Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
270–25K
825–50K
550–75K
575–100K
3100–150K
2150K+
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
What owners actually said
182 reports
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…
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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
Mileage unknown · Jan 3, 2022
Back Over Prevention
The Back Up Camera System is not working properly. When Vehicle is put into reverse a blue screen appears. This can be dangerous as one could back up into someone or something. This is a 2019 vehicle and the NHTSA made them mandatory in May of 2018. This has been confirmed by a dealership. Many others have posted this online as …
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The Back Up Camera System is not working properly. When Vehicle is put into reverse a blue screen appears. This can be dangerous as one could back up into someone or something. This is a 2019 vehicle and the NHTSA made them mandatory in May of 2018. This has been confirmed by a dealership. Many others have posted this online as an issue and GM has put out this service bulletin: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10160418-9999.pdf
NHTSA ODI #11446015
Mileage unknown · Dec 30, 2021
Tires
BOTH FRONT TIRES SHOWING HEAVY CHIPPING OFF OF TIRE TREAD
NHTSA ODI #11445662
Mileage unknown · Dec 13, 2021
Tires
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Terrain equipped with Hankook Tires, Tire Line: Ventus S1 Noble 2 Tires, Tire Size: 235/50/R19, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 45 - 50 MPH, the low-pressure tire warning light was illuminated. The contact's daughter pulled over and noticed that …
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The contact owns a 2019 GMC Terrain equipped with Hankook Tires, Tire Line: Ventus S1 Noble 2 Tires, Tire Size: 235/50/R19, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 45 - 50 MPH, the low-pressure tire warning light was illuminated. The contact's daughter pulled over and noticed that there was tread separation on the front passenger's side tire. The contact's daughter replaced the affected tire with the spare tire. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer. The dealer was awaiting approval from the manufacturer to replace the tire. The tire manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available. The VIN was not available.
NHTSA ODI #11443629
Mileage unknown · Dec 7, 2021
Power TrainService Brakes
I received a "service brake assist" message which came on then off. Took the car to a local mechanic who looked it over and said to see dealer as they saw nothing obvious. internet search revealed that many people with terrain said this warning came on when battery was low. Made a service appt for NJ dealer for 12/6/21. on 12/3/…
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I received a "service brake assist" message which came on then off. Took the car to a local mechanic who looked it over and said to see dealer as they saw nothing obvious. internet search revealed that many people with terrain said this warning came on when battery was low. Made a service appt for NJ dealer for 12/6/21. on 12/3/21, began a 1200 mile drive from Florida to NJ, after 2 hours, check engine light came on. Took the exit ramp from I 75 and at end of ramp, there was a total braking failure. I had to press very hard to eventually stop. Shut off car, attempted to restart but it would not. Towed to a mechanic who found fluid leakage and a repair bulletin on GM site involving vacuum seal camshaft. #pip5598A diagnostic tip. Internet search reveals many anecdotal instances of same problem. On Monday, 12/6/21, I received an email from GMAC saying that the on board diagnostics had shown a "low battery" concern. The catastrophic loss of braking seems to be connected to a low battery situation. This needs to be looked into by NHTSA.
NHTSA ODI #11442967
Mileage unknown · Dec 3, 2021
Electrical SystemEngineExterior Lighting
While driving the car cut off on us. Started the car and the dash lights were on. Also Navigation stopped working. Took the car to bellamy Strickland and they said no issues was found. Got the car back 12/02_2021 Car seems to be ok at the moment. Melissa at bellamy stated it could have been a computer glitch. Car only has 2…
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While driving the car cut off on us. Started the car and the dash lights were on. Also Navigation stopped working. Took the car to bellamy Strickland and they said no issues was found. Got the car back 12/02_2021 Car seems to be ok at the moment. Melissa at bellamy stated it could have been a computer glitch. Car only has 20k miles on it.
NHTSA ODI #11442500
Mileage unknown · Dec 1, 2021
EnginePower Train
My 2019 GMC Terrain has 21K miles and noticed a oil or transmission leak this morning. I see recalls for other vehicles but none for mine. Linking from a bolt just as the other recall is for.
NHTSA ODI #11442292
Mileage unknown · Nov 15, 2021
EngineFire
My wife was driving the car, about 70 mph on route 84 passing danbury ct. She was traveling in the middle lane, some kind of oil light went on the dashboard, car shut down while traveling 70 mph on the highway, and caught on fire under the hood. She managed to pull over, and got out of the car with my daughter. This is a 201…
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My wife was driving the car, about 70 mph on route 84 passing danbury ct. She was traveling in the middle lane, some kind of oil light went on the dashboard, car shut down while traveling 70 mph on the highway, and caught on fire under the hood. She managed to pull over, and got out of the car with my daughter. This is a 2019 car with 14K miles. This car was packed with milwaukee cordless tools, complete Festool set, complete golf bag with all the clubs, two suitcases of best clothes for me and my daughter, her laptop, etc. We were driving to our new home in south carolina, and on the way the car burned.
NHTSA ODI #11440494
Mileage unknown · Oct 18, 2021
Power Train
TRANSMISSION WOULD REV UP BETWEEN 4TH AND 5TH GEAR ONLY IN THE ON THE FIRST DRIVE. AFTER THAT IT WOULD SHIFT NORMALLY . WENT INTO DEKALB GMC ILLINOIS AND WAS TOLD IT WAS SOME PISTONS AND OTHER PARTS. THEY HAD IT FOR A WEEK OR TWO BECAUSE OF OTHER TRANS JOBS AHEAD ON MINE. GOT CAR BACK AND IT WAS WORKING FINE FOR A MONTH OR SO AN…
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TRANSMISSION WOULD REV UP BETWEEN 4TH AND 5TH GEAR ONLY IN THE ON THE FIRST DRIVE. AFTER THAT IT WOULD SHIFT NORMALLY . WENT INTO DEKALB GMC ILLINOIS AND WAS TOLD IT WAS SOME PISTONS AND OTHER PARTS. THEY HAD IT FOR A WEEK OR TWO BECAUSE OF OTHER TRANS JOBS AHEAD ON MINE. GOT CAR BACK AND IT WAS WORKING FINE FOR A MONTH OR SO AND THEN IT STARTED TO SHIFT BAD AGAIN BETWEEN THE SAME TWO GEARS ONLY LONGER GAP BETWEEN SHIFTS THIS TIME. TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THE TECH ORDERED MORE PARTS TO REPAIR THE TRANS AND SAID I WOULD POSSIBLY GET IT BACK ON OCTOBER 19TH BY END OF DAY. IS THIS GOING TO BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM? IF SO WHAT IS THE LAW ABOUT 3 OR MORE REPAIRS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS IS THE SECOND REPAIR SO FAR.
NHTSA ODI #11437130
Mileage unknown · Sep 25, 2021
Unknown Or OtherCrash
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.
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.
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.
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.
2019 GMC Terrain Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year