1.7

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
94,975 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 GMC Terrain:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #74

Sep 142023

Terrain

  • miles
I was driving while it was raining. The wipers stopped working. The driverside wiper jumped partially off the windshield. I had my mechanic inspect it. The fuses, relay, and wiper motor are operational. The bushing on the wiper transmission failed. I found the following recall. Special Coverage Adjustment N192266181 Wiper Transmission Arm Linkage Failure -?" USA Only Release Date: July 2022. However, my VIN does not have this as an applicable recall.

- Ellenwood, GA, USA

problem #73

Aug 132023

Terrain

  • miles
Wiper motor went out on me no warning

- Granite City, IL, USA

problem #72

Jun 142023

Terrain

  • miles
Windshield wipers quit working. I can hear something, but blades don't move. I see the 2014-15 have a recall.

- Green Bay, WI, USA

problem #71

Mar 142023

Terrain

  • miles
Ball joint for wiper assembly just "pops off" while in use causing wipers to stop working. I have taken vehicle apart, fixed the issue ( reconnecting the ball joint) and issue happens again. I understand the vehicle is from 2012, but uses same part 2010-2017, which is currently a recall on 2013-2015 models. First occurrence of this issue was July 02, 2019. I brought to GMC dealer, they said they were out of the part. Since then I've not had the issue until today March 14, 2023 where I almost hit another car, due to it popping off and stopped working while in motion.

- Easton, PA, USA

problem #70

Feb 172023

Terrain

  • miles
I was driving in the dark at 5 am with my 2 year old son in the down pour rain and my wipers stopped working but the motor was still running

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #69

Dec 092022

Terrain

  • miles
Driving in heavy rain south on the I-5 at 545p. In peak traffic and wipers suddenly just stopped while going 60mph in the carpool lane. As we past the exit for I-405 There was no shoulder to pull off of on my left. I had to cross over 5 lanes until I could safely get off the freeway. Then drive another 5 miles on side streets getting out an manually moving the wipers every few blocks so i could see. I'm female and over 50 yrs old. There was not a place I felt safe to just pull over at night. I stopped at a friend's. I can hear the motor moving but the wipers are not. I do not recall ever seeing the recall on the ball bearings and nor the wiper linkage but found one. However I'm have 72k miles and have owned it for 10 yrs.6 months. So it may not be covered, which I believe is not fair. I almost died and could have caused other deaths just trying to safely maneuver off the freeway, which I felt was safer than sitting on the side of a very dangerous section of the freeway. I know people with cars over 40 yr old that were left outside with over 200k miles and the wipers have never just died. I am the original owner and my car has been garaged for over 95% of the time when not in use. I will call the dealership in the morning but trying to get ahead of this since articles are saying there are no parts. Scared and frustrated.

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #68

Jun 082022

Terrain

  • miles
very serious failure... traveling at night, in a rainstorm, doing 70mph on a highway and the wiper regulator connecting the wiper arms to the wiper motor fails... no warning what so ever... no intermittent operation or noises, nothing... looking into this problem I see that GM has issued a safety recall for 2014 and up versions of this vehicle but not my specific model year... what are the chances that the hardware used in my particular vehicle model year are any different than those listed in (22V-165) this safety recall.

- Lenox, MI, USA

problem #67

Mar 072022

Terrain

  • miles
I was driving on the highway and it was raining hard so I had my windshield wipers on and they just stopped working and I almost got in accident because I couldn't see.

- York, PA, USA

problem #66

Aug 152021

Terrain

  • miles
I was getting on the Interstate when a really bad rain storm came up. I turned my windshield wipers on and they got stuck in the upright position. I tried many times to get the wipers to work, but they would not move. I had NO VISIBILITY and I was on an elevated ramp getting on the interstate. I could not see anything so I had to roll my window down, drive 5 miles an hour and use the white line on the road as a guide. I got soaking wet as did my car. I had to drive about a mile before I could safely stop the car. There was no warning and I am reading now there is an issue with this on Terrains. This was an EXTREMELY dangerous, I could have severely hurt myself or someone else. I am getting really tired of all the recalls on the Terrain. So far there have been six (6) for my car and a few more that don't seem to apply YET!!

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #65

Jun 032021

Terrain

  • miles
Wiper system failed, without notice or warning, while in use during travel on the highway, severely limiting visibility and creating significant safety event. No accident was reported as other vehicle passengers were able to assist the driver in safely maneuvering the vehicle to a safe stopping location.

- York Beach, ME, USA

problem #64

Jan 032021

Terrain

  • 120,000 miles
During a bad storm the windshield wipers went past the windshield and the motor froze up motor started humming then locked up.

- Crocker, MO, USA

problem #63

Feb 202021

Terrain

  • miles
Wiper transmission need to be replaced due to water and debris entered the wiper assembly ball joints and caused excessive wear, allowing the ball joints to detach and causing the wipers to stop working

- Bayside, NY, USA

problem #62

Aug 012018

Terrain

  • 55,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that he was informed that there was no oil inside the vehicle upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for the first oil change. No warning lights appeared on the instrument panel prior to the discovery. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was given a voucher to have the vehicle inspected. The contact was informed that the failure was due to defective piston rings that were too expensive to be replaced. As a result, the engine became inoperable. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. Prior to the engine failure, the contact also stated that the vehicle revved and accelerated independently without warning, while driving at various speeds. The contact noted that prior to the engine failure, both windshield wipers were defective due to the windshield wiper transmission. Both windshield wipers were replaced on three separate occasions. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #61

Oct 172020

Terrain

  • 63,000 miles
I was driving in a heavy rain storm across a long three lane bridge when my wiper system failed. Due to the amount of wind, rain and traffic road spray, I could not see the road or vehicles in front of me. I had zero visibility. Miraculously, I made it safely across the bridge and off the shoulder into a grassy area. The dealership that made the repair told me that GM covered the replacement of the wiper assembly because they are aware of this defect, but haven't issued a public recall. This is a serious safety issue and should not be ignored. It has caused me to have continued anxiety issues when driving in the rain and across long bridges. Please make this a public recall. Thank you

- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA

problem #60

Feb 082019

Terrain

  • miles
While driving in the rain the wipers broke twice. The bushings break. I almost got hit by a semi truck..

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #59

Sep 272020

Terrain

  • 190,000 miles
I was driving in the rain on the highway and my windshield wipers just stopped working. The motor still runs but the wipers will not move

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #58

Sep 242020

Terrain

  • 121,000 miles
While driving in the rain, my wipers suddenly stopped in the up position and wouldn't move. The motor was still working because you could hear it cycling, but the wipers wouldn't move. Fortunately the rain wasn't very heavy, I was driving on city streets able to get home safely despite the impaired visibility. Had this happened on the highway in some of the recent rain we have experienced this would have been a very dangerous situation.

- Niceville, FL, USA

problem #57

Sep 162019

Terrain

  • 47,835 miles
While driving in the rain at 55 mph on a highway on my way to school I turned on my windshield wiper, it came on and stopped moving after 10 minutes. I had to put on my blinkers and slowly drive across lanes to move it to the shoulder of the road. I waited for assistance from my husband to guide me back home (which was closer for me) because I couldn't continue like this for another 45 minutes. Before we left, we waited about 20-25 minutes more on the roadside and headed back home when it was safe to do so. My husband did try getting it to work at least twice as well but we could hear was the motor grinding but no motion. We took it the next day to neighborhood's pep boys since that was closer to me than the nearest GMC dealership to have it diagnosed and I was told that the transmission had gone bad at 47851 miles.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #56

Aug 212020

Terrain

  • 74,000 miles
The front windshield wipers stopped working while we were driving on the interstate during a torrential downpour. We were in the middle of three lanes of traffic but were eventually able to move over and pull off the highway safely. This equipment failure could have had a tragic ending for us and the other motorists around us. We understand there were recalls for 2013 models for this failure. Not sure why a recall hasn't been done on 2012 models.

- Trussville, AL, USA

problem #55

Aug 082020

Terrain

  • 170,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that the windshield wiper on the driver's side failed to function. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed that the windshield wiper motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired yet. The contact mentioned that she was unable to drive the vehicle while it was raining. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

- Blue Mountain, MS, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »