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New 2015 GMC Acadia issues - won't start some mornings, clicking noise when accelerating

aprilmm1aprilmm1 Member Posts: 3
edited April 2017 in GMC
Just curious if anyone else has had the two issues below on a 2014 or 2015 Acadia. I know this is more of a car buying forum, but I wasn't sure where else to turn. I LOVE the car, but have two weird issues....

1) The car doesn't start... most mornings, the car doesn't start the first 1-5 times I try. The battery is generating power because the gauges come on and the touchscreen turns on, but engine doesn't start. Most days it starts after a few tries, but this weekend we had to use remote start to get the engine going, and once we put the key in the engine died. It did start the next time we put the key in and started it normally. Dealership has never heard of this issue, I have to find a day it happens when I can drive straight to the dealership, but not sure how soon that will be with stops at kids 2 schools every morning.

2) Every time I start the car and start out driving, the car makes a clicking noise when I get to about 8-15 mph (or about 30-50 feet). It sounds as though something is engaging. That is the only time I hear the noise (when I've just started the car up, doesn't happen when accelerating from a red light), but it makes it every single time I start the car and start driving.

Otherwise I love the car!! Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide...
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Comments

  • triplem00triplem00 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2014 Acadia with the same issue. Sometimes when I go to start it, I turn the key and it doesn't start. The instrument panel lights come on, but it doesn't crank over. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to finally start. Sometimes it takes a few hours. I have taken it in multi times to the dealer and was told they didn't find anything and they have never seen this before. I am starting to think they have seen this issue already. Here is a link to a YouTube video on it. https://youtu.be/fa2eVMjiYHk
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    triplem00 said:

    I have a 2014 Acadia with the same issue. Sometimes when I go to start it, I turn the key and it doesn't start. The instrument panel lights come on, but it doesn't crank over. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to finally start. Sometimes it takes a few hours. I have taken it in multi times to the dealer and was told they didn't find anything and they have never seen this before. I am starting to think they have seen this issue already...

    Hi triplem00,

    We're very sorry to learn you've encountered starting issues with your Acadia and we recognize it can be discouraging when the dealership is unable to find a solution. If you'd like, we'll gladly contact our internal resources and further investigate this matter. We'll just need your VIN, full contact information, and mileage to do so. We're best reached via private message or email at socialmedia@gm.com.

    Thanks,
    Amber N.
    GM Customer Care
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,747
    To get the car to crank it still uses the same safety inputs that have always been needed such as the key command, and the park/neutral input from a transmission range selector switch. But exactly how the system uses those is very different from what was done in the past. The ignition switch doesn't carry any significant current, it's just a command to the BCM, and the mode switch which is inside of the transmission that generates the park/neutral information is just an input to the TCM. The BCM and TCM then send that information to the PCM. The BCM communicates on the high speed data bus, while the park/neutral signal is a dedicated line between the TCM and PCM. When all of the inputs are correct the PCM commands the starter relay to crank the engine.

    While the video displays the reported issue, it actually does nothing to help a technician logically rule anything in or out. Once the car starts beyond some potential historical codes it is unlikely that a solid assessment of the cause can be made.

    Consumers need to be more aware of the main issue running in the background. The dealership technician gets a one time labor fee of .3 hours to attempt to do the diagnostics on any failure like this. That means if the tech makes $30.00/hr then he/she gets a whopping $9.00 to study and try to diagnose the reported issue. Any subsequent visits are unpaid time. The problem for consumers is that since the techs aren't paid fairly to do this work, most simply refuse to learn how to do it and really you can't blame them. When they can make more money doing a brake or transmission fluid flush and not deal with the headaches they aren't doing anything any different than any other worker would tend to do. The old adage of "Work smarter not harder" applies here because diagnostics at this level are some of the hardest things that techs ever have to do, and its just smarter to do easier work that pays better.

    It takes a tech with very special skills to diagnose problems like this, and when you understand that they learned to do this while predominately not being paid for the time that it took to develop those skills it should be no surprise that they are hard to find. The shortage of qualified technicians took years to reach the point that it is at today and it will take decades to reverse the trend. Meanwhile there is less work because the cars really don't break as often as they used to and the things that do fail are quite often one time events in a technicians career. Problems like these are usually not a pattern failure that once someone figures out the first one, everybody else just gets to read about it and get to take a short cut to the answer. As each year goes by the cars are getting to be more and more complicated and the diagnostics demand even greater technical skills and the ability to apply the kinds of critical thinking skills that reduce the number of specific pin point tests that have to be performed.
  • tommysdaddy06tommysdaddy06 Member Posts: 1
    Hello I have a 2011 GMC Acadia 
    Which I brought in for 2 recalls 
    About 2 months ago about 1 month ago I received a phone call asking me to bring the car back in to check the recalls that were done to the car.
    GMC dealer/service offered me a free rent a car and complementary oil change. I brought the car in and got it back the next day with an envelope with $20 cash in it for our troubles. 
    A day later the cars check engine light came on flashing but the car started up with a little hesitation thought it was a fluke and it was ok. After that we noticed that a wire in the front of the car on the floor had been cut and pieces of the wire were in the car. 
    We also noticed that there was some power loss when the A/C was on, heat, day time running lights, opening the tail gate just some examples. 
    Friday I used the remote start while inside the house when I went to the car it shut off (which is normal if you wait to long to get in it and put the key in) But when I went to start the car again it was a delayed start and the battery light and memo came on saying service battery charging system, battery saver mode. 
    I drove home (only about 2 miles)
    I shut the car off and the next day it wouldn't start. 
    We bought a battery and went to replaced it inside the compartment we found a grey plug that wasn't hooked up it has two parts and it wasn't together. 
    We replaced the battery and it still wouldn't start. The car started smoking and we smelled burning. We had a mechanic come to the house and he told us it was the alternator he replaced it and the belt. Then we went to put the car on and nothing it won't turn over. The hatch back wouldn't go up unless the car was in the on position which is weird. I called on star and they told us that that couldn't get an accurate reading because the car wouldn't start but they told me there was a recall issued June 23rd, 2015 for the hatch back on the car.  Now the car isn't turning over and I at a loss. 
    The car only has 65,000 miles on it and I didn't have any issues until I brought it in to the service department the second time around where I wasn't told what was done to my car after I repeatedly ask what they touched on my car and what was the real reason for my car to be called back in to the dealership.  
    I need help! 
    The bill from the mechanic was $600 and now I still don't have a car. 

    Thank you for your time,
    Thomas
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    tommysdaddy06 said:

    Hello I have a 2011 GMC Acadia 
    Which I brought in for 2 recalls 
    About 2 months ago about 1 month ago I received a phone call asking me to bring the car back in to check the recalls that were done to the car.
    GMC dealer/service offered me a free rent a car and complementary oil change. I brought the car in and got it back the next day with an envelope with $20 cash in it for our troubles. 
    A day later the cars check engine light came on flashing but the car started up with a little hesitation thought it was a fluke and it was ok. After that we noticed that a wire in the front of the car on the floor had been cut and pieces of the wire were in the car. 
    We also noticed that there was some power loss when the A/C was on, heat, day time running lights, opening the tail gate just some examples. 
    Friday I used the remote start while inside the house when I went to the car it shut off (which is normal if you wait to long to get in it and put the key in) But when I went to start the car again it was a delayed start and the battery light and memo came on saying service battery charging system, battery saver mode. 
    I drove home (only about 2 miles)
    I shut the car off and the next day it wouldn't start. 
    We bought a battery and went to replaced it inside the compartment we found a grey plug that wasn't hooked up it has two parts and it wasn't together. 
    We replaced the battery and it still wouldn't start. The car started smoking and we smelled burning. We had a mechanic come to the house and he told us it was the alternator he replaced it and the belt. Then we went to put the car on and nothing it won't turn over. The hatch back wouldn't go up unless the car was in the on position which is weird. I called on star and they told us that that couldn't get an accurate reading because the car wouldn't start but they told me there was a recall issued June 23rd, 2015 for the hatch back on the car.  Now the car isn't turning over and I at a loss. 
    The car only has 65,000 miles on it and I didn't have any issues until I brought it in to the service department the second time around where I wasn't told what was done to my car after I repeatedly ask what they touched on my car and what was the real reason for my car to be called back in to the dealership.  
    I need help! 
    The bill from the mechanic was $600 and now I still don't have a car. 

    Thank you for your time,
    Thomas
    We saw your message to our page regarding this matter as well, tommysdaddy06. As we mentioned there, we're very sorry for your experience and would like to offer our assistance. Please private message us when you get a chance if you'd like to further discuss this matter. We're also available via private message at socialmedia@gm.com. We look forward to further discussing this matter.

    Amber N.
    OnStar Customer Care
  • undaparundapar Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2013 Arcadia and while I love the car this issue with it starting is getting old. We have spent so much money on this issue we are almost at the breaking point. I have been dealing with this for about a year now. We have had new keys cut, 300$, something fixed in the steering column,600$ and it has been in several times after that with no resoluton. Since April I have had 4 times where I went to get in the car to go somewhere and like the others above, start the car with power but no turn over. I find it hard to believe that GMC has all these cars out there doing the same thing and has no idea what is going on. When I picked my car up yesterday from GMC, they had it for 5 working days and a weekend this time, In Roswell, GA they said we can't duplicate the problem but maybe if you reactivate your OnStar you can press the button if it happens again and they can get some info. I seriously find it hard to believe that OnStar can get answers that they have. There has to be an answer, #GMCgetrealandfixthis, #arcadiahasbigproblems
  • bradahern2186bradahern2186 Member Posts: 1
    Have a 2010 Gmc Acadia with a bad transmission. Have it at my mechanic who does warranty work he honors all warranties only response I can get from gm is sorry you have to take it to one of our garages. I refuse to pay double the price to have them tell me the same thing as its an unserviceable transmission
  • chele1207chele1207 Member Posts: 1
    I have a similar issue with my 2015 Acadia. My remote start will work if I tilt the steering wheel at the same time. The dealer mechanic says it might be the wiring in the steering column due to the fact that I've found a trick to get it started. My fear is being stranded somewhere when this method does not work anymore. The dealer is only guessing that this is the issue and says it will cost a few hundred dollars or more to investigate it. This price does not include switching out the wiring if it is the problem. We cannot make this repair right now. Too much money- for a guess at the problem.
  • bill_ayoubbill_ayoub Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2017
    I have a 2015 Acadia with the same issue... Its Christmas day and I have a plan to get out of town tomorrow morning but my car won't start... 
    I tried to charge the battery but seems it is fully charged and it is not a battery issue....also tried to jump start it... No luck!!!! I have seen few vedios on YouTube with the same problem but no one has posted a solution... I will be the first customer at the local dealership tomorrow morning...
     I'm so sorry to say my next car is a Toyota for sure... I live in Detroit and auto plants are all around this my second GMC car and I'm not satisfied at all... Also I had an explorer it is not much better.. My lease is due  on February... And they will take it back... 
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Just a guess here--have either of you tried using your spare key to start the truck?

    Any trouble codes pulled?

    You might check this website (below) for a specialist near you who has the skills to track down a problem like this:

    http://www.iatn.net/
  • Sp_nicky88Sp_nicky88 Member Posts: 1
    Ok so there is a tsb (technical service bulletin) in some of the Acadias. It relates to water entering the ip fuse box, located on the passenger side behind the glove box,on the right side. But you can access it from under neath, once you remove the plastic cover. Water endes up getting into the connectors and subsequently into the fuse box itself. Problems usaully associated with it are: 1. No start issue, 2. Engine stays running after key is removed, 3. Reduced power, 4. Sudden stalls. This is more then likey most of these issues stated here, problem. I advise everyone to get it checked out.  Good luck people
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