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2021 GMC Terrain

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 GMC Terrain are lower than the model-year median of 182.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 4 of 35 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports0 fire reports4 injury reports

What owners actually said

35 reports
Mileage unknown · Feb 26, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineSteering

The car has revved high rpm's since purchase, with multiple attempts to get it resolved . Since then, the steering wheel has jerked out of my hand's multiple times, unexpecting, causing the car to jerk while being stopped. The car has also not budged in the middle of traffic while being in drive and the pedal down to the floor u…

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The car has revved high rpm's since purchase, with multiple attempts to get it resolved . Since then, the steering wheel has jerked out of my hand's multiple times, unexpecting, causing the car to jerk while being stopped. The car has also not budged in the middle of traffic while being in drive and the pedal down to the floor until at least a 10 second delay and when doing so the screen that includes the radio, etc panel has completely blacked out and started twitching

NHTSA ODI #11574021

Mileage unknown · Jan 29, 2024
Air BagsCrashInjury

I was in a in a 70 miles an hour highway accident and was hit in front driver side door, went up embankment and hit a tree then rolled backwards onto the highway. No airbags deployed.

NHTSA ODI #11568581

Mileage unknown · Oct 7, 2023
Power Train

When accelerating from a stop between 35-45 mph the steering wheel shakes and you feel a vibration coming from the front wheels. I thought the wheels were loose and were about to come off.

NHTSA ODI #11548782

25,000 miles · Sep 6, 2023
Fuel System, Gasoline

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Terrain. The contact stated upon pressing the Push to Start button, the vehicle failed to start after several attempts, and the battery drained. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the vehicle restarted after a while. The check engine w…

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The contact owns a 2021 GMC Terrain. The contact stated upon pressing the Push to Start button, the vehicle failed to start after several attempts, and the battery drained. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the vehicle restarted after a while. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred intermittently. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled while at a complete stop at a traffic light. The contact also stated that the vehicle stalled while driving on two separate occasions. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. On one occasion, the vehicle restarted after several attempts and was driven to the dealer; however, on the other occasion, the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle but could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V013000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

NHTSA ODI #11543018

Mileage unknown · Aug 9, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceInjury

Automatic Emergency brakes have unnecessarily or prematurely activated on 2 separate occasions causing my car to stop very abruptly which has resulted in Neck, Shoulder and back pain. I have been very lucky in the recent past and today that a vehicle was not directly behind me. The seat vibrated first when it sensed the car ahe…

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Automatic Emergency brakes have unnecessarily or prematurely activated on 2 separate occasions causing my car to stop very abruptly which has resulted in Neck, Shoulder and back pain. I have been very lucky in the recent past and today that a vehicle was not directly behind me. The seat vibrated first when it sensed the car ahead was breaking. When I started to break, the emergency break kicked in. I did not report this the first time because I thought the car was doing what it was supposed to do. Today was unnecessary. No accident and no police report. I do plan on telling the dealership.

NHTSA ODI #11537561

Mileage unknown · May 15, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceLane DepartureVehicle Speed ControlCrash

I was backing out of a parking spot when I came in contact with a vehicle going east bound in the parking lot the contact was on the rear right side of my vehicle before I could do anything my vehicle sped up and proceeded to go forward jump a curb I had my foot on the brakes when I realized I wasn’t stopping and heading for a g…

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I was backing out of a parking spot when I came in contact with a vehicle going east bound in the parking lot the contact was on the rear right side of my vehicle before I could do anything my vehicle sped up and proceeded to go forward jump a curb I had my foot on the brakes when I realized I wasn’t stopping and heading for a garage I turned right trying to avoid the garage but still hit the corner of garage causing damage then vehicle stopped and shut down.The Vehicle is still being repaired the mechanic said there was damage to a box and cable going to transmission but couldn’t say if it was the fault reported to police end insurance but haven’t gotten any response reported it to General Motors but haven’t gotten a response

NHTSA ODI #11522061

Mileage unknown · Feb 14, 2023
Electrical SystemSuspensionVisibility/wiper

Just purchased this vehicle has about 64500 miles on it. When accelerating between 40-55 (hard acceleration) my vehicle wobbles really bad, seems like a tire issue. Have had the front end looked at, and tires all balanced and inspected. Noting out of the ordinary. Then all of a sudden my rear view back up camera works, but my ba…

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Just purchased this vehicle has about 64500 miles on it. When accelerating between 40-55 (hard acceleration) my vehicle wobbles really bad, seems like a tire issue. Have had the front end looked at, and tires all balanced and inspected. Noting out of the ordinary. Then all of a sudden my rear view back up camera works, but my back up assist symbols are not showing/working. I checked the settings and they are turned on. To top off the cake, when the weather is cold outside my windshield wiper fluid will not spray from the front windshield or rear, then when it warms up or is parked in a garage it works again. I have made sure the correct wiper fluid is added as well so it does not freeze. But apparently it is getting stuck somewhere......

NHTSA ODI #11507301

Mileage unknown · Oct 20, 2022
Electrical SystemService Brakes

Recently I have noticed that the back brakes squeak and sound like they are grinding when backing up. Also every now and then the information screen will go black for a while then turn back on could be a few seconds or several minutes. 23,900 on car

NHTSA ODI #11490163

Mileage unknown · Aug 9, 2022
Unknown Or Other

There is a rattle in the b pillar/roof area. They have attempted to fix it 4 or more times by adding adhesive between layers of metal. The fix that other dealerships have done per reading online involves cutting through metal. This would affect the integrity of the body/ frame of the car.

NHTSA ODI #11478411

Mileage unknown · Mar 21, 2022
Power Train

The contact owns 2021 GMC Terrain. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle and attempting to shift the vehicle to drive, the vehicle inadvertently reversed. The contact depressed the brake pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the gear shift selector was stuck in park(P) position while the…

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The contact owns 2021 GMC Terrain. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle and attempting to shift the vehicle to drive, the vehicle inadvertently reversed. The contact depressed the brake pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the gear shift selector was stuck in park(P) position while the instrument panel was displaying that the vehicle was in neutral. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who informed the contact that they could not replicate the failure; however, the vehicle remained under observation at the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI #11457737

Official recalls

2

23V339000 · Child Seat:vehicle Latch Anchor

May 11, 2023

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The four rear-seat lower child seat LATCH anchorage bars may have excessive powder coating, which could prevent a child seat from being installed with the anchorage bars. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The inability to install a child seat with the LATCH anchorage bars could result in an unsecured child seat, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised to install child seats using the vehicle's rear seat belts until the remedy is complete. Dealers will inspect the latch anchorage bars, and remove and replace the finish, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 2, 2023. 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 N232403240.

21V612000 · Tires; Tires:tread/belt

Aug 5, 2021

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles equipped with certain Hankook tires. The tires may have been manufactured with an insufficient amount of curative agent, which could cause tread separation.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Tread separation can result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the tire DOT numbers, and replace any affected tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 31, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782; and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212343560.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Tires:tread/belt

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles equipped with certain Hankook tires. The tires may have been manufactured with an insufficient amount of curative agent, which could cause tread separation.

Consequence: Tread separation can result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the tire DOT numbers, and replace any affected tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 31, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782; and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212343560.

Tires

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles equipped with certain Hankook tires. The tires may have been manufactured with an insufficient amount of curative agent, which could cause tread separation.

Consequence: Tread separation can result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the tire DOT numbers, and replace any affected tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 31, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782; and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212343560.

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.