GMC Terrain slipping problems

Filed Aug 29, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · NY

Two problems with this vehicle: 1) Transmission occasionally slips on the 2-3 shift which the dealer says he cannot duplicate. Vehicle was brought in four times for this problem. According to the dealer GM corporate has stated the transmission is working within normal parameters, since no codes were found. 2) Vehicle auto braking randomly slams on the brakes with nothing in its path. Dealer states turn off system to just Alert only not Alert and Brake. No codes were set. Fortunately no one was behind me as this could have caused me to be rear ended by another vehicle. In both cases it appears that if no codes are set the problem does not exist. Nov. 21, 2025, Feb. 12, 2026, July 09, 2026, Aug. 28, 2026.

Filed Jul 3, 2026 · Transmission · IL

No engine lights are on. When at stops it starts chugging and when I accelerate sometimes it does not go like it should. It idles high and feels like it is slipping. I have almost been hit in the rear several times when this happens. One lady did rear end me but the damage was so little that I did not call the cops. This vehicle has not been inspected and it is available for inspection at any time.

Filed Dec 5, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · MI

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.

Filed Oct 23, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · AL

From a complete stop my car refused to accelerate no matter how much I pushed the gas pedal. I was pulling into traffic and was on a hill so my car rolled forward naturally into the road but would not respond to the gas pedal. The RPMs didn't move, the car had power, I tried putting it in reverse and then back into drive. Nothing worked for a solid 2 minutes at least. Then all of a sudden it registered and worked. I was almost t-boned from a car coming through the curve but luckily, they were able to go around me in time. This put me and my small daughter at risk of being severely injured from a malfunction that I can't recreate to show the technicians. Since this incident, it has happened several times randomly. Sometimes I'm at a red light, or backing out of a parking spot, or pulling out into traffic. When it happens, there are no codes thrown to show any engine malfunctions, but it WILL NOT MOVE! I've noticed more and more the lack of power when driving. Almost as if the transmission is slipping or losing power as well. I bought the car new, only have 38K miles on it, and service it every 5k miles at a GMC dealership. This is going to end up killing someone. The mechanic told me to trade it in, but I just paid it off and it's only 5 years old. There are multiple complaints about this same thing happening with tons of Terrains and there isn't a recall yet.

Filed Oct 8, 2025 · Transmission · 94,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2020 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while making a turn, the transmission shifted into neutral and briefly lost motive power and stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to function while shifting to drive(D) or reverse(R). The contact opened and closed the door to see if the vehicle would reboot. After several attempts, the vehicle returned to normal functionality. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the transmission was leaking transmission fluid. The transmission was constantly slipping. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the START/STOP accumulator in the cap was missing bolts, which caused the transmission to fail. An unknown code was provided to the contact. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The vehicle was taken to various independent mechanics who confirmed that the transmission had failed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

Filed Jan 9, 2025 · Brakes, Engine · MI

In September 2024 i was driving down the freeway and my car shuttered like the transmission was slipping. I then proceeded to get over into the right hand lane incase i needed to pull over thankfully, because then i lost use of my breaks, and then my ability to accelerate and steer. Then my car just shut off and would not stop. My vacuum pump just broke with no warning, it has been replaced and my car still won't start, it's going on 5 months now and they still can't figure out why.

Filed Dec 23, 2024 · Transmission · WA

My vehicle continues to slip and jerk out of gear , brought in to a local Chevy dealership , they test drive the vehicle and Acknowledge the issue. They updated transmission software and give it back to me to drive for 1000 miles or 30 days and see if the problem continues. Problem gets worse slipping and jerking more and more , made appointment dealership cancels my appointment saying they have no transmission tech come back next month for an appointment . Same thing no transmission tech available go somewhere else

Filed Sep 28, 2024 · Transmission · MO

Code p0700 was indicated at a professional transmission shop. My vehicle started driving different. It is a scary feeling. I have a ten year old daughter who I commute to school and safety is the utmost of importance. I don't want to have a accident in a vehicle I recently purchased for safety and end up having to look for another vehicle because of a total loss accident or a transmission problem that would cost a lot of money I don't have. My fear is the gears slipping as I drive my daughter to school. I got a quote of close to 3,000 $ to have the transmission rebuild or fixed. Money that I don't have to give a shop for a vehicle I purchased to not have problems like this. I called GMC to make an appointment to perform a transmission flush. The p0700 code indicates TCM failure. This is a very nerve wrecking situation. Please help me .

Filed Sep 12, 2024 · Transmission · MD

We purchased our 2024 GMC Terrain on April 13, 2024 and on June 12, 2024 my husband and I were headed out to go to dinner and when leaving our neighborhood I noticed a weird transmission shift or slip and then the vehicle rpms increased suddenly. I pulled off the road and put the vehicle in park then I attempted to put the vehicle in reverse. The reverse lit up and just began to blink in the dash but the transmission did not go into reverse. I was able to put the vehicle in park and then drive to return home (we were less than 1/4 mile from home thankfully). Luckily we live in rural area and there were not many people on the road. Had we been on a busy road this could have been a dangerous situation. The next day the car was towed to the nearest GMC dealership. The original diagnosis was that the TCM was bad and needed to be replace and that there would be an estimated wait time of about 7 weeks. The TCM was replaced but did not resolve the issue. At that point (July 30, 2024) GM released a bulletin regarding a bad snap ring condition. The service dealer torn down the transmission and determined the snap ring was bad and they also noticed that the clutch was severely burned and needed to be replaced along with both valve bodies. By the time the parts came in and these repairs were completed, we were without the vehicle for 12 weeks. The vehicle was returned to us on 8/21/24. Unfortunately on 8/26/24 - 5 days and approximately 196 miles later, the vehicle began to behave the same way and had to be returned to the dealer. At this point we requested that GM buy the vehicle back from us which they very promptly declined. The transmission was completely tore down again and it was determined a seal or ring needed to be replaced. That repair has not worked either. Now more than 2 more weeks have passed and we are now waiting on a complete new transmission. We have again requested GM but the vehicle back from us. We are waiting on their response.

Filed May 24, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · MI

Engine lost power suddenly while driving. No warning. Fuel pressure slowed to where vehicle no longer moved forward. Again. No warning. Timing chain slipped TWICE and destroyed engine without warning. “Engine power lost” appeared on dash from driving without warning or incident. Excessive oil consumption without warning. Smoking engine even though had regular oil changes. Engine had been inspected by dealership and allegedly had no issues. Car never smoked but did after second time of timing chain slipping/breaking. This issue has happened repeatedly to many drivers who own these vehicles. Had a difficult time stopping after engine and total power failure without warning.