Problems · by component

2012 GMC Terrain visibility/wiper problems

74 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 GMC Terrain cite visibility/wiper, 20% of all 370 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
74
20% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the visibility/wiper

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I was driving while it was raining. The wipers stopped working. The driverside wiper jumped partially off the windshield. I had my mechanic inspect it. The fuses, relay, and wiper motor are operational. The bushing on the wiper transmission failed. I found the following recall. Special Coverage Adjustment N192266181 Wiper Transmission Arm Linkage Failure – USA Only Release Date: July 2022. However, my VIN does not have this as an applicable recall.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 18, 2023Visibility/wiperODI 11545190
“Ball joint for wiper assembly just "pops off" while in use causing wipers to stop working. I have taken vehicle apart, fixed the issue ( reconnecting the ball joint) and issue happens again. I understand the vehicle is from 2012, but uses same part 2010-2017, which is currently a recall on 2013-2015 models. First occurrence of this issue was July 02, 2019. I brought to GMC dealer, they said they were out of the part. Since then I've not had the issue until today March 14, 2023 where I almost hit another car, due to it popping off and stopped working while in motion.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 14, 2023Visibility/wiperODI 11511864
“Driving in heavy rain south on the I-5 at 545p. In peak traffic and wipers suddenly just stopped while going 60mph in the carpool lane. As we past the exit for I-405 There was no shoulder to pull off of on my left. I had to cross over 5 lanes until I could safely get off the freeway. Then drive another 5 miles on side streets getting out an manually moving the wipers every few blocks so i could see. I'm female and over 50 yrs old. There was not a place I felt safe to just pull over at night. I stopped at a friend's. I can hear the motor moving but the wipers are not. I do not recall ever seeing the recall on the ball bearings and nor the wiper linkage but found one. However I'm have 72k miles and have owned it for 10 yrs.6 months. So it may not be covered, which I believe is not fair. I almost died and could have caused other deaths just trying to safely maneuver off the freeway, which I felt was safer than sitting on the side of a very dangerous section of the freeway. I know people with cars over 40 yr old that were left outside with over 200k miles and the wipers have never just died. I am the original owner and my car has been garaged for over 95% of the…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 9, 2022Visibility/wiperODI 11496833
“very serious failure ... traveling at night, in a rainstorm, doing 70mph on a highway and the wiper regulator connecting the wiper arms to the wiper motor fails ... no warning what so ever ... no intermittent operation or noises, nothing ... looking into this problem I see that GM has issued a safety recall for 2014 and up versions of this vehicle but not my specific model year ... what are the chances that the hardware used in my particular vehicle model year are any different than those listed in (22V-165) this safety recall.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 9, 2022Visibility/wiperODI 11468383
“I was driving on the highway and it was raining hard so I had my windshield wipers on and they just stopped working and I almost got in accident because I couldn't see.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 8, 2022Visibility/wiperODI 11455655
“I was getting on the Interstate when a really bad rain storm came up. I turned my windshield wipers on and they got stuck in the upright position. I tried many times to get the wipers to work, but they would not move. I had NO VISIBILITY and I was on an elevated ramp getting on the interstate. I could not see anything so I had to roll my window down, drive 5 miles an hour and use the white line on the road as a guide. I got soaking wet as did my car. I had to drive about a mile before I could safely stop the car. There was no warning and I am reading now there is an issue with this on Terrains. This was an EXTREMELY dangerous, I could have severely hurt myself or someone else. I am getting really tired of all the recalls on the Terrain. So far there have been six (6) for my car and a few more that don't seem to apply YET!!”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 16, 2021Visibility/wiperODI 11429327

Showing 6 of 74 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.