10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
20,961 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2019 GMC Terrain engine problems

engine problem

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2019 GMC Terrain Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #33

Jun 242024

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Madera, CA, USA

problem #32

Nov 172023

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Metairie, LA, USA

problem #31

Mar 282024

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Norton , MA, USA

problem #30

Mar 222024

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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 #29

Oct 142023

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Argos, IN, USA

problem #28

Nov 052023

Terrain

  • miles
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

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #27

May 202023

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

In July 2022 vacuum pump failed and created a hard brake situation going 55 mph downhill. Vehicle removed from roadway safely, transported and vacuum pump replaced. In May of 2023 vacuum pump again failed driving at around 25mph, vacuum pump failed catastrophically and blew up inside cam cover. Taken to garage via flatbed and reported car needed a new engine or alternatively we could try a new cam and vacuum pump with hopes pieces did not make it into engine. Now vehicle sits while I still owe money as I do not have 3-5000 to repair it. The fact that this is such a common issue and has happened frequently with other GM models is criminal. I feel as if GM should offer a buyback on affected models or reimburse customers for damages done. Vehicle is outside of warranty currently at 83k first vacuum pump failure occurred at around 70k.

- Bradford, PA, USA

problem #26

Jun 202023

Terrain

  • miles
When trying to accelerate, the car will not accelerate. It will start to jerk back and forth and I had cut it off completely in the middle of the road at a stop light.

- Oak Grove, KY, USA

problem #25

Mar 152023

Terrain

  • 118,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while approaching an intersection, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that a friend jump started the vehicle, and she was able to continue driving to her destination. The contact took the vehicle to an Auto Zone and was informed the fuel pump control module, enable circuit performance, and the passenger-??s side seat belt switch circuit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #24

Feb 062023

Terrain

  • miles
The car cuts off during driving and when u crack it back up the dash light do not work. But then the dealership said its a known issues but the car just needs to be reset...... but cutting off while driving can be dangerous. It's something a car should not

- Stockbridge, GA, USA

problem #23

Nov 052022

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I-??m crying out to you because I bought a 2019 GMC Terrain in April of this year with about 14,000 miles. The suv ran great for about 2 months and since then I-??ve been dealing with nothing but a nightmare. We-??re dealing with a situation where the suv goes into park while driving. We-??ve brought the suv multiple times to GMC dealership and even reached out to GMC, and had no luck resolving the issue. Last night, while driving to a family event, the suv went into park while I was driving. This is the 4th time since we got the suv. I-??m scared for my safely in this suv, if you could please assist

- Groveland , MA, USA

problem #22

Sep 012022

Terrain

  • miles
Vacuum pump went out while getting off the freeway, going around a roundabout. Brake petal extremely hard to depress and was unable to slow down or stop in a timely manner. Tooke vehicle to GMC for diagnostics and they said the vacuum pump shattered causing damage to my cam shaft and possible engine damage.

- Herald, CA, USA

problem #21

Oct 272022

Terrain

  • miles
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...

- Babson Park, FL, USA

problem #20

Sep 092022

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Jackson , LA, USA

problem #19

Jul 242022

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Grosse Pointe, MI, USA

problem #18

May 312022

Terrain

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

- Roann, IN, USA

problem #17

Dec 032021

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Stockbridge, GA, USA

problem #16

Dec 012021

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Merrimack, NH, USA

problem #15

Oct 272021

Terrain

  • miles
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.

- Agawam , MA, USA

problem #14

Jul 022021

Terrain

  • miles
*Check engine light on, engine power is reduced is on, vehicle is surging up and down while in idle, vehicle stalled in service while in park. Charge air cooler tube to the throttle body spring retaining clamp tension weak. Verified charge air cooler tube came off throttle body. Inspected spring retaining clamp. Found spring retaining clamp tension weak. Installed new spring retaining clamp. Charge air cooler tube to throttle body now properly secured *Vehicle power / engine power was reduced while on the highway *Problem has been confirmed by LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI *Vehicle was inspected at LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI *Engine light came on and the Engine power is reduced message appeared on the dash.

- Ottawa Lake, MI, USA

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