2018 GMC Terrain Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle while transitioning to 4WD. The contact continued driving and the driving sound became more frequent while shifting into 4WD. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact discovered that the driveshaft had detached and was hanging down from the suspension. An independent mechanic was contacted, and the contact was informed about NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V516000 (Power Train); which the mechanic associated to the failure. The contact called two local dealers and was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the unintendedly decelerated and failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced with a used transmission, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer who diagnosed and determined that the replacement transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 53,000. The VIN was not available.
I bought this car used and had only had it about a month when I was driving to work and was in slow traffic on the freeway when my car slowed to a stop despite the fact that I had my foot on the gas pedal. It turns out it was a transmission failure. My safety and the safety of the drivers around me were put at risk because I was unable to move my car over to the shoulder and out of the lane of traffic. Traffic was slow but was still moving. My vehicle is available for inspection but I’ve already had it repaired so I no longer have the faulty transmission. The problem was confirmed by an independent service center where I had it repaired. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer and the independent service center. The dealer had it for 12 days but was unable to diagnose it so I took it to an independent service center. It was also briefly looked at and listened to by the highway patrol officer who assisted me and he also thought that the transmission had failed. The check engine light was on when this incident occurred but I was having an issue with one of the glow plugs and I thought that that was the reason. The check engine light came on the night before the transmission failed.
My vehicle put itself in park in the middle of an intersection while waiting to make a left turn in the middle of rush hour traffic. The car could not even be placed in neutral to be pushed out of the way of oncoming traffic. Narrowly avoided a collision.
Transmission failed. Unable to purchase a replacement as there are no available transmissions for this year terrian.
While driving in the rain at about 25-30 mph I noticed a loss of propulsion and before I could turn off the main road the vehicle came to a rolling stop and would not recognize any gears. causing us to block the roadway and had to have it towed home. Took to local car dealer they said it RDCCM abnormal errors like u0422-00 and brake control module errors. Further diagnostics were need to figure out the cause and it possible that the Transmision is having problems now! This should be recalled.
When you're sitting at idle in gear and go to accelerate the transmission will slip out of gear into neutral then into gear after the rpms climb. This happens alot. According to the dealership this is normal based on information from a bulletin from GMC.
11/24/2021 buy 2018 GMC Terrain, before leaving the dealership I told the seller that the engine light was on he said it was because they removed the alarm which I didn’t want to buy and the light was going to be off later and told me to take the car to service on Monday 11/29 so my husband took the car they repair a detail on the handle door and he said the engine light it’s off so we tough what he said about the alarma, we trust the seller but on 12/26/2021 I left California to Texas, I was about 4 and a half hours away the car began to lose speed and a very strange noise was heard, I stepped on the accelerator and did not raise speed, I had to step aside the freeway and the car turn on but It did not go forward or backward and NO warning light was on dashboard, nothin ! The car broke down in Arizona in the middle of nowhere, it’s was freezing and almost got hit by a semi truck, it was a very frustrated experience.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 GMC TERRAIN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED INTERMITTENTLY WITH THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO HILLSDALE BUICK GMC (99 W CARLETON RD, M-99, HILLSDALE, MI 49242) ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS TO HAVE MULTIPLE REPAIRS PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE INCLUDING THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ECM, SEVERAL FUEL INJECTORS, AND MULTIPLE COMPUTER UPDATES PERFORMED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED AFTER EACH VISIT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA FOR ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 90,000.
The turbine shaft in the transmission broke without warning. The part could have failed in an intersection leaving the vehicle in the middle of the road and potentially causing an accident as the vehicle was unable to move under its own power. Luckily it failed going down the interstate and my wife was able to safely coast to the shoulder. Yes, the vehicle was disassembled by the dealer and the broken part discovered. There was no warning that this would happen. The ironic part was that the vehicle was in to the dealer the day before for a emissions recall, a check engine light (emissions related) and a routine maintenance front end alignment and left my wife stranded the next day.
MY 2018 GMC TERRAIN SLE HAS 41668 MILES AND HAS BEEN SERVICED AS NEEDED. ANYHOW, SOMETIMES WHEN I AM DRIVING, I CAN FEEL THE POWER TRAIN STALL OUT WHEN DRIVING INTERMITTENTLY. THIS CONCERNS ME AS A SINGLE PARENT WITH A 10 YEAR OLD CHILD THAT GOES EVERYWHERE WITH ME. I JUST WANT MY VEHICLE TO BE SAFE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 GMC TERRAIN. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP SIGN, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WOULD RESTART AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TASCA BUICK (510 E NASA BLVD, MELBOURNE, FL 32901, (321) 247-7124) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE PART WAS ON BACKORDER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,000.
TRANSMISSION FAILS TO DOWN SHIFT AFTER ACCELERATING IN TRAFFIC. RPM LEGAL 2200 RPM AT 40 MPH FOR OVER A MILE BEFORE DROPPING TO CORRECT 1200 RPM FOR THAT SPEED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 GMC TERRAIN. WHEN DRIVING DOWNHILL, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER AND HAD IT TOWED TO ANCHOR BUICK GMC (1 AUTOMOTIVE BLVD, ELKTON, MD 21921, (443) 406-4623) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION CLUTCH NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,200.
IN 25 MPH RESIDENTIAL AREAS TRANSMISSION DOESNT FEEL LIKE IT IS SHIFTING RIGHT, YOU CAN FEEL THE CHANGE AND HEAR IT WHILE DRIVING, THEN GET TRANSMISSION HOT IDLE ENGINE ALERT. TOOK TO DEALER NO CODES SHOWN, HAPPENS CONSISTENTLY
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2018 GMC TERRAIN. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE JERKED BACKWARDS AND "TRANSMISSION HOT AUTO ENGINE" ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO RAINBOW NORTHSHORE BUICK GMC (888-525-9150, LOCATED AT 2925 N HWY 190, COVINGTON, LA 70433) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NO FAILURE. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE SAME DEALER. THE DEALER ADMITTED THAT THEY KNEW ABOUT THE FAILURE, BUT THERE WAS NO REMEDY. THE CONTACT TRADED IN THE VEHICLE FOR A DIFFERENT YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL. THE CONTACT CALLED THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU AND WAS ADVISED TO CALL NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 3,000.
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Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2018 GMC Terrain has 16 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.