GMC Terrain Complaints (2019)

187 consumer complaints on file.

#11606319August 4, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
The brakes failed with zero warning while driving. Car only has 60,000 miles. Extremely dangerous and it looks like it has been reported and known issue! It needs to be recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11606036August 2, 2024
POWER TRAIN, SUSPENSION
My transmission keeps sticking when I shift into drive or reverse. Just a couple of days ago, it happened the worst it has ever done before. I shifted into reverse and my vehicle was completely stopped when I shifted. I began to let off of the brakes and gently push the accelerator to start moving back, my vehicle then punched itself into reverse. I felt after that incident, something had to have been damaged. I’m almost afraid to drive my vehicle after that. When my vehicle punched itself into reverse, I was literally jolted towards the steering wheel and thankfully my seatbelt caught me. Incidents with the the shifting into drive or reverse have happened before, but never nearly as intense. About a year ago, I brought my vehicle in to my local GMC Dealership for a concern with my transmission shifting weirdly and holding itself in gear at an unnecessarily high RPM speed. The technician stated to me, “with these 9-speeds, they tend to get confused at various speeds”. I asked him to elaborate and he could not. These issues have now gotten worse. With my suspension, every turn I take, I get a kreaking sound from my front driver side wheel well. It sounds as if my tire if going to break off. I’ve done visual inspections and nothing out of the ordinary is noticeable to the eye. My vehicle is a 2019 with less than 40,000 miles on it. I should not be having all of these issues. I’m genuinely concerned for my safety.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11605233July 29, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE
on two occasions the vacuum pump booster failed causing the vehicle to lose braking ability while traveling on a highway at highway speeds. The vehicles brake completely failed and were unable to be engaged. the part was initially replaced by the dealer at the owner's expense and then the same issue occurred only a few months later. the second occurrence cause additional damage to the camshaft and timing chain causing the vehicle to not even be able to start. The vehicle was inspected by the servicing dealer and found metal shavings in the oil as well as extensive damage to the engine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11597503June 28, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
My daughter was driving her 2019 GMC Terrain at 15 - 20mph when she suddenly lost her brakes. Fortunately she had just turned into a new housing development where the road ended into an empty field. This could have been catastrophic for her & other citizens on the road. The following morning she would have been heading to work on a highway with heavy traffic with a posted speed limit of 65mph. We towed the vehicle home & after some investigating I found a vacuum pump failure. This vacuum pump broke apart internally sending chunks & shards of metal into her valve train. This issue is mentioned several times in Terrain forums & someone needs to address this issue before it becomes a fatality.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11595648June 21, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owned a 2019 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while the wife was driving at approximately 60 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and it felt stiff. The vehicle failed to decrease in speed and as a result, the driver merged to the shoulder of the road however another vehicle crashed into the front driver side of the vehicle. The driver was able to merge to the shoulder of the road where the road bumps were able to decrease the speed of the vehicle. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The driver, front passenger, and rear driver's side passenger all sustained headaches and received medical attention via an ambulance on the scene. No occupants in the second vehicle were reported injured. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
3
Deaths:
0
#11595433June 20, 2024
ENGINE
Engine overheating, cooling system contaminated with engine oil. Originally brought to dealership [Crown Buick GMC - 2121 Clearview Pkwy, Metairie, LA 70001 - (504) 302-8979] November 27, 2023. However, they were unable to identify the problem. Since the engine continued to overheat, brought the vehicle to an independent mechanic [EFI Services, Inc. - 5720 Heebe St., Harahan, LA 70123 - (504) 734-8200] January 25, 2024. They shared Service Bulletin 22-NA-240 and said it should be covered under powertrain warranty. Brought it back to the dealership [Crown Buick GMC] January 19, 2024. They informed me Bulletin 22-NA-240 did not apply to the vehicle year (2019) was not included. They also informed me no work would be covered under warranty because it expired December 18, 2023. I continue to have to refill the coolant due to overheating, and oil is clearly present.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11589162May 16, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The contact slammed on the brake pedal, and the vehicle came to a stop. The contact coasted the vehicle to the median. The vehicle was restarted and driven to the residence. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the brake fluid was dark in color. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the vacuum pump had failed and exploded in the camshaft. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the vacuum pump, camshaft, valve cover gasket, and water pump needed to be replaced, along with an oil change. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11584435April 22, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE
Vaccumm pump failed and broke metal shavings off into engine resulting in “engine failure”. I was driving on the highway with my 6 year old child in back seat, car completely shut down and shot a “reduced engine power” message while on a busy on ramp heading onto highway. This created an extremely dangerous situation for myself and my child as many cars almost smashed into the vehicle. I’ve seen many other complaints of this happening, the same exact parts and issue happened to the Chevy Equinox which resulted in a recall but they have yet to recall the Terrain, which is having the exact same issue. I am a single mother, with 20k still on my loan. This mistake made by gmc has now costed me over 5,000$ out of pocket for something that is not my fault and completely out of my control. Even after all of the money poured into this repair, I still feel unsafe in my own vehicle as there is no guarantee this issue will not happen again. I’ve kept up on all oil changes and maintenance of my vehicle. The issue was confirmed by a GMC mechanic which cost 500$ out of pocket for diagnosis as well. I also had to spend 1000$ on a rental out of pocket because of this. I have seen many others complaints of the same issue happening to their GMC terrain and am appalled no recall has been discussed after the reaccuring issue. I should not be having to pay out of pocket for an issue GMC has yet to fix or issue a recall on. I had to miss days of work, and it really was a huge inconvenience. I do not feel safe in my own vehicle even after the repair, cause I have no guarantee this won’t just happen all over again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11584625April 22, 2024
POWER TRAIN
First the car started jerking while drive over 50mph, next day driving down the street and the car shut off, stating loss of power. I replaced the battery, it was giving battery low codes, only to get a certified mechanic say the timing chain was out. Just purchased the car in March 2022.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582751April 13, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
I had just gotten off the highway and had gone less than a mile on a 35 mph road when the brakes acted like the antilock brakes came on for a brief second then the brake pedal became very hard to push. This resulted in me having a difficult time stopping the vehicle. The service brake light also came on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11580083March 29, 2024
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, SERVICE BRAKES
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572976February 20, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Brakes got hard all of a sudden locked up, almost hit another car, front collision warning keeps going off and automatically hitting brakes with no one in front of me. I’ve read it could vacuum brake pump failure. Please recall this as many people have kids and could hurt them.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11561795December 25, 2023
POWER TRAIN
jerking at times while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11560928December 19, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
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 pm
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11557605November 30, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE
For the third time, the brake booster has failed on our GMC Terrain. We had the first replaced with an OEM part. That booster failed after 2 weeks. A second OEM brake booster was installed. That one lasted about a year until it failed as well. This time we were traveling down the interstate and interstate speeds. There were no indications of an issue until trying to slow down when attempting to exit the interstate. Luckily it was a long ramp and there was not much traffic as I had to push extremely hard to slow down the vehicle. Knowing immediately what had happened, we noticed a GMC dealership was just down the road and safely made it. We left the vehicle at the dealership and rented a car to continue our vacation. We are now being told that not only did the brake booster fail, but the components entered the engine and caused major damage. The suggested repair is a full engine replacement. This is unacceptable for an issue that GMC has know about and has had recalls for on other years of their vehicles. Not only could my family have been severely injured, or worse, we are not financially able to repair the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11556223November 21, 2023
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
My 2019 gmc terrain, vaccum pump failed at about 45000 miles, was driving on the highway and brakes were hard to stop, almost crashed. About 52000 miles, vacuum pump failed again, also while driving on the highway. Brakes were hard to stop, again almost causing me to crash. 69000 miles again vacuum pump failed while driving on the highway, again almost causing me to crash. All times pump was replaced under warranty and now this has caused my engine to fail. i was denied factory warranty, pre certified and extended warranty. Now im stuck with a car with with three years left to pay on it
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11552276October 27, 2023
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SUSPENSION
When turning right or left from a stop, the steering wheel jerks sharply in the opposite direction as soon as the car starts to accelerate. Diagnostic tests and inspection determined that the steering gear is loosing voltage causing the jerk in the steering wheel. The gear has the latest calibration and needs to be replaced. Cost estimate to replace is $2035.63
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544078September 12, 2023
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the accelerator was depressed to overtake a vehicle; however, the vehicle hesitated, and RPM revved to 4,000 RPM. The vehicle then shifted into gear with a jerk, causing the vehicle to shake abnormally. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while accelerating from a stop. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle but was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but persistent. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11541086August 28, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
There are 3 recalls and one open on this car I was sold by a dealership, none of them ever fixed. I drive to work in the highway the car never had any warning light on but the RPMS would occasionally go up for no reason. I told the dealership the second day that it had issues , they took it and say they fixed the back brakes but did nothing about the engine or transmission whatsoever ever. This was the beginning of may and it was in the shop two weeks. I called my lender to even get out of the loan and a saleswoman even tried assisting me into talking her manager out of the loan because of all the issues. Fast foreword to august I had just gotten a new job and was driving in the night after hearing that ticking or slight knocking noise and I went to my job and as i tried to park the brakes went completely stiff on me! I could not get the car to slow down I had to weave through other cars and people in till it finally coasted to a stop. So I put it in park and immediately after the check engine light came on. I tried to start it and it would start , putter and turn off over and over. I had to end up calling OnStar to have a diagnosis which she said something like solenoid and something being clogged. So it was towed to my residence and before i could get it towed to s shop they lender came and repossessed it because I had missed payments due to losing my job unexpectedly, completely unexpectedly. I told the lender of the problem and the unfortunate troubles I was having to pay for the car but I had just landed a job and could start payment but she didn’t care. She said she is going to tow it . I had my friends dad who is a licensed mechanic look at it before it was towed and he said the car was trash , basically a lemon that there was oil clogged and instead of passing through like it’s supposed to do it being pushed the opposite way and ending up in other reservoirs it shouldn’t be in. I obviously didn’t do that type of damage oil and trans problems I was scammed
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11534251July 25, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
2019 gmc terrain with 45000 miles, regular maintenance performed. Driving on highway 70mps brakes failed with no warning. No issues with brakes or lights coming on up to this point. Brake pedal became stiff very minimal brake working lights began flashing on dash stating "service brake assist". Barely made it off the highway without a catastrophic Collison. Took car in states brake vacuum pump completely failed. Apparently there are many models of gmc/chevy that were recalled and have known issues with the brake vacuum pump. Not sure why the terrain is not included. It needs to be, this was a very dangerous situation. I had children in the car and was very scary! 600$ to repair, and from reading other reviews the pumps are breaking often, sometimes ruining engines. Gmc stand behind your product and fix this!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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