I was driving while it was raining. The wipers stopped working. The driverside wiper jumped partially off the windshield. I had my mechanic inspect it. The fuses, relay, and wiper motor are operational. The bushing on the wiper transmission failed. I found the following recall. Special Coverage Adjustment N192266181 Wiper Transmission Arm Linkage Failure – USA Only Release Date: July 2022. However, my VIN does not have this as an applicable recall.
2012 GMC Terrain visibility problems
81 complaints (22% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 90,000.
- owner complaints
- 81
- of this car's complaints
- 22%
- typical mileage
- 90,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Windshield wiper/washer: motor5
- Sun/moon roof assembly1
- Defroster/defogger/HVAC system1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
GMC Terrain visibility problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 GMC Terrain visibility
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Front Wiper Transmission Inoperative
On December 13, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) upgraded RQ18-002 to an Engineering Analysis (EA19-005) to further assess the MY2010-2016 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain windshield wiper failures. Due to a prior recall, 16V‑582, addressing this issue in the MY2013 subject vehicles, MY2013 was not included in the analysis. To date, ODI had received 998 complaints with allegations of the front windshield wiper failing in adverse whether conditions, while the vehicle was in motion.General Motors (GM) initiated Safety Recall 16V‑582 on August 3, 2016 to address windshield wiper failure in the Model Year (MY) 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. Failures were attributed to water and debris intruding into the windshield wiper assembly ball joints, leading to excessive wear and eventual detachment of the affected ball joint resulting in loss of windshield wiper function. ODI?s review focused on 2010-2012 and 2014-2016 Equinox and Terrain vehicles. Owners were reporting a high rate of failures of the windshield wiper system. These failures were the same as that addressed by recall 16V‑582. ODI's review of data supplied by GM as well as its own confirmed a high failure rate in model years 2014 and 2015. On March 17, 2022, GM filed a defect information report recalling all MY2014-2015 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles to remedy the potential failure of the front windshield wiper transmission assembly.General Motors is also conducting a special coverage program, N192266181, for MY2010-2012 and MY2016-2017 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The special coverage is for a period of 15 years or 200,000 miles, whichever comes first.Both the recall, 22V‑165, and the special coverage program, N192266181, address windshield wiper system failures on the subject vehicles. The dealership will inspect the front wiper assembly for ball joint wear. Depending on the degree of wear, the wiper links will be replaced, and a water shield installed or the entire module will be replaced.In view of the recall and special coverage, ODI is closing this Engineering Analysis (EA). the federal safety agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at under the following ODI identification numbers in a separate attachment.
EA19005
Windshield Wiper Transmission Failure
On November 2, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ18-002) to assess the scope of Recall 16V‑582.General Motors (GM) initiated Safety Recall 16V‑582 on August 3, 2016 to address windshield wiper failure in the Model Year (MY) 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. Failures were attributed to water and debris intrusion into the windshield wiper assembly ball joints, leading to excessive wear and eventual detachment of the affected ball joint with an attendant loss of windshield wiper function. The recall remedy addressed these conditions with the installation of an improved windshield wiper motor/transmission assembly and the relocation of a drain hole on the Air Inlet Panel at the base of the windshield.RQ18-002 was opened to assess windshield wiper failure rates in the MY 2010-2012 and MY 2014 - 2016 Equinox and Terrain (subject vehicles).During the course of the investigation, ODI received additional consumer complaint traffic bringing its total to 602 concerning the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. In their December 20, 2018 response to ODI's Information Request (IR) Letter, GM reported 1,303 complaints related to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. Together, these bodies of data correspond to 1,905 unique Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN).GM stated the recalled vehicles exhibited double the warranty rate and five times the complaint rate of the subject vehicles and that continuing complaint traffic concerning the alleged defect in the subject vehicles stemmed from publicity surrounding Recall 16V‑582.ODI's review of GM's data confirms the stated difference in failure rates between the recalled and subject vehicles. However, ODI believes that the subject vehicle failure rates are nevertheless elevated and that publicity alone cannot account for the continued consumer complaint traffic concerning the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. ODI is upgrading to RQ18-002 to an Engineering Analysis to compare subject vehicle failure rates and engineering practices to those in peer vehicles.The 602 ODI complaints cited can be viewed in a separate attachment.
RQ18002
What 2012 GMC Terrain owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Wiper motor went out on me no warning
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH in rain weather, the front windshield wipers stopped functioning. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to deactivate and activate the windshield wipers however, the wiper blades failed to operate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the windshield wiper motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 152,000.
Windshield wipers quit working. I can hear something, but blades don't move. I see the 2014-15 have a recall.
Ball joint for wiper assembly just "pops off" while in use causing wipers to stop working. I have taken vehicle apart, fixed the issue ( reconnecting the ball joint) and issue happens again. I understand the vehicle is from 2012, but uses same part 2010-2017, which is currently a recall on 2013-2015 models. First occurrence of this issue was July 02, 2019. I brought to GMC dealer, they said they were out of the part. Since then I've not had the issue until today March 14, 2023 where I almost hit another car, due to it popping off and stopped working while in motion.
I was driving in the dark at 5 am with my 2 year old son in the down pour rain and my wipers stopped working but the motor was still running
Driving in heavy rain south on the I-5 at 545p. In peak traffic and wipers suddenly just stopped while going 60mph in the carpool lane. As we past the exit for I-405 There was no shoulder to pull off of on my left. I had to cross over 5 lanes until I could safely get off the freeway. Then drive another 5 miles on side streets getting out an manually moving the wipers every few blocks so i could see. I'm female and over 50 yrs old. There was not a place I felt safe to just pull over at night. I stopped at a friend's. I can hear the motor moving but the wipers are not. I do not recall ever seeing the recall on the ball bearings and nor the wiper linkage but found one. However I'm have 72k miles and have owned it for 10 yrs.6 months. So it may not be covered, which I believe is not fair. I almost died and could have caused other deaths just trying to safely maneuver off the freeway, which I felt was safer than sitting on the side of a very dangerous section of the freeway. I know people with cars over 40 yr old that were left outside with over 200k miles and the wipers have never just died. I am the original owner and my car has been garaged for over 95% of the time when not in use. I will call the dealership in the morning but trying to get ahead of this since articles are saying there are no parts. Scared and frustrated.
very serious failure ... traveling at night, in a rainstorm, doing 70mph on a highway and the wiper regulator connecting the wiper arms to the wiper motor fails ... no warning what so ever ... no intermittent operation or noises, nothing ... looking into this problem I see that GM has issued a safety recall for 2014 and up versions of this vehicle but not my specific model year ... what are the chances that the hardware used in my particular vehicle model year are any different than those listed in (22V‑165) this safety recall.
I was driving on the highway and it was raining hard so I had my windshield wipers on and they just stopped working and I almost got in accident because I couldn't see.
I was getting on the Interstate when a really bad rain storm came up. I turned my windshield wipers on and they got stuck in the upright position. I tried many times to get the wipers to work, but they would not move. I had NO VISIBILITY and I was on an elevated ramp getting on the interstate. I could not see anything so I had to roll my window down, drive 5 miles an hour and use the white line on the road as a guide. I got soaking wet as did my car. I had to drive about a mile before I could safely stop the car. There was no warning and I am reading now there is an issue with this on Terrains. This was an EXTREMELY dangerous, I could have severely hurt myself or someone else. I am getting really tired of all the recalls on the Terrain. So far there have been six (6) for my car and a few more that don't seem to apply YET!!
Questions about the 2012 GMC Terrain visibility
Does the 2012 GMC Terrain have visibility problems?
Owners have filed 81 complaints about the visibility of the 2012 GMC Terrain, 22% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2012 GMC Terrain visibility problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 90,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2012 GMC Terrain visibility?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the GMC Terrain have the most visibility problems?
The GMC Terrain model years with the most visibility complaints are 2015 (120 complaints), 2014 (89 complaints) and 2012 (81 complaints).
Other 2012 GMC Terrain problems
Engine 173Transmission 37Electrical 32Fuel system 29Airbags 25Driver assistance 16Body 12Acceleration 11Lights 10Seat belts 9Steering 7Brakes 5Wheels 5Seats 4Suspension 4Tires 1
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