Power Train Problems of GMC Terrain - part 2

Bought new car August 16th 2024. Few days later, I was turning left at a light and the car lost power as I was turning and error messages came up on the dash screen saying service transmission. I also observed that the cars gear indicator went to park by itself even though the car was still moving. Pushed the engine start button and car came back on and I switched the gear to drive. Took car in on the 19th to get looked at. Week later, driving down the city street going 40-45 mph, car lost power again and car gear indicator switched to park again, service transmission indicator came up and low fuel indicator came up even though I had over 1/2 a tank left. Took in to dealership on August 26th, 2024. Over this weekend, my wife was driving home from up north at a very busy freeway intersection and the car lost power again and luckily she was able to get over to the shoulder. It took some time but she was able to get the car restarted and made it home. There is something seriously wrong with this particular vehicle where we do not want to even drive it. This car has less than 500 miles on it and has lost power three times in three weeks.

See all problems of the 2024 GMC Terrain 🔎.

The vehicle is a 2020 and should not already be having electrical issues. The vehicle repair is over 5k for needing a starter motor, water pump and drive belt. A starter should last up to 100k miles and water pump should last 10 years not 4. This vehicle is a lemon and should not have so many issues.

See all problems of the 2020 GMC Terrain 🔎.

While driving I had to push the brake to the floor and a light came on saying reduced engine power. I pulled over right away and had my car towed to mechanic. The vacuum brake pump exposed and parts went into the engine. The mechanic got all the parts out but now engine has low compression and needs a new timing chain. This is over $3,000 so far. Gm recalled other vehicles with the exact same pump ? why not the Terrain.

Hello. As I come to a complete stop the car will go into auto-stop. After releasing the brake pedal the car will jerk forward . As I press the gas pedal the car jerks and shakes . The rpm jumps way up and the mph say low. . There's been times I try to accelerate and the car with jerk and put itself into park. . In the middle of traffic. . Heart pounding to say the lease. I also notice theres alot of black liquid dripping for the front right side under the front bumper. There were no problems with the car or lamp indicating there were before this. I went to where I brought the car and they told me my warranty expired and that I will need to pay $265 just to diagnose the issue. I didnt have that money. I do have a car code reader and I did my best to find a solution. Codes p0700, p171d, and p187d all appear on my device. I then looked up recalls and my VIN wasn't confirmed. . But I am certain it is the same issue . You do have a open recall for this very particular issue for my particular model . I love my car and GMC. Please remedy this situation and have me driving safely and free minded again and soon ! please reach back with any feedback as soon as possible. Thanks !.

See all problems of the 2018 GMC Terrain 🔎.

My transmission keeps sticking when I shift into drive or reverse. Just a couple of days ago, it happened the worst it has ever done before. I shifted into reverse and my vehicle was completely stopped when I shifted. I began to let off of the brakes and gently push the accelerator to start moving back, my vehicle then punched itself into reverse. I felt after that incident, something had to have been damaged. I’m almost afraid to drive my vehicle after that. When my vehicle punched itself into reverse, I was literally jolted towards the steering wheel and thankfully my seatbelt caught me. Incidents with the the shifting into drive or reverse have happened before, but never nearly as intense. About a year ago, I brought my vehicle in to my local GMC dealership for a concern with my transmission shifting weirdly and holding itself in gear at an unnecessarily high rpm speed. The technician stated to me, “with these 9-speeds, they tend to get confused at various speeds”. I asked him to elaborate and he could not. These issues have now gotten worse. With my suspension, every turn I take, I get a kreaking sound from my front driver side wheel well. It sounds as if my tire if going to break off. I’ve done visual inspections and nothing out of the ordinary is noticeable to the eye. My vehicle is a 2019 with less than 40,000 miles on it. I should not be having all of these issues. I’m genuinely concerned for my safety.

See all problems of the 2019 GMC Terrain 🔎.

Unintended acceleration in forward and reverse: the vehicle experiences unintended acceleration both in forward and reverse. While driving in heavy traffic, the vehicle continues to maintain throttle position for approximately two seconds after releasing the throttle, creating a dangerous situation where the vehicle continues to accelerate towards other cars. This defect requires emergency braking to prevent a collision. In reverse , the vehicle also holds throttle position after the accelerator is released. This results in the vehicle unintentionally accelerating in reverse at a rapid pace. This requires the driver to depress the brake moderately to control the reverse speed. During this event the driver is fighting against the motor with the brake pedal until the vehicle decided to stop accelerating on its own.

I hit a pot hole and a stabilitrack error popped up. Also reduced engine power I was miles from home and could have easily caused a major accident on the road.

See all problems of the 2013 GMC Terrain 🔎.

Was driving along and transmission downshifted (?) wouldn't change gears. Tachometer was like a race car. Just went wild. Limped it along to a dealership. They informed us it was probably the transmission. It was determined it was indeed the transmission. They also stated that they had 7 more waiting in the service area waiting for parts to repair. Ours was to be #8. We called the dealer we bought it from, they sent a tow truck and towed it to their service area. Luckily, I wasn't out on the interstate going 70 mph as I would have been in just a few more minutes. Very scary situation as I was in 3 lanes of traffic. It was in town, so traffic wasn't moving fast. I was 2 hours into my vacation. Needless to say, that put a damper on things. Had to rent a vehicle, unpack my vehicle and repack the rental. Oh, and by the was it is a 2024 Terrain with only 2400 miles!.

Purchased new from dealership 2024 GMC Terrain 4/2024. On 6/26/24 while driving the vehicle the transmission came apart and the vehicle suddenly stopped and would barely move off of the roadway. Had this happened 2 min prior while at highway speeds in crowded conditions, I can only imagine how many injuries could have occurred. My vehicle had 3800 miles on it. Upon my personal research, I found that this is a known problem with the 2024 GMC Terrains and dealerships across the country are filled with vehicles with the same problem. The dealership admitted to me that this has become "a known issue" and that they currently had 7 others with the same issue. They had my car for 8 weeks and according to my paperwork had to repair it twice as it failed the first repair road test! I filed a compaint with gm and was told "to not believe third party sites". I repeatedly asked why this wasn't a recall and they refused to answer the question. Does someone have to have their brand new transmission blow apart at 80 mph and take out others on the highway before they recall this? gm has issued multiple service bulletins to their dealerships but nothing to the public. I tried talking to the dealership and was belittled and stonewalled. Please recall these vehicles before someone is killed. I was finally given my vehicle back from the dealership today after 8 weeks because of no parts available. I am worried they repaired with the same parts that failed in the first place. I have the repair paperwork for your inspection if you would like to review it.

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.

I was leaving work when my car had trouble accelerating from stop. The engine revved, but the gear would not engage. It happened several more times after I stopped at a light or slowed to get on the highway. It would take a minute or so to engage, and then I could drive the car, but it made it dangerous when trying to merge on to the highway or to make any turns in to traffic. It then happened two more times as I slowed to make turns until my engine light came on as I was turning on to my street. When I finally made it to my house and put it in reverse to back into my driveway, the car wouldn't move at all. I took it to the GMC dealership because it is still under warranty. The next day when I called, they told me a piston shot through the transmission housing which caused a leak of transmission fluid. There is a gm customer satisfaction program release for 2024 GMC Terrains and arcadias that all have a defect in the transmission housing, which is causing a leak of transmission fluid. I had noticed that, whenever I slowed to make a turn anywhere prior to the engine light coming on, there was some hesitation when trying to accelerate, but I thought it was the design of the transmission and engine.

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

On 3 may 2024 my spouse was driving her new 2024 GMC Terrain in asheville, nc. When suddenly the car stopped and when was able to maintain control and coast to a safe area. The vehicle was subsequently taken to the dealers service center GMC asheville, nc (harry's on the hill). The diagnosis was determined to be a defective a transmission valve body. In discussion with the dealer service manager he indicated this is a common occurrence with the valve body. Needless to say this defect can be fatal especially during inclement weather, fast speeds, winding narrow mountains roads! as of 15 may 2024, the dealer, GMC nor the manufacturer of the valve body has not provided a replacement part for this vehicle.

My vehicle continues to slip and jerk out of gear , brought in to a local chevy dealership , they test drive the vehicle and acknowledge the issue. They updated transmission software and give it back to me to drive for 1000 miles or 30 days and see if the problem continues. Problem gets worse slipping and jerking more and more , made appointment dealership cancels my appointment saying they have no transmission tech come back next month for an appointment . Same thing no transmission tech available go somewhere else.

See all problems of the 2023 GMC Terrain 🔎.

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.

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My check engine light comes on intermittently, since March 2024, after having cabin & engine air filters replaced. Each time, I’m told it is code p0171. This has happened too many times for my comfort. Usually, it happens around the time my gas gets below 1/2 tank or after I fill up my gas tank. Originally, I was told by the mechanic that it could be one of four things, of which I’ve now had some of things done. Inin Aug. 2024, the check engine light came in. Code was p0171. Mechanic replaced the brake vacuum pump. Once incident, almost a month later, on 9/24/24, was very scary. While driving on the interstate, I got ready to increase my speed, but heard a pop sound and noticed the speed wouldn’t accelerate. Next, the check engine light came on and the message in the dash popped up saying “engine power reduced” or something similar. I was able to coast from the fast lane over to the slower lane and off the highway into a parking lot. I turned the truck off. When I crunk it back up an hour later, it was shaking and jerking. While slowly driving, on the way to the mechanic shop, it jerked and shook each time I tried to accelerate after stopping at a light or slowing down with traffic. The code again was p0171. According to the mechanic, the intake hose had popped off. On 11/13/24, the check engine light came on. I again took it to have the code scanned and truck looked at. Test results again showed p0171. This time the mass air flow sensor was suggested. In a year I’ve had the fuel system cleaned twice, brake system flushed, & other routine maintenance such as oil change & brakes. Yet, my check engine light seems to still come on intermittently atleast once monthly. It came on two days ago, 2/18/25, when my gas was around 1/4 tank full. I added a fuel system injector, per mechanic suggestion, and filled my tank up with gas on today, 2/20/25. The check engine light had gone off within about 15 mins of me driving. I’m certain it will be back on soon with the same code.

While driving the vehicle which only has 68,000 miles the reduced engine power warning light appeared. As quickly as was safe the car was pulled to the shoulder. It was towed to the dealer who states the vacuum pump seized causing the camshaft phase actuator locating pin to spin. Originally they stated a new camshaft and vacuum pump were needed at $3,500, but now state the entire engine is damaged and must be replaced at cost of $12,000. The vehicle was well serviced and this manufacturing flaw lead to the vehicle be stopped on the road putting both the occupants and others around at risk.

I have a 2014 GMC Terrain with less than 70k miles on the vehicle. I took the truck to the mechanic and was advised the power belts were no good. Why is this? the truck has no mileage on it basically for a 2014, I have a 2011 chevy with more miles than this truck and its power belts are fine. The mechanic also advised me within the last 3 years, his shop in cecil county MD has changed over 125 power belts on the 2014 GMC Terrain awd (v6), same vehicle that I have.

See all problems of the 2014 GMC Terrain 🔎.

It's a known problem with GMC with a lawsuit for the pvc pipes clogging and blowing the main rear oil seal causing the vehicle to quit running.

See all problems of the 2017 GMC Terrain 🔎.

The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway, and the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

While driving my 2022 1. 5l turbo GMC Terrain at 65 mph with the air temperature at -2 degrees below zero fahrenheit the check engine light came on with the error message "engine power is reduced. " I coasted to the side of the road and put the car into park. I was 200 miles from home and after working with my insurance roadside assistance, I wasn't able to get a tow truck after 3 hours of waiting in sub zero temperatures. I called the local gm dealership in my home town to ask if I could drive the SUV and they said I could at less than 35mph. I drove 100 miles to a town where a tow truck was available. I brought the SUV to the gm dealership and they said the issue is ice and condensation in the inner cooler cac system. They said my SUV wasn't updated for the cold weather package. I was told my engine needed a cold weather package in order to drive it in sub zero temperatures. After reviewing this issue online, I found there was a recall for 2018-2022 1. 5l turbo GMC Terrain vehicles that experience these issues but my VIN number wasn't included in the recall. I called GMC to report the issue with my SUV and after speaking with multiple people was told that it wouldn't be covered under the recall due to the "numerous factors" that determine what VIN numbers fall into a recall. My SUV has the same engine, is the correct year, and has the same engine problem as the GMC Terrains that were included in the recall. I now have to pay out of pocket for repairs and the engine fix of installing a cold weather package that is covered under the recall. I believe the recall needs to be expanded to additional VIN numbers.

See all problems of the 2022 GMC Terrain 🔎.

Transmission.

See all problems of the 2011 GMC Terrain 🔎.

The blower fan for heat in my vehicle was replaced in October 2022, recently the defroster will not engage and it is vital to winter driving. The mechanism that switches between which vent to blow out air was replaced and the defroster will still not engage, rather it comes out of the heat and face vents. Shortly after the defroster stopped engaging, the rpms will start fluctuating from 2 suddenly up to 6-8 without warning or acceleration then go back down and back up as if it's chugging along. Even when applying the brakes, this will continue to happen and there's concern for rear-ending or crashing when this happens. When driving home 2 nights ago the county police pulled my vehicle over due to burnt out headlight, which was replaced less than 6 months ago. Took the car in to get bulb replaced today and multiple bulbs later, the light is not fixed and it was said to be electrical and need to go to another shop. Beginning to wonder if this is all a bigger problem about to happen with engine/ powertrain. . With commute to work in the dark and electrical problem in the headlight randomly and the acceleration issues there is definitely a concern for safety.

See all problems of the 2015 GMC Terrain 🔎.

First the car started jerking while drive over 50mph, next day driving down the street and the car shut off, stating loss of power. I replaced the battery, it was giving battery low codes, only to get a certified mechanic say the timing chain was out. Just purchased the car in March 2022.

My 4 cyl. Awd GMC Terrain has had excessive oil use which caused premature failure of the timing chain, loss of power/compression, blown engine, damage to exhaust manifold, cellinoids, and melted the catalytic converter. Its was a road safety, poor emissions due to failed catalytic converter. Headlights are too bright for oncoming traffic at night. Another road & safety hazard. Auto warranty is refusing to cover parts listed above caused by the timing chain and excessive oil consumption problems.

The contact owns a 2020 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while at a stop, there was an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle, with the service brake assist message displayed. The brake pedal became firm, and the contact used excessive force to stop the vehicle. The contact pulled into a gas station and restarted the vehicle while the check engine light was illuminated. Despite the failure, the contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence. The contact inspected underneath the hood and discovered an oil leak as well as black soot that had covered the entire engine. The dealer was notified of the failure and provided the contact with a diagnostic fee for an inspection. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA campaign number: 20v668000 (power train) which was linked to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

I have to replace my rear drive shaft.

There have been problems with the 2015 GMC Terrains timing chain. The timing chain will break when the vehicle is being operated which causes the driver to lose complete control of the SUV, additionally, the engine will be destroyed. The bigger issue is the loss of control when you are driving - especially at highway speeds. GMC had hundreds of complaints but refused to issue a recall. A recall was issued but for only certain batches of vins. I contacted GMC corporate service to inquire about what they are doing for the other owners who are experiencing the symptoms before the chain breaks. The representative told me they were only recalling certain vins, I explained that it was not a fluke that my car was experiencing the same issues as the recalled ones. The response was they weren't recalling my VIN. I inquired why there were only some, not all, and she said it depends on what time of day the car was assembled the weather, and the place. Just bizarre this answer, my vehicle is the exact vehicle model that is being recalled and is experiencing the same problem - it makes no sense. So if I am driving on the highway or any road USA and my chain breaks I may kill myself as well as others. Then there is the cost to repair this defective part, by recalling certain vins they are acknowledging there is a defect that they are responsible for. I want my vehicle repaired at the expense of GMC as they are the cause of the issue. I don't want to die or kill anyone. Can you please help me and many other owners who are dismayed and just confused and angry? my car is now stalling out while I am driving, or moving at all.

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 it.

On October 13, 2023, I was driving on the highway when my 2014 GMC Terrain power was reduced. Suddenly, the engine light came on and car began throttling. Second, an error message appeared on my dashboard indicating “ engine power is reduced. ” then it stopped in the middle of the highway. I was able to restart my vehicle and drove it to a nearby mechanic shop. The mechanic said the problem was my timing chain and that my vehicle was not drivable. I left my vehicle at the mechanic shop because it was the weekend and it needed it to be towed to the dealership. On Monday, October 16, 2023, I had my vehicle towed to Buick classic service center. After waiting for two days, I received a call from the service center stating that my 2014 GMC Terrain timing chain and pressure gas pump was the cause of the problem - with my vehicle. After, reading other owners similar complaints ; why is there not a recall to address this problem? now, I am stuck without a vehicle and the company has no idea how long it will take to get the parts needed to fix my vehicle. I was told that the timing chain and a tension is on back order due to the employees of GMC being are on strike.

Jerking at times while driving.

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.

See all problems of the 2021 GMC Terrain 🔎.

The transmission stoped working after the second shift.

See all problems of the 2010 GMC Terrain 🔎.

Engine shut off while doing 70 mph on interstate. There was no warning signs or nothing.

Car is losing go power when accelerating on to interstate. It’s like the transmission loses power, the d illuminates, and then it kicks in to drive. It puts us at risk for an accident and I had a semi almost hit me because of this. This has been reproduced at the mechanic shop as well. No warnings before this happens.