10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,434 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.

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problem #28

May 152024

Terrain

  • miles
The car very suddenly went into a reduced engine power mode, with check engine light and was immediately parked. Figuring I could turn the car off and turn it back on, however it sputtered turning off and shook violently before I was able to turn it off. It would then not turn back over, so I left it off and had a tow truck drive it to a GMC mechanic. The GMC mechanic was unable to diagnose an issue after days. I then had it towed to another local mechanic who stated the parts were "junk" and the engine needed to be replaced. Engine codes were related to the camshaft sensor and brake booster. It is my understanding the vacuum pump broke off into pieces, went into and destroyed my engine.

- Southington, CT, USA

problem #27

Apr 262024

Terrain

  • miles
Safety was put at risk when brakes went out without warning, and unable to use emergency brake at that time. Car was serviced for over $1700, with the mechanics stating that the piece -??blew up.-??

- Olathe, KS, USA

problem #26

Oct 272023

Terrain

  • miles
The clips popped off or something happened and now the headliner is hanging and I can't see out the rear view mirror. It's a hazard for anyone sitting in backseat. I've had it in 2 different shops.needs to be a recall because I've read several other people having this issue

- Camden, AR, USA

problem #25

Dec 032019

Terrain

  • miles
This complaint is for the rear camera / back up camera system: After purchasing the vehicle the back up camera started to get hazy around 25,000 miles. At 35,000 miles it was completely useless. I purchased a second back up camera and had the body shop install it. It has now been right at the same mileage, 30,000 miles, and the camera is again hazy. This is not an external haze where I can just wipe the camera off, even carefully so as to not scratch the lens or cover, but a haze that is behind (inside) the protective outer lens (cap). This has happened with both cameras and I am facing installing a third. My vehicle has less than 70,000 miles on it! I've had other vehicles where the camera lasted way longer (lifetime!) of the vehicle. When I went to the dealer with the complaint on the original equipment they said it was because the lens was scratched, but didn't look any further that the lens was foggy 'inside'. The safety of myself and others comes into play when I cannot see what is behind me: trees, curbs, vehicles, people, drop-offs. Also, at night when in reverse the dash area the feed goes to is so bright that it blinds the driver and the system is unable to be dimmed to allow proper viewing.

- Anchor Point, AK, USA

problem #24

Dec 102023

Terrain

  • miles
I was driving my car December 10, 2023 when I was at a red light my truck completely shut down I could not reverse I could not put in drive I could not put in Park I could not switch gears. I didn-??t know what happened. I had to call a tow truck to get me home once I got home I got my car towed to a shop. Before my car was towed I contacted OnStar. OnStar did a diagnosis on my car and it came back ECM which stands for electric control module. When my car was at the shop i got a tune up & the mechanic was able to start my car. Driving again on the date of December 15, 2023 it did it again and it said ECM. I was paranoid because I was on the expressway I had too get my car towed to the Dealership. This is the second time that my car has did this. I keep all maintenance up on my car. I-??m not understanding what-??s going on. I feel like it should be a recall on this issue. It was very dangerous both times that my car stopped. Now yet again I-??m waiting to see what the problem is. This is definitely a safety recall issue. I have a 2018 Denali terrain with only 71,000 miles i keep up with oil changes and maintenance on my vehicle. Who do i contact about this concerning scary situation, Will it take for a person to die before this is is rectified. Someone please contact me or respond to this situation. So we can request for a recall on this serious matter

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #23

Apr 152023

Terrain

  • miles
Driving home from our local town 4/15/2023, the brake pedal became to hard to push down. Check engine light came on as I got to my driveway, and that is 1 mile from the main road. My kids were scared to tears as was my girlfriend. Run a scan and dtc p0557. Come to find the vacuum pump on the top drivers side of motor is the part that is bad it broke inside the valve cover. Looking up the issue and find out it is a known problem and no recall. I have kept the parts and all receipts for the repairs, I have to do myself cause the repairs are way to much for me to pay out of pocket. This is a serious issue for this car and year and GMC needs to address the issue. Why has nothing been done yet"?? I am making payments on this car with no warranty for the car so I'm stuck fixing the car. But GMC knows that this is a problem and does nothing?!? I remember when American cars were good cars what happened to that time ?? And what happened to company's being responsible for the product they put out to customers" Guess that time is gone, I won't buy another American car again, unless it's a old Detroit built car.

- Barstow , CA, USA

problem #22

Dec 222022

Terrain

  • miles
I was driving at night with my daughter on a two lane highway with no traffic. There was a sound like a gun shot or explosion in the cabin of the car. My panoramic moonroof literally exploded. The glass shattered but did not fall into the cabin. Had the glass fallen into the cabin it could have cut or blinded us or caused an accident as we were traveling at a high rate of speed. No indicators went off as the moonroof has no such indicator. We pulled over to inspect the damage and immediately saw the glass damage. I have contacted insurance for repair. Upon research it seems that this is quite common for vehicles but not enough for any type of recall or service bulletin.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

problem #21

Nov 252021

Terrain

  • miles
Auto-Stop feature does not have a button to disable the feature.2019 model has the disable feature and GM needs to provide a means to disable it, even if on a temporary basis.

- Aurora, IL, USA

problem #20

Mar 102020

Terrain

  • 65,000 miles
My auto started leaking some kind of oil.not sure what kind but I can see accumulation on driveway concrete pad. Had motor oil & filter changed in case it was a O-ring or not tight enough. It continues to leak.

- Goliad, TX, USA

problem #19

Dec 312020

Terrain

  • 55,200 miles
The service stabilitrak light continues to come on. When it does, almost all of the lights on the dash light up and the car puts itself in neutral and shuts off. This has happened 5 times in the past two weeks. Twice with my [xxx] in the car. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). The car was purchased 12/23/2020 and it first shut off with the service stabilitrak warning 12/31/2020. I've taken it to the dealership for repair. They replaced the front right wheel sensor today and immediately after leaving their lot, it shut off twice. I did a search on the VIN and found that this vehicle had issues at 11K miles and 27K miles. Now again at 55K miles. The car just shuts itself off while driving. First time it happened, I was rounding a corner in high traffic and in mid turn, the car shut off. I was almost hit by several cars. This vehicle is dangerous. It happened once while on the highway with my 15 month old in the car and today it happened twice with her in the car.

- Decatur, GA, USA

problem #18

Nov 232020

Terrain

  • 41,000 miles
Driving 50mph on an overpass, sunroof exploded.

- Humble, TX, USA

problem #17

Sep 082020

Terrain

  • 18,500 miles
The car keeps revving and doesn't shift into gear. You have to lift your foot off the gas pedal and give it a few seconds and them press it again. However when you press the gas again the car jumps into gear causing the steering wheel to jerk either left or right. It either revs too high or it feels like it downshifts. This last time, 9/8/20, I just reversed out of my driveway onto my residential street, going about 18 mph when the car would not shift into 2nd gear. When it jerked into gear it jerked the steering wheel and it caused me to hit a parked car just 4 doors down from my house, causing $6000 worth of damage to my Terrain likely totaling the 2010 corolla I hit. I have had a clean driving record for 30 years until now. GMC will not own fault and now my insurance will go up as well for something that really was not my fault.

- Abington, PA, USA

problem #16

Jul 062019

Terrain

  • 15,615 miles
Radio plays random radio stations and will not allow radio to be turned off when vehicle is turned off ( no power to the vehicle, doors are opened and the fob is over 500 ft away). Radio screen flashes to a blank screen. Does not read contact information for cellphone connected to vehicle. Will not allow phone calls to be made and will continue to play music through radio and car speakers while phone is engaged in a telephone call ( once call is able to be placed). Android auto feature stopped working. Vehicle will slip out of gear and randomly put self into an overdrive. Vehicle will not accelerate despite gas petal being almost to the floor and then will jump rapidly and accelerate quickly. Vehicle smells like rubber is burning under the hood at various times.

- Jacksonville, NC, USA

problem #15

Jun 042019

Terrain

  • 9,000 miles
The new auto stop that shuts off the motor when you're at a red light doesn't work properly. Sometimes it shuts off, but most of the time it doesn't been to the dealer two times and the radio will not come on at times even though GM has performed updates on these problems. The problems still exist

- Warren, MI, USA

problem #14

Oct 172019

Terrain

  • miles
My car just completely shut down out of nowhere. It has happened twice when I was slowing for traffic and when I was in a parking lot. The first time I couldn't get out of the car because the door wouldn't unlock. Then the power came on but the car would not turn over. It has push button gear shifts and would not go into neutral. I had to call the police to assist until the car was towed because I was on a very busy and dangerous street. I honestly was scared someone was going to slam into me. The second time I was looking for a parking spot and it stopped. Luckily I always keep the doors unlocked since first incident had to be towed both times. As of today it is still at the dealer trying to be fixed for a second time. They 'thought' they fixed it the first time but it happened again. The dealer has had my car since October 17. They claim they know what it is. They replace some engine module and are now waiting on a push button for the gear shift.

- Carmel, IN, USA

problem #13

Jul 172019

Terrain

  • 11,896 miles
When veering or steering into another lane, left or right, the safety alerts, I.e. the tug of the steering wheel and vibration of seat, are not working properly. For the first year of ownership of this vehicle, this feature worked fine. However, in the past few months, it has quit working or works sporatically but when working sporatically, does not work as it should. The dealership where I purchased it is unable to fix it stating that in "updating" the programming in my car, this feature was weakened (diliberately because GMC intended to weaken the feature stating the reason was because some drivers were using this feature as an auto-drive). I bought this vehicle, one of the reasons being that it offered this feature and now the feature doesn't work the way it did when I bought it.

- Fort Smith, AR, USA

problem #12

Jul 072019

Terrain

  • 300 miles
While driving, the infotainment system goes black, no audio - then reboots after a minute or two. I have detected a burning smell as well, but cannot determine if it is coming from my vehicle or outside. This has happened 5 times and the dealer is telling me they can not replicate or find anything wrong. Very frustrating!!! this has happened shortly after leaving home, while driving on city roads, after driving a while, on the highway, stopped at a red light. There is so specific time or frequency that this occurs. This first happened within 300 miles of when I first leased, up to a week ago Sunday, July 7. total of 5 times in the past 10 months!

- North Tonawanda, NY, USA

problem #11

May 012019

Terrain

  • miles
I was notified of my dealer of recall N192217490. Which is a serious issue and it's not on your list wondering why your list is lacking you're supposed to be the authority on recalls but yet on star notified my dealer of this recall and it's a transmission issue or clutch issue which is serious why is it not on your list how can I trust your company to have a thorough listing of all recalls when this wind is not even on can't wait to hear your explanation

- Hatfield, PA, USA

problem #10

Sep 102018

Terrain

  • 680 miles
Transmission locks up and will not shift into higher gear. This has happened several times while driving.

- Powell, OH, USA

problem #9

Mar 252019

Terrain

  • 4,327 miles
The car automatic braking system locked up as driving on highway. Could not get car to move.

- Elkton, MD, USA

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