GM 2.4L PCV System Froze, Engine Main Real Seal Failure

My wife and I own a 2017 GMC Terrain SLT with a 2.4L engine. On Saturday morning, February 4, 2023, with the temperature down to 1 degree Fahrenheit here in Buffalo, New York with a wind chill temperature of around negative -12 degrees.

While waiting in a drive thru about 2 miles from my home, we heard a pop and the engine sputtered, close to stalling a few times. The engine then seemed to run OK, so we drove the vehicle directly home and parked it in the driveway, Later that morning when I pulled it into the garage, I noticed a large oil stain on the driveway where the vehicle had been parked, which is odd since we’ve not had any drips from this engine prior to this incident. I then checked the oil level and didn’t see any registering on the dipstick. It took 2 quarts to bring it back up to normal levels. I then started the engine again and looking under the vehicle, I could see oil dripping heavily where the back of the engine meets the transmission. We kept the vehicle parked in the garage until I could get it in for service on Monday Feb 6, 2023.

Searching the internet, I found that the above scenario, in which the PCV system builds up pressure and blows out the main rear seal, occurred to a number of other 2.4L owners, especially those in colder climates. Paddock Chevrolet is less than 1 mile from my house so I felt I could get there with the engine oil being topped off. On Monday morning, February 6, 2023, I drove my vehicle over to Paddock Chevy and explained the situation to them and the possible issue. Paddock Chevrolet called me back later that morning and confirmed the PCV system clogged/froze and the main real seal failed. The total repair bill ended up being $3,177 but could have been higher if the engine had lost all of its oil. The Service Advisor told me that they actually had another vehicle in for service with the same exact problem as mine.

I see that there was a GM Technical Service Bulletin (TSB 14882) opened back in March 2015 but this TSB only covered 2010-2013 GMC Terrains with a 2.4L. In this TSB, GM did recommend for full customer reimbursement but only up to March 2016. I feel that my 2017 GMC Terrain (2.4L) had the same engine problem as referenced under TSB 14882 and feel GM should reimburse me as well as other customers in this same situation.

I live approximately 9 miles west of Joplin, MO. I was returning home from the North Park Mall in Joplin on Christmas Eve at 10 am. The temperature was 2 degrees and when I was on Route 66 highway, two miles from home, the engine shuttered, lost power, and kept running like on a "fail-safe" mode. The rocker arms started becoming really bad as well. As I turned into my driveway, the engine started knocking. As soon as I parked, I shut it off and went inside my house. I did not go back outside until Christmas Day. I checked my oil and my dipstick was dry; there was not oil in the engine. I walked out of my driveway and could see an oil trail from the path I took on Christmas Eve. We normally don't have weather that severe in my location. After researching online, I found there is a common problem with the PVC Evac system. When it warmed up, I pulled the tube out of the PVC system and water poured out from thawing. I have not driven the car since and I'm quite unsure of what to do about it. If anybody has any solutions or suggestions, please let me know. Thank you and have a great day.

On Sunday, December 25th, 2022 (Christmas Morning), my husband and I were driving to our church from Jackson MI to Chelsea MI, then had plans to go to our daughter's home in Pontiac MI afterwards. We drove on I94 to our exit, and on the offramp my husband noticed that the Terrain was making a funny noise--we went right around the corner into the parking lot and by then it was shaking and getting noisier. My husband popped the hood and realized the engine was knocking, and there was a trail of oil in front of it--he had backed it into the space. He shut the engine off and after church we had it towed home. We had it towed to Jim Winter Auto Group on Tuesday, December 27th, and the service department diagnosed the problem as the emissions (PCV) being clogged, and because of this the rear main seal on the engine blew out.

We have a 7 year/125,000 mile extended warranty on this Terrain--(bought on 1/11/2019--and now has just over 80,000 miles on it). We were sold this warranty when we bought the vehicle at Jim Winter, and we were told it would cover "everything except wear and tear". It certainly does NOT fall within the same category as brakes, struts, etc.

Upon further investigation we are finding that this is a known manufacturer defect, and the only real "fix" is to make sure the ports are cleaned out when we have the oil changed. Jim Winter has done all of the oil changes on this vehicle--never once was it suggested we have this done. Now we are told the warranty we bought will not cover the repair. This is not "wear and tear"--there should be a recall on this issue for the vehicles with that certain PCV emissions part. There is a class action lawsuit that was filed for this--there are lots of others who have had the exact same issue with the PCV clogging up and blowing out the rear main seal.

We feel the repairs should have been completely covered by GM and the extended warranty we paid for, and there needs to be a solution to this problem so it does not happen again. GM should be standing by their vehicles and own it when there is a known issue. I will NEVER buy another GM product.

Well this is first GMC we purchased and it will be our last!! Bought 2017 Terrain for $15,000.00 and only 1 year later had to spend $1,900 to fix!! Apparently GMC knew of this issue and instead of recalls for the Positive crankcase ventilation system freezing causing oil pressure to rise too high and blow out the rear main seal (because that would be too costly for them), they let supply auto shop with revised engine valve cover and drill out ports on the intake manifold/engine and replace the rear main seal (all at the customers expense) and not only that but was informed to keep an eye on oil levels in between oil changes because these are known for excessive oil consumption... A quart of oil every 1,000 miles... sooo sorry we chose this vehicle to purchase (NEVER AGAIN GMC)...

We have owned a Chrysler Town n Country since 2007 and have NEVER had to spend this kind of money in repairs!!!! And it still runs great, so save the headache and pocketbook and buy yourself a Chrysler instead!!! I will tell everyone i know how shady GMC is and how crappy their vehicles are!! And shame on you GMC for being aware of these issues and not taking any action to correct them. I am only thankful this did not blow the engine since there was absolutely NO WARNING THAT THE OIL WAS LOW OR EMPTY... SERIOUS FLAW!!!

Faulty PCV and intake gets clogged and then freeze, causing crank case pressure to blow the rear main seal. Extended warranty purchased from Serpentini Chevrolet of Medina refuses to cover the repair because they don't cover gaskets or seals even though the faulty non serviceable pcv and intake caused it to blow.

The vehicle only has 68000 miles and there is no reason the seal should have blown. I just purchased the car in October. Now I'm going to have to fix this myself and evidently repeat it again every winter since the faulty parts aren't serviceable and there is no way that I can prevent it from happening again.