CSR

GMC · NHTSA safety record

2014 GMC Terrain

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

296

Complaints

7

Crashes

2

Fires

8

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2014 GMC Terrain have filed 296 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2014 and February 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 123 of them (42%). The typical failure was reported at 79,000 miles, the median across the 193 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints halved year on year: 9 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 18 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR

22V165000 · March 17, 2022

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The ball joints in the windshield wiper module may corrode, causing one or both windshield wipers to fail.
The risk
Inoperative windshield wipers can reduce visibility in certain driving conditions, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the wiper module, and repair or replace it as necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on April 21, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 25, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212352530.

General Motors, LLC · up to 681,509 vehicles across all model years covered

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

22V137000 · March 8, 2022

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2017 GMC Terrain vehicles. A reflection caused by the headlight housings may illuminate areas above the vehicle and outside of the driver's view with excessively bright light. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
The bright reflection may cause a glare for other drivers, reducing their visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will install headlamp appliques, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 8, 2022. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N222363740.

General Motors, LLC · up to 740,581 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (2)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Front Wiper Transmission Inoperative

EA19005

Closed engineering analysis · opened December 13, 2019 · closed November 28, 2022 · led to recall 22V165000

visibility, visibility and the wipers

On December 13, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) upgraded RQ18-002 to an Engineering Analysis (EA19-005) to further assess the MY2010-2016 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain windshield wiper failures. Due to a prior recall, 16V-582, addressing this issue in the MY2013 subject vehicles, MY2013 was not included in the analysis. To date, ODI had received 998 complaints with allegations of the front windshield wiper failing in adverse whether conditions, while the vehicle was in motion.General Motors (GM) initiated Safety Recall 16V-582 on August 3, 2016 to address windshield wiper failure in the Model Year (MY) 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. Failures were attributed to water and debris intruding into the windshield wiper assembly ball joints, leading to excessive wear and eventual detachment of the affected ball joint resulting in loss of windshield wiper function. ODI?s review focused on 2010-2012 and 2014-2016 Equinox and Terrain vehicles. Owners were reporting a high rate of failures of the windshield wiper system. These failures were the same as that addressed by recall 16V-582. ODI's review of data supplied by GM as well as its own confirmed a high failure rate in model years 2014 and 2015. On March 17, 2022, GM filed a defect information report recalling all MY2014-2015 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles to remedy the potential failure of the front windshield wiper transmission assembly.General Motors is also conducting a special coverage program, N192266181, for MY2010-2012 and MY2016-2017 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The special coverage is for a period of 15 years or 200,000 miles, whichever comes first.Both the recall, 22V-165, and the special coverage program, N192266181, address windshield wiper system failures on the subject vehicles. The dealership will inspect the front wiper assembly for ball joint wear. Depending on the degree of wear, the wiper links will be replaced, and a water shield installed or the entire module will be replaced.In view of the recall and special coverage, ODI is closing this Engineering Analysis (EA). NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.nhtsa.gov under the following ODI identification numbers in a separate attachment.

Windshield Wiper Transmission Failure

RQ18002

Closed recall query · opened November 2, 2018 · closed December 19, 2019

visibility, visibility and the wipers

On November 2, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ18-002) to assess the scope of Recall 16V-582.General Motors (GM) initiated Safety Recall 16V-582 on August 3, 2016 to address windshield wiper failure in the Model Year (MY) 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. Failures were attributed to water and debris intrusion into the windshield wiper assembly ball joints, leading to excessive wear and eventual detachment of the affected ball joint with an attendant loss of windshield wiper function. The recall remedy addressed these conditions with the installation of an improved windshield wiper motor/transmission assembly and the relocation of a drain hole on the Air Inlet Panel at the base of the windshield.RQ18-002 was opened to assess windshield wiper failure rates in the MY 2010-2012 and MY 2014 - 2016 Equinox and Terrain (subject vehicles).During the course of the investigation, ODI received additional consumer complaint traffic bringing its total to 602 concerning the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. In their December 20, 2018 response to ODI's Information Request (IR) Letter, GM reported 1,303 complaints related to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. Together, these bodies of data correspond to 1,905 unique Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN).GM stated the recalled vehicles exhibited double the warranty rate and five times the complaint rate of the subject vehicles and that continuing complaint traffic concerning the alleged defect in the subject vehicles stemmed from publicity surrounding Recall 16V-582.ODI's review of GM's data confirms the stated difference in failure rates between the recalled and subject vehicles. However, ODI believes that the subject vehicle failure rates are nevertheless elevated and that publicity alone cannot account for the continued consumer complaint traffic concerning the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. ODI is upgrading to RQ18-002 to an Engineering Analysis to compare subject vehicle failure rates and engineering practices to those in peer vehicles.The 602 ODI complaints cited can be viewed in a separate attachment.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 296.

ENGINE 123 42%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 74 25%
POWER TRAIN 33 11%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 31 10%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 17 6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 15 5%
VISIBILITY 15 5%
AIR BAGS 11 4%
SERVICE BRAKES 9 3%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 8 3%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 6 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 44.

2014 2019 2026
2014 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SEAT BELTS

3 injured · crash · towed

I was in a pretty nasty single vehicle accident. I had my seatbelt on and it DID NOT LOCK on impact as should. It was like I didn’t even have a seatbelt on. I had free range of motion which meant I was pretty much just being bounced around with the airbags and could of went through the windshield it was that bad.

NHTSA complaint 11461745. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed · 80,000 miles

The contact owned a 2014 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light a vehicle one rear-ended the vehicle. This caused the contact to crash into in front of her. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The contact sustained back and neck injuries. Medical attention was needed. Additionally, the driver of vehicle three received medical attention with unknown injuries. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

NHTSA complaint 11541344. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · fire · crash · 96,423 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 GMC TERRAIN. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE CONTACT SWERVED TO AVOID A DEER. AS A RESULT, SHE DROVE OFF THE ROAD INTO A TALL GRASS AREA AND STRUCK A CONCEALED CABLE BOX. THE PASSENGER SIDE GRILL WAS DAMAGED AND THERE WAS A SMALL DENT ON THE HOOD. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY ALTHOUGH THE AIR BAG INDICATOR WAS ILLUMINATED. THERE WAS A BURNING ODOR COMING FROM THE VEHICLE, THE FLASHERS ACTIVATED ON ITS OWN, AND THE INTERIOR LIGHTS FAILED TO SHUT OFF. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR BRUISES ON HER WRIST AND SORENESS FROM THE SEAT BELT RETRACTING. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT RECEIVED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED AND DRIVEN HOME. THE DEALER

NHTSA complaint 11292060, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

None of the Airbags deployed in my 2014 GMC TERRIAN when I was in an accident.was struck very hard on rear passenger side spun around and hit a tree head one.

NHTSA complaint 11463700. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
My husband just did an at home oil change on the car not long before the incident. Unfortunately my car was barely under 3,000 miles since the oil change and we were going to change the oil again when my engine died mid drive on the way home. There was no oil in the car due to high oil consumption and no coolant either. High oil consumption was not reported and not disclosed to me before and a broken guide for my timing chain leading to total engine failure just after I started to exit the highway. Had my car died any sooner I would have crashed. Or wrecked with another vehicle. GMC and the dealership I got the car from did not properly disclose this safety risk to me when I purchased the

NHTSA complaint 11718808, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
ABS Brake problem and have tried to get it repaired for over 3 months and cannot seem to be able to get the part and call GM with no help. Can not tell me when or where to buy the part. Nobody seems to be able to get a new part and no help from GM. If there is this many problems that there is no part left available it should be a national recall.

NHTSA complaint 11682242. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I purchased this in March of 2025. 2 or 3 weeks after I bought this I took it to an oil lube shop and they said there was not any oil on the.dip stick. Also I started noticing the car being jerky while driving and when shutting it off it sputters. I took it to Max motors, a GMC dealer for a diagnostic check because it uses a quart of oil a week. They told me the high pressure fuel pump is bad and the piston rings were no good. This was on the 18th of June. I had taken it to the dealer I bought it from and complained about the problems, but he wouldn't do anything about it . The warranty was good at that time. Max motors told me it would cost me about $5000 to fix it which I don't have. I

NHTSA complaint 11675197, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

towed · 130,000 miles

The contact owns a 2014 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and hesitating abnormally. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the piston rings were damaged, the high-pressure fuel pump had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.

NHTSA complaint 11673778. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

125,000 miles

The contact owns a 2014 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware of an abnormal odor coming from the engine compartment, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine failed due to excessive oil consumption. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

NHTSA complaint 11671932. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Tensioner issues keeps breaking the timing chain. . Replaced twice at own cost. Fuel pump/ loss of power while driving. Back up camera doesn't work sometimes. Screen goes black. If key is left in the ignition it starts itself. If you try to use a car charger for a phone the AC shuts off and a "systems error" message pops up. This happens alot. It's an ongoing issue since I bought the car in Feburary this year.

NHTSA complaint 11670432. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the GMC Terrain

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 24 1
2024 48 1
2023 37 2
2022 52 2
2021 34 2
2020 189 2
2019 178 3
2018 216 5
2017 133 1
2016 152 2
2015 297 3
2013 363 3 1
2012 364 4
2011 386 4
2010 290 3

Other 2014 GMC models

Every GMC on this site — 144 vehicles, 425 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst