2019 GMC Terrain electrical problems

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On Saturday, August 15th we were driving on the freeway when with no warning the check engine light came on and the vehicle began to run poorly, and then the vehicle lost electrical power and it became difficult to steer and the brake pedal became stiff, making it difficult to stop and pull over. The vehicle would not start on command but kept running very poorly, it also became impossible to shut the vehicle off until it seized. It was later towed to a local repair shop, and today, Friday August 21st the shop confirmed that the vacuum pump on the brake assist failed and it would need a total engine replacement.

NHTSA complaint #11758591 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My cars breaks failed by a vacuum pump failer and I almost died on the a hill going home

NHTSA complaint #11733476 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I bought this Terrain brand new from Betten Baker Chevrolet in Muskegon Mi in 2019 with 500 miles. That same year we had transmission Slippage causing it to slip out of gear then slam back into gear while driving. I took it to the dealer to have it looked at. They did nothing and informed me it was known by the manufacturer that this was an issue. I then had to bring it back for electrical issues as the lights would all start going off in the cab including dome lights and shift buttons. All key fob would not be recognized by the car and would have to be reprogrammed counting 5 times now. Now I am sitting at just oflver 100,000 miles and what I thought was going to be a simple spark plug change gas turned into a complete motor failure. did an oil change and there was no oil in it. The turbo was replaced and now the engine started making a lot of rattling noises and just stopped. the dash says service transmission, ECS, Extremely low battery voltage and has jost die after oil started pouring out the bottom of the car. It is now sitting at the dealership service department where I was told by am employee there that they have been seeing them come in at 150,000 miles for complete rebuilds and mine was early. let me tell you that this car isn't even paid off yet. And the 2006 Ram 1500 is more reliable.

NHTSA complaint #11703191 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Vehicle has had check engine light and engine reduced power flicking on and off for months, randomly reducing power on highway or nearly causing accidents. Brought car to GMC dealer, they said it was underboost code and needed new turbo. Paid over 7,000$ for repair. Next morning, same issue still was happening. I believe my vehicle has EMISSIONS recall issue “N192271200 Charge Air Cooler Disconnect at Throttle Body” but GM has not properly attached my vin number for this recall repair. I have poured thousands into repairs out of pocket and the same issue still persists. I believe strongly the recall emission issue is the problem and should be on my vin. Vehicle has been to dealer 3 times in the past 2 weeks, issue has not been fixed. Improperly diagnosed, random repairs made not fixing actual issue.

NHTSA complaint #11698842 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Back up camera just started showing a blue screen with message that stated service back up camera. No accident, has not been to dealership. Just started 8/15/2025. No warning given.

NHTSA complaint #11681006 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Back up camera service notice.

NHTSA complaint #11666099 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Service parking brake comes on, steering reduced. Problem reoccurring often, but intermittently. Actuators malfunctioning causing many sensors to fail off and on. Huge safety concern for myself, my riders, and anyone else on the road. When this happens my car has to “think” to move unless you clear the pop up message. Check engine light comes off and on at its leisure. When steering reduced comes on the car will not move until ready. This is clearly affecting electrical things as when I shut power off to other supplies it sometimes becomes more frequent as well as less frequent. The car does not understand what to do as its computers are confused at what the problem is, as the problem does not consistently happen. I have print outs of one time I caught it with failing actuators. I refuse to go to the dealership as I’m told “oh the problem isn’t happening now.” Which negates safety of all people on the roadways. You’re more than welcome to inspect. Though I will be present as I refuse to be told there’s no problem. As previously stated this happens when it wants to happen, but again I’ve caught the issue and can supply information.

NHTSA complaint #11640760 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Headlights flicker when auto stop releases and clicks back on to move the vehicle. This happens when it wants too but usually at the same time service parking brake will pop up, followed by steering is reduced, drive with care.. Lets see what else. Carplay no longer works. No sound. sd card error pops up. Car will not play music through a cord but will via bluetooth, but charges a phone. OnStar light flickering between green and red until I turned off power to the liftgate. (manually clicking over knob to disable) Headlights flickering can cause accidents. Sure hope there's no epileptics out. Yes, orielly. I have documentation, photos, videos, take your pick I'm here to help. Not evaluated at dealer or mechanic, who can afford labor rates? This has been happening for months and I will continue to report till something is done or lives are cared about.

NHTSA complaint #11640766 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Blue screen with the message "Service Rear Vision System"

NHTSA complaint #11630894 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My ESC randomly comes on. Service parking brake message comes on intermittently. Messages pop a up saying steering wheel assist limited, drive with care. Again, all of these are intermittent but when they happen my steering wheel locks up. Even mid turn. Being intermittent it doesn’t always happen and weather seems to affect when it happens, or that’s a coincidence.

NHTSA complaint #11629553 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Backup camera stopped working, giving me a blue screen

NHTSA complaint #11629781 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11560928 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

When turning right or left from a stop, the steering wheel jerks sharply in the opposite direction as soon as the car starts to accelerate. Diagnostic tests and inspection determined that the steering gear is loosing voltage causing the jerk in the steering wheel. The gear has the latest calibration and needs to be replaced. Cost estimate to replace is $2035.63

NHTSA complaint #11552276 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11541086 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

When trying to accelerate, the car will not accelerate. It will start to jerk back and forth and I had cut it off completely in the middle of the road at a stop light.

NHTSA complaint #11528022 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The Infotainment System started acting strange. The volume adjusts itself. It starts blaring very loudly and has nearly caused several collisions and it continuously turns on and off. I can not use it at all.

NHTSA complaint #11524181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The car cuts off during driving and when u crack it back up the dash light do not work. But then the dealership said its a known issues but the car just needs to be reset...... but cutting off while driving can be dangerous. It's something a car should not do

NHTSA complaint #11505922 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

When I’m reverse screen shows blue and message says “service rear camera system” I purchased this car NEW in 2019 and warranty just expired. I have read so many forums with this being a common problem with gmc. Why this isn’t covered and over $600 coming out of my pocket to fix it is ridiculous. This is a safety issue and gmc flaw and should be corrected/covered by them.

NHTSA complaint #11488823 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I was driving through a four way intersection with my children and the breaks locked up and I couldn’t get to a stop. This was the middle of September: There are MULTIPLE complaints on this happening with my model and someone is going to die if it’s not recalled. This is a serious safety concern. There was NO warning, or light to prepare me for the problem. Please do something to help us.

NHTSA complaint #11488409 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The car failed to shift into gear. Message displayed, "transmission unable to shift" ,"2 gears selected " or "service transmission". Issued started in June 2022 while in drive thru line, when shifting from park to move the car would not shift. Had to turn car off for about 10 minutes and car was able to shift and drive normal. Check engine light came on about a week later and had checked for code p07b5. A couple of days later, light went back off. About 3 days later getting ready to leave home and car would not shift into gear again but turn car off and back on a couple of times and car shifted and drove normal. On July 13 2022 was driving in traffic and message displayed, unable to shift and service transmission. When I changed lanes and released the gas petal, the car went into park, stopped, and set the parking brakes, but did not turn off, jerking me forward and throwing things around in the car. Cars behind me had to slam on brakes to keep from hitting me because there was no initial brake light. I put on the flashers and turned the car off. Parking brake was stuck so I pressed it about 5 times before it finally released. I restarted the car 3 times and it finally shifted and drove as normal. I called gm to inquiry about a recall and was told there were none. I called for a diagnostic test and schedule is in about 2 weeks. The car has not been inspected by anyone listed above?⁸

NHTSA complaint #11474103 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact's wife owns a 2019 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that upon making a left turn, the steering wheel would forcefully jerk to right, thrusting the vehicle into the opposite direction. The contact stated that the service ESC and service brake assist warning lights were illuminated. The warning lights would disappear soon after the failure as well as upon restart. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer on multiple occasions where he was repeatedly informed that unless the service light was illuminated upon arrival to the dealer, they would be unable to service the vehicle. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA complaint #11473648 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

A COUPLE WEEKS AGO I GOT IN MY 2019 GMC TERRAIN AND SHIFTED INTO REVERSE AND MY BACK-UP CAMERA WAS NOT WORKING. IT WAS A BLUE SCREEN THAT SAID "SERVICE REAR VISION SYSTEM". A COUPLE DAYS LATER IT STARTED WORKING AGAIN. MY CAR SAT FOR A WK AND I GOT IN IT ON MAY 28 TO HELP MY DAUGHTER MOVE AND IT WASN'T WORKING AGAIN. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE NOT ONLY TO ME, BUT TO ANYONE (LIKE MY GRANDKIDS) OR ANYTHING BEHIND MY CAR AS I'M BACKING UP, ESPECIALLY IF I CANNOT SEE THEM.

NHTSA complaint #11467061 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The autoshutoff of the vehicle should be optional this vehicle goes on and off so many times and after it starts is acting up on braking and transmission deeler says no dtc all good but still doin it

NHTSA complaint #11453140 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While driving the car cut off on us. Started the car and the dash lights were on. Also Navigation stopped working. Took the car to bellamy Strickland and they said no issues was found. Got the car back 12/02_2021 Car seems to be ok at the moment. Melissa at bellamy stated it could have been a computer glitch. Car only has 20k miles on it.

NHTSA complaint #11442500 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

*Check engine light on, engine power is reduced is on, vehicle is surging up and down while in idle, vehicle stalled in service while in park. Charge air cooler tube to the throttle body spring retaining clamp tension weak. Verified charge air cooler tube came off throttle body. Inspected spring retaining clamp. Found spring retaining clamp tension weak. Installed new spring retaining clamp. Charge air cooler tube to throttle body now properly secured *Vehicle power / engine power was reduced while on the highway *Problem has been confirmed by LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI *Vehicle was inspected at LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI *Engine light came on and the Engine power is reduced message appeared on the dash.

NHTSA complaint #11424421 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

*Trans clutch drag recall *While driving, it would take a minute to shift gears and the vehicles behind me would ride up on the back of my car until it would shift into the next gear and pick up speed to do the speed limit. *Took the Terrain to aFontaine in Ann Arbor, MI and the service center reprogramed the Transmission Control Module and setup with SPS 0.7 *Yes, the vehicle was inspected by LaFontaine dealership in Ann Arbor, MI *No warning messages, I could hear the transmission not shifting when it should be. The transmission problem starting happening in Sept 2019 and brought it into the dealership in Oct 2019.

NHTSA complaint #11424218 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

*Check Engine Light on, Short to Voltage inside Hood Switch Setting P257F. Switch Must Be Replaced, Recall N192216311 Cust May be Able to Shift Out of Park OP 9104813 Reprogram ECM .3 WCC 11YN37748687 *Scared to drive vehicle when the hood switch was the problem. Did not want to driveon the road and the hood fly up and I would be unable to see out of the front windshield. *Yes, vehicle inspected by LaFontaine in Ann Arbor, MI. *Vehicle was inspected by LaFontaine in Ann Arbor, MI. *Engine Light was on.

NHTSA complaint #11424220 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

*The service transmission message coming on and the vehicle goes into neutral and stalls, service transmission light comes on while on highway and the vehicle goes into park and loses power and stalls, All wheel drive message coming on, traction light coming on, going about 74 mph on highway and speed gauge dropping, low fuel light coming on even thought it has 3/4 tank of gas. *I almost got ran into from behind twice when the vehicle went into neutral and into park by an 18 wheeler truck as I was trying to pull over onto the shoulder of the highway. *Confirmed by LaFontaine in Ann Arbor, MI *Vehicle has been inspected by LaFontaine in Ann Arbor, MI. Found bulletin 19-NA-181 which was very close to all symptoms and stated to check for chaffed wires near the ECM. Found no spots in the tape where it was rubbed through but lost comms when wires were shook. Unwrapped main engine harness loom and inspected wires, found nothing. Started TAC Case # 9-6385087421 and was told it probably is a chaffed comms wire somewhere and gave me multiple locations to check. Found no damaged wires in those locations and shaking main harness no longer would make it fault. Put it all together and drove it down the road and faulted immediately. Unwrapped main harness again snd sprayed with saltwater to help conductivity but still couldn't get it to fault while shaking the harness. Only way it will fault is when shifting into drive the drive train bumps just right to bend the right wire. Checked every wire I could find and can't find the problem wire. Not drivable. When this vehicle faults it will not shift past 1st gear and sometimes locks out reverse. Must be towed. Needs the main wiring harness to start, recommend customer to authorize FSE to dealership CUST declined. *Yes, all the lights and messages were coming on over the dash.

NHTSA complaint #11424230 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

*Service Transmission message and vehicle goes into neutral. *Vehicle loses power, almost got rear ended by an 18 wheeler when trying to pull over to the shoulder of the highway. *Yes, LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI confirmed *Inspected by LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI - Cust states the service transmission message light is coming on and the vehicle goes into neutral and stalls, service ll wheel drive message coming on, traction light coming on, customer going about 74 mph and the speedo gauge dropping out, low fuel light coming on even though it has fuel. Per DMA and GM Executive the repairs will be covered 100 %, send DMA pre approval and PET. There is a broken or loose communication wire intermittently disconnecting and causing multiple modules to fault. Could not find broken wire. Request # 9-6483892482 replaced engine harness OP 4069760 ST Time. 8.3 hours Per PET, DMA Pre Auth. *Yes, warning lamps, messages were on the dash

NHTSA complaint #11424231 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

*Service trans, check engine, stabilitrak, gas light, would not come out of 1st gear, stalled, started back up and jerked on the way to dealership, locks were flickering, lights would not light up for the PRNDL, shift to park message on, and vehicle would not start back up when pulled into service drive. *would not shift out of 1st gear while in traffic, vehicle stalled in traffic, vehicle jerked whi9le driving. *Confirmed by LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI *Vehicle inspected by LaFontaine of Ann Arbor, MI Service trans, check engine, stabilitrak, gas light, would not come out of 1st gear, stalled, started back up and jerked on the way to dealership, locks were flickering, lights would not light up for the PRNDL, shift to park message on, and vehicle would not start back up when pulled into service drive. TAC Case # 9-6556499036. Tech 24694 worked with Field Engineer and checked wiring, terminals, and connectors at high speed comm modules and found all passed, replaced BCM and still had concern. Tech 1235 bypassed modules and test drover to eliminate diff control module, EBCM and when EBCM was bypassed concern never returned OSYN9761769 Tech 56653 completed BCM replacement and programming, wire, terminals and connector checks with engineer. Tech 1235 replaced EBCM assembly, OP code 2410330 completed diag by bypassing modules and completed bleeding brakes.Tech 1235 total repair 3.9. Tech 56553 performed BCM replacement. 2.9 base time, 4.8 OLH. Repairs approved per DMA approval / PET Sheet. Test drove vehicle 139 miles without a concern.

NHTSA complaint #11424233 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.