2017 GMC Terrain update

Joined
Apr 13, 2013
Messages
9,246
Location
FL, USA
My mom picked up a 2017 Terrain two years ago, I figured I would give a short update as it has experienced a few problems as of late. About 2 months ago my brother was washing it and noticed two rust spots on the roof. The paint had blistered and bare metal was exposed. These were new spots as I have detailed it several times and there were no such spots. Upon taking it to the dealer (under CPO warranty) they quickly blamed sap. I had to get loud with the service manager, push hard and get corporate involved and long story short they did a goodwill auth and the entire roof was repainted for around $500 out of pocket.

Fast forward a month or so and Mom calls me and tells me the Terrain is stalling out AT SPEED. My dad thought it was bad gas but I disagreed since it always started right back up without a problem. The dealership (same one) blew my mom off and said her oil needed to be changed and it was "low" and this was likely the cause of stalling. We all know that's a load of cr*p, also I had just checked the oil weeks before and it was completely full. I told her to refuse pick up until they fixed it.

Side note, I perform the oil changes on her vehicle so she asked me if she should get it changed while it was at the dealer for $55. I informed her that it was still under CPO warranty which comes with 2 year of maintenance. Apparently my mom had already inquired about the free service and the service manager told her she was outside her CPO coverage and it would be $55 to change the oil, period. I immediately called the dealer and chewed them out and got things straight.

Back to the stalling issue...after refusing pick up they told her they would take it on a 20 mile test drive to see if it would stall out, I'm not sure if that ever happened but they called her and told her it was ready for pick up and they found no issues.

From the very first stalling event I was thinking the cam solenoids were bad (common issue on these) but the dealer refused to do anything and said nothing was wrong. Well, thankfully two days ago the check engine light came on so I told her to make an appt asap to have them scan for codes. As soon as she makes it to the dealer they tell her, "it's probably bad cam solenoids". Unbelievable! Yes, duh! They knew that all along likely but refused to do anything, allowing my mother to drive around in a vehicle that could stall out at any moment, they could care less based off of my interaction with them.

Anyway, the solenoids have been replaced, the roof has been repainted, and so far the car is running well. This turned out to be more of a dealer rant, oh well. Had to tell someone. I think now is a good time to go review a certain dealer on g**gle.
 
My mom picked up a 2017 Terrain two years ago, I figured I would give a short update as it has experienced a few problems as of late. About 2 months ago my brother was washing it and noticed two rust spots on the roof. The paint had blistered and bare metal was exposed. These were new spots as I have detailed it several times and there were no such spots. Upon taking it to the dealer (under CPO warranty) they quickly blamed sap. I had to get loud with the service manager, push hard and get corporate involved and long story short they did a goodwill auth and the entire roof was repainted for around $500 out of pocket.

Fast forward a month or so and Mom calls me and tells me the Terrain is stalling out AT SPEED. My dad thought it was bad gas but I disagreed since it always started right back up without a problem. The dealership (same one) blew my mom off and said her oil needed to be changed and it was "low" and this was likely the cause of stalling. We all know that's a load of cr*p, also I had just checked the oil weeks before and it was completely full. I told her to refuse pick up until they fixed it.

Side note, I perform the oil changes on her vehicle so she asked me if she should get it changed while it was at the dealer for $55. I informed her that it was still under CPO warranty which comes with 2 year of maintenance. Apparently my mom had already inquired about the free service and the service manager told her she was outside her CPO coverage and it would be $55 to change the oil, period. I immediately called the dealer and chewed them out and got things straight.

Back to the stalling issue...after refusing pick up they told her they would take it on a 20 mile test drive to see if it would stall out, I'm not sure if that ever happened but they called her and told her it was ready for pick up and they found no issues.

From the very first stalling event I was thinking the cam solenoids were bad (common issue on these) but the dealer refused to do anything and said nothing was wrong. Well, thankfully two days ago the check engine light came on so I told her to make an appt asap to have them scan for codes. As soon as she makes it to the dealer they tell her, "it's probably bad cam solenoids". Unbelievable! Yes, duh! They knew that all along likely but refused to do anything, allowing my mother to drive around in a vehicle that could stall out at any moment, they could care less based off of my interaction with them.

Anyway, the solenoids have been replaced, the roof has been repainted, and so far the car is running well. This turned out to be more of a dealer rant, oh well. Had to tell someone. I think now is a good time to go review a certain dealer on g**gle.

We owned a GMC Jimmy years ago and had a dealer ruin the experience. To be honest the SUV was a POS, but he ruined with his cocky attitude and demeanor. I told my wife we will NEVER own another GM product. 20+ years later still holding true. A good or bad dealer can certainly make or break the deal!

Just my $0.02
 
We owned a GMC Jimmy years ago and had a dealer ruin the experience. To be honest the SUV was a POS, but he ruined with his cocky attitude and demeanor. I told my wife we will NEVER own another GM product. 20+ years later still holding true. A good or bad dealer can certainly make or break the deal!

Just my $0.02
The crazy thing is this dealer has tons of great reviews, our experience was quite the opposite! My mom is an incredibly sweet lady and doesn't like to be forward, that's why I got involved to make sure they took care of her. I hate it for others because they likely just blindly accept whatever they are told by these people. It's sick. She could have been seriously injured or worse if it stalled at the wrong time, and they seemingly couldn't have cared less. It disgusts and angers me.
 
I don't believe that we have bought a Terrain or an Equinox at auction that we didn't replace the VVT solenoids on. One Equinox that we bought, I was driving back from Tulsa and sure enough, the CEL came on and by the time we were back in Arkansas, it stumbled and almost died on me twice through some stop and go construction on I40.
I'm not a fan of those 2.4's, the vehicle itself, Terrain or Equinox, actually drive well and are somewhat comfortable,....but that darned engine. We sell a ton of those things though, people love them.
 
The thing with dealers is without a CEL they say there isn't a problem.

Such as with my aunt's Avalon that smells disgusting after accelerating. The problem apparently doesn't exist because the CEL isn't on.
 
The thing with dealers is without a CEL they say there isn't a problem.

Such as with my aunt's Avalon that smells disgusting after accelerating. The problem apparently doesn't exist because the CEL isn't on.
I’m familiar with this, but it doesn’t excuse them letting someone drive off in a car that stalls at any speed. That kind of problem can and has killed people. It’s even worse though because GM knows about this problem. They are mechanics right? Figure it out! I don’t care if there is a CEL on or not! (Anger not directed at you Nick).
 
I don't believe that we have bought a Terrain or an Equinox at auction that we didn't replace the VVT solenoids on. One Equinox that we bought, I was driving back from Tulsa and sure enough, the CEL came on and by the time we were back in Arkansas, it stumbled and almost died on me twice through some stop and go construction on I40.
I'm not a fan of those 2.4's, the vehicle itself, Terrain or Equinox, actually drive well and are somewhat comfortable,....but that darned engine. We sell a ton of those things though, people love them.
Yes, this is part of the reason she picked the Terrain. Nice ride and decent handling for what it is. Not bad gas mileage either and plenty of interior space.
 
Further update. The hood has three spots like the ones on the roof which required a repaint. One of the spots on the hood has blistered, likely rust underneath. I have to say, this paint has been a disappointment. If you allow any contaminants to sit on the surface for any amount of time, the paint will likely start to degrade under it. I've never seen a car with such finicky paint. Her last vehicle lived under a tree (sap, bird poop, etc.) constantly and it never experience any paint problems.
 
Further update. The hood has three spots like the ones on the roof which required a repaint. One of the spots on the hood has blistered, likely rust underneath. I have to say, this paint has been a disappointment. If you allow any contaminants to sit on the surface for any amount of time, the paint will likely start to degrade under it. I've never seen a car with such finicky paint. Her last vehicle lived under a tree (sap, bird poop, etc.) constantly and it never experience any paint problems.
Modern cars have very thin sh*t water based or borne paint and clear. My old gmc have oil based paint and clear and they are both incredibly durable. Never garaged and still looks great with no clear coat fade on this old metal somehow. The clear on my escalade is very soft and just pathetic. Government related of course. Solvents flashing out are bad for the environment and tesla recently got in environmental trouble for nortcomplying with the painting voc's regulation or whatever it's specifically refered to. Even that gets taken into account. Same with household paints. High voc is looked down upon.
 
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