NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Service Brakes complaints
62 reportsClear category filterMileage unknown · Dec 19, 2023
Electrical SystemService BrakesUnknown Or Other
It began with showing "Service Brake Assist" for about 2 weeks + then on Dec 18th 2023 around 10:30 as my fiancé was stopped at a stoplight and all of sudden when the light turned green she attempted to continue forward as traffic started to move only to stall stalled out before any movement could be achieve the battery was r…
Read full complaint
It began with showing "Service Brake Assist" for about 2 weeks + then on Dec 18th 2023 around 10:30 as my fiancé was stopped at a stoplight and all of sudden when the light turned green she attempted to continue forward as traffic started to move only to stall stalled out before any movement could be achieve the battery was reading severely depleted and the vehicle would not function at all she was stuck in Drive and could not put the vehicle in neutral or even park to even try to restart the vehicle, she could not even turn the steering wheel, roll down the windows, open the door, or anything. the only thing she was able to accomplish was opening the hood so an officer that had arrived at this time could give her a jump, The officer also proceeded to leave the negative cable on the battery terminal and disconnected the Positive cable from the battery terminal which would have indicated a bad starter or depleted battery when the positive cable had been removed, which was not the case. she continued to where her appointment was and that is where i met her and took over vehicle to transport it home, driving with hazards on. I arrived at the house with no incident. then at 4:45pm on the evening of 12/18/2023 while at the stoplight I had a similar issue occurred as i was going from a stationary position to a forward slowly accelerated speed gaining momentum where the vehicle wanted to stall out while i was stopped at a stoplight attempting to proceed forward. and then at around 10:20 pm while stopped at a stop sign a similar issue occurred as i was going from a stationary position to a forward slowly accelerated speed gaining momentum attempting to proceed forward. On Dec 19th 2023 around 10:00 am I test started the car by remote and it started up and then i turned it off, now it is showing that the battery is completely depleted at 1:26 pm
NHTSA ODI #11560928
Mileage unknown · Nov 30, 2023
EngineService Brakes
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 i…
Read full complaint
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.
NHTSA ODI #11557605
Mileage unknown · Nov 21, 2023
EnginePower TrainService Brakes
My 2019 gmc terrain, vaccum pump failed at about 45000 miles, was driving on the highway and brakes were hard to stop, almost crashed. About 52000 miles, vacuum pump failed again, also while driving on the highway. Brakes were hard to stop, again almost causing me to crash. 69000 miles again vacuum pump failed while driving on t…
Read full complaint
My 2019 gmc terrain, vaccum pump failed at about 45000 miles, was driving on the highway and brakes were hard to stop, almost crashed. About 52000 miles, vacuum pump failed again, also while driving on the highway. Brakes were hard to stop, again almost causing me to crash. 69000 miles again vacuum pump failed while driving on the highway, again almost causing me to crash. All times pump was replaced under warranty and now this has caused my engine to fail. i was denied factory warranty, pre certified and extended warranty. Now im stuck with a car with with three years left to pay on it
NHTSA ODI #11556223
Mileage unknown · Aug 28, 2023
Electrical SystemPower TrainService Brakes
There are 3 recalls and one open on this car I was sold by a dealership, none of them ever fixed. I drive to work in the highway the car never had any warning light on but the RPMS would occasionally go up for no reason. I told the dealership the second day that it had issues , they took it and say they fixed the back brakes but…
Read full complaint
There are 3 recalls and one open on this car I was sold by a dealership, none of them ever fixed. I drive to work in the highway the car never had any warning light on but the RPMS would occasionally go up for no reason. I told the dealership the second day that it had issues , they took it and say they fixed the back brakes but did nothing about the engine or transmission whatsoever ever. This was the beginning of may and it was in the shop two weeks. I called my lender to even get out of the loan and a saleswoman even tried assisting me into talking her manager out of the loan because of all the issues. Fast foreword to august I had just gotten a new job and was driving in the night after hearing that ticking or slight knocking noise and I went to my job and as i tried to park the brakes went completely stiff on me! I could not get the car to slow down I had to weave through other cars and people in till it finally coasted to a stop. So I put it in park and immediately after the check engine light came on. I tried to start it and it would start , putter and turn off over and over. I had to end up calling OnStar to have a diagnosis which she said something like solenoid and something being clogged. So it was towed to my residence and before i could get it towed to s shop they lender came and repossessed it because I had missed payments due to losing my job unexpectedly, completely unexpectedly. I told the lender of the problem and the unfortunate troubles I was having to pay for the car but I had just landed a job and could start payment but she didn’t care. She said she is going to tow it . I had my friends dad who is a licensed mechanic look at it before it was towed and he said the car was trash , basically a lemon that there was oil clogged and instead of passing through like it’s supposed to do it being pushed the opposite way and ending up in other reservoirs it shouldn’t be in. I obviously didn’t do that type of damage oil and trans problems I was scammed
NHTSA ODI #11541086
Mileage unknown · Jul 25, 2023
Service Brakes
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 highwa…
Read full complaint
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!
NHTSA ODI #11534251
Mileage unknown · Jul 18, 2023
EnginePower TrainService Brakes
In July 2022 vacuum pump failed and created a hard brake situation going 55 mph downhill. Vehicle removed from roadway safely, transported and vacuum pump replaced. In May of 2023 vacuum pump again failed driving at around 25mph, vacuum pump failed catastrophically and blew up inside cam cover. Taken to garage via flatbed and re…
Read full complaint
In July 2022 vacuum pump failed and created a hard brake situation going 55 mph downhill. Vehicle removed from roadway safely, transported and vacuum pump replaced. In May of 2023 vacuum pump again failed driving at around 25mph, vacuum pump failed catastrophically and blew up inside cam cover. Taken to garage via flatbed and reported car needed a new engine or alternatively we could try a new cam and vacuum pump with hopes pieces did not make it into engine. Now vehicle sits while I still owe money as I do not have 3-5000 to repair it. The fact that this is such a common issue and has happened frequently with other GM models is criminal. I feel as if GM should offer a buyback on affected models or reimburse customers for damages done. Vehicle is outside of warranty currently at 83k first vacuum pump failure occurred at around 70k.
NHTSA ODI #11533121
Mileage unknown · Jul 8, 2023
Exterior LightingService Brakes
When parked in home driveway brake lights came on with no one in car or driven during the day. Only way to turn off brake is to remote start & then cut off engine with Fob. Dealer diagnostic unable to find issue & condition didn't occur when at their location.
NHTSA ODI #11531074
Mileage unknown · May 5, 2023
Service Brakes
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.
NHTSA ODI #11520701
Mileage unknown · Apr 13, 2023
Service Brakes
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 s…
Read full complaint
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.
NHTSA ODI #11516875
Mileage unknown · Nov 14, 2022
EngineService Brakes
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.
NHTSA ODI #11493484
Official recalls
3Oct 29, 2020
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
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.
Mar 7, 2019
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The rear-right seat may have insufficient welds on the head-restraint bracket.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: In the event of a crash, the insufficient welds may result in an increased risk of injury for an occupant seated in the rear-right position.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear-right seatback frame, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. 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 N192209550.
Aug 30, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗