13 complaints reported

2018 GMC Terrain Electrical System

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
13
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2025

The infotainment system will just randomly start going haywire and when it happens, you cannot use the touchscreen. It will try to randomly delete app icons such as the camera, it will try to delete connected phones, it will try to delete radio favorites and it will move app icons all around. These are just a few examples of things that happen.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2025
Aug 2025

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the infotainment system screen and radio inadvertently switched stations from AM to FM. On other occasions, while driving and using the GPS system, the screen went blank. The contact stated that on several occasions the screen was turned off, and on other occasions, the screen was turned off and on however, the failure was temporally fixed. The vehicle was not diagnosed of repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2025
Aug 2024

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the horn was inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2024
Jul 2024

The door locks began to have issues; the locks started to work only occassionally for no apparent reason. I've been locked out of the car several times and had to use the auxiliary key. Plus I couldn't lock the car while I was inside as the interior door lock button wouldn't lock or unlock the doors either. It's not a kefob or battery issue and no lights on the dashboard. The dealer reports that they couldn't reproduce the issue. However they found corrision on the electrical harness inside the passenger front door. I replaced an electrical harness in the rear bumper 18 months prior for corrision found. The dealer says they received a service bulletin on the "electrical harness" issue however the dealer won't cover the cost of $500 to replace the harness. As this deals with the electrical system, my concern is that it may effect the operation of other components of the car while it's running. Safety and security is of the utmost importance whether at home or away as it regards to being able to lock or unlock the doors.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2023
Dec 2023

On Wed., Dec. 6 around 3:15 pm during heavy traffic on FWY [XXX], cars slowed down to a brief complete stop. When I went to start slowly as traffic began to move, engine completely shut down. I could not open windows or my door to get out of vehicle. Immediately called 911 and was transferred to DPS. It took approximately 65 minutes before I had help and was finally towed from the dangerous freeway lane where I was stuck and with vehicle completely stalled and locked down, I couldn't even get car in N to be able to have help moving to a non dangerous place outside of the FWY lanes. This is the fifth time this car locks down. I've learned to open a panel by the foot brake area, pull a lever in that area and be able to move the car to a safe location until I got towed into the dealer. It is the second time that this has happened in a potentially dangerous street and now Freeway. Danger to myself and many others that had to maneuver around me. The first time (around 2020) the car totally shut down, it was reported that a computer harness had to be replaced. This last time I was faced with such a dangerous situation on a FWY it was determined that the ECM (Engine Control Module) had caused the shutdown and locked the vehicle to where I could not even get out for close to an hour. The ECM was replaced by GM and the car is running again, but my shock and trauma still haunt me as to the self and others danger that was present. . GMC Dealer finally determined after several attempts that ECM was the problem. Unsure if available to inspect it. Delivered car back 12/8. . Heavy freeway traffic at peak hour put me and many others in serious danger. . My dealer report reads it was difficult to diagnose and finally find ECM was the problem. .Vehicle has not been inspected by Manufacturer, police, or insurance. .A few minutes before this lock-down an engine icon appeared while on the FWY. Previous shutdown incidents had no warnings or messages before locking up. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2023
Mar 2023

Temperature sensor for the engine went out...which now affects my remote start not to work

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2022
Apr 2022

Unknown

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC Type: Equipment, Vehicle: 9999 UNKNOWN UNKNOWN, Manufacturer: UNKNOWN MANUFACTURER
Incident: Apr 2022
Feb 2021

CAR SHUTS OFF COMPLETELY AT A STOP AND NO POWER AT ALL UNTILL IT IS JUMP STARTED.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2020
Sep 2019

THE SCREEN ON THE DASH WHICH INCLUDES THE RADIO AND BACK UP CAMERA GOES WHITE AT RANDOM TIMES AND DOES NOT WORK. I HAVE HAD THE RADIO/SCREEN REPLACED AND IT STILL DOES IT. I HAVE HAD MANY UPDATES WITH THE SCREEN.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2019
Aug 2019

REAR DOOR ELECTRIC LOCKING SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK. ALSO COULD NOT ENTRR CAR AFTER CAR WASH AS ALL OTHER DOORS WERE INOPERABLE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2019
Aug 2019

WIRING HARNESS NOT WEATHER SEALED N SHORTED OUT AFTER DEALER WASHED CAR ON DELIVERY

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2018
Jan 2019

THE NAVIGATION/MEDIA CENTER WILL EITHER GO COMPLETELY BLACK OR COMPLETELY WHITE SCREEN EVEN WHEN BACKING UP YOU LOSE THE CAMERA AND CAN'T SHUT OFF THE RADIO. IF THE SCREEN GOES WHITE DURING EVENING DRIVING THE REFLECTION OF THE WINDSHIELD IS SO SEVERE I CAN'T DRIVE AND THE SYSTEM WILL NOT SHUT OFF WHEN THE POWER BUTTON IS DEPRESSED. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO DEALERSHIP, THEY REPLACED THE RADIO ONCE. IT IS DOING IT AGAIN LESS THAN A MONTH LATER. GMC SAID THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE BUT DO NOT KNOW WHY OR HAVE A FIX. IN THE MEAN TIME I AM TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE SINCE THEY DO NOT SEE THIS AS A SAFETY CONCERN. I HAVE ATTACHED A PHOTO FROM YESTERDAY I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF BACKING UP WHEN THE WHOLE SCREEN WENT BLACK. I WAS BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY ONTO A CITY STREET. WHEN WE GOT TO OUR DESTINATION AND SHUT THE CAR OFF THE RADIO STAYED ON EVEN ONCE WE EXITED THE VEHICLE AND SHUT AND LOCKED THE DOORS. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF A FIRE HAZARD AS WELL.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2019
Dec 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 GMC TERRAIN. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE DRIVER'S ALERT WARNING SYSTEM FAILED TO OPERATE AS INTENDED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PERFORMING AS INTENDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND VIN WERE NOT AVAILABLE. *BF LANE CHANGE ALERT NOT WORKING. UPDATED 9/18/18*JB

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2017

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2018 GMC Terrain has 13 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.