CSR

GMC · NHTSA safety record

2020 GMC Terrain

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

189

Complaints

7

Crashes

2

Fires

5

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 GMC Terrain have filed 189 safety complaints with NHTSA between November 2019 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the brakes, named in 61 of them (32%). The typical failure was reported at 46,917 miles, the median across the 39 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose by half year on year: 61 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 33 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

CHILD SEAT:VEHICLE LATCH ANCHOR

23V339000 · May 11, 2023

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The four rear-seat lower child seat LATCH anchorage bars may have excessive powder coating, which could prevent a child seat from being installed with the anchorage bars. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."
The risk
The inability to install a child seat with the LATCH anchorage bars could result in an unsecured child seat, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
The remedy
Owners are advised to install child seats using the vehicle's rear seat belts until the remedy is complete. Dealers will inspect the latch anchorage bars, and remove and replace the finish, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 2, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N232403240.

General Motors, LLC · up to 668,187 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

20V668000 · October 29, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
The risk
Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

General Motors LLC · up to 194,105 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 189.

SERVICE BRAKES 61 32%
ENGINE 55 29%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 18%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 14%
POWER TRAIN 26 14%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 23 12%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 6%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 4%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 6 3%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 6 3%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 6 3%
STRUCTURE 5 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 63.

2019 2025 2026
2019 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.

Carry Handle, Shell, Base

2 injured · crash · towed

During a vehicle accident, my 2.5 year old daughter's car seat detached from the base and landed in the back part of my part. We were t-boned on the passenger side back seat. We spun and the car seat detached and she was flung around the car. She had severe whiplash, a contusion and possible fabric burn on her head. She was buckled in properly and the car seat was properly installed. Yes, all parties (other than manufacturer) saw and inspected the car seat.

NHTSA complaint 11675295. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

2 injured

While on highway service brake system warning light came on,brake became hard to apply almost causing an accident. Vehicle had to be towed to a repair shop(dealer).after paying over $1600 the problem was not resolved and found there are numerous complaints about issues with the terrain and no recall issued.are they waiting til someone dies before a recall?

NHTSA complaint 11539270. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY

1 injured · 12,300 miles

The contact owns a 2020 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that rain water had leaked from the sunroof drainage into the vehicle causing the floor carpets to become saturated with water and mold had developed inside the vehicle. The contact also discovered a pool of water inside the spare tire well. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the sunroof motor and sunroof liner, unclogged the sunroof drainage assembly and replaced the carpets. The contact indicated that later the failure had reoccurred although the sunroof drainage assembly was consistently unclogged each time the vehicle was in for service. The contact had also experienced respiratory illness due to the mold

NHTSA complaint 11631628, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

fire

I was driving approximately 75mph on the interstate. 3 hrs into my trip I started feeling hot so I turned the a/c up. In my peripheral vision I saw orange and thought a car was beside me on fire. Immediately I realized it was my vehicle. I immediately slowed and came to a stop. I put it in park and opened the door. By the time I started to exit there were flames higher than the rear windows. A car that was behind me stopped. They said about a mile back there was a spark under the car by the rear tire. Then it went up in flames.

NHTSA complaint 11533758. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
During heavy rain, the sunroof on my Terrain leaked badly enough to allow a substantial amount of water into the vehicle. The rear floor area became completely saturated, and the sunroof controls stopped working. I brought the vehicle to Hudson Cadillac Buick GMC in Poughkeepsie, New York, to have the problem diagnosed and repaired. The resulting repairs and water-damage cleanup cost me nearly $3,000 out of pocket. I was advised that the damage was not covered by my warranty or by my insurance. What concerns me most, however, is that this does not appear to have been an isolated incident. While my Terrain was at the dealership, I learned that four other GMC Terrains were also at the

NHTSA complaint 11756698, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
While driving home from work my 2020 GMC Terrain stalled and turned off. I was on a very busy 2 lane road, crossing a intersection in a tourist area in [XXX]. This could have be come fatal very easily. I was able to get the car started and Home but had to take it very slow. Next day we weren't able to get the car started nor turned on. Battery is new and still works, we also had a mechanic come to the house and run his computer telling us it was the Fuel Pump Control Module. There were no warning signs leading up to this moment. I see there has been recalls for the same issue for 2021 and 2022 models but my GMC dealership I bought my car at is telling this isn't an issue in any Terrain that

NHTSA complaint 11755525, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When the gas is mashed to accelerate, the car does not want to go. It has left me stranded and rolling in the middle of traffic. I am scared to drive it.

NHTSA complaint 11755351. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Because of the intentional failure of GMC and there promise of “We are Professional Grade”, I almost got plowed down by a semi when the car began to quit on the highway going 60. After pulling into the next driveway, which happened to be a Parker’s Kitchen, and ending up on the curb spot, thanking God I wasn’t dead, I sat there for a moment wondering what just happened. As I went to restart the car, it wasn’t having any of it. 40,000 miles, not professional grade GMC, circus grade. Towed it to my home, figuring it has to be something minor and a diy fix. Bought the hyper-tough code reader delivered by Walmart and it delivered professional grade results: U18A2, P1787 and P187E. I am beyond

NHTSA complaint 11755143, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
While driving north in interstate 79, the brakes became very hard to push making it difficult to stop the vehicle. We got off the interstate and proceeded back home. The brakes were as hard as a rock to push and it was difficult to stop the vehicle. When this happened, the check engine light came on and stayed on. It was very dangerous to drive due to the brakes not working properly and the stopping distance was greatly reduced and it was difficult to stop the vehicle putting our family at risk for their safety. We took the vehicle to a repair shop and they checked and diagnosed the issue and told us the vacuum pump for the brakes was no good and needed replaced. We found that this is a

NHTSA complaint 11753729, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Vacuum pump failure causing sudden and unexpected hard brake pedal and loss of braking coming off the highway. Ended up catastrophic engine failure. This is the SECOND incident with this vehicle of the exact same problem. GMC refuses to address this issue and continues to risk the lives of their customers.

NHTSA complaint 11752293. 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
2019 178 3
2018 216 5
2017 133 1
2016 152 2
2015 297 3
2014 296 2
2013 363 3 1
2012 364 4
2011 386 4
2010 290 3

Other 2020 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