19 complaints reported

2019 GMC Terrain Brakes

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

Reports
19
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
1

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Dec 2025

Failure of the cam driven vacuum pump causing brake failure. Leading to a hard brake pedal which increases risk of a crash. Debris from the broken vacuum pump can fall down into the engine causing a catastrophic failure of the engine needing a replacement. This happens with little to no warning. Warranty companies will not pay to repair the known issue. A recall needs to be issued for this to provide a fix. This is a family suv and I do not feel safe putting my children in a vehicle that can endanger their lives and safety.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2025
Dec 2025

While driving the breaks completely locked up and the smell of exhaust entered through vents. Ran a code machine indicating that the break booster power vacuum pump was needing replaced. There are no other issues with my vehicle that would cause it to malfunction out of no where.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2025
Oct 2025

When approaching a stop sign, the brake pedal became extremely hard I was unable to stop, and rolled through the intersection avoiding collision. I was able to slow down enough to engage the emergency brake. There are no lights on the dash.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2025
May 2025

Vacuum pump broke and car has no brakes

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2025
Apr 2025

Breaks went out on vehicle with no warning or lights on dash. Nothing prior or now indicating any issues with breaking system.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2025
Apr 2025

I was backing out of the driveway, and it was extremely hard to brake enough to stop the car. I immediately parked back into the driveway. I had to stand on the brake to completely stop. Vacuum pump was completely busted and in many pieces.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2025
Jun 2024 Crash Injury

The contact owned a 2019 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while the wife was driving at approximately 60 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and it felt stiff. The vehicle failed to decrease in speed and as a result, the driver merged to the shoulder of the road however another vehicle crashed into the front driver side of the vehicle. The driver was able to merge to the shoulder of the road where the road bumps were able to decrease the speed of the vehicle. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The driver, front passenger, and rear driver's side passenger all sustained headaches and received medical attention via an ambulance on the scene. No occupants in the second vehicle were reported injured. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 40,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2024
Apr 2024

I had just gotten off the highway and had gone less than a mile on a 35 mph road when the brakes acted like the antilock brakes came on for a brief second then the brake pedal became very hard to push. This resulted in me having a difficult time stopping the vehicle. The service brake light also came on.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2024
Apr 2024

The brakes failed with zero warning while driving. Car only has 60,000 miles. Extremely dangerous and it looks like it has been reported and known issue! It needs to be recalled.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2024
Jan 2024

At 86,000 miles information board on dashboard alerted “Service, Brake Assist” upon braking from coming off of interstate. Diagnosed to a failed cam shaft driven Vacuum pump for power brake booster, next to no braking power with little to no warning what so ever. Terrible design from GM. Near miss collision due to brake failure with no warning. This needs an immediate attention through the engineering department to create a redundancy within the system. Nearly caused a very bad accident with my [XXX] and [XXX] daughters in the vehicle while fiancé was coming to pick me up from being on the road as a OTR truck driver. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2024
Jan 2024

The brake vacuum pump failed. I am extremely fortunate this happened at a rest stop after being on interstate 80 for numerous miles. Had this happened at highway speeds it would have been catastrophic for myself and most likely others. I do not have the part. The problem was confirmed and the psrt was replaced by Mavis Discount Tire in Mountain Top, PA There were no warning lights, signs, or symptoms prior to the malfunction. It is my understanding that GM has recalled the part on other models, but did not include the Terrain in the recall. I believe it should be before someone is seriously injured.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2024
Jul 2023

2019 gmc terrain with 45000 miles, regular maintenance performed. Driving on highway 70mps brakes failed with no warning. No issues with brakes or lights coming on up to this point. Brake pedal became stiff very minimal brake working lights began flashing on dash stating "service brake assist". Barely made it off the highway without a catastrophic Collison. Took car in states brake vacuum pump completely failed. Apparently there are many models of gmc/chevy that were recalled and have known issues with the brake vacuum pump. Not sure why the terrain is not included. It needs to be, this was a very dangerous situation. I had children in the car and was very scary! 600$ to repair, and from reading other reviews the pumps are breaking often, sometimes ruining engines. Gmc stand behind your product and fix this!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2023
May 2023

Brake booster failure detected by rumbling sound during braking and certified gmc tech advised of brake booster failure on a 2019 gmc terrain with only 24k miles.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2023
Apr 2023

While driving at the speed limit on U.S. Interstate 83 in Pennsylvania, my 2019 GMC Terrain's braking system suddenly, without any warning, became severely limited. The brake pedal suddenly became very hard to press and the my ability to slow or stop the vehicle became very difficult, requiring a great deal of pressure to even slow the vehicle. The braking system worked perfectly until that moment. If I needed to stop quickly or if I did not have as much leg strength, it is highly likely the equipment failure would have directly resulted in a catastrophic crash. I struggled to get the vehicle safely off the road and stopped. I then had it taken to a certified auto mechanic shop. There, it was found the GM vacuum brake booster pump had inexplicably failed, making the "brake assist" function inoperable. The mechanic was surprised GM had a replacement pump in stock, as he said that is not the norm for other brands. A moment after pressing the brake for the first time as the incident began, a message appeared on the dash stating "Service Brake Assist." There was no pre-failure warning or symptoms. I was in the middle of a 300-mile road trip, having already completed about 220 miles that day, without any notable incident. The cost to replace and install the vacuum pump was about $640.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2023
Sep 2022

my vacuum booster pump for my brakes keeps needing to be replaced. i had to get it replaced twice now & every single time that it stopped working i was driving on the highway at 65 mph and my brakes just suddenly wouldn’t work and we’re very hard to push down. this has happened twice now

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2022
Aug 2022

We were in the driveway thru lane at a fast food restaurant and all of a sudden the car shut off and the brakes got hard to push in. The car was able to be started at this time but the engine wasn’t working well. We were able to make it home, slowly and carefully. We had the vehicle towed to a Mechanic and this is what was told to us: Possible increased brake pedal effort due to mechanical engine vacuum pump failure. We had it sent to David's Auto Service 219-861-0666. This could’ve been a very dangerous accident if we were driving on the expressway or on a regular street going the normal speed limit. Thankfully we were in a drive thru lane.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2022
Aug 2022

After driving down around 40 miles, the brakes failed when pulling into a parking spot. There was no indication that the brakes were having issues. No sounds or vibrations were felt. I stopped at a stoplight before turning into the parking lot. Then when attempting to spot in a parking spot, the brakes were very difficult to press. Luckily there was not a vehicle or person in front of me. Had the vehicle taken to a dealer and was told it was the vacuum booster that failed. Upon researching, this has been an issue in past GMC models, but I was told there was no current recall for the vehicle. The vacuum booster was replaced for $540 and I drove the vehicle home. The vehicle showed no issues for the first day. On the second day, I went to pull into a parking spot at a park and the same issue with the brakes occurred. I nearly struck a child that was walking in front of the parking spot. Luckily I was able to slam the pedal to the floor and come to a stop. Took the vehicle to the mechanic and was told the same part had broke. That part has been fixed again and has been fine for 2 days so far. I'm scared that it will happen again and I will not be able to stop in time before I hurt someone else or my family. This needs to be addressed. And I believe I am owed compensation from the manufacturer.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2022
Mar 2022

I have been notified that my brake vacuum pump EXPLODED in to my engine, leaving me with limited braking ability. I was driving through a school zone when the brakes went out, I noticed as I was not able to stop at an intersection. This could have led to multiple injuries, including children being in harms way. I had no warning this was coming and now look towards a hefty repair bill. GMC has recalled vacuum pumps in other models but for some reason the terrain is not included. I wonder if there just haven't been enough deaths caused by faulty brake systems for them to cover this model too.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2022
Jan 2022

GMC Corporate Office General Motors Company300 Renaissance Center Detroit, MI 48265 To Whom it May Concern, Been a customer with GMC for a good while despite the issues and troubles we were still loyal to the company. October 31,2021 Sunday, I had sudden lost of my brakes/stalled on my 2019 Terrain SLE while driving to the store close to my area on top of that having less than 30,000 miles in it. Despite the horrible and devastating event I was able to have the truck without any scratch , hit , or had any accident on this event but instead still safely stopped the car down a hill from where I lost my brakes/stalled. Fast forward Nov 2nd had the truck towed to the Milea Pontiac Buick GMC Service And Parts at 3281 E. Tremont Bronx New York 10461. Towing company both from picking up the truck and dropping off Milea had a hard time since the truck was not starting or even able to be placed in neutral to be able to have the truck roll of the flatbed. Nov 2nd Tuesday 2019 GMC Terrain was dropped off at Milea Service and Parts. 1st issue identified by your crew (sort of technical experts) was a bad battery and needs to be replaced, 2nd problem was the computer need to be replaced, 3rd problem was that I had put BAD gas into the tank and the fuel pump need to be replaced after 9 days so fast forward now to Nov 9, 2021.Now finally spoke to a mechanic now stating pistons doesn’t seem to be firing but does not have proper tools to do the test is trying to get from another dealer to be able to diagnose the problem. Nov 20, 2021, still no news as to what is the real issue on the truck we again visited the Milea to find out what is the deal and still without a truck from Nov 2nd to Nov 20 still yours truly has no loaner and no written nor verbal confirmation of what really cause my lost of my brakes/stalled truck. Linda Cuomo the Milea representative has nothing to inform us regarding the cause and instead waiting for a specialist from out of town which claims to be the e

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2021

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2019 GMC Terrain has 19 Brakes complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.