2012 GMC Terrain problems
NHTSA has received 500 complaints about the 2012 GMC Terrain, and 35% of them involve engine. After that come wipers, windshield & visibility (16%) and drivetrain & axles (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 500 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 35% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 30 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 34 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 338 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 35 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 46 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 66 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 74 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 41 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 44 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 338 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 80,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 86,000 miles (120 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 30 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 34 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 17 model years of the GMC Terrain with enough data (167 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 GMC terrain. The contact stated while driving about 35 MPH, the vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle. The driver's air bag busted open, smoked and emitted debris but did not deploy. The service air bag light illuminated. The contact and a nine-year old child in a booster seat, in the back seat of the vehicle sustained injury that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was damaged and was driven to the contact's residence.
We had begun to cross an intersection and, while our speed was from a dead stop, the other driver blew through a red light and hit us at what was probably the speed limit of 40MPH. Her car struck us in the right front passenger side and again on the rear passenger side. We, myself who was driving, and my wife, who was the passenger on the side hit, were both thrown hard to the right at impact, causing injuries to us both, most notably, my wife.
Within two days' time, my 2012 GMC terrain stalled four different times, all at low speeds. The first time was backing out of the driveway; the other three happened the following day starting up from city street intersections. My concern is being rear-ended in those situations, or beginning to make a left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic thinking you have enough time and then having the car stall. Another concern is having the stalling issue occur at higher speeds, although that never happened to me.
The low beam h11 bulb is causing the (male/female plug in) for this component to overheat causing the plastic to become charred, partially melted and brittle in which the low beam light stops working due to this problem. The wiring is becoming soft at the plug in connection from this heat and allowing the protective wire insulation to be melted permitting the bare wire to be visible which could produce a fire hazard at this location. This has occurred on the right side twice and on the left side once.