VehicleVerdict

2010 GMC Yukon XL problems

Verdict · NHTSA data

One of the years to avoid

The 2010 GMC Yukon XL carries two red flags at once: 37 consumer complaints filed with NHTSA and an open NHTSA defect investigation (subject: Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture). It is one of the Yukon XL years to avoid.

The trouble concentrates in one system: airbags issues account for 41% of all reports (15 of 37), far ahead of other at 10.

37

NHTSA complaints

3

Recalls

1

Investigations · 1 open

2

Crash-involved

0

Fires reported

8

Injuries

0

Deaths

—

NCAP overall

How does 2010 compare to other Yukon XL years?

Yukon XL NHTSA complaints by model year, 2010 highlighted404 complaints1999: 3 complaints2000: 77 complaints2001: 151 complaints2002: 114 complaints2003: 115 complaints2004: 118 complaints2005: 58 complaints2006: 24 complaints2007: 123 complaints2008: 86 complaints2009: 32 complaints2010: 37 complaints2011: 67 complaints2012: 22 complaints2013: 26 complaints2014: 13 complaints2015: 404 complaints2016: 267 complaints2017: 206 complaints2018: 68 complaints2019: 79 complaints2020: 57 complaints2021: 271 complaints2022: 203 complaints2023: 269 complaints2024: 90 complaints2025: 39 complaints2026: 32 complaints
Yukon XL NHTSA complaints by model year, 2010 highlighted. Red bars are years to avoid.

See all Yukon XL years to avoid →

What are the most common 2010 GMC Yukon XL problems?

ComponentComplaintsShare
Airbags1541%
Other1027%
Body & Structure38%
Engine38%
Steering25%
Electrical System25%
Seat Belts13%
Speed Control13%

Does the 2010 GMC Yukon XL have recalls?

3 NHTSA recall campaigns on file. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.

21V050000AirbagsFebruary 5, 2021 · 2,641,272 units

Defect

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328760.

21V053000AirbagsFebruary 5, 2021 · 692,526 units

Defect

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."

Consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.

21V054000AirbagsFebruary 5, 2021 · 1,778,128 units

Defect

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328800.

Open NHTSA investigations

EA21002

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.

Consumer complaints filed with NHTSA

Representative excerpts, cleaned of personal information. These are consumer statements, not verified defects.

“I was in a head-on collision (T-bone) going over 40 mph. Despite the severity of the collision no airbags deployed and both front seatbelts failed. Error Codes: B0052:00 Deployment commanded; B0015:04 Driver seat belt buckle tensioner deployment loop open; B0022:04 Passenger seat belt buckle…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Airbags · April 11, 2025 · crash

“OUR 2010 GMC YUKON XL HAS BEEN GARAGE KEPT AND WELL MAINTAINED. LIKE MANY OTHER GMC TRUCK OWNERS OUR DASH CRACKED RIGHT NEAR THE PASSENGER AIRBAG. IT IS GETTING LARGER AND HAS STARTED TO EXPOSE THE COMPONENTS UNDERNEATH THE DASH/AIRBAG COVER. THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED ON NEWS CHANNELS AND A LAW SUIT…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Other · December 10, 2015

“WHILE DRIVING THE "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" ALERT POPPED UP AND THE ENGINE HAD NO POWER. THE CAR STARTED TO JUMP. ALONG WITH THE "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" ALERT THERE WAS ALSO A "STABILITRAK INDICATOR LIGHT" THAT ALSO CAME ON. WE PULLED OVER AND SHUT THE ENGINE OFF WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND RESTARTED IT.…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · November 9, 2013

“I GOT IN MY CAR TO TAKE MY KIDS TO SCHOOL AND NOTICE THE HUB ABOVE THE STEERING WHEEL WAS CRACKED GOING DOWN AND CONNECTED TO A SECOND SPOT THAT WAS ALSO CRACKED IN A PRONG PATTERN. IT WAS NOT CRACKED THE AFTERNOON BEFORE WHEN I PICKED UP MY CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL. *TR”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Body & Structure · April 28, 2015

“I GOT IN MY CAR TO TAKE MY KIDS TO SCHOOL AND NOTICE THE HUB ABOVE THE STEERING WHEEL WAS CRACKED GOING DOWN AND CONNECTED TO A SECOND SPOT THAT WAS ALSO CRACKED IN A PRONG PATTERN. IT WAS NOT CRACKED THE AFTERNOON BEFORE WHEN I PICKED UP MY CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL. *TR”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Steering · April 28, 2015

2010 GMC Yukon XL — common questions

Is the 2010 GMC Yukon XL reliable?

NHTSA data argues against it: 37 complaints put the 2010 model at #21 of 28 Yukon XL years, and a defect investigation remains open. It is one of the Yukon XL years to avoid.

What are the most common 2010 Yukon XL problems?

According to NHTSA complaint data, the leading problem areas are airbags (15 complaints), other (10 complaints), engine (3 complaints).

Does the 2010 GMC Yukon XL have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns affecting the 2010 GMC Yukon XL. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers; check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm the work was done.

Is the 2010 GMC Yukon XL under NHTSA investigation?

Yes — an investigation remains open (Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture). An open ODI action means NHTSA is actively assessing a possible defect.

Which GMC Yukon XL years should you avoid?

Based on complaint rates and open investigations, the Yukon XL years to avoid are 2015, 2021, 2023, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2001, 2007, 2004, 2024, 2008, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2013, 2012, 2014. The cleanest record among Yukon XL years belongs to 1999.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.