← New search

2019 GMC Terrain

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2019 GMC Terrain do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 182.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

50 reports with mileage · 132 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 67 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 62 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

7 crash reports3 fire reports6 injury reports

Service Brakes complaints

62 reports
Clear category filter
Mileage unknown · Nov 9, 2022
EngineService Brakes

Brakes failed on my car while driving and ran through 4 way stop. Took car to dealership and was told the vacuum pump seized up and sheared off. Asked the dealership what caused the problem and all they could say was normal wear and tear of the vehicle. Dealership called and said it was going to cost $900 dollars to fix the pro…

Read full complaint

Brakes failed on my car while driving and ran through 4 way stop. Took car to dealership and was told the vacuum pump seized up and sheared off. Asked the dealership what caused the problem and all they could say was normal wear and tear of the vehicle. Dealership called and said it was going to cost $900 dollars to fix the problem. I asked what that included and they said a new vacuum pump and to clean the motor out. Picked the car up on Monday and by Tuesday evening car would not run. Took it back to the dealership and am now told I need a new cam shaft which cost another $2400 to fix. This is a serious safety concern as I had no warning or received no notification that the brakes had failed just went to stop and could not. How long is GMC going to let this issue go before being addressed. How many people have to die first before they recall them as the have already recalled the bigger models of gmc, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick for the same reason? I don’t know how people are suppose to afford to fix an almost brand new vehicle that they are still making payments on.. Something should be done ASAP...

NHTSA ODI #11492899

Mileage unknown · Oct 7, 2022
Electrical SystemService Brakes

I was driving through a four way intersection with my children and the breaks locked up and I couldn’t get to a stop. This was the middle of September: There are MULTIPLE complaints on this happening with my model and someone is going to die if it’s not recalled. This is a serious safety concern. There was NO warning, or light t…

Read full complaint

I was driving through a four way intersection with my children and the breaks locked up and I couldn’t get to a stop. This was the middle of September: There are MULTIPLE complaints on this happening with my model and someone is going to die if it’s not recalled. This is a serious safety concern. There was NO warning, or light to prepare me for the problem. Please do something to help us.

NHTSA ODI #11488409

Mileage unknown · Sep 27, 2022
EngineService Brakes

I was exiting off the interstate and all of a sudden my brakes got hard and wouldn’t let me stop. I tanned thru a red light barley missing another vehicle. The dealership says my vaccines pump went out and caused it to strip my valve cover gasket to shreds and now has stripped the gears in the camshaft.

NHTSA ODI #11486817

Mileage unknown · Sep 27, 2022
Service Brakes

my vacuum booster pump for my brakes keeps needing to be replaced. i had to get it replaced twice now & every single time that it stopped working i was driving on the highway at 65 mph and my brakes just suddenly wouldn’t work and we’re very hard to push down. this has happened twice now

NHTSA ODI #11486812

Mileage unknown · Aug 26, 2022
Service Brakes

We were in the driveway thru lane at a fast food restaurant and all of a sudden the car shut off and the brakes got hard to push in. The car was able to be started at this time but the engine wasn’t working well. We were able to make it home, slowly and carefully. We had the vehicle towed to a Mechanic and this is what was told …

Read full complaint

We were in the driveway thru lane at a fast food restaurant and all of a sudden the car shut off and the brakes got hard to push in. The car was able to be started at this time but the engine wasn’t working well. We were able to make it home, slowly and carefully. We had the vehicle towed to a Mechanic and this is what was told to us: Possible increased brake pedal effort due to mechanical engine vacuum pump failure. We had it sent to David's Auto Service 219-861-0666. This could’ve been a very dangerous accident if we were driving on the expressway or on a regular street going the normal speed limit. Thankfully we were in a drive thru lane.

NHTSA ODI #11481312

Mileage unknown · Aug 22, 2022
Service Brakes

After driving down around 40 miles, the brakes failed when pulling into a parking spot. There was no indication that the brakes were having issues. No sounds or vibrations were felt. I stopped at a stoplight before turning into the parking lot. Then when attempting to spot in a parking spot, the brakes were very difficult to pre…

Read full complaint

After driving down around 40 miles, the brakes failed when pulling into a parking spot. There was no indication that the brakes were having issues. No sounds or vibrations were felt. I stopped at a stoplight before turning into the parking lot. Then when attempting to spot in a parking spot, the brakes were very difficult to press. Luckily there was not a vehicle or person in front of me. Had the vehicle taken to a dealer and was told it was the vacuum booster that failed. Upon researching, this has been an issue in past GMC models, but I was told there was no current recall for the vehicle. The vacuum booster was replaced for $540 and I drove the vehicle home. The vehicle showed no issues for the first day. On the second day, I went to pull into a parking spot at a park and the same issue with the brakes occurred. I nearly struck a child that was walking in front of the parking spot. Luckily I was able to slam the pedal to the floor and come to a stop. Took the vehicle to the mechanic and was told the same part had broke. That part has been fixed again and has been fine for 2 days so far. I'm scared that it will happen again and I will not be able to stop in time before I hurt someone else or my family. This needs to be addressed. And I believe I am owed compensation from the manufacturer.

NHTSA ODI #11480509

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2022
EngineService Brakes

Our son and two daughters were driving on the highway at approximately 70mph when a message came up to say the engine was in "Reduced Engine Power". Although nothing seemed to change. The instruction for such and error message is to "get vehicle to a dealership within the next day." So they slowed to 60mph and continued on th…

Read full complaint

Our son and two daughters were driving on the highway at approximately 70mph when a message came up to say the engine was in "Reduced Engine Power". Although nothing seemed to change. The instruction for such and error message is to "get vehicle to a dealership within the next day." So they slowed to 60mph and continued on their way. About 8-10 minutes later another message popped up that said "Service Brake Assist", at which point they immediately tested the brakes and they worked. But 2-5 minutes later they tested the brakes again and the brakes had completely failed! Zero brakes on the highway! No matter how hard the driver pushed the brake pedal there was 0.0% response. So luckily they were able to coast down to about 10 mph with hazard lights on. But at that point they lost everything. No power steering, no engine, and zero brakes. Thank the lord that they were able to have enough room to slow down and get over to a shoulder prior to the loss of power steering and that they had enough room to coast to a stop. Please help, as we were extraordinarily lucky that day that 3 of our children were able to walk away from such a catastrophic vehicle failure. I just do not want that to happen to anyone else.

NHTSA ODI #11480066

Mileage unknown · Jun 1, 2022
EnginePower TrainService Brakes

Brakes quit working after service light came on. Vehicle will not stop

NHTSA ODI #11466888

Mileage unknown · Mar 17, 2022
Service Brakes

I have been notified that my brake vacuum pump EXPLODED in to my engine, leaving me with limited braking ability. I was driving through a school zone when the brakes went out, I noticed as I was not able to stop at an intersection. This could have led to multiple injuries, including children being in harms way. I had no warning …

Read full complaint

I have been notified that my brake vacuum pump EXPLODED in to my engine, leaving me with limited braking ability. I was driving through a school zone when the brakes went out, I noticed as I was not able to stop at an intersection. This could have led to multiple injuries, including children being in harms way. I had no warning this was coming and now look towards a hefty repair bill. GMC has recalled vacuum pumps in other models but for some reason the terrain is not included. I wonder if there just haven't been enough deaths caused by faulty brake systems for them to cover this model too.

NHTSA ODI #11457162

Mileage unknown · Jan 17, 2022
Service Brakes

GMC Corporate Office General Motors Company300 Renaissance Center Detroit, MI 48265 To Whom it May Concern, Been a customer with GMC for a good while despite the issues and troubles we were still loyal to the company. October 31,2021 Sunday, I had sudden lost of my brakes/stalled on my 2019 Terrain SLE while driving to the…

Read full complaint

GMC Corporate Office General Motors Company300 Renaissance Center Detroit, MI 48265 To Whom it May Concern, Been a customer with GMC for a good while despite the issues and troubles we were still loyal to the company. October 31,2021 Sunday, I had sudden lost of my brakes/stalled on my 2019 Terrain SLE while driving to the store close to my area on top of that having less than 30,000 miles in it. Despite the horrible and devastating event I was able to have the truck without any scratch , hit , or had any accident on this event but instead still safely stopped the car down a hill from where I lost my brakes/stalled. Fast forward Nov 2nd had the truck towed to the Milea Pontiac Buick GMC Service And Parts at 3281 E. Tremont Bronx New York 10461. Towing company both from picking up the truck and dropping off Milea had a hard time since the truck was not starting or even able to be placed in neutral to be able to have the truck roll of the flatbed. Nov 2nd Tuesday 2019 GMC Terrain was dropped off at Milea Service and Parts. 1st issue identified by your crew (sort of technical experts) was a bad battery and needs to be replaced, 2nd problem was the computer need to be replaced, 3rd problem was that I had put BAD gas into the tank and the fuel pump need to be replaced after 9 days so fast forward now to Nov 9, 2021.Now finally spoke to a mechanic now stating pistons doesn’t seem to be firing but does not have proper tools to do the test is trying to get from another dealer to be able to diagnose the problem. Nov 20, 2021, still no news as to what is the real issue on the truck we again visited the Milea to find out what is the deal and still without a truck from Nov 2nd to Nov 20 still yours truly has no loaner and no written nor verbal confirmation of what really cause my lost of my brakes/stalled truck. Linda Cuomo the Milea representative has nothing to inform us regarding the cause and instead waiting for a specialist from out of town which claims to be the e

NHTSA ODI #11447797

Official recalls

3

20V668000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Oct 29, 2020

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

19V184000 · Seats

Mar 7, 2019

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The rear-right seat may have insufficient welds on the head-restraint bracket.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash, the insufficient welds may result in an increased risk of injury for an occupant seated in the rear-right position.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear-right seatback frame, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192209550.

18V576000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:caliper

Aug 30, 2018

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.