2004 GMC Yukon Denali XL

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2004 GMC Yukon Denali XL arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2004 vehicle, but with only 70 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is electrical system (19 complaints), typically at 6.9 yr or about 103,000 miles.

Complaints: 70
Median age at failure: 9.6 yr
Median mileage: 103,388 n=66
Crash / fire / tow: 4.3% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 87,000 mi 5.2 yr in service

SPEEDOMETER FAILED. UNSAFE SITUATION. SPEEDOMETER IS CURRENTLY REGISTERING ERRONEOUS READINGS. GM HAS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS PROBLEM AND IS REPLACING SPEEDOMETERS IN VEHICLES WITH UNDER 70,000 MILES. MY 2004 GMC HAS 88,000 MILES AND IS NOT COVERED BY THEIR CURRENT CAMPAIGN. SPEEDOMETER INDICATES 60MPH WHILE IN PARK. *TR

Electrical system 10 mi 1.3 yr in service

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 GMC YUKON DENALI XL. WHEN THE CONTACT STARTED THE VEHICLE, THE TIRE SERVICE MONITOR INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THERE WAS NO FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THEY WERE UNAWARE OF HOW TO REPAIR THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER COULD ALSO NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 53,000.

Electrical system 57,600 mi 5.3 yr in service

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 GMC YUKON DENALI XL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ABS ENGAGES AT INAPPROPRIATE TIMES. IN ADDITION, THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAYS INACCURATE READINGS. WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED, THE SPEEDOMETER DIAL DISPLAYS 50 OR 90 MPH. THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THIS FAILURE AND THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,600.

Service brakes 63,000 mi 8.3 yr in service

EXCESSIVE RUST BUILD UP ON BRAKE LINES, ROTORS AND CALIPERS. ROTORS & PADS PREVIOUSLY REPLACED IN SEPT., 2008. NEEDED REPLACEMENT AGAIN IN OCT., 2012 AFTER ONLY DRIVING 16,000 MILES. BRAKE LINES ARE SEVERELY CORRODED AND ARE IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT. CONTROL ARM LINKAGE ATTACHED TO HEIGHT SENSOR ACTUATOR ALSO BROKE AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. *TR

Other Yukon Denali XL model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2004 GMC Yukon Denali XL

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other Yukon Denali XL model years

How to read this