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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2017 GMC Terrain — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 135 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

135
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
11
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
2
Involved Fire
owner-reported
7
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

224 complaints

186 complaints

197 complaints

36 complaints

88 complaints

40 complaints

52 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 79 reports
Power Train 24 reports
Unknown Or Other 20 reports
Air Bags 12 reports
Electrical System 9 reports
Exterior Lighting 7 reports
Structure 7 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 4 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Engine ODI 11707583 12/29/2025

This car burns 1 quart of 5w-30 synthetic blend oil every 200 miles! The pcv valve has been cleaned numerous times and this does not affect the burning oil issue and yes this can be inspected upon request. Safety put at risk you ask, this is a ticking timebomb ready to ruin the engine due to burning oil, leaves me stranded in my rural town for fear of mechanical breakdown, …

Engine ODI 11499383 12/29/2022

In very cold weather the 2.4 engines will blow the rear main seal out and cause rapid oil loss causing engine failure. This is the second time it has happened. First time was February 2022 and the dealer said they havent seen this problem before

Structure ODI 11562235 12/28/2023

The latch for the rear hatch/door does not release every time. There have been instances when itmes have been in the cargo area and when the button is pressed, it will not release the latch. This causes someone to have to crawl over the back seat to retrieve the items from the cargo area. This also is causing my son to have to store items, that would normally be in the crgo ar…

Engine ODI 11499273 12/28/2022

It was Christmas weekend, the coldest days our area had seen this time of year in decades. Temperatures were around 0 degrees, with wind chills that were -25 below. The check engine light had come on the day before. My husband was literally driving to the mechanic to have it looked at, when the vehicle completely broke down across the street from his destination. Thank God he …

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 11498874 12/26/2022

timing chain issues resulting in a loss of power of the vehicle while driving. The vehicle stalls out and shuts off. Or it will go into power saving mode and slow down to only 20mph. It did this to me one a MAJOR HIGHWAY and I almost was in an accident. Way to many issues with gmc owners and the timing chain on their vehicles

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2017 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 2017 GMC Terrain reliable?
Owners have filed 135 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2017 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.