Problems · by component
2011 GMC Terrain visibility/wiper problems
28 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 GMC Terrain cite visibility/wiper, 7% of all 397 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
28
7% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the visibility/wiper
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The windshield wiper blades stopped working while driving at night in the rain. This was a dangerous situation as i had a hard time seeing where i was driving.”
“The contact owns a 2011 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH with the windshield wipers in use, the contact attempted to use the high setting for the windshield wipers and the driver’s side windshield wiper detached and struck the driver’s side mirror. The contact stated that the windshield wiper was replaced. The failure recurred three times. The dealer had not been informed of the failure. The manufacturer had not been made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 139,000.”
“my windshield wipers just suddenly stopped working during a rain storm. I managed to get home safely and after a quick search I was able to confirm this is a known problem with GMC Terrain's. It is talked about in Special Coverage N192266180. However this happened during a rain storm with limited visibility. So I am filing this complaint because GMC needs to issue a full blown recall and not a fix for after the windshield wiper system module breaks. Failed wipers during a storm could get people killed. I was lucky but others may not be. I took video of the wipers not working during the storm if you wish for me to send it to you.”
“Wipers were intermittently working then completely died. Took for replacement and 3 months after replacement motor dies again. Take it back to the mechanic which said it would be a dealership issue. I go to the dealership which they do have n192266180 special coverage adjustment wiper transmission arm linkage failure which they said they would have replaced my wiper motor. However, the special cover adjustment has expired. I feel that this is a safety issue. My wipers no longer work and I am looking for a replacement by the dealership due to a safety issue with the wiper transmission.”
“The contact owns a 2011 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed in the rain, the front windshield wipers were activated from low to high however, the wiper blades went up and failed to go back down. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the roadway and waited for the rain to stop for the contact to manually push the wiper blades down. The contact attempted to activate the wipers however, the wipers were inoperable. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 144,000.”
“On Wednesday, May 19th at approximately 8:30pm I was driving east on I-10 leaving Baton Rouge during a torrential rain storm with family members in my car. As we were driving with the wiper blades on, without warning the driver side wiper blade completely! stopped! It went off to the left and rested on the driver’s rearview mirror. It was such a horrifying shock, I had to lean over to the front passenger side to see out of the window with the help of my sister. I tried to slow down to see if we could get off the interstate or whether or not there was an overpass we could stop under and try to fix the wiper. When we stopped under the first available overpass, I tried to adjust the wiper and played with the on off switch to see if I could get the driver side wiper to work again. It never has worked since yesterday. I decided to stay at a safe distance behind an 18 wheeler using its red lights and trailer width to exit at the nearest offramp where we waited out the rain. When we started out again, we encountered rain again on the Bonnie Carr spillway which was extraordinarily dangerous. I’ve NEVER been so frightened driving in my life as the life. No mechanic,…”
Showing 6 of 28 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.