NHTSA Complaint #11713229 — 2016 GMC YUKON XL

Driving after dark on a main street in St George Utah, the engine suddenly surged and then revved down. It felt like someone jamming it into 4WD. Traffic was tailgating me, and I was nearly hit. I could not pull completely out of the right lane. I put on hazard lights. Check engine light came on, and TCS light came on. I decided to get out of traffic & crawled forward about 30 yards into a Sinclair station lot, then backed it into a spot where a tow truck could get it. It was clearly not drivable. Called AAA and a driver was able to get to me within 1/2 an hour. Checked the AAA website for mechanics since I was merely travelling through St. George and had no knowledge of the area. Hawker's Automotive was listed first, with many excellent reviews. Tow truck arrived and driver loaded it on the JerrDan bed. I asked him to take me to the Hawker's garage location. I locked it and put the key in the overnight box with my name, number, and description. Next day the mechanics said lifter arm was collapsed. Needed tearing down, replacing and probably new camshaft. Gave me estimate for "estimated" repair of about $8,000 or new engine at about $12,000! This is a KNOWN GMC failure apparently. Recalls have been initiated on newer models, but every mechanic will tell you that this happens all the time to all the 6.2L, V8 engine at around 150,000. I bought it used at about 156,000 miles and have put about 5,000 miles on it. And changed the oil at purchase, and about 1,000 miles ago. I researched model and year before purchasing. All online reviews I found were positive. Nothing out there on this know manufacturing flaw. But now when I type in 'catastrophic engine failure 2016 Denali XL" many many reviews and videos state that it is a known problem to both GMC and NHTSA. I or someone could have been killed by such a dramatic loss of power! This is a SAFETY issue and NHTSA needs to review ALL THE COMPLAINTS ON FILE ALREADY. Thankyou