general problems of the 2012 GMC Terrain - part 1

70 problems related to engine and engine cooling have been reported for the 2012 GMC Terrain. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2012 GMC Terrain based on all problems reported for the 2012 Terrain.

1 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 02/12/2025

1. The engine suddenly lost power while driving during evening rush hour and the vehicle would no longer accelerate. 2. Because the vehicle could not maintain speed, I was unable to keep up with traffic, creating a serious safety hazard that could have resulted in a major accident. 3. The vehicle has been inspected by an independent service center for diagnosis. 4. During the incident, the “engine power reduced” warning indicator illuminated just before the loss of power occurred. 5. As the vehicle slowed and came to a complete stop at an intersection, it remained unresponsive. When the traffic light turned green, the vehicle would not accelerate at all.

2 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 01/28/2025

Car burns oil bad . Got an oil change and it only took 12 days to go dry with no oil.

3 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 12/13/2024

I think the manifold on GMC Terrain need to be on a recall because mine already cracked.

4 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 08/02/2024

It appears the timing chain is bad. The vehicle only has 84000 miles and currently the engine turns off and you just coast to a stop in the middle of driving.

5 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/31/2024

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but a diagnostic test was not performed. The contact was informed that the engine control module and the camshaft actuator solenoid were replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 191,843.

6 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 04/10/2024

Hello I'm writing this letter to inform you about my 2012 terrian I have had nothing but problems with the motor and now the muffler system I have had all recalls done on this and gm is well aware of this problem I have a dealer ship to replace the timing in this motor and still uses oil and still have all the problems after the recalls have been fixed now they want me to pay over $3,000 to have new catalytic converters fixed on it now after paying $2800 for a new timing seems to me gm likes to fix the cheap stuff on these cars and make customers pay for the expensive parts must people can't afford this and junk the vehicle I will not I'm going to fight for what is right the dealer ship even told me when I took it back in to see what the code was for that gm is well aware of it and not worth putting the money into the car this is not right for customers to spend this kind of money gm needs to handle this.

7 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/25/2024

My vehicle is 2012 GMC Terrain. Oil changes on my vehicle we kept up and I had no major issues with this vehicle. I had an oil change done about a month before I went to start my car and all the lights came on and my car would rumble and wouldn't stay started and was longer drivable. After towing it a service shop they stated the following: the timing chains are damaged, skipped teeth, metal debris found in oil and screen of intake and exhaust camshaft solenoids due to many oil leaks coming form engine and serious internal issues w/engine we recommend replacing the engine. Est cost, 11,061. I had no reason to think my car was in any trouble, as it was driving fine with no problems. I received no such recall letter or phone call and no mention from the dealership I bought the car from back in 2018 that this was an issue or that it was "taken care of" if I had I wouldn't have paid over $20,000. Into my car. Reading several complaints online about this exact issue is all new to me. Knowing I could have been driving a vehicle and it could have started a fire in my engine is crazy to think. Because I may have been driving a car with a serious recall on it. I am at a loss right now, financially I am screwed.

8 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/14/2024

Hello I'm writing you today in concern of my 2012 chevy terrian I have had all the recalls done on this car and still have problems with the motor this car has a new timing chain in it and still uses oil the recall for the O2 sensors I have had fixed now the light is back on and now the complete system is bad from my understanding this is a well known problem with these cars when you spend that kind of money on a vehicle you wouldn't think there would be the same problem that was just fixed I'm writing you now my engine light is on again and it's the O2 sensor that I had just replaced under the recall I don't feel I should have to pay to have this known problem fixed now.

9 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/01/2024

I have excessive oil consumption. I noticed the issue after getting my 3000-mile oil change. The technician said I only had 1 quart of oil, which I thought was extremely low. Every 2000 miles, my oil dipstick reports abnormally low oil levels. I am concerned that when I go on an extended road trip, I will have engine issues that will leave me and my family stranded on the side of the road. The gm technician started tracking my oil consumption. He said he was doing that to prove to gm that they owe me a new engine. I didn't understand what he meant until I saw a lawsuit my vehicle was part of.

10 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/01/2024

I have a 2012 GMC Terrain!! I am the 2nd owner of this vehicle purchased in 2014-2015 there is an engine oil consumption issue with this vehicle that I have to add 2 quarts of oil every week!!! I have not been notified of any recalls or any information from gm in regards to the issue!!! took it to dealer to have it checked and got told it’ll cost me over 5000 for the repairs!!! is gm or will gm take care of this issue.

11 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 06/15/2023

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while performing a routine check on the vehicle, the contact became aware that oil level was low, and the dip stick was dry. The contact added 2 quarts of oil however, the following day the oil level was still low. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 88,000.

12 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/20/2023

The timing chain is failing on my 2012 GMC Terrain. It’s dangerous to drive and it started without warning (to me). It’s my understanding that this is a common problem with this year and model GMC vehicle as many owners are complaining about the same issue. Will GMC be notified so they can remedy this situation? many thanks.

13 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 02/13/2023

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The contact stated that she was adding a quart of oil every two weeks. The vehicle was taken to the Nissan dealer where the vehicle was purchased. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. Additionally, the contact stated while at a complete stop, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact lifted the hood and noticed oil residue. Additionally, the contact added oil since the oil level was low. The contact stated that vehicle stalled twice while driving to a nearby gas station. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear master cylinder had failed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer. The contact stated that vehicle was not drivable. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

14 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 12/30/2022

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving 25 mph, the vehicle started hesitating and then stalled. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drove to an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic added 2-quarts of engine oil to the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that later that evening her son notified her of an oil leak nearby the rear of the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the rear main seal to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.

15 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 11/02/2022

I still have more to add to my other complaint. The fire started with alternator apparently there were crossed wires took alternator back to orielys where I got it warrented out fixed the expanded wiring and replaced a hose and other things damaged by the little fire. Then after that things kept getting worse. Then it was spark plugs that were rusted that I replaced eventually I complained back to the dealership I got the car from and they agreed to help repair it after a posting by me on fb that I wasent a happy customer basically and that I literally had a sitting duck. Turns out the timing chain needed to be replaced and other little things. I've replaced O2 sensors camshaft sensors gaskets in catalytic converter had it inspected thinking it was a clogged exhaust the excessive oil usage was insane I would be going through 5quarts twice a month! I'm just tryna have a decent working vehicle for my kids and I. I literally can't keep a job because I dont have reliable transportation. . . . I've put sooooo much money into this vehicle and now I might have a blown gasket!!! and that's because I haven't even been driving the vehicle. I got the car on Jan 7th 2021 with 129,043 miles on it as of today it has a total of 164,627 miles on it meaning in between the two years that I've owned the vehicle I have only put a total of 35,584 miles on it. . . . . For it to have this many problems for so little mileage is insane!!! my kids were in the car with me today when the car started smoking like crazy from under hood and exhaust I pulled over turned the car off and took my baby off car seat in all and got away from vehicle thinking it was on fire again. I popped the hood and notice it was coming from under manifold. . . . . Meaning its probly a blown gasket after I just replaced the camshaft sensor again. . . . . . It's ridiculous all the stuff thats going wrong with this vehicle with so little mileage that's been put on it.

16 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/12/2022

My oil in my truck is depleting rapidly. It do not last 3months or 3k miles. Sometimes I'm barely 1800 miles in and I'm low on oil.

17 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 06/17/2022

The check emissions light for the engine light came up on the dashboard. Without prior warning or other signs the vehicle lost engine power in the middle of the road. The entire electrical power and engine stopped working and the brakes jammed. This causes the vehicle to become unstoppable in the middle of the road causing a safety hazard to the vehicle, driver, passengers and fellow vehicles on the road. The only way to stop the vehicle is somehow use the gears to shift to parking position, turn the engine again on and try to remove the vehicle from the middle of the road.

18 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 06/01/2022

When I stop at the light my car shake and rocks, then the car goes into limp mode. Where the stabilitrack comes on and the engine goes into reduced mode. And I can't go over 30mps. When this happened on the freeway is the most dangerous and scary feeling ever. I've got so many new parts and put over 3,000 into the car and it still has this issue. I've been do several different mechanics and nobody can figure out what's wrong. Gm needs to look into this, it's so many forums going on for this issue.

19 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 04/30/2022

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated the vehicle consumed 4-quarts of engine oil per every 3,000 miles driven. The vehicle was not taken for an oil consumption test. The contact stated that there were no visible oil leaks found. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000. The VIN was not available.

20 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 04/05/2022

Vehicle stalling like the hundreds of other complaints I’ve seen that almost caused an accident when vehicle suddenly stops. Dealership only offered to do diagnostic at my cost with no guarantee they will find the problem. Nothing is registered on the vehicle computer and no check engine light.

21 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 01/22/2022

GMC in springdale, ar refused to fix catalytic convertor after selling me a defective vehicle. They said it had expired and I never received the letter letting me know there was an issue with the vehicle.

22 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 01/15/2022

I recieved a recall on the oil consuption sensor in March had the part put in at paola kansas vickers Chevrolet they half assed it if you ask me they said they did not take my wheel off I asked them to check that sensor it wouldnt reset the air pressure told me it would be 140 I said not come to find out there is a recall it never came back on but it always made a terrible wheeel noice after. With in a few days it was useing a 1 to 2 quarts of oil every week I changed my oil every 3 months or 5400 miles or less sometime 3500 per my dad. Then come January it got below 0 and my oil froze up and I waited tell it was over 32 added oil and went to work with in 35 miles the light came on and said turn off engine low oil so I did put in more oil got to work on the wayhome stopped every 15 miles added oil. My stepdad who is a machanic looked at it and said the sensor was not in tight enough causing condisation cause the engine to lock up.

23 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 12/03/2021

Once again, timing chain incident, this time while driving, wasn't expecting it, suddenly my Terrain steering when became stiff to turn, and happened to realize the car motor had shut off and rolling to the right, nearly hitting parked car. I tried to start vehicle, but made a whining sound, but did not start, yet check engine light was on. I had my obd reader handy, and got p0011, p0017 codes, which tell me it was the timing chain again in this car. This very dangerous because we could of collided with a parked vehicle, if not for me struggling so hard to steer vehicle while steering wheel was stiff.

24 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 11/18/2021

Excessive oil consumption caused blown engine.

25 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 10/15/2021

I keep the oil changed on a regular basis and every time a few days later I would have to add another quart. Finely it wouldn't stay running and I took it to the garage and the engine had what I was told plastic through out the motor. Now I am paying for a car I cant even use. At one time I recalled there was an oil issue with these modles and year.

26 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 10/15/2021

This SUV has an oil consumption and it caused it to blow the timing chain and mess my motor up.

27 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 10/01/2021

My timing chain went out due to losing oil to quickly.

28 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 08/09/2021

Just recently I took my GMC Terrain on a recall . They told me that the timing chain had to be replaced. The car only has 111,441 miles, I don't think at 111 thousand miles a timing chain should be replaced. It must be a manufacture defect . We dealing with a chain, not a timing belt.

29 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/20/2021

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact noticed that there was oil leaking onto the ground. The contact inspected under the hood and saw that there was no oil on the dipstick. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the engine was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The contact stated that after two oil changes, the oil was extremely black on the dipstick. The contact stated that the engine had consumed over 2 quarts of oil after 2,500 miles. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that an oil consumption test was necessary to diagnose the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.

30 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 06/09/2021

Over the past couple years I have become worried to even drive this vehicle. Well taken care of and maintenance completed regularly. This vehicle has been in the shop 7 times in the past couple years but no one can tell me exactly what is going on. Only 1 place has told me that I need extensive electrical work but couldn't tell me what exactly the problem was. Issue #1: when coming to a stop, and/or idle, the engine seems to give up and vehicle shuts off. Issue #2: when started engine sounds like a. High pitch raddle. Issue #3: occasionally, while driving on the interstate going around 60 - 65 mph the electrical inside the vehicle will flash and everything shuts off and the emergency brake is applied automatically. This has become dangerous - if I wasn't wearing a seatbelt I could have been thrown through the windshield. Issue #4: replace fuel cap sensor comes on even though it's been replaced. Issue #5: engine power reduced notification comes on even though it had a new battery and alternator. Issue #6: occasionally speakers sound blown and you can hear a buzzing as you accelerate. Issue #7: stabili track, abs, and tpms sensors all come on at once and go away at once atleast 4 times a week. Issue #7: rear cam doesn't always work, sometime either black or static looking. Issue #8: sometimes key sticks in ignitiin and will not turn on unless being jumped by another vehicle. Issue #9: often upon starting the whole dash goes black and will stay that way for several hours then comes back on. I've checked all fuses and multiple mechanics can't figure it out. As time goes by without repair I'm scared to even drive this vehicle. Why can't someone figure this out!!.

31 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/27/2021

Says powertrain control module failure. Also oxygen sensor on the my GMC app. It keeps cutting off in the middle of road.

32 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/13/2021

First off before I got the car it had gone through a tune up. About a couple months after I got the car little things started to happen it would rock back and forth while idling I thought it was kind of an indicator that it needed oil but the percentage was still at a decent range and telling me it didn't need oil plus I hadent driven it 3000-5000 miles. Then engine light came on had it inspected codes ran came back telling me something about throttle body so I purchased a whole new throttle body in prosser at dealership costing me some booko buks and swapped it out when I got back home I then took it for test drive along with my 4 kids in the vehicle with me and then a little ways about 20 mins driving engine power reduced light came on along with stabilitrak and eventually lost power I was stranded in the middle of summer in the middle of nowhere with my kids windows rolled down ppl drove by and asked if I needed help and eventually came back with jumper cables tried to jump me but the car wouldn't budge I then left the car there overnight and took battery out to have it inspected the next day it was fried (over 4 yrs old) so I had to purchase a new one costing me roughly 150 buks then took it back to where my car was stranded put it in and alarm went off and I clicked the button on key ring stuck it in ignition shit the door behind me locking keys in car while vehicle was still running and had to bust a window out to get to em. Got into car drove off made it back to my apt left it running outside while I went inside to get some stuff before I thought the problem was solved it shut off again. . . . . I then had to replace the alternator costing me another pretty penny. . . . About a couple weeks later I was starting a new job at a assisted living facility and arrived 10 mins early shit car off a noticed smoke coming from under hood I was confused because where the smoke was coming from couldn't have been it overheating I popped the hood and my car was on fire!!!!.

33 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/04/2021

My Terrain recently started having “excessive” engine oil use. During the last two oil changes the dipstick has not registered any oil. I took it to a GMC dealership, but they only checked oil consumption after 1000 miles and the vehicle is at 121,000 miles currently. I don’t believe it is fair for them to allow an issue of this magnitude to continue, because it wasn’t using 1 qt of oil in 1000 miles, prior to the vehicle reaching 150,000 miles. I have to keep watching the oil levels in order to not damage my engine due to a known issues with the 2012 GMC Terrain. I also have to miss work & drive 30 miles to a dealership in order to have issues documented. I feel like they are just hoping I run out of time & mileage, since the recall is for a certain amount of time.

34 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 04/01/2021

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly stall. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact discovered that there was no presence of engine oil inside the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption, and he had been refilling the engine oil reservoir weekly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine piston rings were faulty, causing the rapid oil consumption. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 97,000.

35 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/01/2021

All of these models have been prone to oil consumption issues, during the pandemic GMC of southern pines north carolina decided to charge us $500 for the repair because we were not able to make it on time. This is something that GMC has been avoiding and throwing its customers in a loop in order to fix. Oil consumption due to the fault of GMC can be found in our records of repair.



Terrain Service Bulletins
Terrain Safety Recalls
Terrain Defect Investigations