Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 GMC Terrain owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled at various speeds, and now was stalling while accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who linked the failure to excessive oil consumption. The fuel pump was replaced and oil was added. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred the following morning. The check engine and oil service warning lights were illuminated. The oil level was low. The contact stated that the oil was changed almost every 3-months. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall related to the failure. The vehicle had not yet been taken back to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 75,000.
My car has started stalling and dying when i slow down, take off or when idling. No power when accelerated, and the smell of exhaust comes into my car. I was making a turn from a red light and my car spit, sputtered, and died right in the middle of the busy intersection. I was almost hit from the rear and another car had to go into on coming traffic to avoid T boning me. I took it to 2 different places to get a diagnosis reading and both places said it was a catalyst problem, and I was told that there was a recall about that because of engine oil clogging it up. My car has been using more oil than usual here lately and im guessing thats why. Now, im afraid to drive anywhere because I don't feel like it safe and the fact that my car doesn't run good enough to drive. …
Took vehicle into dealer for a recall on October 17, 2023 with the recall being [Primary]: RECALL : C/S: N192268181 -TAILPIPE EMISSIONS - EXHAUST COMPONENTS: C/S: N192268181 -TAILPIPE EMISSIONS - EXHAUST COMPONENTS. The dealership did an excellent job on the work providing a video to show work being done. Now this month of April, I received another check engine light stating the P0013 code stands for "Exhaust "B" Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit/Open (Bank 1)." There is not a recall from the manufacturer but according to dealership they've received a bulletin in regards to this issue. According to the dealership it will cost in excess of $500 to repair. Absolutely not true. There are a thousand videos on what causes this and even how to repair it from the same mechanics that work within these dealerships. …
hello i'm writing this letter to inform you about my 2012 Terrian i have had nothing but problems with the motor and now the muffler system i have had all recalls done on this and GM is well aware of this problem i have a dealer ship to replace the timing in this motor and still uses oil and still have all the problems after the recalls have been fixed now they want me to pay over $3,000 to have new catalytic converters fixed on it now after paying $2800 for a new timing seems to me GM likes to fix the cheap stuff on these cars and make customers pay for the expensive parts must people can't afford this and junk the vehicle i will not i'm going to fight for what is right the dealer ship even told me when i took it back in to see what the code was for that GM is well aware of it and not worth putting the money into the car this is not right for customers to spend this kind of money GM …
We received a notice in the mail regarding our vehicle with our VIN #. And it mentioned our particular size engine had a recall for potential emissions part condition of degraded catalytic converter and/or oxygen sensors caused by excessive engine oil consumption affecting some vehicle from our year, make, and model. We were surprised to receive this notice because we always park in reverse and we had noticed how it was turning the curb side black coming from the tail pipe. We did receive one other notice before and took it to the dealership to have it maintenance but my honest opinion I do believe they did anything to our vehicle because it was running the same and also took it to Midas after taking it to the dealership because it ran the same. Anyhow I hope upon receiving this other notice we can actually maybe get reimbursed and actually get it fixed finally.
Once again, timing chain incident, this time while driving, wasn't expecting it, suddenly my Terrain steering when became stiff to turn, and happened to realize the car motor had shut off and rolling to the right, nearly hitting parked car. I tried to start vehicle, but made a whining sound, but did not start, yet check engine light was on. I had my OBD reader handy, and got p0011, p0017 codes, which tell me it was the timing chain again in this car. This very dangerous because we could of collided with a parked vehicle, if not for me struggling so hard to steer vehicle while steering wheel was stiff.
When I stop at the light my car shake and rocks, then the car goes into limp mode. Where the stabilitrack comes on and the engine goes into reduced mode. And I can't go over 30mps. When this happened on the freeway is the most dangerous and scary feeling ever. I've got So many new parts and put over 3,000 into the car and it still has this issue. I've been do several different mechanics and nobody can figure out what's wrong. Gm needs to look into this, it's so many forums going on for this issue.
Evap emission control leak detected As the check engine light comes on, when hooking a computer up to the car for a scan it pulls a code stating there is an evap leak. The gas cap has been replaced along with a sensor and no gas is seen leaking but you can smell gas vapors when the car is running and fuel mileage is terrible. Also the stabilitrak has been an underlying issue since owning the vehicle
My daughter was driving to a friends house. She lost all power, and the vehicle would not start back up. There was 3/4 tank of gas in it. We had it towed to a nearby shop to have it looked at. Upon the vehicle leaving it had a lot of gas on the gravel road. When it made it to the shop there was obvious fuel line issues. This vehicle has not been fixed yet, still waiting on a replacement line from a dealership. This is something that GM should have had recalled and fixed immediately. This might have been an issue that would have been fixed due to it still under a manufacturers warranty, but I do not have access to that. The shop where the work is going to get fixed at said this was covered up to 150,000 miles. If this was an issue to that mileage, it should be extended to the life of the vehicle.
As I was driving down the road at 55 MPH hour my SUV began to shake extremely and was throttling at very high RPM's and the SUV thrash to sudden halt and continued to shake and idle very high and loud. I tried to hit the gas to get myself off the road as I was on a 2 lane highway with my 4 year old son in the car, and the engine revved and the RPM's spiked but I went not more than 15 MPH, at the same time the following errors appeared on my screen: 1) service stabaili trak 2) engine power is reduced slowly I was able to safely get the car up to 35 MPH and get us home safe. I did some research and seems that this is a very well known issue with GMC so I contacted GMC and was basically given the runaround. I took the car to a GMC dear today and was told it was the fuel pump that needed replaced.....
Fuel System complaints in other Terrain years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2012 GMC Terrain?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2012 GMC Terrain, 8% of the model year's 364 complaints. The component named most often is delivery › fuel pump (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 GMC Terrain fuel system problems?
No. NHTSA lists no fuel & propulsion system recall for the 2012 GMC Terrain, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 GMC Terrain fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 98,000 miles, and 20% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.