Automatic Emergency Braking Problems of GMC Terrain

Hard as rock brakes long response time mechanic friend says it’s break booster.

See all problems of the 2022 GMC Terrain 🔎.

This is a continuation for NHTSA campaign number 11711615. While an additional NHTSA complaint has been filed for the power train, this focuses specifically on design failures in the braking system. Our vehicle experienced a highway failure of the fuel pump, but due to the nature of a powertrain failure the car could not be put into neutral, only remain in park. The car was stranded in the middle of the road. As a awd vehicle it similarly could not be towed as both wheels were fully locked. Tow informed us that there should be a manual release under the shifting column, however, this design safety feature had been removed in the 2024 iteration. The car was stuck on the road behind a blind turn on a somewhat busy road with vehicles typically traveling between 25-50 mph. The failure of a manual override for neutral and braking is a critical design failure that can lead to major accidents and death in the event of engine or transmission failure. There were no warnings, nor instructions or ability to get the car off the road.

See all problems of the 2024 GMC Terrain 🔎.

I was driving (roughly about 30 mph) when my automatic braking kicked on and caused my tires to squeal to a halt. There were no other cars around me (thankfully) - otherwise I would have been rear-ended. Right before it stopped, it flashed the warning lights for a quick second. I wanted to report this issue in case others are experiencing the same problem and to hopefully help prevent it from happening to someone else. Very scary and could cause a serious accident. I turned off all of my automatic brake settings after the incident, as I believe it is faulty and don't want to risk it happening again.

The system that failed was the brakes, the car is availble for inspection. My saftey and others was put at risk due to not having brakes to stop. The problem has been confirmed by a dealer as a master brake cylinder failer the vehicle has been inspected by the dealer. There were warning lamps, message and other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. They first appearead on December 4 2025.

Two issues here. First is that the car will give a danger warning when nothing is there. Sometimes goes as far as slamming on my breaks. Both in drive and reverse. Second is the lane keep assist. It’s like it is working backwards. I turned this all off because it would jerk me out of the lane and into the other lane or off to the sides of the road.

I was driving my morning commute to work, when I came upon a stop light. I was pressing the brakes and the brakes failed to engage which caused me to hit a car in front of me. I did not have any warnings that the brakes were defective. The warning on the dash did not indicate that there was anything wrong with brakes. I had my set belt, was going the speed limit and my brakes just gave out. I have injury’s to my arms, shoulder, neck, and head. The other vehicle driver was not hurt. Thank the lord.

See all problems of the 2016 GMC Terrain 🔎.

My vacuum pump went out. My brakes went out at 86k miles. Very pour design.

See all problems of the 2020 GMC Terrain 🔎.

The brake system failed. No warning. When the brakes failed, driver ran the car into a tree to stop instead of hitting pedestrians or other vehicles.

Break booster pressure sensor and engine underbooster causes the car to slam on breaks or not break at all.

See all problems of the 2019 GMC Terrain 🔎.

On 9/3/23 I was travelling down interstate 94 in illinois when all of a sudden my check engine light came on. Not knowing what the issue was, but knowing that the car still seemed to be ok and I was only a few miles from home I decided to drive home and figure out the issue from there. At this point I had no idea that the brakes had completely locked up. Once I realized what was happening I did my best to slow the vehicle down by decelerating, frantically pumping on the locked up brakes, and then finally slowing enough to take an exit and roll in to a gas station. Frankly, it was the most terrifying moment of my life travelling 70 mph without the ability to stop. Upon inspection, the independent service tech informed us that the vacuum pump had exploded (yes, exploded) and that he had never seen anything like it, especially in a car with less than 70,000 miles. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the vacuum pump failed and unfortunately it completely exploded so there were only a few pieces left inside of the engine. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? my brakes locked up completely on the interstate, with my family in the car, and I was unable to stop. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes. The independent service center where I currently have the vehicle has confirmed, and spoken with gm. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no, GMC refuses to do anything about it even though there is a prior recall for the same part on other GMC vehicles during the same time frame. I'm told it's the exact same part. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? yes, roughly 1 minute prior to the breaks locking up the "check engine" light came on.

See all problems of the 2018 GMC Terrain 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2021 GMC Terrain 🔎.

This GMC I just purchased in October 22 2022 and have been complaining since December 9,2022 the vehicle emergency braking will activate when I'm driving down the interstate or local roads I could be doing 70 and brakes will just lock up throwing me and my son forward , this has happened 4x , gas pedal when taking off at red light or pulling out the vehicle is hesitant and will not go this has happened on 3 different occasions. I called roadside on star they said there is a problem with the on star saftey feature will not work properly this was towed 2x to different shops, also while driving this vehicle it will just ingage itself in park while driving called on star they did diagnostic there was all kinds of coded for transmission and engine as well as emissions this vehicle is a safety hazard. . And I have tried to take back to dealership where I purchased they keep making excuses to not see this cpo with lifetime warranty and still under warranty from GMC vechle mileage was at 29k when problems stared vehicle only has 31k I can't drive this vehicle due to my son's and myself along with others saftey this is ridiculous and also GMC just informed me the VIN # they have for my vehicle and whats on it are two different numbers! yet nothing is being done I'm paying for a vehicle that I can't drive I have proof GMC knows about the fraud from dealership but GMC says its a sales thing this vehicle has been flooded two mechanics have confirmed and GMC is aware so why not do something I don't know exactly the history and GMC doesn't either please someone contact me GMC this is crazy and you know it's a safety issue with this 2020 GMC Terrain you even said so.

The automatic emergency braking system just goes off without any reason, causing the vehicle to considerably slow down if not stop. This happens several times a week if not multiple times a day again for no reason. There is no advance warning , it just happens.

See all problems of the 2015 GMC Terrain 🔎.

My engine burns a very large amount of oil rapidly. I have to replace oil in the engine at least twice a week. I went to the automotive service center and they indicated that my timing chain need to be readjusted and that the engine itself between the year of 2010 and 2017 on GMC Terrains have major problems/ defects in with the engine. I was driving on the highway and the car slowed down I barely could get any acceleration. I then had to get off of the expressway to avoid collisions. I took my car to the shop several other times for automatic brake system problems and stability track problems. I had censors replacedvand stability track problens. They wrre fixed but the automotive technicians indicated they the oroblems will happen again. Soon after that my engine was low of oil again within the matter of two or three days. The problem (massive oil consumption) continues to happen. I have investigated the problem and I found that there were engine class action lawsuit on the GMC 2014 Terrain because of the engine problems. I need to know how I can get my problems with the engine in particular resolved so that I can move forward and not worry about being involved in a motor vehicle accident when I drive to work each day.

See all problems of the 2014 GMC Terrain 🔎.

Vehicle stuck in emergency assist mood. Without warning I couldn't slow down/stop without putting alot of my weight on the brake breaks were so hard to press down.

The emergency breaking system failed to engage. Failure to engage caused collision with another car.

The car failed to shift into gear. Message displayed, "transmission unable to shift" ,"2 gears selected " or "service transmission". Issued started in June 2022 while in drive thru line, when shifting from park to move the car would not shift. Had to turn car off for about 10 minutes and car was able to shift and drive normal. Check engine light came on about a week later and had checked for code p07b5. A couple of days later, light went back off. About 3 days later getting ready to leave home and car would not shift into gear again but turn car off and back on a couple of times and car shifted and drove normal. On July 13 2022 was driving in traffic and message displayed, unable to shift and service transmission. When I changed lanes and released the gas petal, the car went into park, stopped, and set the parking brakes, but did not turn off, jerking me forward and throwing things around in the car. Cars behind me had to slam on brakes to keep from hitting me because there was no initial brake light. I put on the flashers and turned the car off. Parking brake was stuck so I pressed it about 5 times before it finally released. I restarted the car 3 times and it finally shifted and drove as normal. I called gm to inquiry about a recall and was told there were none. I called for a diagnostic test and schedule is in about 2 weeks. The car has not been inspected by anyone listed above??.

The autoshutoff of the vehicle should be optional this vehicle goes on and off so many times and after it starts is acting up on braking and transmission deeler says no dtc all good but still doin it.

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!!.

See all problems of the 2012 GMC Terrain 🔎.

The "service brake assist" issue in other 2018 GMC suvs is happening in the 2018 GMC Terrain, but it is not part of the recall. Our brakes became extremely difficult to press right as we were turning onto the on ramp of an expressway. Thankfully we were Smart enough to pull over and not get on the highway. Had we done so, I may not have been here to type this complaint. The brakes be come extremely difficult to press and that message shows. Dealership is going to charge me $400 to replace a vacuum pump - they were not interested in the information I have around this issue in other GMC suvs since it isn't a formal recall on the Terrain. I could have died yesterday due to this braking issue. I've owned this car for 3 months.

Driving home from work last night in my car and when I got to my neighborhood, I rolled down the window a tad for some fresh air, and then noticed a weird cranking sound coming from under the hood. I continued home cautiously, noticing at this point that when I would accelerate the car would shake some and the lights would flicker some. I had not noticed anything on the 25 mile drive to work that morning and most of the drive home until slowing down from highway to neighborhood road. When I got to my carport I parked my car and got out, noticing the smell of burning oil. I quickly looked underneath and saw oil spilling, and looked behind my car to see a huge line of oil from where I had come through the neighborhood to the carport. Faint blue smoke was also visible, at this point I shut my car off. There was never a single indication light of any sort at any point in time. I have full service records I have always maintained my car every 5000 miles or less, last time being barely 2 months before this incident, $150 service and full checkup. 30 minutes later I came back out to inspect and everywhere on the underside of my car was dripping oil on the ground, a good 7x3 foot area with drips everywhere and main pool near the front. After doing some research I have seen many many claims describing this exact problem with the same year and model as me, as little as 8 days ago posting about it. I have never had any recalls or notices of this problem but I see class action law suites over this oil consumption problem online, however I see also see articles saying how over 41,000 vins were excluded and people are having extreme problems with this situation. Non-personal info as a young man with this being my first major purchase, having maintained my car as required and having paid $10980 I am extremely upset being out of transportation due to mechanical flaw on piston design.

See all problems of the 2013 GMC Terrain 🔎.

The engine is consuming oil at an excessive rate.