2012 Gmc TERRAIN - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2012 GMC Terrain SUV FWD has an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5, which indicates above-average safety features. It performs well in various crash scenarios with high ratings in both front and side crash tests. Additionally, it has stability control as a standard feature, which enhances its ability to maintain control in challenging driving situations. The optional forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems further contribute to the safety of this vehicle by providing additional alerts to the driver.

It is important to note that there have been 345 complaints filed regarding this model, highlighting some concerns that owners may have experienced. Additionally, there have been 4 recalls issued for the 2012 GMC Terrain, demonstrating the manufacturer's commitment to addressing any potential safety issues promptly. Overall, while the GMC Terrain offers good safety features and ratings, potential buyers should consider the reported complaints and recalls when making a purchase decision.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

345

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

3

Safety Rating

4/5

Search Vehicle Details

Advanced Search

The advanced search lets you search by safety ratings and features. This will return a list of vehicles that match your search criteria.

Safety Features

2012 GMC Terrain SUV FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2012 GMC Terrain SUV FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

Optional
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

Optional

2012 GMC Terrain SUV FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2012 GMC Terrain SUV FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2010 Score 2012 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2010 Score 2012 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 4 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 4 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2010 Score 2012 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5

Complaints for the 2012 Gmc TERRAIN

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. the contact stated while performing a routine check on the vehicle, the contact became aware that oil level was low, and the dip stick was dry. the contact added 2 quarts of oil however, the following day the oil level was still low. the vehicle was not diagnosed. the dealer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 88,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2024-03-06
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. the contact stated that she was adding a quart of oil every two weeks. the vehicle was taken to the nissan dealer where the vehicle was purchased. the dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. additionally, the contact stated while at a complete stop, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. there was no warning light illuminated. the contact was able to veer to the side of the road. the contact lifted the hood and noticed oil residue. additionally, the contact added oil since the oil level was low. the contact stated that vehicle stalled twice while driving to a nearby gas station. the vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear master cylinder had failed. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vin was not included in a recall. the manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer. the contact stated that vehicle was not drivable. the contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil while starting the vehicle. the local chevrolet dealer, barlow chevrolet (6057 route 130 south, delran, nj 08075), was contacted and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to their location. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 62,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2024-01-02
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. the contact stated while driving 25 mph, the vehicle started hesitating and then stalled. the contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. the contact was able to restart the vehicle and drove to an independent mechanic. the independent mechanic added 2-quarts of engine oil to the vehicle. the vehicle was repaired. the contact stated that later that evening her son notified her of an oil leak nearby the rear of the vehicle. the contact took the vehicle to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the rear main seal to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. the manufacturer had been informed of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 101,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2024-06-12
Complaint:
"as i was driving on december 24, 2022, (the temperature outside was 7 degrees).i heard my vehicle making a funny sound. i pulled over to a safe location then my truck cut off by itself. i got out of my truck and noticed that oil was on the back of the rear tire wall and on the ground. i had to get it towed to a repair shop. they told me a couple days later that the pcv valve was gone and that caused the rear main seal to go bad. several days later, i happen to see a recall on youtube about the pcv valve that gmc had issued back in march 2015, but i never received a letter through the mail. to get this fixed it’s gonna cause me a lot of money. unless gmc is willing to pay for it."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-12-12
Complaint:
"gmc in springdale, ar refused to fix catalytic convertor after selling me a defective vehicle. they said it had expired and i never received the letter letting me know there was an issue with the vehicle."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-10-01
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. the contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly stall. there was no warning light illuminated. upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact discovered that there was no presence of engine oil inside the engine. the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption, and he had been refilling the engine oil reservoir weekly. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine piston rings were faulty, causing the rapid oil consumption. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was provided. the failure mileage was 97,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2021-01-04
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. the contact stated the vehicle consumed 4-quarts of engine oil per every 3,000 miles driven. the vehicle was not taken for an oil consumption test. the contact stated that there were no visible oil leaks found. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 110,000. the vin was not available."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2024-06-04
Complaint:
"vehicle stalling like the hundreds of other complaints i’ve seen that almost caused an accident when vehicle suddenly stops. dealership only offered to do diagnostic at my cost with no guarantee they will find the problem. nothing is registered on the vehicle computer and no check engine light."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2022-05-04
Complaint:
"this suv has an oil consumption and it caused it to blow the timing chain and mess my motor up."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2022-03-10
Complaint:
"i keep the oil changed on a regular basis and every time a few days later i would have to add another quart. finely it wouldn't stay running and i took it to the garage and the engine had what i was told plastic through out the motor. now i am paying for a car i cant even use. at one time i recalled there was an oil issue with these modles and year."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2022-03-10

Recalls for the 2012 Gmc TERRAIN

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 buick verano and 2016 chevrolet malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in park. also, certain 2013 buick encore, 2011 buick regal, 2013-2014 buick verano, 2011-2016 chevrolet cruze, 2010-2013 chevrolet equinox 2013-2015 chevrolet malibu, and 2011-2013 gmc terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. as such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention.""
Consequence:
If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.

Component(s) Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM > IGNITION
Date of incident: 2016-07-05

GMC Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

GMC ranks 8 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

Related Vehicles

Why not check out other GMC vehicles?

2005 SAFARI
GMC
  • Overall Safety Rating: Not Rated
  • Complaints Count: 5
  • Recall Count: 2
View Car
2021 SAVANA PASSENGER 2500
GMC
  • Overall Safety Rating: Not Rated
  • Complaints Count: 0
  • Recall Count: 3
View Car
2015 SAVANA CARGO G33405
GMC
  • Overall Safety Rating: Not Rated
  • Complaints Count: 1
  • Recall Count: 4
View Car
2018 TERRAIN
GMC
  • Overall Safety Rating: 4
  • Complaints Count: 140
  • Recall Count: 5
View Car