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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2010 GMC Terrain — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 295 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

295
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
10
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
0
Involved Fire
owner-reported
12
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

GMC Terrain — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

295 complaints

397 complaints

370 complaints

369 complaints

302 complaints

316 complaints

152 complaints

135 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 107 reports
Power Train 51 reports
Electrical System 48 reports
Visibility/wiper 40 reports
Air Bags 25 reports
Electronic Stability Control (esc) 21 reports
Unknown Or Other 20 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 17 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Visibility ODI 10668931 12/30/2014

DRIVING THE VEHICLE DURING THE HEAVY RAIN AND NOTICED THAT DEFOGGING/DEFROSTING OF THE WINDSHIELD ARE NOT BLOWING THE AIR ON IT FROM DASHBOARD VENTS.VISIBILITY WAS VERY LIMITED AND HAVE TO USE TOWEL TO CLEAN THE WINDSHIELD SO I CAN SEE WHERE I'M GOING.MAKE A STOP AND NOTICED THAT THE AIR IS ONLY COMING FROM VENTS TO THE FLOOR AND FRONT NOT MATTER WHAT THE CONTROL IS SET TO.WAS…

Electrical System ODI 11499345 12/29/2022

My defrost system doesn't work. As I drive down the road my windshield fogs up andni can't get it to un fog at all or fast enough. Almost caused me to have an accident before Christmas

Steering ODI 10938600 12/29/2016

GMC SPECIAL COVERAGE ADJUSTMENT #14159A TOOK AN UNNECESSARILY LONG TIME TO FIX(OVER 6 MONTHS) BECAUSE GM SAID THE VEHICLE HAS TO CONSUME A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF OIL EVERY 1000 MILES FOR THEM TO HONOR THE VEHICLE. I WAS FORCED INTO DRIVING THE VEHICLE LESS TO AVOID CAUSING FURTHER DAMAGE. THE LONGER DURATION I DROVE IT THE MORE OIL IT WOULD CONSUME. WHY WOULD I KEEP DRIVING A VEHIC…

Engine ODI 10937584 12/27/2016

I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE WITH AROUND 86,000 MI - ONE OWNER, FROM DEALERSHIP. THE ENGINE WAS MAKING A NOISE WITHIN A COUPLE OF MONTHS. I HAVE TO CHANGE THE OIL EVERY MONTH BECAUSE OF THE UNUSUAL OIL BURNING ISSUE. IT DIED ON ME THREE TIMES. THE ENGINE WOULD SLOW DOWN TO A STOP. I HAD TO TURN IT OFF AND BACK ON. LATER, AFTER A COLD DAY, I HAD AN OIL LEAK. I TOOK IT IN AND THE MECHAN…

Engine ODI 10937489 12/26/2016

I I CHANGED IT. IT STALLED REPEATEDLY AND WE HAD IT REPAIRED RECENTLY. WE ALSO HAD THE OIL CHECKED AND REPLACED SO GM COULD TRACK THE OIL CONSUMPTION. UNFORTUNATELY A MONTH LATER THE CAR WOULD NOT START SITTING IN THE DRIVEWAY, SO WE HAD IT TOWED IN TO A GM DEALER. THEY SAID THE TIMING CHAIN IS BUSTED AND THEY NEED TO PULL THE ENGINE BECAUSE THERE IS METAL IN THE OIL PAN S…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2010 GMC Terrain, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2010 GMC Terrain reliable?
Owners have filed 295 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2010 GMC Terrain, most often about engine. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which GMC Terrain years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.