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Reliability report · 2019 GMC Terrain · Updated July 2026 · ~$2,200/yr fuel · what it costs to keep →

Hard brake pedal and lost engine power both peak here — but this is the one year GM paid for the power fix.

The 2019 is where the second-generation Terrain's two signature problems sit side by side. The largest block of recent complaints is still the brake vacuum pump failing and the pedal going rock-hard — the same failure that dominates the 2018, with the same GM bulletins behind it and the same absence of any recall. Right behind it is the 1.5T throwing an "engine power reduced" message and dropping into limp mode.

The second of those has a genuinely good ending, and it is specific to this model year. GM traced the power loss to the charge air cooler outlet duct — the pipe carrying compressed air from the intercooler to the throttle body — popping off under boost, and acted formally: emission recall N192271200 and support program N192266090, both installing a retainer kit free of charge. So the 2019 is buyable, but only on two conditions: the charge-air-cooler work is documented complete, and the vacuum pump has been ruled out.

Evidence: 177 NHTSA complaints · 3 recall campaigns · 10 mechanic & forum sources

Canary status

Squawking

What that means: 177 federal complaints and three safety recalls. The brake vacuum pump cluster carries over from 2018 and is still the largest block, joined by the 1.5T losing power under boost. The redeeming detail: on the 2019 specifically, GM issued an emission recall and a free support program for the power problem.

CalmChirpingSquawkingFainted

177

Federal complaints

3

Recalls

Known issues

Ranked by the cost of ignoring them. Every claim carries its source.

Brake pedal goes rock-hard — vacuum pump failure, and still no recall

major
  • 1.5L turbo I4

The single largest cluster in the 2019 file, carried straight over from 2018. The brake vacuum pump provides the assistance behind the pedal; when it fails the pedal becomes extremely difficult to press and the car barely slows, usually with no warning beforehand. GM's service bulletin 10205549 covers 2018 to 2021 cars, ties the failure to fault code P0557 and a Service Brake Assist message, and tells dealers to replace a pump found internally damaged. A second GM bulletin, 10208020, names "increased brake pedal effort due to vacuum pump failure" directly. Neither is a recall, so the repair is entirely at the owner's expense. There is also an engine-damage risk behind it: an independent dealer who handles these cars reports a seizing vacuum pump taking out engine internals, and a 2018 owner in the federal file had exactly that happen. Any hard pedal on the test drive ends the conversation until a shop has looked at it.

This is a 1.5L turbo I4 problem. The 2.4L Ecotec I4, 2.0L turbo I4, and 1.6L turbodiesel don’t share it.

Which engine is in the one you found? →

Brake vacuum pump replacement (owner-paid; no GM coverage)

owner pays — no recall or coverage exists

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2019 GMC Terrain · NHTSA manufacturer communications, GMC Terrain (emission recall N192271200; program N192266090; brake vacuum pump TSB 10205549 and PI 10208020; charge-air-cooler icing Service Update 10231574 and PI 10231622; shifter Service Update 10172650) plus independent second-generation mechanic and dealer transcripts

"Engine power reduced" — and the free fix that exists only for 2019major

  • 1.5L turbo I4

The 1.5T's charge air cooler outlet duct — the pipe running from the intercooler to the throttle body — can disconnect while the turbo is under boost, which drops the car into limp mode with an "engine power reduced" message on the dash. Unlike the surrounding years, GM formally addressed this on the 2019: emission recall N192271200, which names the 1.5-litre engine by its internal codes LYX and LFV, and customer support program N192266090, which has dealers install a charge air cooler retainer kit. Both are free. Note that an emission recall is filed separately from safety recalls and will not appear in the count of three below. This is the good version of a second-generation problem — there is a documented free repair on record — so the only real question is whether it was done. A recurring reduced-power message means it probably was not.

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2019 GMC Terrain · NHTSA manufacturer communications, GMC Terrain (emission recall N192271200; program N192266090; brake vacuum pump TSB 10205549 and PI 10208020; charge-air-cooler icing Service Update 10231574 and PI 10231622; shifter Service Update 10172650) plus independent second-generation mechanic and dealer transcripts

$0

Under emission recall N192271200 / program N192266090

Cold-weather icing in the intercooler and crankcasemoderate

  • 1.5L turbo I4

A related but separate problem, and one that matters in northern states. GM's Service Update covering 2018 through 2022 describes ice or sludge building up in the charge air cooler or the closed crankcase ventilation system when the car is driven below roughly 0°F, with dealers fitting a thermal wrap and reprogramming the engine computer. A companion bulletin, 10231622, covers fault codes P0299 and P0234 caused by moisture freezing inside the turbo wastegate solenoid. A mechanic source describes the practical result: moisture freezes, blocks the airflow, and the car suddenly loses all power and goes into limp mode. If the car has lived somewhere cold, ask whether the thermal wrap and reprogramming were done.

Sources: NHTSA manufacturer communications, GMC Terrain (emission recall N192271200; program N192266090; brake vacuum pump TSB 10205549 and PI 10208020; charge-air-cooler icing Service Update 10231574 and PI 10231622; shifter Service Update 10172650) plus independent second-generation mechanic and dealer transcripts

$0

Under GM Service Update (thermal wrap + reprogramming)

Transmission hesitation, jerking and delayed engagementmoderate

  • 1.5L turbo I4

The third-largest block of complaints. Owners describe harsh shifts, hesitation on acceleration, delayed engagement when pulling away and occasional jerking at low speed. A mechanic source assessing this generation reports the same list and notes that a share of it is software rather than hardware, which is why service history matters — GM issued reprogramming for several of these behaviours. Some of what gets reported as a transmission problem is actually the reduced-power condition above, so a scan tool tells you more than a test drive here. Drive it repeatedly from a standstill in traffic, not just on open road, and get a pre-purchase scan.

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2019 GMC Terrain · NHTSA manufacturer communications, GMC Terrain (emission recall N192271200; program N192266090; brake vacuum pump TSB 10205549 and PI 10208020; charge-air-cooler icing Service Update 10231574 and PI 10231622; shifter Service Update 10172650) plus independent second-generation mechanic and dealer transcripts

Push-button gear selector faultsmoderate

The button-style gear selector GM calls electronic precision shift — buttons rather than a lever, with no mechanical linkage to the transmission — carries its launch-year trouble into 2019. A GM Service Update covering 2018 to 2020 addresses cars that can be shifted out of park when the system should prevent it, after the driver has ignored repeated dashboard and chime warnings. Related bulletins cover cars that will not come out of park, stick in gear or blink the gear display. Work every button several times, both cold and warmed up, and check that the gear shown on the dash is the gear the car has actually selected.

Sources: NHTSA manufacturer communications, GMC Terrain (emission recall N192271200; program N192266090; brake vacuum pump TSB 10205549 and PI 10208020; charge-air-cooler icing Service Update 10231574 and PI 10231622; shifter Service Update 10172650) plus independent second-generation mechanic and dealer transcripts

The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the brake pedal became extremely difficult to depress.
From an owner’s federal complaint. Unverified; one voice out of 177.

Open recalls

Free fixes at any GMC dealer. Run the VIN — “completed” isn’t always completed.

  1. 18V576Rear brake caliper pistons with insufficient coating can form gas pockets and reduce rear braking. Dealers bleed the brake system free of charge, 2018-2019 Equinox and Terrain (GM 18279).VERIFY BY VIN
  2. 19V184Rear-right seatback may have insufficient welds on the head-restraint bracket, increasing injury risk to a rear-right occupant in a crash. Free seatback frame replacement, Equinox and Terrain (GM N192209550).VERIFY BY VIN
  3. 20V668Start/stop transmission accumulator endcap may be missing bolts, leaking transmission fluid and risking loss of propulsion or fire. Free inspection and replacement, 2018-2020 Equinox, Traverse and Terrain (GM N202313440).VERIFY BY VIN

What it costs to keep

The purchase price is what you negotiate. These are the numbers you live with afterward — each one sourced, none of them blended into a fake total.

The ownership picture — 2019 Terrain

Three sourced numbers. No fake total.

Fuel

28 MPG combined (26 city / 30 highway) for the FWD, 1.5L turbo on the EPA federal fuel-economy test.

Source: FuelEconomy.gov (EPA) — EPA’s federal fuel-economy test, recomputed with current gas prices. EPA record 40269 (Terrain FWD).
Other builds EPA lists: AWD, 1.5L turbo 26 MPG · AWD, 2.0L turbo (premium fuel) 23 MPG · FWD, 2.0L turbo (premium fuel) 24 MPG · Diesel AWD, 1.6L turbo 32 MPG.

$2,200/yr

at $4.15/gal · 15,000 mi/yr · 55/45 city/hwy · pulled Jul 12, 2026

Theft

Stolen about 62% less often than the average vehicle. One less thing to price into coverage.

Source: HLDI — the insurance industry’s loss-data institute — HLDI whole vehicle theft losses, 2019–21 models, published April 2022 (report WT-21). 100 = the all-vehicle average. Series read: GMC Terrain 4dr.
Other series: GMC Terrain 4dr 4WD 25, where 100 = average.

38 vs 100

62% below average

Repair risk

What this specific year is known to need. Pulled from the issues above — the repairs owners actually report, at the costs they report them. Averages from other sites blend every year together; these are this year’s own numbers.

Source: this report — 01 Known issues.

Brake vacuum pump replacement (owner-paid; no GM coverage)owner pays — no recall or coverage exists
Under emission recall N192271200 / program N192266090$0
Under GM Service Update (thermal wrap + reprogramming)$0
Why there’s no single “cost to own” number: sites that promise one are guessing at your insurance quote, your annual miles, and your luck. These are the numbers we can actually source — and each one carries its receipt.

Shopping this year?

Get the printable pre-purchase checklist and an alert if this year’s recall sheet changes.

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Have a specific one in your sights?

The VIN is on the listing. We’ll check this exact car — build, open recalls, and whether the “completed” repairs stayed fixed.

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Before you buy

Print this
  1. 01Confirm the charge-air-cooler work — emission recall N192271200 and program N192266090 — was completed; a recurring reduced-power message means it was not.
  2. 02Brake hard from a roll: an unusually stiff pedal means the vacuum pump, and there is no recall or GM coverage for that repair.
  3. 03Search the service history for a Service Brake Assist message or fault code P0557.
  4. 04Pull away from a stop repeatedly in traffic to catch transmission hesitation and jerking, and get a pre-purchase scan.
  5. 05If the car has lived somewhere cold, ask whether the charge-air-cooler and crankcase icing Service Update was performed.
  6. 06Work every gear-selector button repeatedly and confirm the dash matches the gear actually selected.
  7. 07Run the VIN for all three recalls — 18V576 brake calipers, 19V184 seatback welds, 20V668 start-stop accumulator.
  8. 08Same vehicle under the skin as the Chevrolet Equinox — see the 2019 Chevrolet Equinox report, which carries a fourth recall this Terrain does not: an Equinox-only AWD fuel-tank campaign.

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