Reliable Auto DB

2013 GMC Yukon reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2013 GMC Yukon holds 181 complaints after 14 years, a rate of 2 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Yukon years here — under the median of the other years, which is 12. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Inflator, Electrical system, and Anti-theft device.

2012 GMC Yukon
Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

181

Per year

2

Recalls

4

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Air bags (59 of 181), then Structure (44) and Engine (13). Those filings include 5 that report a crash and 3 that report an injury.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 Yukon has 132 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 56 complaints, 1 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 GMC Yukon. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (4)

Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2021-02-05 · NHTSA campaign 21V054000
Summary 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.
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.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2021-02-05 · NHTSA campaign 21V053000
Summary 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."
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.
Recall Electrical system 2014-10-01 · NHTSA campaign 14V614000
Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM’s number for this recall is 14515.
Recall steering, column locking, anti-theft device 2013-01-02 · NHTSA campaign 13V001000
Summary General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles, manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect", and FMVSS No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention." The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2013. Chevrolet owners may call 1-800-630-2438. Cadillac owners may call 1-866-982-2339. GMC owners may call 1-866-996-9463.

Complaints by component (181 total)

Air bags
59
Structure
44
Engine
13
Electrical system
11
Powertrain
5
Steering
5
Service brakes
3
Fuel and propulsion system
2
Latches, locks, and linkages
2
Tires
2
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Engine and engine cooling
1
Seat belts
1
Seats
1
Speed control
1
Visibility
1
Visibility and wipers
1
Wheels
1
Show 10 more Show less
Crash-flagged

5

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

3

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

220134201522201651201718201825201919202015202113202242023220244202522026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 GMC Yukon. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was an independent dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 92,000;…"
    Electrical system · filed 2026-07-09
  • "The contact owns a 2013 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the rear tailgate opened independently. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The battery warning light was…"
    Powertrain, Electrical system, Latches, locks, and linkages · filed 2026-02-20
  • "Steering wheel will not lock when in park and the vehicle is turned off. This is referring to the Steering/Shifter Recall (13V-001)."
    Unknown or other · filed 2025-10-11
  • "Odometer Fraud. The contact owned a 2013 GMC Yukon. The contact sold a vehicle to an independent company, Pedal.com; however, was advised that the vehicle was sold to an individual and the odometer appeared to be…"
    Electrical system · filed 2025-10-02
  • "Vehicle equipped with 6.2l v8 engine. Have been experiencing hesitation upon acceleration, decrease in power/reduced performance, trouble starting, abnormal shifting (particularly from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th gear)…"
    Powertrain, Engine · filed 2025-07-03

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 GMC Yukon Denali Hybrid SUV 4WD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon Denali Hybrid SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon Denali SUV 4WD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon Denali SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon Denali XL 1500 SUV 4WD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon Denali XL 1500 SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon Denali XL 2500 SUV 4WD Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated
2013 GMC Yukon Denali XL 2500 SUV RWD Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated
2013 GMC Yukon Hybrid SUV 4WD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon Hybrid SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon SUV 4WD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon XL 1500 SUV 4WD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon XL 1500 SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 GMC Yukon XL 2500 SUV 4WD Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated
2013 GMC Yukon XL 2500 SUV RWD Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Yukon 1500 two-wheel drive 5.3L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Rear-wheel drive 15 21 17 MPG $3800
Yukon 1500 two-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Rear-wheel drive 14 18 16 MPG $4050
Yukon 1500 four-wheel drive 5.3L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Four-wheel drive 15 21 17 MPG $3800
Yukon 1500 hybrid two-wheel drive 6L, 8-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Rear-wheel drive 20 23 21 MPG $3100
Yukon 1500 hybrid four-wheel drive 6L, 8-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Four-wheel drive 20 23 21 MPG $3100
Yukon Denali 1500 all-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 13 18 15 MPG $4300
Yukon Denali 1500 hybrid four-wheel drive 6L, 8-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Four-wheel drive 20 23 21 MPG $3100
Yukon XL 1500 two-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Rear-wheel drive 14 18 16 MPG $4050
Yukon XL 1500 two-wheel drive 5.3L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Rear-wheel drive 15 21 17 MPG $3800
Yukon XL 1500 four-wheel drive 5.3L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Four-wheel drive 15 21 17 MPG $3800
Yukon XL 1500 all-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 13 18 14 MPG $4650
Yukon XL 2500 two-wheel drive 6L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Rear-wheel drive 10 16 12 MPG $5400
Yukon XL 2500 four-wheel drive 6L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Four-wheel drive 10 16 12 MPG $5400

Specs and fitment

K2XX generation, 2012–2014
Body styles SUV
Oil dexos1 5W-30 (V8 per manual) , 8 qt capacity
Tire size 265/70R17, 275/55R20, 265/65R18, 245/75R16 (trim dependent)
Towing capacity 8,500 lbs

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA safety recall 13V342000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that general Motors is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Suburban vehicles manufactured July 9, 2013, through July 22, 2013; and 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles manufactured July 16, 2013, through July 23, 2013; and model year 2014 GMC Yukon vehicles manufactured July 13, 2013, through July 18, 2013; and model year 2014 GMC Yukon XL vehicles manufactured on July 22, 2013. The rear brake caliper bolts may not be fully tightened. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems.". Loose caliper bolts may cause reduced braking performance and result in lengthened stopping distances, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the bolts on both rear brake caliper brackets. Any bolts found loose will be replaced and tightened. This service will be performed, at no charge. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020 and GMC at 1-800-462-8782. GM's recall number is 13247. When NHTSA lists multiple GM nameplates in one campaign, the published unit count is shared across them.

Compare

Previous year 2012 GMC Yukon Next year 2014 GMC Yukon See every GMC Yukon model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 GMC Yukon reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2013 GMC Yukon holds 181 complaints after 14 years, a rate of 2 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Yukon years here — under the median of the other years, which is 12. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Inflator, Electrical system, and Anti-theft device.

What are common problems with a 2013 GMC Yukon?

The complaints owners file most often name Air bags (59 of 181), then Structure (44) and Engine (13). Those filings include 5 that report a crash and 3 that report an injury.

Is the 2013 GMC Yukon more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 Yukon has 132 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 56 complaints, 1 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 GMC Yukon been recalled?

The 2013 GMC Yukon has 4 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 GMC Yukon?

Owners have filed 181 complaints about the 2013 GMC Yukon with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 GMC Yukon get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 GMC Yukon is 16.6 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What engine oil does a GMC Yukon use?

US Yukon manuals specify dexos-approved oil for your engine in the maintenance schedule.

What does NHTSA recall 13V-342 cover on the GMC Yukon?

NHTSA safety recall 13V342000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that general Motors is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Suburban vehicles manufactured July 9, 2013, through July 22, 2013; and 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles manufactured July 16, 2013,…

What generation is the 2013 GMC Yukon?

K2XX generation (2012-2014).