In an attempt to captivate the compact crossover SUV segment, the 2020 GMC Terrain comes with a nice amount of interior space, excellent fuel economy figures, and some nice engines. It has kept up a decent reliability reputation although there have been a few GMC Terrain engine problems. The manufacturer has responded with timely recalls, but owners are not exactly confident about the reliability of this car. That is a tough position to be in when it competes with cars like the Mazda CX-5, the Toyota RAV4, and the Hyundai Tucson. The Terrain is also on the pricier side of the segment with a starting price of MSRP $26,195. Let us get an in-depth look into GMC Terrain issues through this article.
2020 GMC Terrain User Complaints and Problems
Mechanical problems:
- One complaint about this car has been that the brakes must be applied aggressively to make it come to a stop. The pedal refuses to respond to normal inputs in many cars.
- There have been few instances where owners have reported incidents similar to the Jeep death wobble which has been prevalent in all-wheel-drive GMC Terrain as well as Chevrolet Equinox vehicles. If this is true, it requires urgent intervention from the brand.
- Many other owners have experienced problems with jerking, gears refusing to shift, and other problems that arise from the transmission. Several owners have reported GMC Terrain transmission problems and engine issues.
- The most common engine issues include wear and tear defects due to oil starvation. Although there is a GMC Terrain oil consumption recall recently, the new cars do not seem to fall in that category.
Electrical system problems:
- Multiple owners state that the vehicle suffers problems with the instrument cluster going blank while driving. OnStar emergency services try to get the owners over the phone but cannot get through in this instance. The cars are sometimes diagnosed with issues relating to the gear shift control, engine control module, passenger presence module, airbag sensors, etc., all needing to be replaced. Although some are fixed under warranty, the issues don’t get completely resolved.
- Although similar in terms of experience, a completely unrelated issue has affected many owners who have had the infotainment system shutting off completely. Some cars were diagnosed with Bluetooth and USB faults as well as rear-view camera issues.
- There was a complaint regarding the interior light staying on even when parked and not turning off despite all methods to turn off the lights being used.
- There was one complaint in which the owner has stated the fuel gauge shows the wrong readings and it is very hard to understand how much fuel is there in the car.
Safety problems:
- One owner reported that the air-conditioning system in the car produces a very toxic odor and that the smell is intermittent. The dealership was not able to find a solution.
- One contact has also stated that the car has displayed an airbag warning light but the dealership refused to check the airbags. There has been more than one complaint about owners facing bad treatment from dealerships across the country.
- One person has complained that although he cannot be classified as unnaturally tall at 6’1”, he found it very hard to see behind the car through the rear-view mirrors.
- There also has been a complaint about the adaptive cruise control system failing to activate. The owner gets messages regularly that the system is disengaging despite not choosing that option. There have been more issues with the cruise control system reported on the NHTSA website.
2020 GMC Terrain Recalls
|
S. No. |
Date |
NHTSA Campaign Number |
Issues Noticed |
Additional Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
October 29, 2020 |
20V668000 |
Missing bolts on start-stop accumulator |
The bolts used to attach the accumulator may be missing which can cause a transmission oil leak and lead to loss of propulsion. |
Should you buy the 2020 GMC Terrain?
The GMC Terrain is not a very attractive vehicle in this class due to its lack of real strengths compared to the intense competition it faces. However, it could have redeemed itself if it had proven to be a very reliable pick. However, we see that these cars have had a wide variety of issues and often owners have reported many of them at the same time. This makes the ownership experience quite terrible and we would not be able to recommend this car to our readers.
