10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
710 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 #19

Jan 052026

Terrain

  • miles
This is the 4th time my vacuum pump has -??broke-?? my brakes become hard and stiff and my brake assist light comes on. It happens EVERY winter when it drops below freezing. This is the second time this winter it has broke and now my check engine light is on. It is not cheap to fix and a major safety issue. Would like to add I was only backing out of my drive way this last time it happened. I was going maybe 5-10 mph.

- Sumiton, AL, USA

problem #18

Jul 142025

Terrain

  • miles
My Transmission went out of my truck. I was told this has happened to others of the same make and model, so this is a known issue with this transmission. I was driving down the road and the car completely stopped in moving traffic. I was almost hit by other vehicles and then had to take my truck to get it repaired. I was told it was not able to be rebuilt that it had to be completely replaced. This is radiculitis since this vehicle is not that old and again a known issue. I want to be sure mine was listed as one that had to be repaired in the event a recall is done so that I may get my money back.

- Westland, MI, USA

problem #17

Mar 102026

Terrain

  • miles
Vacuum pump exploded into camshaft and engine area, causing me to lose brakes completely on the highway. Costly repairs to clear out metal shrapnel and replace camshaft.

- Thornton, CO, USA

problem #16

Mar 012025

Terrain

  • miles
The backup camera in our 2019 GMC Terrain stopped working one day - has blue screen and says Service Rear Vision System - so we-??ve been driving a year with no backup camera. The dealership wants almost $1000 to fix this issue. And this issue seems to be very common in 2018-2020 Terrains. We bought the vehicle in December 2023

- Traverse City, MI, USA

problem #15

Aug 132025

Terrain

  • miles
Vehicle has had check engine light and engine reduced power flicking on and off for months, randomly reducing power on highway or nearly causing accidents. Brought car to GMC dealer, they said it was underboost code and needed new turbo. Paid over 7,000$ for repair. Next morning, same issue still was happening. I believe my vehicle has EMISSIONS recall issue -??N192271200 Charge Air Cooler Disconnect at Throttle Body-?? but GM has not properly attached my vin number for this recall repair. I have poured thousands into repairs out of pocket and the same issue still persists. I believe strongly the recall emission issue is the problem and should be on my vin. Vehicle has been to dealer 3 times in the past 2 weeks, issue has not been fixed. Improperly diagnosed, random repairs made not fixing actual issue.

- Norton, MA, USA

problem #14

Jan 012025

Terrain

  • miles
We have been having varying issues with this GMC, and have found numerous others with the same issue. Vacuum pump went out while driving. Thankfully I was not going very fast and it stopped prior to hitting someone. This is a known issue, yet no recall from GMC. Vacuum pump is said to have been failing causing other engine and transmission issues that can never be "re-created" for the vehicle to be fixed.

- Blue Ridge, VA, USA

problem #13

Aug 252025

Terrain

  • miles
Two weeks ago I was driving on the highway. My car felt fine. No warning light the dashboard. Suddenly I receive a notification on my dash stating -??engine speed reduced-?? and my check engine light went on. My car at this point still feels fine, not shaking, no smoke, etc. I-??m on the highway and not in a safe position to pull over. 2 minutes later I receive another notification on my dash stating -??service breaks-??. I immediately tap my brakes to check and they are stiff. I let off the gas as I was approaching the exit and begin pumping my brakes. They continue to be stiff. Luckily there was no one I front of me as this exit led to a rotary. I was able to coast around the rotary and into a parking lot where I attempted to push the E- break which did not work. My steering tightened and then my car died. I have the car towed to GMC where I bought the vehicle. Am told I will be charged a diagnostic fee and they will let me know what they find before repairs are made. I receive a call back the following day stating -??the vacuum pump exploded causing you to loose brakes-??. I was told -??the vacuum pump and repairs would be about $1,200. BUT they could not guarantee that once the vacuum pump was removed, there wouldn-??t be more debris and destruction to the cam shaft and engine-??. We asked they continue with the diagnostics and check the engine for debris. We receive a call back stating -??the vacuum pump exploded and there are shards of medal debris in your engine-??. Recommendations are that I need a new engine as "the vacuum pump explosion caused catastrophic damage to the engine". My safety and the safety of other innocent drivers on the highway were put in extreme danger! I lost all break control, power steering, and emergency break control. I had minutes from the time the first warning alerted to the time I lost complete control of the car. This is a known issue with GM Motors specifically made between 2016-2019.

- Fairhaven, MA, USA

problem #12

Aug 152025

Terrain

  • miles
Back up camera just started showing a blue screen with message that stated service back up camera. No accident, has not been to dealership. Just started 8/15/2025. No warning given.

- Ravenna, OH, USA

problem #11

Jun 272025

Terrain

  • miles
Sunshade is not rolling back and has come off the tracks obstructing rear view and I am unable to drive the vehicle

- Floresville, TX, USA

problem #10

Apr 032025

Terrain

  • miles
While driving under normal conditions the panoramic sunroof shattered. This is a serious safety issue and obviously a problem with the manufacturing of the tempered glass

- Saint Clair Shores, MI, USA

problem #9

Dec 142024

Terrain

  • miles
Blue screen with the message "Service Rear Vision System"

- Plymouth, MA, USA

problem #8

Mar 222024

Terrain

  • miles
While driving on 95, I lost all engine and power breaks with no warning. A message came up on my dash stating that I had lost engine power. Fortunately an exit was up ahead so I was able to get there and coast down the ramp. I attempted to make a right turn to get out of the way but ran out of momentum. Dealership stated my vacuum break pump failed and went into the cam shaft. They had to replace those and the solenoid actuator and value. They also conducted an oil change. I received it back yesterday, started the car today and the check engine light was on. They found more debris and replaced another point and said if the light comes on again it's the timing chains in the engine. I went out leave and the check engine light was on. They are now keeping it to repair the timing chains. I am fighting with GM to cover the expenses since I see this is an issue in previous models/years of GMC and Chevy vehicles.

- Levittown, PA, USA

problem #7

Dec 182023

Terrain

  • miles
It began with showing "Service Brake Assist" for about 2 weeks + then on Dec 18th 2023 around 10:30 as my fiancé was stopped at a stoplight and all of sudden when the light turned green she attempted to continue forward as traffic started to move only to stall stalled out before any movement could be achieve the battery was reading severely depleted and the vehicle would not function at all she was stuck in Drive and could not put the vehicle in neutral or even park to even try to restart the vehicle, she could not even turn the steering wheel, roll down the windows, open the door, or anything. the only thing she was able to accomplish was opening the hood so an officer that had arrived at this time could give her a jump, The officer also proceeded to leave the negative cable on the battery terminal and disconnected the Positive cable from the battery terminal which would have indicated a bad starter or depleted battery when the positive cable had been removed, which was not the case. she continued to where her appointment was and that is where i met her and took over vehicle to transport it home, driving with hazards on. I arrived at the house with no incident. then at 4:45pm on the evening of 12/18/2023 while at the stoplight I had a similar issue occurred as i was going from a stationary position to a forward slowly accelerated speed gaining momentum where the vehicle wanted to stall out while i was stopped at a stoplight attempting to proceed forward. and then at around 10:20 pm while stopped at a stop sign a similar issue occurred as i was going from a stationary position to a forward slowly accelerated speed gaining momentum attempting to proceed forward. On Dec 19th 2023 around 10:00 am I test started the car by remote and it started up and then i turned it off, now it is showing that the battery is completely depleted at 1:26

- Crestview, FL, USA

problem #6

Mar 012022

Terrain

  • miles
Rear camera turned to blue screen at 37,000 miles. Module died.

- Norwalk, OH, USA

problem #5

Mar 222019

Terrain

  • miles
Carfax report showed that Air bag deployed in the accident on 3/22/2019. Which is wrong information. The car was repaired through state farm authorize body shop. The effect part was front bumper, grill, left side head ligh and left fender.

- Elgin , IL, USA

problem #4

Aug 062020

Terrain

  • 13,000 miles
Two incident warnings on my dashboard saying of my back hatch was open when it was not. Had it serviced because the dash warning would not shut off. Service said it was fixed then happened again. Twice this happened intermittently. Another incident when on navigation screen, when the Navigator gave directions it changed to phone screen and went back to navigation screen when she stopped talking, like she was calling me to verbally give me directions! the most worrisome was as I was going 50 mph on city street, my gas peddle stopped engaging with the engine and I was loosing speed, as I pressed on the gas peddle harder the car was decreasing in speed as I watched the speedometer. During that incident all was working including brakes, radio and steering. I proceeded to drift into a driveway to stop the car for help, good thing I was not on the freeway could have gotten killed. The car is getting serviced now, I do not want it back, will trade in for different make/model is this considered a lemon and which laws/action do I take? I've only had the car only 7 months when this started to happen.

- Chardon, OH, USA

problem #3

Mar 192019

Terrain

  • 400 miles
Car has less that 1000 miles and the check engine light has been on 3 times with a P0442

- West Berlin, NJ, USA

problem #2

Mar 042019

Terrain

  • 60 miles
I purchased my 2019 Terrain denali on 2/27/19. I began my drive into work this morning (3/4/19) and merged onto the freeway and seconds later heard a loud explosive sound, only to realize the first half of my panoramic moonroof was shattered (see inside photo). Shards of glass were falling into the vehicle but it had not collapsed completely at this point. I did not drive under anything that may have fallen, there were no objects in the road that came up to hit my vehicle, the glass just shattered out of nowhere. After calls with the dealership and roadside assistance, I decided to attempt to close the inside cover for the moonroof and drive to the dealership. I was able to do so successfully but as soon as I moved the vehicle, you could hear the glass collapse (see picture).

- Clawson, MI, USA

problem #1

Nov 302018

Terrain

  • 25 miles
Lift gate on this vehicle opens to a height of 69 inches. At 74 inches I am constantly banging my head on the lift gate. My 2017 model opened to at least 76 inches which is more reasonable. I consider this a safety issue, as this is a flaw in the design of the vehicle. The model that has a power lift gate opens to around 76 inches.. a full 7 inches higher than the manual one.. the dealership never pointed out this problem to me seeing that I am 74 inches tall.

- Mantua, NJ, USA