GMC Acadia Climate Control Problems [5 Common Issues]

After reading this article, you’ll be able to tell if there is a problem with your GMC Acadia climate control system. I’ll also show you how to go about the problem and how to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.

But first, you may want to know why your car’s climate control may go bad.

Here are some common causes of climate control problems in a GMC Acadia:

A bad blower fan.
A broken climate control module.
Faulty HVAC fuses.
Low refrigerant level in your AC
A bad temperature sensor.
An internal problem in your climate control module.
Outdated HVAC control module software.

Table of Contents

GMC Acadia Climate Control Problems

1. Climate control only blowing through rear vents

If your GMC Acadia climate control system only blows air through the rear vents, the system has an issue.

The blower fan is the usual culprit for this problem. Due to a fault in the blower fan, it may fail to blow air toward the front vents in your car.

To resolve this problem, you’ll need to change your blower motor. Your GMC Acadia blower motor is located behind the glove box of your car.

2. Air temperature won’t change

You can tell that your climate control system is faulty if the temperature of the air that flows out of the system remains static.

This problem often occurs because you have a faulty climate control module. A bad climate control module won’t be able to communicate the temperature change to the rest of your climate control system.

You can confirm that you have a broken climate control module by checking if the temperature on the display changes when you push the temperature dial.

If the temperature on your climate control display remains the same after you’ve changed the temperature, you have a bad climate control module.

Replace your climate control module to fix this problem. Your climate control module is located on the left side of your dashboard. It is the box that contains the buttons for your climate control system.

Another reason why you might be unable to change your climate control temperature is a faulty HVAC fuse.

Your HVAC fuses supply voltage to your blend door actuator, which modifies the air in your climate control to your new temperature setting. If your HVAC fuses are faulty, your blend door actuator will stop working.

As a result, the air temperature in your car will stay the same, no matter how often you try to change it.

The only way to resolve this problem is to change your HVAC fuses. One of your HVAC fuses, the HVAC1 fuse, is located below the instrumental panel on the passenger side. You’ll find the other HVAC fuse in the under-hood fuse box.

3. AC blowing warm air

Another sign that your climate control is malfunctioning is when the AC blows warm air. This issue may occur because the refrigerant level in your AC is too low.

The air in your AC is initially warm. Your air conditioner uses refrigerant to convert warm air into cold air before releasing it into your seating area.

If the AC can’t get enough refrigerant while turned on, it won’t cool the air properly before sending it out through the vents.

Recharge your AC to stop the system from blowing warm air.

But if your AC keeps blowing warm air after you’ve recharged it, one of your temperature sensors might be dirty. Dirt may block your temperature sensors, causing them to malfunction.

When you set your AC to blow air at a certain temperature, your temperature sensor informs the system of your current temperature. This lets the AC determine how cool the air in the climate control should be to match your desired temperature.

A broken temperature sensor may read the wrong temperature, thus making your AC believe that your current temperature is cooler than it actually is. In response, your AC may blow warm air to transform the supposedly freezing temperature into the coolness you want.

Inspect all your temperature sensors for debris. And if you find dirt on any of them, change them.

4. Fan control light stays on after engine is turned off

If the light on your fan control knob stays on after you’ve turned off the engine, your climate control is problematic. The most likely reason for this problem is a minor error in your climate control system.

You’ll need to reset your climate control system to fix this issue.

Here’s how to reset your GMC Acadia climate control system:

Remove your HVAC fuses from their fuse boxes. You will find one HVAC fuse in the fuse box below the passenger-side instrument panel. The other fuse is located under the hood of your car.
Wait 10 seconds. Then reinsert the fuses into the appropriate boxes.

The fan control knob light should go off after this. But if the light stays on, your climate control module might be the problem.

Sometimes, the climate control module may develop an internal error. This error often makes the control module deliver incorrect information to the internal HVAC control unit.

For instance, the module may fail to inform your fan control light that it should go off when you switch off your engine.

You can easily eliminate the error in your climate control module by resetting the system. To reset your climate control module, disconnect your negative battery cable and wait for 15 minutes. This will give the battery enough time to discharge all electrical currents and start the reset.

After waiting for 15 minutes, reconnect the cable to your car.

If the problem persists after you’ve reset your climate control module, contact your dealer.

5. Climate control buttons won’t work after battery replacement

Did your climate control buttons stop working after you replaced your car battery? Then, your climate control system is problematic.

When you press your climate control buttons, the display may reflect the changes. However, you won’t notice any difference in the air blowing from your climate control.

This issue often occurs because of a programming error in your HVAC control module. Due to this error, your control module might fail to alert your climate control system when you turn on a function on the device.

You can resolve this problem by updating your HVAC control module software. Take your vehicle to your dealer and ask them to update the control module.

GMC Acadia Models with the Most Climate Control Problems

The following GMC Acadia models have the highest number of climate control problems:

2008 GMC Acadia
2010 GMC Acadia
2012 GMC Acadia

Carcomplaints.com states that the 2012 GMC Acadia received the most complaints about climate control problems across all GMC Acadia models.

Two other GMC Acadia models with a notorious reputation for climate control issues are the 2008 and 2010 models. These vehicles garnered 12 and 8 complaints, respectively.

GMC Acadia Models with the Least Climate Control Problems

Here are the GMC Acadia models with the fewest climate control issues:

2020 GMC Acadia
2016 GMC Acadia

According to carcomplaints.com, no user of the 2016 and 2020 GMC Acadia models reported any climate control problems.

How Much Does It Cost to Fix GMC Acadia Climate Control Problems?

Fixing an average climate control problem in a GMC Acadia may cost between $228-$1000.

Tips to Prevent GMC Acadia Climate Control Problems

These tips can help you prevent climate control issues in your GMC Acadia car:

Wash your car daily.
Recharge your AC once a year.
Change your air filters at least once a month.
Turn off your AC when you’re not using it.

Related Resources:

Wrapping Up

Once you’re sure your GMC Acadia climate control has an issue, fix it with the solutions we’ve recommended here. Contact your dealer if the problem occurs after you’ve applied the solution.