12 complaints reported

2019 GMC Terrain SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE

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

Reports
12
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2026

I am driving a 2019 GMC Terrain SLT, and I have a serious concern regarding a recent service experience. On 02/10/2026, I had an oil change and a complete vehicle inspection performed at Kunes GMC Greenfield, Wisconsin. After the service was completed and I returned home, I noticed an unusual noise coming from under the engine hood. I immediately went back to the dealership and informed them of the issue. I was asked to return the following day (02/11) for further inspection. After their investigation, I was informed that the vacuum booster had failed. It appears that this issue was not identified during the original inspection, and I was the one who brought the noise to their attention. From my understanding, vacuum pump/booster issues are common with many 2019 GMC Terrain models. I am surprised that this has not resulted in a recall, especially considering the potential safety risks it poses to me and my family. What concerns me even more is that this issue was not detected during the dealership’s inspection. If it had worsened, it could have led to a serious safety situation. I had to spend $450 today to repair what appears to be a manufacturing-related defect. I respectfully request that this matter be escalated and that my claim for reimbursement be reviewed. I would appreciate your assistance in helping me pursue compensation for this expense.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2026
Apr 2026

My family and I were returning home from vacation in another state, and while we were driving on the interstate, an alarm popped up on the DTC stating ruduced engine power. I tried to start slowing down so I could take the next off ramp and could not push the brake pedal in. I had absolutely no brakes trying to slow down from interstate speed. I was able to pull into a gas station parking lot while avoiding other vehicles. I was very lucky not to get in an accident. I had to have it towed to the nearest service center and was charged nearly $4000 for repair. The car has not ran right since we recieved it back. I called them back to let them know and was told the only way I would not have to pay to have it looked at was to bring it back to them. That shop was four and a half hours away from my house. The car was less than twenty miles out of the warranty when it broke down (nine miles to be exact), then they lied on the the paperwork and put the milage after they test drove it.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2024
Dec 2025

Driving approximately 70mph on interstate. Came to a slight hill, gently applied brake pressure, brakes become hard to apply/would not apply. After diagnostics, found Brake Vacuum Pump with damaged fins.

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

Vacuum pump failed causing hard brake pedal and the inability to properly stop the vehicle. Thankfully I made it to a safe area and had the vehicle towed. No warning light or engine service lights ever illuminated. Once it was taken apart the bearings were disintegrated and metal shavings are in engine components.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 2025
Oct 2024

I was riding on the freeway when my brakes failed. i was not able to press down on my brakes with zero warning. I had to swerve to miss cars and pull on the shoulder of the freeway and my car still would not slow down. I finally got from 65 to 35 and pressed on my emergency brakes. I stopped the vehicle then my engine light came on and I got my car towed to the car shop where my car would not stop and suffered internal damage to my engine from the brakes and vacuum pump

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

on two occasions the vacuum pump booster failed causing the vehicle to lose braking ability while traveling on a highway at highway speeds. The vehicles brake completely failed and were unable to be engaged. the part was initially replaced by the dealer at the owner's expense and then the same issue occurred only a few months later. the second occurrence cause additional damage to the camshaft and timing chain causing the vehicle to not even be able to start. The vehicle was inspected by the servicing dealer and found metal shavings in the oil as well as extensive damage to the engine.

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

Vaccumm pump failed and broke metal shavings off into engine resulting in “engine failure”. I was driving on the highway with my 6 year old child in back seat, car completely shut down and shot a “reduced engine power” message while on a busy on ramp heading onto highway. This created an extremely dangerous situation for myself and my child as many cars almost smashed into the vehicle. I’ve seen many other complaints of this happening, the same exact parts and issue happened to the Chevy Equinox which resulted in a recall but they have yet to recall the Terrain, which is having the exact same issue. I am a single mother, with 20k still on my loan. This mistake made by gmc has now costed me over 5,000$ out of pocket for something that is not my fault and completely out of my control. Even after all of the money poured into this repair, I still feel unsafe in my own vehicle as there is no guarantee this issue will not happen again. I’ve kept up on all oil changes and maintenance of my vehicle. The issue was confirmed by a GMC mechanic which cost 500$ out of pocket for diagnosis as well. I also had to spend 1000$ on a rental out of pocket because of this. I have seen many others complaints of the same issue happening to their GMC terrain and am appalled no recall has been discussed after the reaccuring issue. I should not be having to pay out of pocket for an issue GMC has yet to fix or issue a recall on. I had to miss days of work, and it really was a huge inconvenience. I do not feel safe in my own vehicle even after the repair, cause I have no guarantee this won’t just happen all over again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 GMC TERRAIN, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2024
Nov 2023

For the third time, the brake booster has failed on our GMC Terrain. We had the first replaced with an OEM part. That booster failed after 2 weeks. A second OEM brake booster was installed. That one lasted about a year until it failed as well. This time we were traveling down the interstate and interstate speeds. There were no indications of an issue until trying to slow down when attempting to exit the interstate. Luckily it was a long ramp and there was not much traffic as I had to push extremely hard to slow down the vehicle. Knowing immediately what had happened, we noticed a GMC dealership was just down the road and safely made it. We left the vehicle at the dealership and rented a car to continue our vacation. We are now being told that not only did the brake booster fail, but the components entered the engine and caused major damage. The suggested repair is a full engine replacement. This is unacceptable for an issue that GMC has know about and has had recalls for on other years of their vehicles. Not only could my family have been severely injured, or worse, we are not financially able to repair the vehicle.

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

Vacuum pump went out while getting off the freeway, going around a roundabout. Brake petal extremely hard to depress and was unable to slow down or stop in a timely manner. Tooke vehicle to GMC for diagnostics and they said the vacuum pump shattered causing damage to my cam shaft and possible engine damage.

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

I was exiting off the interstate and all of a sudden my brakes got hard and wouldn’t let me stop. I tanned thru a red light barley missing another vehicle. The dealership says my vaccines pump went out and caused it to strip my valve cover gasket to shreds and now has stripped the gears in the camshaft.

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

Brakes failed on my car while driving and ran through 4 way stop. Took car to dealership and was told the vacuum pump seized up and sheared off. Asked the dealership what caused the problem and all they could say was normal wear and tear of the vehicle. Dealership called and said it was going to cost $900 dollars to fix the problem. I asked what that included and they said a new vacuum pump and to clean the motor out. Picked the car up on Monday and by Tuesday evening car would not run. Took it back to the dealership and am now told I need a new cam shaft which cost another $2400 to fix. This is a serious safety concern as I had no warning or received no notification that the brakes had failed just went to stop and could not. How long is GMC going to let this issue go before being addressed. How many people have to die first before they recall them as the have already recalled the bigger models of gmc, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick for the same reason? I don’t know how people are suppose to afford to fix an almost brand new vehicle that they are still making payments on.. Something should be done ASAP...

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

Our son and two daughters were driving on the highway at approximately 70mph when a message came up to say the engine was in "Reduced Engine Power". Although nothing seemed to change. The instruction for such and error message is to "get vehicle to a dealership within the next day." So they slowed to 60mph and continued on their way. About 8-10 minutes later another message popped up that said "Service Brake Assist", at which point they immediately tested the brakes and they worked. But 2-5 minutes later they tested the brakes again and the brakes had completely failed! Zero brakes on the highway! No matter how hard the driver pushed the brake pedal there was 0.0% response. So luckily they were able to coast down to about 10 mph with hazard lights on. But at that point they lost everything. No power steering, no engine, and zero brakes. Thank the lord that they were able to have enough room to slow down and get over to a shoulder prior to the loss of power steering and that they had enough room to coast to a stop. Please help, as we were extraordinarily lucky that day that 3 of our children were able to walk away from such a catastrophic vehicle failure. I just do not want that to happen to anyone else.

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

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2019 GMC Terrain has 12 SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.