Wiper system failed, without notice or warning, while in use during travel on the highway, severely limiting visibility and creating significant safety event. No accident was reported as other vehicle passengers were able to assist the driver in safely maneuvering the vehicle to a safe stopping location.
2012 GMC Terrain visibility complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 81, newest first, as owners wrote them.
During a bad storm the windshield wipers went past the windshield and the motor froze up motor started humming then locked up.
Wiper transmission need to be replaced due to water and debris entered the wiper assembly ball joints and caused excessive wear, allowing the ball joints to detach and causing the wipers to stop working
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. The contact stated that he was informed that there was no oil inside the vehicle upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for the first oil change. No warning lights appeared on the instrument panel prior to the discovery. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was given a voucher to have the vehicle inspected. The contact was informed that the failure was due to defective piston rings that were too expensive to be replaced. As a result, the engine became inoperable. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. Prior to the engine failure, the contact also stated that the vehicle revved and accelerated independently without warning, while driving at various speeds. The contact noted that prior to the engine failure, both windshield wipers were defective due to the windshield wiper transmission. Both windshield wipers were replaced on three separate occasions. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
I was driving in a heavy rain storm across a long three lane bridge when my wiper system failed. Due to the amount of wind, rain and traffic road spray, I could not see the road or vehicles in front of me. I had zero visibility. Miraculously, I made it safely across the bridge and off the shoulder into a grassy area. The dealership that made the repair told me that gm covered the replacement of the wiper assembly because they are aware of this defect, but haven't issued a public recall. This is a serious safety issue and should not be ignored. It has caused me to have continued anxiety issues when driving in the rain and across long bridges. Please make this a public recall. Thank you
While driving in the rain the wipers broke twice. The bushings break. I almost got hit by a semi truck..
I was driving in the rain on the highway and my windshield wipers just stopped working. The motor still runs but the wipers will not move
While driving in the rain, my wipers suddenly stopped in the up position and wouldn't move. The motor was still working because you could hear it cycling, but the wipers wouldn't move. Fortunately the rain wasn't very heavy, I was driving on city streets able to get home safely despite the impaired visibility. Had this happened on the highway in some of the recent rain we have experienced this would have been a very dangerous situation.
While driving in the rain at 55 MPH on a highway on my way to school I turned on my windshield wiper, it came on and stopped moving after 10 minutes. I had to put on my blinkers and slowly drive across lanes to move it to the shoulder of the road. I waited for assistance from my husband to guide me back home (which was closer for me) because I couldn't continue like this for another 45 minutes. Before we left, we waited about 20-25 minutes more on the roadside and headed back home when it was safe to do so. My husband did try getting it to work at least twice as well but we could hear was the motor grinding but no motion. We took it the next day to neighborhood's pep boys since that was closer to me than the nearest gmc dealership to have it diagnosed and I was told that the transmission had gone bad at 47851 miles.
The front windshield wipers stopped working while we were driving on the interstate during a torrential downpour. We were in the middle of three lanes of traffic but were eventually able to move over and pull off the highway safely. This equipment failure could have had a tragic ending for us and the other motorists around us. We understand there were recalls for 2013 models for this failure. Not sure why a recall hasn't been done on 2012 models.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. The contact stated that the windshield wiper on the driver's side failed to function. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed that the windshield wiper motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired yet. The contact mentioned that she was unable to drive the vehicle while it was raining. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH in inclement weather, the windshield wipers became inoperable. The contact pulled off of the roadway, turned off and restarted the vehicle however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure on april 1st, 2020 case number [xxx[. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.*bf
I was driving on I-95 on 3/29/2020 when it started raining I turn on my wipers and it started okay at first all of a sudden they stop working I almost had an accident I pulled over to the service road and waited until the rain stopped I could have been killed. What do I do now I don't have the money to get it fixed and I won't drive it in the rain.
On october 31, 2019 my windshield wipers failed on my vehicle while driving in a downpour of rain doing 45 MPH, there were vehicles around me but thankfully not behind me and I was able to stop without being hit. I was able to avoid an accident due to the fact that I am an experienced driver. Luckily I was only about 2 blocks from the dealership and parked my vehicle there while the owner gave me a ride home. I spent $318 on the windshield wiper motor transmission. Canada recalled this exact same vehicle so why hasn't the u. S. I also reported this to gmc.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. While driving approximately 60 MPH in a rain storm, the front windshield wipers suddenly became inoperable. The failure caused a visibility hazard to the driver. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,885.
While driving in the rain in atlanta out of town our windshield wiper blades stopped working. I am referring to our front windshield wiper blades stopped working in a storm while we were out of town. We bought rainx and made it home safely, thank god. We took it to the dealership the next day and they charged me to replace the wiper motor .
Driving in a rain storm and the bushing came off to release the transmission arm could not see to drive , had to drive 3 hours from home without wipers in the rain
Winds shield wipers stop working.
My windshield wipers quite working in the middle of a downpour while on the interstate. I took it to the dealership and there charging me a $200 deductible to repair this issue that has affected millions of vehicles. My husband almost crashed into another car while trying to pull over on the shoulder. We were left sitting in a storm for over 2 hours waiting for the weather to clear up. This is a huge safety risk.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. While driving 60 MPH in the rain, the windshield wipers failed to function. The vehicle was taken to mcgovern buick gmc (located at 2806, 150 turnpike rd, westborough, ma 01581, (508) 439-4362) where the windshield wiper motor was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 95301890184. The approximate failure mileage was 64,848.
My family and me were traveling in a down poor in a large city. Suddenly my windshield wipers went went past the window while in motion and stopped working. This was very unsafe and we were blinded from the rain and could not see the traffic in front of us. I slowed down and somehow found my way to the side of the interstate without hitting or being hit by anyone. This issue could have killed us. This is very dangerous. I found that this is a common issue in this model and the 2013 actually has a recall for the same issue.
I used my windshield wipers on the highest/fastest setting the other day for the 1st time ever. I usually only use the low or medium setting. The windshield wipers worked for about 1 minute and then they stopped working completely. They froze in place and my dealer is recommending a replacement of the wiper motor and connections. I am reading online and it looks like gm recalled the 2013 terrains for this exact issue and that your company was looking into whether they should recall 2010-2012 terrains as well. I would like any information you have about the possibility of that recall because I think its ridiculous that gmc has not recalled this item when it was clearly an issue for the 2013 model using the same parts. This is extremely dangerous when the wipers fail when they are going the fastest. That is when the wipers are needed the most because it means it is raining excessively. Gm should have to pay for my repairs considering this is a known issue and I'm hoping your company can help get them to finish recalling all years models. Thanks.
On saturday, 5/11/19, at about 10 pm, while driving on I-264, at about 60 MPH, in a bad thunderstorm, the wipers stopped working, stopping all the way up. The rain was so heavy I could not see out the front window and slowed down and gradually pulled off to the side with my passenger looking out for the guardrail. When the rain let up a little, I realized I was partially blocking an on ramp and pulled farther forward. This was a very dangerous situation as a car in the travel lane could have hit me (when slowing down) or I could have been hit while blocking the on ramp during this period of heavy rain. When the rain slowed more, we drove 2 miles to the next exit and pulled off in a store parking lot. I replaced the wiper fuse, but later discovered we could hear the motor clicking but the wipers wouldn't move. We had to dangerously drive 40+ miles home hoping the rain would stay at a drizzle and pulling to the side any time the rain came down hard enough to cause very limited visibility. It took us well over two hours to make the 40 mile trip home. It was very dangerous driving in the rain with no wipers, but we had little choice since we since there are no repair shops open at that hour. Upon getting home, we took the terrain to our local auto repair shop to get it fixed. I was told this is very common in terrains as there is a plastic gear in the wiper motor that routinely breaks when the motor is on high. The mechanic said the problem is so common that the dealers' keep the wiper motor in stock and he could get the motor (part) immediately without having to order it. If this is true, I'd recommend a recall of the wiper motor and that replacement motor contain a metal (or stronger) gear that is less likely to break when the motor is on high speed. Because you cannot just buy/replace the gear, the whole motor had to be replaced which cost us $278.
While driving down the highway at about 65 MPH in a bad thunderstorm, the wipers stopped working, stopping about halfway up. After pulling over to the side of the road, we discovered we could hear the motor clicking but the wipers wouldn't move. We had to dangerously drive several miles with very little visibility until we could find a safe place to pull over to try to access the situation further. We were 4 hours from home going on a weekend trip, about an hour from our destination. We had to get rain-x (suggested from the auto zone we were able to find) and apply it to make it to our destination. We couldn't find any dealerships who could help us on the weekend, so we had to hope for the best driving back home. It was very dangerous driving in the rain with no wipers, but we had no choice since we were hours away from home and could not find any place to help us. Upon getting home, I took the terrain to our dealership and had to get it fixed. I was told this is very common in terrain's and my husband's 2013 was recalled for the exact same problem. I do not understand how only one year can be recalled when it is clearly a problem with all years. It set us back $302.74 for the repair and that was after the dealership gave us a small discount.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. The contact stated that the windshield wipers failed to operate without warning. The vehicle was taken to ed koehn chevrolet (616‑866‑9511, located at 4650 14 mile rd ne # m-57, rockford, mi 49341) where it was diagnosed that the wiper motor and transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the contact would be called back by a representative. The contact was not called back. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Front windshield wipers immediately stopped operation while in use on february 20, 2019. I took the car on february 21, 2019 to our local mechanic's shop which recommended total replacement of the wiper transmission assembly even though only a bushing was damaged. I agreed and had the wiper transmission replaced. I attach a copy of that invoice. Total paid was $376.75
The wipers stopped functioning while driving. Wipers swept to the left (drivers side) and broke free from the linkage allowing the driver wiper to hang off of the windshield. The wipers can be manually moved back to a resting position, but will not move on their own.
The linkage arms keeps disengaging from the motor. It happened while it was raining and I was driving on the highway. I was able to reattach it on a later day but it keeps happening when the wipers are on a higher speed
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. The contact stated that the draining hose from the sun roof leaked water into the vehicle. As a result, there was a build up of water that caused a foul odor and mold. The vehicle was taken to mataga buick gmc cadillac (located at 3261 auto center dr, stockton, ca 95212, (209) 951-2600) and they unclogged the hose. The manufacturer was notified and provided case number: 8-4853270190. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was not available.
While driving straight in the rain, the windshield wipers quit working. Diagnosis revealed that the windshield wiper transmission had come apart and needed to be replaced. This was the second occurrence of this issue on the same vehicle. The first occurrence was in june 2016
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