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U.S. public vehicle records

Gmc TERRAIN problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

3,096 owner complaints analyzed

22 distinct recall campaigns

70,000 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2010 to 2026 model years. Data snapshot: . 1,715 complaints include usable failure mileage.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Engine is the most frequently named component, appearing in 1,200 of 3,096 complaints (38.8%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
TopicMatching reportsShare of complaints
Braking behavior38712.5%
Engine operation36211.7%
Transmission and shifting33110.7%
Steering behavior1344.3%
Electrical and battery issues1334.3%
Fuel system concerns1193.8%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Engine
1,200
Power Train
450
Visibility/Wiper
428
Electrical System
331
Unknown Or Other
306
Service Brakes
258
Fuel/Propulsion System
224
Air Bags
162
Component breakdown data
CategoryCount
Engine1200
Power Train450
Visibility/Wiper428
Electrical System331
Unknown Or Other306
Service Brakes258
Fuel/Propulsion System224
Air Bags162

Engine: 1,200; Power Train: 450; Visibility/Wiper: 428; Electrical System: 331; Unknown Or Other: 306; Service Brakes: 258; Fuel/Propulsion System: 224; Air Bags: 162

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000
334
25,000 to 49,999
232
50,000 to 74,999
357
75,000 to 99,999
361
100,000 to 149,999
358
150,000 and above
73
Reported problems by failure mileage data
CategoryCount
Under 25,000334
25,000 to 49,999232
50,000 to 74,999357
75,000 to 99,999361
100,000 to 149,999358
150,000 and above73

Under 25,000: 334; 25,000 to 49,999: 232; 50,000 to 74,999: 357; 75,000 to 99,999: 361; 100,000 to 149,999: 358; 150,000 and above: 73

75,000 to 99,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (361). 1,381 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2010
17
2011
43
2012
33
2013
46
2014
91
2015
104
2016
152
2017
176
2018
253
2019
387
2020
254
2021
256
2022
312
2023
230
2024
233
2025
277
2026
232
Complaints over time data
CategoryCount
201017
201143
201233
201346
201491
2015104
2016152
2017176
2018253
2019387
2020254
2021256
2022312
2023230
2024233
2025277
2026232

2010: 17; 2011: 43; 2012: 33; 2013: 46; 2014: 91; 2015: 104; 2016: 152; 2017: 176; 2018: 253; 2019: 387; 2020: 254; 2021: 256; 2022: 312; 2023: 230; 2024: 233; 2025: 277; 2026: 232

Pattern summary

Engine leads the component reports. Braking behavior appears in 387 complaint narratives. Engine operation appears in 362 complaint narratives. Transmission and shifting appears in 331 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 10403698 · 2011-05-29 (May 29, 2011)

MY 2010 GMC TERRAIN AWD WE HAD SINCE JULY OF 2010 WORK WONDERFUL AT FIRST. NOW, MAY 25, 2011 OUR TERRAIN HAS SEVERAL LIGHTS COMING ON. ABS, STABILITY SERVICES, AWD IS TURN OFF,AND TRACTION CONTROL IS NOT WORKING LIGHTS. ONSTAR CAN NOT SEE THESE PROBLEMS IN ITS SYSTEM. HAVE AN APPOINTMENT FOR IT IN JUNE 1, 2011 AT OUR LOCAL DEALER. BUT I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS VEHICLE TO ANYONE. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 22,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10403698 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10484829 · 2012-11-15 (November 15, 2012)

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 GMC TERRAIN. WHILE PARKED, THE TIRE PRESSURE, ABS, ALL WHEEL DRIVE AND TRACTION CONTROL WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, WHILE DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL THE CONTACT NOTICED AN ABNORMAL GRINDING SOUND. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 44,000.

Owner-reported narrative. 44,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10484829 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10564329 · 2014-02-14 (February 14, 2014)

TL- THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 GMC TERRAIN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND ALL OF THE WARNING LAMPS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY AND CAM SHAFT WERE DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 500 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 44,000. PM *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10564329 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10564933 · 2014-02-19 (February 19, 2014)

IT STALLED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. THIS HAPPENED AGAIN 12/13 REPLACED EXHAUST CAM SOLENOID AND AGAIN IN JANUARY 2014 WHEN THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE CAMSHAFT POSITION EXHAUST ACTUATOR. THE HAVE ALSO AT DIFFERENT TIMES HAD TO REPLACE THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP, WATER PUMP AND BALANCE SHAFT CHAIN, REPLACED THE CONDENSER, EVAC ON THE AIR CONDITIONER ON THIS VEHICLE AND THE OTHER 2010 GMC TERRAIN WE OWN. WE DO NOT FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR THE AC CONDENSER SINCE IT HAPPENED ON BOTH VEHICLES WE OWN WITHIN MONTHS OF EACH …

Owner-reported narrative. 46,786 miles reported. Look up ODI 10564933 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10347137 · 2010-08-03 (August 3, 2010)

ON THURSDAY JULY 22 WHEN I WENT TO GO START MY CAR MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT DRIVE FORWARD, IT WOULD ONLY ROLL FORWARD. THE CAR DASH STATED IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE "STABILITRACK" AND THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT WAS ALSO ON. THE CAR WAS TOWED AND SUPPOSEDLY FIXED. ON THURSDAY JULY 30, I WAS DRIVING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AT 70MPH ABOUT TO TURN OFF ONTO A RAMP WHERE MY CAR STOPS DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. THE CAR WAS ABLE TO ROLL INTO THE EMERGENCY LANE. AGAIN, THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON AND "STABILITRACK" CAME UP ON THE DASHBOARD. THE CAR HAS BEEN T…

Owner-reported narrative. 15,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10347137 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10396701 · 2011-04-18 (April 18, 2011)

I HAD COMPLAINED SEVERAL TIMES TO THE COURTESY GMC IN TRUSSVILLE, AL IN THE LAST THAT MY 2010 GMC TERRAIN WAS NOT GETTING GOOD GAS MILEAGE AND IDLING AND SHIFTING VERY ROUGH. AT THAT TIME IT WAS UNDER THE 36,000 MILE FACTORY WARRANTY. THEY PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT IT WAS JUST HOW THIS NEW ENGINE RAN BUT WAS NOT A PROBLEM. THE WEEK OF APRIL 4, 2011 MY VEHICLE STARTED REALLY HAVING ALOT MORE DIFFICULTIES ON IDLING, HAD NO PICKUP AND GAS MILEAGE GOT EVEN WORSE AND IT ALMOST CUT OFF A FEW TIMES. WELL I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP ON APRIL 11, 2011 A…

Owner-reported narrative. 48,177 miles reported. Look up ODI 10396701 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10577813 · 2014-04-06 (April 6, 2014)

WHILE TRAVELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND DISPLAY READ POWER STEERING PROBLEM. AFTER GETTING OFF THE HIGHWAY AND COMING TO A STOP AT A REDLIGHT, THE CAR WOULD NOT DRIVE WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN. IT HAD NO POWER, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS RUNNING AND ENGINE WAS IDLING HARD AND MAKING A TERRIBLE NOISE. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALER AND THE FIXED THE CAM ACTUATOR. CAR DROVE FINE FOR ANOTHER 2,000 MILES AND SAME ISSUED OCCURRED. IT IS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED...AGAIN. WILL FILE ANOTHER COMPLAINT WHEN I KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE IS. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 40,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10577813 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10650018 · 2014-10-26 (October 26, 2014)

I COULDN'T RESTART MY CAR RIGHT AFTER I STOPPED AT A PARKING STALL IN THE MORNING, BUT I CAN HEAR "CLICK" SOUND. DASH BOARD SHOWS WARNINGS:"STABILITRAK.."(I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY THE WORDS), "BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE!" AND "SERVICE POWER STEERING". HOWEVER, I MANAGED TO JUMP MY CABLE AFTER 20MINS, AND STEP ON GAS AT THE SAME TIME WHEN I TURNED THE IGNITION KEY, FINALLY I START MY ENGINE AFTER 3 OR 4 TIMES. IN THE AFTERNOON, WHEN I TURNED ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS BUT NOT CRANK, POWER WINDOWS DIDN'T WORK AT ALL, WHICH USED TO WORK WELL, AND "SER…

Owner-reported narrative. 47,600 miles reported. Look up ODI 10650018 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10393917 · 2011-04-01 (April 1, 2011)

WITH ALL EXTERIOR LIGHTS AND ONE MAP LIGHT ON, WHEN USING TURN SIGNAL, ALL LIGHTS WILL DIM WHEN SIGNAL LIGHT COMES ON. THERE SHOULD NOT BE THAT MUCH STRAIN ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 10,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10393917 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10496687 · 2013-02-07 (February 7, 2013)

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 GMC TERRAIN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE DECELERATED INDEPENDENTLY TO 30 MPH. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ELEVEN TIMES IN RELATION TO THE PROBLEM. THE FUEL INJECTOR AND TIMING CHAIN WERE BOTH REPLACED TWICE. IN ADDITION, THE ENGINE CONSUMED A LARGE AMOUNT OF OIL WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. THE TECHNICIAN RECOMMENDED THE ENGINE BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIF…

Owner-reported narrative. 40,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10496687 at NHTSA ↗

Compare model years

Recalls by model year

All campaigns in the snapshot affecting each model year, including recalls announced years later.

Recall campaigns

Shared campaigns appear once in each affected model year.

2010
3
2011
4
2012
4
2013
3
2014
2
2015
3
2016
2
2017
1
2018
5
2019
3
2020
2
2021
2
2022
2
2023
2
2024
1
2025
0
2026
1
Recall campaigns data
CategoryCount
20103
20114
20124
20133
20142
20153
20162
20171
20185
20193
20202
20212
20222
20232
20241
20250
20261

2010: 3; 2011: 4; 2012: 4; 2013: 3; 2014: 2; 2015: 3; 2016: 2; 2017: 1; 2018: 5; 2019: 3; 2020: 2; 2021: 2; 2022: 2; 2023: 2; 2024: 1; 2025: 0; 2026: 1

Year-by-year records

Gmc TERRAIN model-year comparison
Model yearComplaintsRecallsChange in recalls
20102903Not available
20113864+1
201236440
20133643-1
20142962-1
20152973+1
20161522-1
20171331-1
20182195+4
20191823-2
20201952-1
20213420
20225720
20233820
2024491-1
2025130-1
2026271+1