10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,682 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 GMC Terrain engine problems

engine problem

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2012 GMC Terrain Owner Comments (Page 2 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #134

Jan 152022

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I recieved a recall on the oil consuption sensor in march had the part put in at Paola Kansas Vickers Chevrolet they half assed it if you ask me they said they did not take my wheel off i asked them to check that sensor it wouldnt reset the air pressure told me it would be 140 i said not come to find out there is a recall it never came back on but it always made a terrible wheeel noice after. With in a few days it was useing a 1 to 2 quarts of oil every week i changed my oil every 3 months or 5400 miles or less sometime 3500 per my dad. Then come January it got below 0 and my oil froze up and i waited tell it was over 32 added oil and went to work with in 35 miles the light came on and said turn off engine low oil so i did put in more oil got to work on the wayhome stopped every 15 miles added oil. My stepdad who is a machanic looked at it and said the sensor was not in tight enough causing condisation cause the engine to lock

- Mapleton, KS, USA

problem #133

Dec 032021

Terrain

  • miles
Once again, timing chain incident, this time while driving, wasn't expecting it, suddenly my Terrain steering when became stiff to turn, and happened to realize the car motor had shut off and rolling to the right, nearly hitting parked car. I tried to start vehicle, but made a whining sound, but did not start, yet check engine light was on. I had my OBD reader handy, and got p0011, p0017 codes, which tell me it was the timing chain again in this car. This very dangerous because we could of collided with a parked vehicle, if not for me struggling so hard to steer vehicle while steering wheel was stiff.

- Barberton, OH, USA

problem #132

Nov 182021

Terrain

  • miles
Excessive oil consumption caused blown engine

- Rice, VA, USA

problem #131

Mar 012021

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

All of these models have been prone to oil consumption issues, during the pandemic GMC of Southern pines North Carolina decided to charge us $500 for the repair because we were not able to make it on time. This is something that GMC has been avoiding and throwing its customers in a loop in order to fix. Oil consumption due to the fault of GMC can be found in our records of repair.

- Sanford , NC, USA

problem #130

Aug 092021

Terrain

  • miles
Just recently I took my GMC Terrain on a recall. They told me that the timing chain had to be replaced. The car only has 111,441 miles, I don't think at 111 thousand miles a timing chain should be replaced. It must be a manufacture defect. We dealing with a chain, not a timing belt.

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #129

Jul 202021

Terrain

  • 117,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact noticed that there was oil leaking onto the ground. The contact inspected under the hood and saw that there was no oil on the dipstick. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the engine was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The contact stated that after two oil changes, the oil was extremely black on the dipstick. The contact stated that the engine had consumed over 2 quarts of oil after 2,500 miles. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that an oil consumption test was necessary to diagnose the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.

- Webster, WI, USA

problem #128

Nov 012020

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We received a notice in the mail regarding our vehicle with our VIN #. And it mentioned our particular size engine had a recall for potential emissions part condition of degraded catalytic converter and/or oxygen sensors caused by excessive engine oil consumption affecting some vehicle from our year, make, and model. We were surprised to receive this notice because we always park in reverse and we had noticed how it was turning the curb side black coming from the tail pipe. We did receive one other notice before and took it to the dealership to have it maintenance but my honest opinion I do believe they did anything to our vehicle because it was running the same and also took it to Midas after taking it to the dealership because it ran the same. Anyhow I hope upon receiving this other notice we can actually maybe get reimbursed and actually get it fixed finally.

- Tomball, TX, USA

problem #127

Jun 092021

Terrain

  • miles
Over the past couple years I have become worried to even drive this vehicle. Well Taken care of and maintenance completed regularly. This vehicle has been in the shop 7 times in the past couple years but no one can tell me exactly what is going on. Only 1 place has told me that I need extensive electrical work but couldn't tell me what exactly the problem was. Issue #1: When coming to a stop, and/or idle, the engine seems to give up and vehicle shuts off. Issue #2: When started Engine sounds like a.high pitch raddle. Issue #3: Occasionally, while driving on the interstate going around 60 - 65 mph the electrical inside the vehicle will flash and everything shuts off and the emergency brake is applied automatically. This has become dangerous - if I wasn't wearing a seatbelt I could have been thrown through the windshield. Issue #4: Replace Fuel Cap Sensor comes on even though it's been replaced. Issue #5: Engine Power Reduced notification comes on even though it had a new battery and alternator. Issue #6: Occasionally Speakers sound blown and you can hear a buzzing as you accelerate. Issue #7: Stabili Track, ABS, and TPMS Sensors all come on at once and go away at once atleast 4 times a week. Issue #7: Rear Cam doesn't always work, sometime either black or static looking. Issue #8: Sometimes key sticks in ignitiin and will not turn on unless being jumped by another vehicle. Issue #9: Often upon starting the whole dash goes black and will stay that way for several hours then comes back on. I've checked all fuses and multiple mechanics can't figure it out. As time goes by without repair I'm scared to even drive this vehicle. Why can't someone figure this out!!

- Bradford, AR, USA

problem #126

May 282021

Terrain

  • miles
Says powertrain control module failure. Also oxygen sensor on the my gmc app. It keeps cutting off in the middle of road.

- Lindale, GA, USA

problem #125

Sep 232020

Terrain

  • miles
My vehicle has excessive oil consumption including the need for frequent oil refilling, combined with audible rattle and knocking sound.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #124

May 052021

Terrain

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My Terrain recently started having -€œexcessive-€ engine oil use. During the last two oil changes the dipstick has not registered any oil. I took it to a GMC dealership, but they only checked oil consumption after 1000 miles and the vehicle is at 121,000 miles currently. I don-€™t believe it is fair for them to allow an issue of this magnitude to continue, because it wasn-€™t using 1 qt of oil in 1000 miles, prior to the vehicle reaching 150,000 miles. I have to keep watching the oil levels in order to not damage my engine due to a known issues with the 2012 GMC Terrain. I also have to miss work & drive 30 miles to a dealership in order to have issues documented. I feel like they are just hoping I run out of time & mileage, since the recall is for a certain amount of time.

- Valley Falls, KS, USA

problem #123

Apr 112021

Terrain

  • 82,000 miles
My husband started the Terrain, backed out of garage & it died. It started again then. He was driving it 10 miles from our home & when driving on highway in the country, the car would not accelerate over 20 mph even as he pressed down the accelerator. When he reached his destination. He shut off the car & tried to restart it to move it & it started. Couple days later, it started to move in garage however when wanting to remove it from garage, the car would not start. Hasn't since. I was ckg oil periodically & when needed so there was still oil in it. Towed it to dealer & told us the timing chain was bad. Same as what GMC & Chevy 2011 & 2012 cars are dealing with. Bad oil consumption. GMC nor our dealership who sold us this car 2 years ago will back their product. They shouldn't have sold is this car in the first place since there was already a law suit against Chevrolet & GMC for this problem. I still owe money on this car & no one will help with this dilemma.

- Mt Carroll, IL, USA

problem #122

Apr 132019

Terrain

  • 95,472 miles
Engine blew in vehicle due to excessive oil consumption from piston ring damage. Car had only 95K miles. Vehicle was being driven at 20 mph, bucked and turned off completely. We notified GM dealership at every oil change of excessive consumption. We put in a quart of oil every 1000 miles.a consumption test was never recommended. We then could not do one as the engine blew. Also damaged exhaust manifold, O2 sensors and cat converter. We have also replaced the manifold and sensors and have the cat converter repair this week. All told over 5000$ in damages that we have paid out of pocket. There was no recall for the piston rings. Some vehicles have since been issued a letter indicating that emissions issues due to excessive oil consumption would be repaired at no cost. Our car apparently did not meet that criteria. A lawsuit against GM has been litigated and won for the excessive consumption. We are part of the class action however have already been denied once for unknown reason. We resubmitted 3 months ago and have heard nothing. It is criminal that these vehicles have not been completely recalled.

- Boscawen, NH, USA

problem #121

Jan 312021

Terrain

  • 125,000 miles
I was driving about 2 months ago when the low oil pressure light went on on my dashboard and it said stop engine now with a very loud alarm. I pulled into a gas station to check the oil and I did have to add about 3 quarts of oil. So I assumed this would fix the issue but when I started driving about 1 minute after I started driving again the low oil pressure light and alarm came and it again said stop engine now. I finally got it home and I turned the car off and then tried to restart the car and it did not start. I had it looked at by a few mechanics and they said the engine was gone that it failed the compression test 3 time and the vavles were bent. I had just got a oil change about 1 month prior to this.

- Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA

problem #120

Jan 032021

Terrain

  • 120,000 miles
During a bad storm the windshield wipers went past the windshield and the motor froze up motor started humming then locked up.

- Crocker, MO, USA

problem #119

Mar 022018

Terrain

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while her husband was driving 70 mph, the vehicle started making an abnormal sound before stalling. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an extreme amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to nimnicht Buick GMC (11503 philips hwy, jacksonville, fl 32256, (904) 733-1616) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #118

Mar 182021

Terrain

  • 93,200 miles
While driving to work on the freeway, engine began making a knocking/rattling sound; checked dipstick the next morning and there was no oil on it. Oil had just been changed 2,500 miles previously. Vehicle is consuming oil at an abnormally high, about one quart per 500 miles, and has no warning light to alert the driver when the oil level is too low. We are at risk of experiencing engine failure at any time while driving. We have discovered this to be a common issue after our other vehicle of the same year, make and model suffered catastrophic engine failure linked to low oil pressure. Vehicle has 93,400 miles and we have owned it since April 2020. This model year vehicle is known to be equipped with faulty piston ring assemblies which lead to excessive oil consumption. Additionally, there is no oil pressure sensor to alert the driver to the low oil; consequently, this misleads the owner into operating the vehicle with inadequate oil levels and causing engine damage. Complete engine failure can occur suddenly, creating an enormous safety hazard; we are lucky we were not driving at highway speeds or in heavy traffic at the time it occurred. GM issued a special coverage adjustment, but it was not nearly adequate to cover the extent of damage that can and does occur as a result of this defect, leaving many drivers stuck with unreliable, unsafe vehicles or astronomically expensive repairs.

- Hartland, WI, USA

problem #117

Mar 182021

Terrain

  • 77,797 miles
While backing out of driveway, the engine stopped without warning and vehicle would not restart. After being towed for service, we learned there was almost no oil left, causing the timing chains to fail and the engine was damaged beyond repair. We had driven the vehicle less than 12 hours prior and there were no warning lights such as low oil, check engine, etc. The vehicle has just under 78,000 miles on it and should have been 1,200 miles and 2 months from needing an oil change. This model year vehicle is known to be equipped with faulty piston ring assemblies which lead to excessive oil consumption. Additionally, there is no oil pressure sensor to alert the driver to the low oil; consequently, this misleads the owner into operating the vehicle with inadequate oil levels and causing engine damage. Complete engine failure can occur suddenly, creating an enormous safety hazard; we are lucky we were not driving at highway speeds or in heavy traffic at the time it occurred. GM issued a special coverage adjustment, but it was not nearly adequate to cover the extent of damage that can and does occur as a result of this defect, leaving many drivers stuck with unreliable, unsafe vehicles or astronomically expensive repairs.

- Hartland, WI, USA

problem #116

May 312018

Terrain

  • 88,961 miles
GM used faulty piston rings resulting in excessive oil consumption. This resulted in blown engines. This vehicle also does not have a oil gauge or low oil light to warn the consumer of the know oil consumption issue. I was driving home and the engine started to ping as I got to the driveway. I turned off the engine, and it would not start again. I took it to GM and they said the engine was blown. See #16118-01: Special coverage-excessive engine oil consumption- (Jan 28,2020) GM was sued, but are denying most claims. See Terrain-equinox oil consumption recall group on facebook. The engine blew due to the oil leaking out of the pistons.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #115

Feb 252021

Terrain

  • 1,500,000 miles
The oil in my car seems to disappear. I get my oil changed and after about 500 miles the oil is gone. There is no warning light. The menu says I had 50 percent life left on the oil. Check the oil and it is ike a rust color. Y engine had stopped. It will not crank. Now I have a car that's needs anew engine. I've looked online about this issue. Find out that people that have the same car has had the same problem. Something needs to B gone about this issue. I have no warrinity left on the car. It all has to B out of pocket.

- Pollock, LA, USA

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