000 to 45,000 mi
Half of these 15 complaints came between about 30,000 and 45,000 miles, the middle one around 35,000.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 2 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the electrical. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look at the electrical first.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the electrical.
Try every switch, screen, light and lock, and make sure it starts every time.
About as many owner complaints as a typical year. Still get it inspected.
Confidence: Medium
NHTSA did not answer for 12 years, so the typical year may shift.
NHTSA did not answer for 12 years, so this may change.
How the dial was counted
Year verdict: Typical year: 140 complaints, the median of 8 nearby years. Each counted over its first 6 years and 10 months from January 2020; this one had 156.
12 Worthy, 5 Maybe, 2 Pass, of 20 years on file
Our take: worth a look.Owners filed about as many complaints as in a typical year of this model.