2009 GMC Yukon problems & reliability
94 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 GMC Yukon, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
4 complaints report injuries (6 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2009 GMC Yukon vehicles were involved in 17 fatal crashes with 7 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 35 | 37% |
| Unknown OR Other | 30 | 32% |
| Structure | 15 | 16% |
| Electrical System | 8 | 9% |
| Steering | 6 | 6% |
| Engine | 4 | 4% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 4 | 4% |
| Power Train | 4 | 4% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 2% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 81,000 miles (middle 50% between 63,500 and 106,165 miles), based on 58 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Manufacturer safety recall issued -nhtsa #21v050 - transport canada #20591 - recall # n212328760 front passenger airbag takata inflator-priority group 6”
Air Bags · filed Jan 28, 2025
“My 2009 GMC Yukon Denali has a major safety issue. The hard plastic dash has multiple cracks, which is a huge safety concern in the case of an accident. The dash could explode inside the vehicle causing injury to me and/or other passengers. The dashboard could also interfere with the operation of the airbag due to…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Sep 28, 2022
“I was driving around 55 miles per hour and applied the brakes. I had little to no brakes and had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. Luckily there was no car in front of me or a collision would have occurred. I had multiple ABS light, service stabiltrak, service brake lights engage. It happened once more…”
Service Brakes · filed Jul 29, 2022
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
Technical service bulletins
1,368 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 GMC Yukon. The 10 most recent:
New Vehicle Monitoring Programs Section in IVH
13598 · Other · issued Sep 9, 2025
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an intermittent no crank, no start, or start stall concern with the security light coming on. Technician may…
PIC5650M · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 7, 2025
This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.
PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 18, 2025
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 30, 2025
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 30, 2025
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 30, 2025
This service bulletin provides a procedure to flush and bleed power steering system to correct a power steering noise or fluid leak concern that is caused during extremely low temperatures.
13-02-32-001H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 11, 2025
This service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on OnStar Module 2G Sunset Information.
23-NA-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 28, 2025
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads. The J-35616-64B is the latest test probe…
PIT5074Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 7, 2024
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 25, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2009 GMC Yukon has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2009 GMC Yukon?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 81,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.