There are 50 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2018 GMC Terrainin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
We just got off the bus thruway and my brakes pedal got hard to press and it was hard to stop car I had to push on brake dry hard to get the car to stop it was jarring and o had to get my some and o to a safe place. Garage said it’s brake assist and he researched there’s is an active law suit against GM bc lots of Moses and models have this issue although they claim to know nothing about it
Faulty Brake Vacuum Pump!!!! 2018 GMC Terrain @ 119254 miles--- NO warning! Brakes were hard to press, did not work and I rolled into ditch to prevent an accident. I see hundreds of people with same issue now that I Am having to research. This was very scary. I was told it was as a brake booster pressure sensor. But that was not the problem. It is the brake vacuum pump. This is so dangerous. Why is GMC not correcting this issue? This is insane. GM issued multiple technical service bulletins on vacuum and booster issues starting in 2017. Why hasn't anything been done?
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the brake pedal became extremely difficult to depress, with the message "Brake Assist" displayed. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the roadway and the parking brake was activated, and the vehicle was turned off. The contact stated that the transmission failed to shift into gear, and the vehicle was dragged onto a flatbed truck and towed to the residence. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 132,386.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and failed to come to a stop while the brake pedal was depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a locked brake vacuum pump. The contact was informed that parts of the brake vacuum pump had entered inside the camshaft and valve cover. Several unknown local dealers were contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired because there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 183,000.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag and ABS warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with air bag failure. The contact was informed that the air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the contact was informed that there were no open recalls on the VIN. In addition, the contact was informed that once a recall repair was completed, it would not be performed a second time free of charge. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,100.
Difficulty with power assistive braking when traveling at low speeds
My car started experiencing a strange problem while braking on June 15. I released the parking brake leaving my parents driveway. I coasted backwards (as usual), and when I pressed the brake the car didn't stop as expected and the brake pedal was very hard to press. It eventually stopped. I put into park, then put the emergency brake on, then released all and tried again and encountered the same issue, that it was very very slow to stop and the brake pedal was hard to push in. I got home, parked the car - tested the reverse brake on flat surface and didn't notice the issue. The next day, the problem started happening with the front brake as well and an error code popped up that said 'check brake assist' which I've never seen before. I brought it to my local mechanic, who took a look and said that it's a vacuum pump failure, and the result is a lot of metal shards were released into the engine when the vacuum pump failed. My mechanic recommended I take to a GMC dealer for further evaluation. I looked up the recall on this issue, and see that it impacts a lot cars, including the 2017 GMC terrain, but not my 2018 GMC terrain. I am going to take it to the GMC dealer but I'm afraid I won't be able to afford the repair, and it doesn't seem like there was anything I could have done to prevent this from happening.
Brake booster went out and lost all braking ability on interstate doing 65 mph in spring of 2022 - had brake booster and exhaust cam replaced and April 20 2025 same break and same effect - no braking ability at interstate speed - extremely dangerous situation
I was slowing down to turn and I couldn't push my brake pedal down it completely locked up. If I wasn't already slowing down I would've hit a power pole and potentially lost my life. My ABS light never came on and it's still not on. After I got parked and shut my car off the check engine light came on.
Brake vacuum pump failed causing engine damage. Camshaft on national back order. Vehicle has been in repair shop for 1.5 months waiting on part. No ETA. There has been recall for similar vehicles with same issue, failure, damage. But not for this VIN. It’s the same failure with same damage. How is this not a recall for this VIN?
I got my car out of the shop a week ago for my brakes the car was in the shop for a month and this past weekend my car is doing the same exact thing a week later I was on I 75 also hit a semi truck
Faulty Brake Vacuum Pump triggered my brake to get stuck while I was driving ended on the side of the express way to avoid traffic and prevent a crash.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not decelerate as intended while depressing the brake pedal. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was previously repaired at a local independent mechanic and the vacuum pump was replaced; however, approximately 32 days later the failure reoccurred. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving 40-45 MPH, the vehicle started coasting and stopped unintendedly. The contact stated that the vehicle drove for a while and then coasted and stopped. The message that the “Engine Power Reduced” was displayed. The contact stated that the brake system warning light was also illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the camshaft had disintegrated into the engine. The mechanic informed the contact the vehicle was unrepairable. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
The vacuum pump exploded and I lost power braking ability while going approx. 40mph. If I hadn't pressed down hard on the brakes to slow down, in less than 2 minutes I would have ended up in Lake Michigan, as I was heading east toward the on ramp for [XXX]. The problem has been confirmed by European US Auto here in Chicago, and I have photos. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I have a 2018 Terrain SLT. On 11/20/24, I was headed home from my commute to work driving my terrain with all the confidence in the world because I hadn't had any major issue with it. In 5pm stop and go traffic I decided on another route to my son's school to pick him up from practice. As the light at the end of the bridge turned red, I proceeded to stop, and my brake pedal was as stiff as stone. Going across that bridge I was literally standing up on the brake pedal with my back and shoulder against the roof of the truck for support trying to stop. As I came close to the cars that had already stopped I contemplated jumping out of the car but I decided to keep at it. It was God and God alone that cleared a shoulder for me to be able to pull over. I was petrified!! No signs, no brake noises, no hesitations, nothing! No warning lights on the dash, no alerts, NOTHING! Brakes were just gone! The mechanic said the vacuum pump had exploded and it was a known issue with terrains and that there was a bulletin regarding this. Pieces of the metal from the exploded vacuum pump were found inside of the engine. The mechanic was upset about the event and said to notify GM, something needed to be done about it. He gave me the vacuum pump to show the GM service center and he said one of the mechanics took pics of the metal in the engine. I called GM and was told to bring it in to a GM service shop so that they could check it out, but at my expense because the manufacturer warranty had expired. I AM SO UPSET WITH GM!! I have anxiety every time I go to press the brake! Panic attacks thinking about the possibility of this happening with my kids/elderly parents in tow. Thank God for covering me and all the drivers and their families that could have been hurt. Thank God my son/elderly parents weren't in the car! The fact that this is a known issue and it hasn't been addressed is heartbreaking. GM should do the right thing and recall these trucks, asap.
While driving the vehicle the vacuum pump failed and caused the camshaft to seize and physically break which caused the break peddle to become hard and breaking the vehicle was limited and almost nonexistent, which caused an extremely dangerous situation on the highway.
In 2022 and now in sept of 2024 my entire braking system has failed. Cause you a complete in abilty to stop the vehicle. Upon this failure without any warning peice of the braking system connected to the engine shoots shrapnel into my engine and causes the cam to be destroyed. Now I can't get my car back because of a shortage on this part.
Brake pump keeps going changed in the last 2 week and over in the last 2 yrs 3xs and burning oil.brakes get hard while driving which is dangerous.
The vacuum pump gears for the brake assist was shattered and metal parts were sent into the engine. I lost power brakes and was lucky to be able to stop the suv. The car was towed to a GMC dealer where it was diagnosed with a damaged exhaust cam, a shattered vacuum pump and metal pieces in the motor. Cost to fix $3200. This is a 2018 GMC Terrain with 112000 miles on it. I had a powertrane plus warrenty that was still valid but they refused to pay for anything. They claimed the vacuum pump caused the problem and it was not the engines fault. There were no warning check engine lights before this happened.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026