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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2021 GMC Terrain — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 36 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

36
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
4
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
0
Involved Fire
owner-reported
4
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.

302 complaints

316 complaints

152 complaints

135 complaints

224 complaints

186 complaints

197 complaints

36 complaints

88 complaints

40 complaints

52 complaints

13 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 10 reports
Service Brakes 8 reports
Power Train 8 reports
Electrical System 7 reports
Unknown Or Other 3 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 3 reports
Engine And Engine Cooling 2 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 2 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 11442208 12/01/2021

I dropped my son off at school and he mistakenly took my car keys into school with him, and somehow I was able to drive all the way home, 4.5 miles, with no key in the car and no warning to stating the remote wasn't in the car. The issue with this is if I'd driven further, perhaps to another state, or even driven somewhere at night, I would have been stranded once I turned the…

Child Seat ODI 11696797 10/31/2025

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Terrain. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V339000 (Child Seat); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle would not be inspected or r…

Electrical System ODI 11490163 10/20/2022

Recently I have noticed that the back brakes squeak and sound like they are grinding when backing up. Also every now and then the information screen will go black for a while then turn back on could be a few seconds or several minutes. 23,900 on car

Power Train ODI 11548782 10/07/2023

When accelerating from a stop between 35-45 mph the steering wheel shakes and you feel a vibration coming from the front wheels. I thought the wheels were loose and were about to come off.

Engine ODI 11767928 09/29/2026

I have had my check engine light come on for P0299. I've lost power while on the road. Had my turbo replaced and now the same issue is starting again. I'm afraid of my car stalling out again with my child in the car. This is a definite safety issue especially since this is happening again months after getting the new turbo put in.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 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 2021 GMC Terrain reliable?
Owners have filed 36 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2021 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.