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2017 GMC Terrain

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2017 GMC Terrain do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 182.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Compare all Terrain years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

37 reports with mileage · 96 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 77 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

11 crash reports2 fire reports7 injury reports

What owners actually said

133 reports
Mileage unknown · Jan 29, 2025
Engine

While driving home from work in single digit temperatures on Monday 01/20/25 the engine of my 2017 GMC Terrain stalled without warning at a traffic light. I was able to restart the vehicle and drive it the 1.5 miles home. When I exited the vehicle I noticed a trail of oil leading up the driveway into the garage. Oil continued to…

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While driving home from work in single digit temperatures on Monday 01/20/25 the engine of my 2017 GMC Terrain stalled without warning at a traffic light. I was able to restart the vehicle and drive it the 1.5 miles home. When I exited the vehicle I noticed a trail of oil leading up the driveway into the garage. Oil continued to leak from the vehicle in the garage, and we had it towed the next day. Righter’s Auto Repair found the rear main seal had blown due to a frozen PCV system that GMC is well aware of and subject to TSB 5093c.The vehicle only has 64,856 miles.

NHTSA ODI #11639399

115,000 miles · Jan 29, 2025
Engine

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact discovered that there was an oil leak. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence and the contact self-diagnosed the vehicle and was able to confirm that there was an oil leak, and the oil…

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The contact owns a 2017 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact discovered that there was an oil leak. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence and the contact self-diagnosed the vehicle and was able to confirm that there was an oil leak, and the oil leak was coming from the rear main seal. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

NHTSA ODI #11639326

Mileage unknown · Jan 27, 2025
Power Train

My car lost oil while I was driving. I also lost power. I had my car over to a garage and the mechanic diagnosed it was a ruptured rear main seal caused by a frozen PCV system. GM knows about the problem but has not recalled it. It is very expensive to repair. And because the manufacturer knows about it but never told the consu…

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My car lost oil while I was driving. I also lost power. I had my car over to a garage and the mechanic diagnosed it was a ruptured rear main seal caused by a frozen PCV system. GM knows about the problem but has not recalled it. It is very expensive to repair. And because the manufacturer knows about it but never told the consumer, is fraudulent.

NHTSA ODI #11638924

Mileage unknown · Nov 9, 2024
Power Train

My vehicle only has 78,000 miles on it and the timing chain needs to be replaced?! This is no longer under warranty because it’s been over 5 years but this should last a life time. Now I have a car that doesn’t start or run that I have to make payments on and no one wants to do the work on my car! I looked online and a bunch of …

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My vehicle only has 78,000 miles on it and the timing chain needs to be replaced?! This is no longer under warranty because it’s been over 5 years but this should last a life time. Now I have a car that doesn’t start or run that I have to make payments on and no one wants to do the work on my car! I looked online and a bunch of people are having the same issue with the same exact car at similar mileage and the same issue! GMC needs to do a recall on this issue, many people are losing money and it’s a financial crisis.

NHTSA ODI #11624318

Mileage unknown · Oct 3, 2024
EnginePower TrainVehicle Speed Control

We have had 4 transmissions since we bought the vehicle. It slows down to almost a stop after it hits 30 mph and makes weird noises all throughout the vehicle. The back right tire sticks to the pavement and jerks when i start to drive. The key ignition has been fixed several times and still sometimes won't turn with the key or …

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We have had 4 transmissions since we bought the vehicle. It slows down to almost a stop after it hits 30 mph and makes weird noises all throughout the vehicle. The back right tire sticks to the pavement and jerks when i start to drive. The key ignition has been fixed several times and still sometimes won't turn with the key or come out. Yes Warranty told the repaid service company to fix whatever, and they did but it still after 2 more transmission hasn't fixed the issues. Engine light and not sure what else.

NHTSA ODI #11617850

Mileage unknown · Oct 2, 2024
Air BagsSeat Belts

I was driving back home when I suddenly heard a loud pop and my car seat belt immediately tightened up. I saw smoke inside the car and the screen in my dashboard said "airbag service" There was no air bag physical deployed in the car so I believe it happened internally. Now my driver seatbelt will not retract and the front pas…

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I was driving back home when I suddenly heard a loud pop and my car seat belt immediately tightened up. I saw smoke inside the car and the screen in my dashboard said "airbag service" There was no air bag physical deployed in the car so I believe it happened internally. Now my driver seatbelt will not retract and the front passenger seatbelt will not come out.

NHTSA ODI #11617757

Mileage unknown · Jul 2, 2024
Engine

Vehicle repeatedly stalled while on highway, there were no warning lights on dash or anything indicating of an issue prior. Took vehicle to repair shop and after thorough investigation they reported that there was no oil in engine despite dashboard monitor registering oil life was fine. Oil changes are always completed regularly…

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Vehicle repeatedly stalled while on highway, there were no warning lights on dash or anything indicating of an issue prior. Took vehicle to repair shop and after thorough investigation they reported that there was no oil in engine despite dashboard monitor registering oil life was fine. Oil changes are always completed regularly and on time for vehicle. Mechanic said that this is a known issue with GMC for this specific model where oil is consumed at an irregular rate. There is a lawsuit against gmc for oil consumption that includes years 2010-2014 where gmc was at fault however the lawsuit was filed before the 2017 model came out. It was later discovered that years ,2014-2017 also have this known defect however a recall has yet to be placed. Being a common symptom of this issue is frequent vehicle stall this really should be a recall. After speaking with a couple of other gmc dealerships they were aware it was a frequent issue as well but are uncooperative when it comes to the cost of repairs, an entirely new motor is needed to be replaced now for the vehicle being driven without oil. After several calls with a GMC representative I was advised to file a complaint with NHTSA to have you guys complete an investigation into the issie

NHTSA ODI #11598345

Mileage unknown · May 24, 2024
Equipment

Roughly every 8 months Sirius XM "radio" runs an automatically triggered free subscription period that includes "weather alerts". These alerts BLOCK part of the car's normal navigational (map) system, requiring UNNECESSARY MOVEMENTS to dismiss the prompts so one can see map details. These movements RISK DRIVING MISTAKES. The wea…

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Roughly every 8 months Sirius XM "radio" runs an automatically triggered free subscription period that includes "weather alerts". These alerts BLOCK part of the car's normal navigational (map) system, requiring UNNECESSARY MOVEMENTS to dismiss the prompts so one can see map details. These movements RISK DRIVING MISTAKES. The weather alerts are unhelpful and unwanted: trivial events that don't affect me. And they keep repeating the same alert multiple times per day. I once called Sirius tech support to have them shut that feature off, but they claimed they couldn't, and to just wait out the promotion period. Sirius XM comes with the car and I can't remove it. I suspect the prompts are a marketing gimmick to trick people into sampling their music channels when they fiddle in the Sirius menus trying to turn off the alerts. Others on social media have reported similar problems in different car models. (PS: I bought the car used in 2019.)

NHTSA ODI #11590495

Mileage unknown · Apr 24, 2024
Engine

The 2.4-liter engine contains a defect that causes them to improperly burn off and consume abnormally high amounts of oil. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Excessive oil consumption cannot be reasonably anticipated or predicted and causes the engine to run while low on engine oil, putting me and other driv…

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The 2.4-liter engine contains a defect that causes them to improperly burn off and consume abnormally high amounts of oil. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Excessive oil consumption cannot be reasonably anticipated or predicted and causes the engine to run while low on engine oil, putting me and other drivers at risk due to engine fire, unexpected engine failure, vehicle jerking, power loss, etc. Yes, both certified dealers, independent service centers, and myself have observed and noted the low levels of engine oil as soon as 500 miles after an oil change. I have spoken with GM representatives via phone about the issue, but they are not interested in inspecting the vehicle or offering driver support. They have consistently denied awareness of an issue despite hundreds of documented complaints and a pending class action lawsuit in the state of Missouri. There are no warnings, messages, or symptoms prior to discovering low engine oil levels. This issue requires drivers to self-monitor the issue every 500-1000 miles and requires an excessive number of oil changes to keep the vehicle at a safe level of engine oil for operation.

NHTSA ODI #11584938

Mileage unknown · Apr 19, 2024
Engine

Car stalls out suddenly after stopping. The engine oil was changed as required and there were no warning lights on the dash. Took the car to a mechanic and the mechanic said there was no oil and metal shavings in the engine, and that the engine would need to be replaced for $10,000. The car is out of its warranty and slightly…

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Car stalls out suddenly after stopping. The engine oil was changed as required and there were no warning lights on the dash. Took the car to a mechanic and the mechanic said there was no oil and metal shavings in the engine, and that the engine would need to be replaced for $10,000. The car is out of its warranty and slightly over 100,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI #11584138

Official recalls

1

22V137000 · Exterior Lighting:headlights

Mar 8, 2022

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."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The bright reflection may cause a glare for other drivers, reducing their visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.