2021 GMC TerrainProblems: Top Complaints, Recalls & Failures (NHTSA)
Every owner complaint and safety recall the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has on file for the 2021 GMC Terrain, ranked by the component that failed most.
Complaints on file
34
Recalls issued
2
Crashes reported
4
Fires reported
0
What breaks most
- Service Brakes8 complaints · 23.5%
- Power Train8 complaints · 23.5%
- Engine8 complaints · 23.5%
- Electrical System7 complaints · 20.6%
- Forward Collision Avoidance3 complaints · 8.8%
Recalls on this model year
- Tires
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles equipped with certain Hankook tires. The tires may have been manufactured with an insufficient amount of curative agent, which could cause tread separation.
Campaign 21V612000 · reported 05/08/2021 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer
- Child Seat › Vehicle Latch Anchor
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The four rear-seat lower child seat LATCH anchorage bars may have excessive powder coating, which could prevent a child seat from being installed with the anchorage bars. As such, these vehicles fai
Campaign 23V339000 · reported 11/05/2023 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer
What owners report
Service Brakes
- Vacuum pump failure caused my brakes to lock up and almost caused me to wreck into another vehicle
- Driving on the Garden state parkway on Sunday night June 28, 2026 I proceed to cross over the ratitan bridge. There was traffic as I was going down the bridge at 70 miles an hour. When I applied the b
- Formal Safety Complaint – 2021 GMC Terrain Brake Failure Vehicle: 2021 GMC Terrain Incident Location: Garden State Parkway (NJ) Speed: Approximately 65 mph Incident Description While driving northboun
Power Train
- Automatic transmission solenoid control valve body got stuck open and ruined the whole transmission. This has been a reoccurring problem with these vehicles. Image is from a code read. Issue was confi
- The contact owns a 2021 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that the transmission was previously replaced. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. Th
- First time I had problems with my 2021 Terrain I took it to victory GMC on 9/20/24. At the it had 45,000 miles. Every time I would drive and accelerate it would shake extremely bad in the floorboard.
Engine
- The contact owns a 2021 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal, with a misfire coming from the engine. Durin
- Vehicle went into reduce engine power mode and check engine light came on. Vehicle has just over 60,000 miles. Code is telling me I need a new turbo and being quoted 1,500-3,000. I have read so many p
- The engine light came on while driving, saying “engine power reduced”. It barely accelerates, RPMs go over 5, it chugs when driving. Taken to an independent service center.
Electrical System
- Driving my vehicle with no warnings, messages, or symptoms on adaptive cruise control Sunday [XXX] on [XXX] in Michigan. I changed lanes into the right lane when the vehicle abruptly, without notifica
- I purchased the car August 2024, I have had it for 4 months and while driving down the road a large fuel tank pops up stating low fuel and the car comes to an abrupt stop.The 3x the gas tank was never
- The car has revved high rpm's since purchase, with multiple attempts to get it resolved . Since then, the steering wheel has jerked out of my hand's multiple times, unexpecting, causing the car to jer
Forward Collision Avoidance
- Driving my vehicle with no warnings, messages, or symptoms on adaptive cruise control Sunday [XXX] on [XXX] in Michigan. I changed lanes into the right lane when the vehicle abruptly, without notifica
- 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 ver
- I was backing out of a parking spot when I came in contact with a vehicle going east bound in the parking lot the contact was on the rear right side of my vehicle before I could do anything my vehicle
Excerpts are anonymized owner complaints as filed with NHTSA, trimmed to 200 characters.
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