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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2016 GMC Terrain — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 153 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

153

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

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.

2010 GMC Terrain

295 complaints

2011 GMC Terrain

397 complaints

2012 GMC Terrain

370 complaints

2013 GMC Terrain

369 complaints

2014 GMC Terrain

302 complaints

2015 GMC Terrain

316 complaints

2016 GMC Terrain

153 complaints

2017 GMC Terrain

135 complaints

2018 GMC Terrain

224 complaints

2019 GMC Terrain

186 complaints

2020 GMC Terrain

197 complaints

2021 GMC Terrain

36 complaints

2022 GMC Terrain

88 complaints

2023 GMC Terrain

40 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 46 reports

Visibility/wiper 46 reports

Unknown Or Other 13 reports

Power Train 11 reports

Air Bags 10 reports

Exterior Lighting 10 reports

Electrical System 9 reports

Steering 6 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Visibility/wiper ODI 11562559 12/29/2023

My wife was driving on the highway to work when it was raining. Both of the wipers stopped working all of a sudden causing her to not be able to see out of the windshield. When she got home that night I could see that the linkage arm had came off the ball joint.

Electronic Stability Control (esc) ODI 11445356 12/28/2021

The contact owns a 2016 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the stability track warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over and restart the vehicle however, the warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the electronic brake control module replaced; however, th…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11162993 12/21/2018

CONSTANTLY DIES. TOOK IT TO A SHOP TO SEE WHAT OR WHY. ITS THE INTAKE VALVE TIMING SOLENOID. WAS TOLD COULD REPLACE THE PART BUT IT NEVER REALLY FIXES THE PROBLEM HAVE TO TAKE ALL THE HEADS OFF AND CLEAN THE GUMMED UP OIL. I HAVE REGULAR OIL CHANGES. I EVEN GET IT TAKEN IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE BEFORE MY CAR TELLS ME I NEED TOO.

Visibility/wiper ODI 11384238 12/20/2020

WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOPPED WORKING. I CAN HEAR THE MOTOR WORKING BUT THE ARMS DOD NOT MOVE.

Service Brakes ODI 11290250 12/20/2019

HUSBAND WAS TRAVELING UNDER 25 MPH UP HILL AND TWO VEHICLES AHEAD OF HIM ABRUPTLY STOPPED FOR UNKNOWN REASON WHICH RESULTED IN THE VEHICLE IN FRONT DOING THE SAME CAUSING MY HUSBAND HAVING TO HARD BRAKE. AS HE TRIED TO STOP THE VEHICLE THE BRAKES WOULDN'T RESPOND AND CAR KEPT ROLLING RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT. THE ABS CONTROLLER FAILED

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2016 GMC Terrain, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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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 2016 GMC Terrain reliable?

Owners have filed 153 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2016 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.