[Wendimc]

I am having the same problem with my 2008 Acadia. I have had it worked on many times and replaced the battery 3 times in the past 2 years. I am beyond frustrated. Is there anything i can do to solve this problem? I was stranded at the beach last week with my kids because of this problem. I want to keep this car, just want the problem fixed!

 

[criscoula]

I have had same exact issue with mine, I have noticed that it collects in a tray or something because I can kind of hear it sloshing and then spills out according to how I drive, If I go REALLY slow it may not spill out, but when I give it some gas or turn it spills out into/down the lower passenger corner panel,onto a fuse block making my engine run on, I have to pull the battery 1 square fuse from the engine fuse box or the battery will die, It seems to dry up and go back to normal in a few days, I would love help with this.

 

[Sadacadiaowner]

Hello new to the website, I had the same problems with key off and out engine stats running plus no sound from speakers and I'd like to share what I did to fix everything , so here it is , on the passenger side there is the cabin fusebox , I had to remove the plastic cover on the bottom which has two push type clips , then removed the glove box itself two twist type locks on each side inside the box , let it come down almost all the way and then gently pop it off the bottom , then at the bottom of the fusebox there's a Phillip's head bolt that holds the harness in , remove that and the harness comes out , then look at the top of the fusebox through the hole behind where the glovebox was and there are 3 plugs to unplug , there is 2 in the front right next to each other and one in the back , then at the bottom there's three 7mm screws holding it in , remove them and drop work with the fuse box getting it out it's a little tricky but not too bad , then once it was out I took a picture of the fuses and relays so they all go back where they came from and once you have it out you will see where the harnesses were plugged in the corrosion is but trust me that's not all , remove all fuses and relays to and bottom and then separate the plastic shell and sit aside and you'll have the inner black plastic part with a bunch of metal pins be careful to not bend them , that piece also separates into 2 pieces , now after you have that done I got a baking pan and set all three piece in it and used white vinegar , I filled it so it covered everything and let is sit for about 3 hours , after 3 hours you'll see the corrosion that was all over everything is now gone and the contacts are clean , I then took them out and disposed of the vinegar and then used baking soda and water solution to neutralize the acid from the vinegar with the same baking pan I let that soak for about 15 mins , then I used a blow dryer to dry everything , you must make sure everything is dry before reinstalling , once I did all this and reinstalled it started and turned off as it should and no overnight battery drain , I have owned this vehicle for a little over a year and the radio has never worked no sound at all and I bought a new amp too but gave up after that , the continuing to run without the ignition on and key out had been happening for about 2 weeks until I did this now everything works perfectly and it cost me under $5 , if you feel like you can't do this trust me it's not a hard job don't doubt yourself it's a little tricky but pretty straight forward , hope this info helps thanks everybody

 

[[email protected]]

I truly hope GMC is still looking at these posts. I have a 2007 GMC Acadia that I bought from 1 previous owner a couple of years ago. I had a warranty on it and had some issues so I took it to GMC to get it fixed. They mentioned a lot of recalls that were outstanding so asked to keep my truck for a few days to repair it. About 2 months ago I noticed the sunroof leaking. A lot, but I shook it off and did think it was a big deal until my truck battery started dying and it was brand new from Good Year. Then Good Year told me my truck was dieseling...well I had to Google that. That’s when I found this forum. I took it back to the dealership and told them about this forum and explained that what I was experiencing sounds just like what a team of GMC customers are talking about in this forum. That’s when they told me that my recall had indeed been addressed and that the water wasn’t coming from my sunroof, but from under the hood through the vents. I doubt that seriously, but i wanted to hear them out. They assured me that they needed to fix the under the hood leak because the instrument panel fuse box was full of water and corrosion from the water leak. The cost of this repair is $643.35. My passenger floor was wet from my sunroof leaking last week and everything in this thread is sounding like my issue. This type of situation is why I don’t trust dealerships. I have a big family, but am not a fan of minivans and felt this vehicle was a great choice for my family, but with all of this going on and the fact that I feel the true problem isn’t being addressed, I’m not so sure anymore. Please help. I go back to them tomorrow.

 

[speleos]

@[email protected], this is an excerpt from a bulletin they are following:

For Model Years 2007-2008
Important
Inspect the front drain hoses to ensure that they are free of clogs or kinks, and that water is properly flowing through the hoses.

1. Remove the windshield wipers and cowl screen where sealing repair is to be done.
Important
Inspect the IP BEC for wetness and/or any green colored corrosion.
Important
During water testing, do not point the nozzle/hose upward on the cowl area as this is likely to force water entry where a leak may not even be existent.

2. In order to verify the waterleak, run a small amount of water into the square hole inside the cowl while looking at the IP BEC.
3. Allow the water to dry and proceed to step 4.
4. Seal the seam INSIDE the opening at the bottom and to the right and left of the arrows in the illustration. Seal the full length of the dotted line. Seal the seam with P/N 12378500 (in Canada, use 10952233) Medium Body Seam Sealing Compound or equivalent.

For the full text, see reply #5 of this thread: https://www.acadiaforum.net/8-gmc-acadia/11702-leaky-passanger-side.html

 

[divotdug]

......That’s when they told me that my recall had indeed been addressed and that the water wasn’t coming from my sunroof, but from under the hood through the vents. I doubt that seriously, but i wanted to hear them out. They assured me that they needed to fix the under the hood leak because the instrument panel fuse box was full of water and corrosion from the water leak......Please help. I go back to them tomorrow......

Reading your post, what kind of help are you looking to get from this forum? Why are you reluctant to believe the dealer's diagnosis? Which leads to another question, why then would you take it back to them?

You can't ignore electrical component water intrusion and corrosion. That only gets worse and you can expect all manner of gremlins to start impacting the reliability of your vehicle, like dieseling.

 

[Chop-chop]

I truly hope GMC is still looking at these posts.

This is a forum on the internet where people can come and discuss topics about the GMC Acadia. It's not affiliated with GMC. I recall customer service reps were present in previous years but it's been a while since I saw one around here. If you need GMC to hear something you have to say write or talk to them or post in one of their social media accounts

 

[mesh]

2008 gmc acadia runs after switched off

I also have an acadia. For about a month now. The first time it happened, I had just pulled up to work and when I got out of the vehicle I kept hearing it, I thought I was crazy, looked in my hand and there the key was. I was like wth. I got back in the vehicle put the key in and it did still did not turn off. I went inside to let my husband know. I went back out to the truck and it was having convulsions and then went off after a minute. When I got home that night the same thing happened. When I got up that morning, I went to start the truck and it would not start nor would the key come out. Yeah it ate the key and refused to give it back. I gave the truck a jump, the truck started and then released the key. I am still having this problem and am currently driving my older car until I can figure out the problem. I don't have cash to put in shop right now. If there is anyone out there that knows what the problem is and what part I need to buy please do so. I am told to buy and ignition switch and cylinder but cant afford to buy parts that do not fix the problem. I took it to GMC and they said that it would cost 6000.00 to fix the truck but ironically told me that the parts are inexpensive that most of the cost is Labor. Yeah he really told me that. I thanked for the info but of course declined.

 

[KSMITH]

Has anyone had any luck getting this issue fixed? I have an '08 Acadia and just this past weekend,Saturday, the continuing to run without the key in the ignition started. Didn't even start it on Sunday & Monday we didn't have any issues with it. Yesterday it started again. We would disconnect the battery and it would shut off. Yesterday afternoon all of a sudden it wouldn't start. The lights and radio were coming on, but it wasn't even turning over even after trying to jump it. After my husband disconnected the battery for a bit it eventually started again and no more issues the rest of the night. This morning it wouldn't start again. This time no power at all & it locked the key in the ignition. I took it to a mechanic on Monday and he said he got a code for the ignition switch, but then thought there was an electrical issue due to a leak. It seems everyone with the electrical issue has a sunroof, I don't, so I don't even know where to check for the leak. He said he needs my car for up to 5 days to look into it, this my only daily vehicle so I can't just give it up. I don't have money to try multiple fixes, I need to know what exactly is wrong and needs to be done the first time. It also started locking randomly, has anyone had that issue?

 

[divotdug]

Without some diagnostic time, no one can tell you what exactly is wrong.

I would most likely agree with the tech that suggested an electrical issue form a leak. Besides the sunroof there were other places early Acadia's liked to leak, like the front cowl.

You have most likely had a leak for sometime and now have corroded electrical connections. This not an uncommon issue.

My first guess would be a bulkhead connection has corroded over the years.....my second guess would be some rodents decided your wiring was mighty tasty.

Good Luck

 

[speleos]

+1 about the cowl (firewall) leak. Also, a few have had leaks at the base of the windshield on the passenger side.

 

[[email protected]]

This is my first post, and after searching, couldn't find anything on this topic, but am new to the forum, so please bare with me. I purchased my 2007 Acadia, pre-owned with low miles, in March of 2008. I have really enjoyed the vehicle, as it is fully loaded. Considering all the features, it is really an amazing machine. It now has 42,000 miles on it, and several issues have been fixed with no recurence. However, the other night, I returned home from the store and noticed that the engine kept running after I turned off the ignition and removed the key. It sputtered for a little while and then quit. I didn't think it was a big deal, and turned in for the night. The next morning, the power locks didn't work, and I had to open the door lock manually. I put the key in the ignition and the there was no power except for a clicking noise under the hood. Also, I couldn't turn the key back to the position to be removed, so the key was stuck in the ignition. I Called the GMC dealer that I take it to for service and they said to jump it or tow it in. After jumping it, it started right up as if nothing was wrong. After checking it out, the service department said that they could not find anything wrong. The same thing happened again night before last, and it is now back at the dealer. I Told them to keep it until they figure it out. Additional info: It has a sunroof and I had the leak fixed a few months ago under the recall, but now, after recent heavy rain, it is leaking worse than before. Could the water be shorting something out, as the starting problem didn't happen until all the rain? Has anyone else experienced this type of problem ???

Ladies and gentlemen! I found the issue!
The passanger side sunfoor drain on mine was plugged. I removed the dash cover and A frame panel to expose the line and under the glovebox theres a plastic kick panel behind that there is a fuse block mine was filled with water. My 08 Acadia run after shutting off the ignition, rear blinkers didnt work and after shutting it off there was parasitic drain that killed my battery. The water from the sunroof was leaking directly into that block and there was ALOT of water. I've swapped fuses in this location before so it was easy for me to diagnose. I suggest watching the youtube video on how to clean the sunroof drains then if you're mechanically inclined pull that fuse box after disconnecting the battery and take it apart and dry it out and reassemble.

 

[jayski]

Huge thank you to Sadacadiaowner as I had the dreaded dieseling after turning my 08' Acadia off. As well as some other dash warnings about stabilitrak, engine hot no A/C, and a couple ODB2 codes I've never seen before that were definitely caused by a clogged sunroof drain on the passenger side.
I've cleaned those drains out before a couple times now but wasn't planning on doing it again until the spring.
Regardless it happened and I had a dead battery the next morning, key then stuck in ignition due to parasitic draw on the battery due to the water in the fuse block behind the glove box.

Steps to resolve:

-Take a 10mm socket and remove the 2 bolts securing the trim panel to the right of the windshield (the holy F handle bolts) on the passenger side under the plastic caps is where these little bolts are.

-Unclip the little speaker wire from the trim piece

-I'd recommend doing the same thing on the driver side just to be sure the drain isn't clogged on that side also. The bolt under the Airbag cover on the left side pillar is I believe an 8mm bolt head.

-pop up the very front cover closest to the windshield to access the sunroof drain hoses on each side. You'll now be able (if you have baby hands) to follow the drain hoses down to the firewall area where they are connected to a rubber grommet that fits into the firewall section.
You can now disconnect the drain hose and likely have some dirt buildup in the rubber elbow. Take that and rinse under warm water and squeeze it to ensure all the dirt is flushed out.
Another way to clean these out is to blow compressed air into the drain holes at the front of the sunroof. Careful though as you could blow the hose off that 90° elbow and then you're going through the above steps again anyways.

-Reconnect and fasten the panels back in place.

-Under the glovebox, remove the blower motor cover panel, then I found it easier to twist the blower fan out of its location. There may be a couple screws securing it in place.i removed those years ago when the blower motor failed, from the first drain problem lol.

-steps to remove the fuse block have been provided by Sadacadiaowner above. I'll add that you need even smaller hands to get in there to remove this, you must also be a circus clown about 3'4" to contort yourself in the front passenger floor area to see up under the fuse block and then further more hope you can reduce the size of your hands to half of what they are now to manipulate the connectors out, as they are likely corroded to the fuseblock and act as crazy glue lol.

-after all that, split the fuse block apart, clean the connectors on the board however you feel is best, let dry and then reassemble the fuse block.

-i then coated the connections and the connector ends with dielectric grease in the hopes of I ever do keep this acadia longer than next spring it will not go all batty if I don't get to the sunroof annual drain maintenance again lol.

Fingers crossed, I put it all back together plugged it in and it fired up, with the help of a boost as the battery had been depleted. No check engine lights, no goofy dash warnings and the temperature gauge was working again. Also a slight hissing from the rear speakers is gone.
Happy again, but this is brutal GM still hasn't assisted some people who have had issues. At least provide the details above for the customer to do if the issue hasn't yet ruined anything too severely. I'd rather the dealership tell me the root cause of the issue and possible remedy, along with annual maintenance for the drains...rather than handing an estimate like those shown previously; As well the preventative steps if the water is seeping in through the firewall area or under a poorly installed window perhaps.

The above cost me nothing, aside from dielectric grease which I had on hand anyways and about 2 hours of my life to do the work above. Estimate 3 hours if you've never cleaned your drains. Estimate 4 hours of you're methodical and not familiar with yanking and pulling on parts for fear of damaging them. I was beyond that fear a year after opening this Acadia.

Broken coil springs front and rear, a/c compressor, front struts, corroded fuel line, 2 rear wheel bearings, a rear bumper that had corroded, still have a seized spare tire under it, rear windows that won't power up or down (2 new switched worked for a couple years), faulty driver side airbag sensor in the seat, horrible windshield washer jets that break every 2 years almost to the day, corroded fog light receptacles, blower motor, a small evap leak that I still haven't figured out.

I love this thing, otherwise it would be in the scrapyard but I can't see.myself owning one again. There's just too many instances of cheaply made components and designs, and typically a brand that hides behind their big lavish name rather than assisting owners with issues that are manageable.
It's an AWD and amazing in the snow with deep groove studded winter tires and seats 6 adults comfortly. Spacious and can tow (assuming the bumper isn't deteriorating lol).
Rant over. I'll keep it until spring but then I think it's time to move on.

 

[putercoder]

Yes a water leak is the issue that gets onto the fuse block. I don't have sunroof, but did have the windshield replaced a few years ago. Water started leaking on to fuse block. Car running after shut down, dead next day.......Also should consider a AGM battery, more money but less time stuck. so water from the crowl whether sunroof or something else.

 

[JakeRosin45]

Hello, I have a 2011 GMC Acadia. I have had it now for three years I got it used. Since the day we bought it, the check engine light would come on every so often, and go out with no issue. Once in a while, it would read high voltage followed by the engine still running when the key is off.

So, we learned was because of under-voltage in the battery. Then, when the battery would lose more volts the key would get locked in the ignition and couldn't be removed. The check engine light would be on regardless if the key was off. The check engine system light would next drain the battery down lower. Now, the car appears to be dead. So, I could make all this go away by disconnecting the neg on the battery and recharge it to full. SO, the question remained "why does this happen?"

Well after doing some digging I found the Acadia had a string of leaky drains from sunroofs, but I don't have one, never less, I pressed on. I saw someone on youtube, say to check behind the front passenger side carpet, just pull it back from the wall and see if it is wet.

This turned out to be the case. Water was getting through the hood cowl, it's only tac welded inside there. Water is getting through the tac weld and dripping on the electrical fuse box behind the glovebox. When it gets wet the system goes crazy with charging system error codes.

I tried my best to seal it up to my self but it still did not work. I instead covered the fuse box with something preventing water from getting on it. Since then we have had many rainstorms, and not once has the check engine light returned.

\GMC please look into this mess, I have spent so much time and money, while mechanics go down the wrong rabbit hole. People, If you are having similar issues please check to see if this happens during or after it rains.

 

[divotdug]

This is a documented issue on 1st gen Acadia's. GM addressed it with TSB 08-08-57-003F.

The early Acadia's were known to have various water intrusion issues.

 

[JakeRosin45]

This is a documented issue on 1st gen Acadia's. GM addressed it with TSB 08-08-57-003F.

The early Acadia was known to have various water intrusion issues.

I have read that report, it doesn't cover the 2011 Acadia. Following the instruction in that report will not work.

 

[speleos]

I have read that report, it doesn't cover the 2011 Acadia. Following the instruction in that report will not work.

The document describes a few of the most common places to look for water leaks. There are others like the roof rack attachment bolts and miscellaneous body seams which aren't as common place. BTW, the TSB covers the 2007-2016 Acadia. Yours falls somewhere within that interval.

 

[Jeff_M]

Just your luck I had the same problem last week. The same thing happened to me just as you wrote. Did you read my mind? The solution according to SM was a factory defect. A leak where the cowl and windshield come together it is tack welding at the factory and then sealed at the factory. On mine the cowl wasn't sealed at the factory and after days of rain sometime heavy and sometime light; after I turned off the engine and removed the key it continued to run bothe times I used the car that day. The next morning nothing, I did have some clicking noise as the circuits tried to wakeup. If you are not covered under any warrenty you might want to purchase a starter box and keep it in your car and if your park outside a cover.

Did the dealer seal the cowl under some type of manufacturer warranty? Our 2013 is also leaking into fuse box behind glovebox and into floorboard.

 

[JayTee2019]

Did the dealer seal the cowl under some type of manufacturer warranty? Our 2013 is also leaking into fuse box behind glovebox and into floorboard.

I think you would best benefit by reading and doing what the poster did in Post #55 above. Shield the fuse box and continue to try to seal the cowl area under the hood in the engine compartment. Perhaps some brush on rubber seal like they sell on TV or at home supply stores. A medium viscosity sealant that can flow into the area where water gets in that cowl area may do the trick.